Djokovic keeping his Monte Carlo expectations in check

MONTE CARLO — Novak Djokovic admitted on Saturday that he is not expecting too much from his clay-court game heading into the start of the Monte Carlo Masters.

The world No 1, who exited early on the hard courts of Indian Wells last month and did not play in Miami, had a training session at the Monte Carlo Country Club venue with stand-in coach Nenad Zimonjic.

But the 24-time Grand Slam titleholder was quick to emphasize that the arrangement is so far strictly temporary following his recent split with longtime mentor Goran Ivanisevic.

Djokovic said that building his clay game for Roland Garros is his main priority and that any result here will be "a bonus".

"The expectations are not very high," the 36-year-old said. "My results here in previous years (titles in 2013 and 2015) are not great.

"It's all about building my game for clay courts. I want to reach my peak for Paris — that's where I want to play my best tennis.

"Anything else is a bonus, so let's see what happens."

The Serbian shed slightly more light on his surprise split from 2001 Wimbledon winner Ivanisevic after winning 12 Grand Slam singles titles with the Croatian heading his team.

"We felt we gave each other the maximum, it was time to move on — it's pretty simple," Djokovic said.

"Goran remains one of the most successful coaches in the history of the game.

"We've done something that cannot be deleted, the results speak for themselves.

"He also remains a dear friend of me and my family."

Djokovic said that he will work to prepare for the Olympic tournament to be staged in late July in Paris at Roland Garros.

"But there is this little tournament called Wimbledon which comes in between (the French Open and the Games)," he said.

"The Paris Olympics are very important, the Olympics have always been a priority for me.

"But in the last three or four Olympics, it's not been possible for me to reach the later stages.

"The situation is a bit different now, we are playing our first Olympics on clay. I want to be ready physically and mentally."

Rafa missed

Djokovic and Carlos Alcaraz said they will be feeling the absence of clay king Rafael Nadal in Monte Carlo.

The 37-year-old Spaniard was forced to withdraw from the traditional start of the European clay season as his long injury drama continues.

Nadal owns a record 11 trophies in the principality, with a 73-6 tournament record, including a 46-match winning streak from 2005 to 2013. He has competed in the main draw 17 times.

"It has always been important for our sport to have him on the court," Djokovic said on Saturday.

"This year could have been his last chance, his last Roland Garros, his last season.

"It's been bad to see him have to forfeit all the tournaments (except for Brisbane in the first week of January) from the start of the year."

Spanish 20-year-old Alcaraz, now ranked third after being displaced by Australian Open winner Jannik Sinner, was equally disappointed not to have a chance to face his longtime idol.

"If he's not here, it doesn't change a lot for me," Alcaraz said. "I'm not used to seeing him around much.

"We have not played (in the same) tournaments (at the same time). I've only played a few where he is around.

"As a fan of tennis, it's a shame that he is not here playing in this event."

The youngster still dreams of teaming up with Nadal in the men's doubles tournament at this summer's Paris Olympics.

"I still hope to play with him. The Olympics are four months from now and everything can change," Alcaraz said.

"Nadal would be great for me."

AFP