Novak Djokovic discusses ‘positives’ from Monte Carlo Masters despite semi-final loss
Novak Djokovic fell in the last four of the Monte Carlo Masters
Novak Djokovic took “positives” from his Monte Carlo Masters campaign despite a surprise loss to Casper Ruud in Saturday’s semi-final.
In a topsy-turvy encounter, Norwegian Ruud rallied from losing a 4-2 lead in the deciding set to claim a 6-4, 1-6, 6-4 victory over Djokovic – his first win over the Serbian in six meetings.
After a slow start to the match, the world No 1 seemingly regained control with a dominant second set, but was unable to claw back his opponent in the decider, with Ruud serving first and breaking in the final game to triumph.
Defeat means that Djokovic is still yet to win a title in 2024, with the defence of his Roland Garros title moving ever closer.
However, he has arguably played some of his best tennis of the season this past week and was back in the last four of the famed event for the first time since 2015.
And. despite admitting he was “disappointed” in his loss, the world No 1 was not too downbeat in his post-match press conference.
He said: “Of course, I’m disappointed to lose a match like this. [It] was a close one.
“My game was kind of up and down. The positive thing is that I kind of managed to come back after losing the first set and really find the strength in the game.
“So there are positives to take away from this tournament, for sure, but of course disappointed with the loss.”
With Djokovic having dominated at the Australian Open through a significant chunk of his career and also winning multiple titles across Indian Wells and Miami, it is unusual for him to reach mid-April without winning a title.
But while admitting his start to the season has not been ideal, he is not too concerned about his current lack of silverware.
“I’m used to [a] really high standard in terms of expectations of the results, so not having a title is, maybe comparing to the last 15 years, not a great season at all,” he added.
“But I had semis of Australia, semis here. I only played three tournaments this year, so of course it’s normal to expect that you have some seasons where you don’t start well, and this is the one.
“Hopefully I can pick up, in terms of results, I can build from here, because, I played some good tennis. Hopefully in the next tournaments I’ll be able to play even better.”
