Novak Djokovic makes honest training confession as he admits he enjoys ‘thrill of the butterflies’
Novak Djokovic is through to the last four of the Monte Carlo Masters
Novak Djokovic has admitted that he enjoys training “maybe not as much as I used to” after his Monte Carlo Masters quarter-final win, though added he still enjoys “the thrill of the butterflies” when stepping onto court.
After a difficult start to 2024, Djokovic has looked nearer his best in Monte Carlo, reaching the last four of the event for the first time since 2015 thanks to Friday’s quarter-final win over Alex de Minaur.
Djokovic will now face eighth seed Casper Ruud, who he beat in the Roland Garros final last year, and then potentially Jannik Sinner in the final.
After his last eight match against de Minaur, Djokovic was asked in his press conference if there were any small details of the sport he particularly enjoyed, following comments once made by the Serbian’s late friend Kobe Bryant.
And Djokovic candidly admitted that he enjoys the “sound of the shot” when watching his matches back – and shared that he doesn’t enjoy training as much as he used to.
He said: “It’s the sound of the shot, you know, sound of the ball where of course in some tournaments where you have a better echo, you know, but it sounds even more loud when you strike the ball cleanly.
“I only enjoy that when I am watching the videos of my matches or I’m watching some other matches. I don’t enjoy it while I play, because I really don’t hear that, as strange as it sounds, but I’m completely in kind of a zone where I don’t hear the ball sound, the ball strike because of the grunts.
“But then of course [there’s] the energy of the crowd, of competition, just competition. You know, I also enjoy training and the process, maybe not as much as I used to, but I do enjoy competition.
“I enjoy the thrill of the butterflies before the match. Regardless of the fact that I played so many matches in my life, I still feel that nervous sensations but also the excitement of walking out on the court.”
Djokovic added that he still also takes enjoyment from the “thrill of the unknown” – perhaps a surprising admission from someone who has played almost 1400 career matches.
He added: “It’s the thrill of the unknown when you walk into the court to see what’s going to happen, you know, the anticipation of, you know, of course you dream and visualize of you winning the match, winning the tournament, making your dreams come true, which is incredible.
“There is incredible power in that, but still, when you’re on the court, a lot of things, factors, elements can play around with you and your mind and your game that, you know, anything can happen.”
Djokovic’s semi-final against Ruud will be the second of the two men’s singles matches to take place tomorrow, following Sinner’s match against 12th seed Stefanos Tsitsipas.
