Serbian tennis star and 24-time Grand Slam champion Novak Djokovic shared his thoughts after his second-round defeat to Italian Matteo Arnaldi at the Madrid Masters tournament in Spain.
Djokovic admitted that he anticipated a very challenging opening match at this event. He described Arnaldi as a highly skilled, quality player. Reflecting on his preparation, Djokovic noted his limited number of recent matches on clay, stating that while training was effective, stepping onto the court for a match presents a completely different challenge.
Speaking at the post-match press conference, Djokovic highlighted a positive aspect of the match: “I think the positive is that I enjoyed it more than in Monte Carlo or some other tournaments, so that`s good.” However, he candidly added, “But, obviously, my level of tennis is still not where I would like it to be. But it is what it is. I lost to someone who played better.”
Adrian Whitmore