Novak Djokovic has vowed to use the last few months as motivation when he returns to the court this week. The world number one will begin his campaign at the Monte Carlo Masters, his first tournament since the Dubai Championships in February.
It has been a turbulent year for the Serbian, who has competed in just one tournament this year due to being unvaccinated. Despite the setbacks, the 34-year-old is no stranger to rising to a challenge and endeavours to use his past experiences to drive his performances in the coming days.
"I try to be optimistic in life and consider myself a very optimistic, positive person," Djokovic told reporters. "I take lessons available in every experience, particularly in something as large as what happened in January. Once I start playing matches... I will obviously have to deal with everything that probably has been dormant inside and is maybe waiting to come out.
"I don't feel it has left huge scars that I'm unable to train or participate in tournaments or live my life... far from that. But it has been a challenging few months and something I never experienced before. So I will try to use that as a fuel for what's coming up."
Djokovic was denied the chance to compete in the Australian Open this past January and endured the horror of being held in a detention centre before being deported. He was also unable to compete in Indian Wells and Miami, known as the Sunshine Double, tournaments when the tennis legend has enjoyed plenty of success over the years.
The athlete was heavily criticised for his stance on the vaccine and not being able to play the sport he loves due to his beliefs certainly took its toll. Despite being the overwhelming favourite to take the title in Dubai, Djokovic was dumped out at the quarter-final stage in straight sets by Jiri Vessely.
Two months on and with the clay court season now upon us, Djokovic is set to feature throughout the entire swing and build his form going into his title defence at the Roland Garros in May. "The last four, five months have been really challenging for me mentally and emotionally, but here I am. I try to leave all of that behind and move on," he added.
"My Roland Garros win last year is still fresh in my memory, so I try to use that as inspiration to kickstart the clay court season in the best possible way. I intend to play the full clay court season according to my schedule of the previous years.
“I understand I probably won't be at my best particularly at the beginning of this week, so I'm testing my engine, so to say, and building my game." The 2013 and 2015 Monte Carlo champion will play his first match of the week against Spain’s Alejandro Davidovich Fokina tomorrow.
