Novak Djokovic reveals why he has opted to play ATP event in Geneva
Novak Djokovic has provided an update on his head after being hit by a bottle at the Italian Open, as well as explaining the decision to play at the ATP 250 tournament in Geneva this week ahead of Roland Garros.
Djokovic was accidentally struck by a bottle that fell out of a fans bag when signing autographs in Rome, and subsequently suffered a lacklustre straight sets defeat against Alejandro Tabilo in the following match.
When speaking to press in Geneva, Djokovic spoke about how he was feeling nearly two weeks later, “My head is fine, everything is fine, I have been training correctly for a week.”
The 37-year-old continued, “I feel good, we’ll see tomorrow how things go in the game. I have dedicated a lot of time to physical preparation to build some more resistance and strength in the capacities that I need to compete in a Grand Slam best of five sets, also on the most demanding surface of the circuit such as clay.”
The last time that Djokovic competed in a tournament the week before a Grand Slam tournament was back in 2021, winning the event in Belgrade before claiming the Roland Garros title.
After not reaching a single final so far in 2024, Djokovic has revealed why he elected to take the late wildcard for the Geneva Open, “The reason why I have decided to come and play here is because, at the moment, there is no better training for me than playing games. I need more matches, even if it’s just one or two, I hope there are more.
“The matches that come will be good for me, it is my way of finding the way for Roland Garros. The objective is to have more than one match here in Geneva and then we will see what happens in Paris.”
Djokovic will play his opening match in Geneva against Yannick Hanfmann later today, after the German beat Andy Murray in straight sets.
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Inside the baseline…
It has not been the strongest start to the season by Novak Djokovic’s standards, so it does make sense for the world No.1 to play the event in Geneva. Although he will want to get some more clay court match practice, Djokovic will not want to expend too much energy this week and could potentially withdraw from the tournament if he gets a few matches under his belt.
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