Until the mid-2010s, Novak Djokovic was one of the few to be able to interfere in the Monte-Carlo charts during the long reign of Rafael Nadal. And when he wasn't winning, he was never far from it. But for eight years, the Monegasque resident has become a very secondary character in the Masters 1000 disputed on the Rock. End of the anomaly this year?
Novak Djokovic can't do it anymore. In Monte Carlo, anyway. His report to the Monegasque tournament has almost been an anomaly in recent years. From 2008 to 2015, in seven participations (he had not aligned in 2011), the Serb had twice won the title on the Rock, reached the final twice and had stopped three times in half. From ? Almost nothing, with two quarter-finals as the "best" result.
“ Monte-Carlo hasn't been very successful for me in recent years. I haven't played very well there, he conceded on Sunday during his back-to-school press conference. The key is probably there. years passing, "Nole" focuses more than ever on what matters most to him, namely the Grand Slams. If he shines more in Madrid and especially in Rome, where he reached the final seven times in the eight last editions, it is because of their proximity to Roland-Garros.Monte-Carlo, seven weeks before the Paris deadline, arrives too early for him.
The fact remains that, since his last princely coronation in 2015, he has won each of the other Masters 1000 at least once. And without speaking of victory, the overall weakness of his results in the Principality seems almost too big to be true and to be summed up in questions of timing:
2016: 2nd round (Defeated by Vesely)
2017: Quarter-finals (Goffin)
2018: Round of 16 (Thiem)
2019: Quarter-finals (Medvedev)
2020: Tournament canceled
2021: Eighth-finals (Dan Evans)
2022: 2nd round (Davidovich Fokina)
In the absence of Rafael Nadal and, above all, Carlos Alcaraz, it is tempting to consider the world number one as the favorite of the week for Monaco. It is even doubtless legitimate, but it is difficult to conceal the recent past. The accident thesis can hold for one or two years, not seven or eight. To be honest, Djokovic assumes it:
" I don't have as much energy as before to play as many tournaments or to be involved as intensely all the time as the younger players. So I choose the tournaments where I want to play at my best level and I build my program in office. Now the tournaments I'm aiming for are the Grand Slams. And so, as far as the season on earth is concerned, it's Roland-Garros. It's no secret" .
The formula works. If he experiences a new hiccup in Monte-Carlo, there will therefore be no question of worrying about him. Tripping over the princely ocher carpet never prevented him from being punctual at Roland-Garros. But there's no reason why the reverse shouldn't be equally true. Shine on the Rock would not prevent him from doing it later at the Porte d'Auteuil. Djoko is also a competitor and he has his pride. So he would still like to do better here. " I hope that this year I will be able to start the season better on clay and thus launch my preparation for Roland-Garros ", he admits.
THE DESIRE TO SHINE, DESPITE EVERYTHING
There is therefore no Machiavellian calculation to look for. Not voluntary either. Just a fact: Monte-Carlo is no longer successful for him. “ But every time I line up at the start of a tournament, I hope to win the title, he assures. It has always been my mentality. I have won almost everything, so I constantly have that to mind. I've done it before, I can do it again. Why don't you think I'm capable of making it here again? "
At almost 36 years old, the "Djoker" is in search of balance. An always subtle dosage with the desire for victory, everywhere, all the time, and the necessary management of one's body. The lack of rhythm has often been his worst enemy in Monte Carlo and it could be again this week, when he was again deprived of the American tour in Indian Wells and Miami.
But comparison is not necessarily right, at least for the last two years, according to him. " I'm used to not playing for long periods, he recalls. I didn't play at all in the United States last year and this year again... But it's OK, it's like that. I trained more on clay. Above all, compared to 2022 when I had not played the Australian Open, this time I have played more than enough to approach the clay season calmly. beaten ".
He is not wrong on this point. When he arrived in Monte-Carlo last year, he only had the three small matches played in Dubai under his belt. He has 16 in 2023. Psychologically, he is also in other dispositions. The painful episode of his expulsion from Australian territory had undermined his mind for a long time. Nothing like this this time. Everything is therefore in place for Djokovic, at least, to do better than in the last editions. A priori. But as everything seems more complicated here than elsewhere for him, who knows...
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