The Serbian tennis player, Novak Djokovic lost against Marin Cilic in Paris. After that, he said that he lacked consistency in the game, but he had to accept the loss and learn something from it.
Novak said:”I lacked the quality in tennis, he played better and won fair and square. I had several moments when I played well, but I had a lot of ups and downs because I couldn’t focus in the crucial moments. It is the consequence of the last couple of years playing at the highest level, which fulfilled me, gave me pleasure, but also worn me down. I think I played good at times, but I wasn’t consistent and I am well aware of that. All of this is part of my life and my career.”
Cilic won against Djokovic 6:4, 7:6, which means that Djokovic will have no chance to defend the title in Paris.
“I realize that when I am in this privileged position, at the top spot on ATP standings, other players spend a lot of time analyzing my game trying to find a way to beat me. It is an ungrateful position to be in from that aspect since everyone else is even more motivated. What I need to do is look forward, accept what happened and learn something from the defeat,” said Djokovic.
He also stated that he is a different person after numerous things have changed in his private life.
Moreover, he declared:”I still play in the tour, I play tennis, my aspirations are still to be the best in this sport and the grand slam tournaments are a source of highest motivation. There are a lot of things I would like to do, but I realize that I cannot reach my full potential if I don’t play high-quality tennis and if I am not psychologically ready and consistent. I work on these things in life, and if I manage to keep the balance and organize myself and my life, I am convinced that the results will be visible.”
The world number one also added:”I am in this situation for a reason, aware that I cannot win all the time, it is some kind of transition in the life of every athlete, where I have a chance to rise to the higher level and see what the future means to me as a tennis play and a regular man. When I was 18 years old, I had different aspirations and vision than I have now and I need to adjust myself to the current aspirations.
He talked about his priorities too and said that tennis is an enormous part of his life, but it is not the most important.
He declared:”Priorities? There is a difference between priorities in life and tennis. Tennis is not everything to me and my priority is to be happy, peaceful and to be filled with joy, happiness, and love. Tennis is after that, which is an enormous part of my life, something that puts a smile on my face and as long as I have the inspiration to play and follow the tour schedule, I will be where I am now.
Novak Djokovic also said that Roger Federer and Rafael Nadal had a great influence on him as a tennis player.
“They made me who I am as a tennis player, but not as a person, because I have my own identity. I made a progress playing against them, learned about the game, became physically strong and capable to compete on the highest level for a lot of years because they set the bar high. They are different types of people, with different life visions. I need to distance myself from it because I follow a different path in life,” stated Djokovic.
