Novak Djokovic has a tough draw right now as he gets ready to play in Monte-Carlo next week, which will be only his third event of 2023.
The world number one has chosen to take it easy so far in 2024. He didn’t play in the Miami Open because he wanted to spend more time with his family.
That led to rumors that the 24-time Grand Slam winner was having a hard time keeping up with a sport he has been dominating lately.
His breakup with coach Goran Ivanisevic was a surprise turn in his story. The Croat confirmed that one of Djokovic’s problems in recent months has been lack of drive.
Nenad Zimonjic, another Serb like Djokovic, filled in for Ivanisevic as he got ready to play in Monte-Carlo. The former Wimbledon champion praised this move.
In an interview with Tennis Majors, Ivanisevic said, “I don’t know how much longer Novak plans to keep playing, but the perfect person is with him right now—Ziki (Nenad Zimonjic).”
“I love him and consider him a close friend. We’ve been through a lot together. What’s most important is that he knows Novak very well. He knows a lot about tennis.At the time, Novak doesn’t need to meet someone new and get to know them. Ten days go by, Novak “goes crazy,” and the new teacher doesn’t know what’s going on.
“I am sure that Novak will find the drive to do well. I really want him to win the Olympics, even more than the Slams.
These comments made it sound like Djokovic isn’t excited about playing in ATP 1000 events anymore. That’s why everyone will be watching the Serbian start his season next week in Monte-Carlo.
In his first fight, he might face Roman Safiullin. Then, he might have an interesting rematch with Italian Lorenzo Musetti.
Musetti beat Djokoivc in the round of 16 at the Monte-Carlo Masters last year. It would be interesting to see them play each other again on the same court.
Before he could play Djokovic, Musetti would have to beat Taylor Fritz of the United States in the first round and either Adrian Mannarino or Arthur Fils of France in the second round.
Djokovic could also play Alex De Minaur or Andrey Rublev before a possible semi-final match with Carlos Alcaraz, who is ranked third in the world.
Carlos Alcaraz could also face Felix Auger-Aliassime of Canada in the second round, and the very good Ugo Humbert could be waiting for him in the third round. The draw also gives Carlos Alcaraz some tough possible opponents.
Jack Draper from Great Britain and Hubert Hurkacz from Poland will play in an exciting first-round match on the red clay. There will be some big serves, and Alcaraz has a good chance of winning that match as well.
In the bottom part of the draw, No. 2 seed See could play either Alejandro Davidovich Fokina or Sebastian Korda in his first match. In the third round, he could play the in-form Grigor Dimitorv.
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