Djokovic rejuvenated ahead of Paris Masters

10/31/2016

Novak Djokovic claimed that he was feeling motivated again to defend his Paris Masters title after his semi-final defeat against Spaniard Roberto Bautista Agut at the Shanghai Masters. The World number 1 added that he had felt mentally drained since his maiden French Open title in June.

The Serbian, who completed his career slam following a win, finally, at Roland Garros, has won just one tournament since then. Djokovic admitted that although the win in Paris brought him a lot of joy, it also "took a lot away from him" as he did not feel motivated after the win.

"Winning the French Open this year has brought a lot of joy to me but on the other hand has taken away a lot from me, as well. I felt a little bit exhausted, I must say, and maybe less motivated," Djokovic said in his pre-match press conference.

After the French Open victory, Djokovic failed to reach a Grand Slam final for the first time since the 2014 US Open when he was knocked out of Wimbledon in the third round. He did not fare too well at the Rio Olympics as well losing to Argentine Juan Martin del Potro in the very first round

"So I had to kind of rediscover that feeling of being on the court and keep pushing myself," added the World Number 1, whose only success since the French Open has been at the Toronto Masters.

"I guess it took a little bit of time, more time, and I'm just - I'm in a better state of mind at the moment than I was some months ago."

Following his defeat at the Shanghai Masters, Djokovic went on a rant against Chair umpire Carlos Bernardes blaming the official for the defeat. The 29-year-old has been handed an easy start in Paris as he starts his campaign against Spaniard Nicolas Almagro in the second round followed by a match against Gilles Muller in the next round.

Should he make it through, Djokovic will set-up a replay of the U.S. Open final against Stan Wawrinka, where the latter had come out on top. In the final of the event, the Serb will have to fight it out with Britain's Andy Murray, who is in terrific form after beating Jo-Wilfried Tsonga in the final in Vienna.

Djokovic, who could end up losing his World Number 1 spot to the Brit by the end of the year, is not worried about the same claiming that he had been in these kinds of situations before.

"I have been in these particular situations before in terms of ranking, so I know what to do, and I just keep things very simple," he concluded.