World No.5 Novak Djokovic has confessed he is not expecting too much of himself at the forthcoming Monte-Carlo Masters due to lingering problems after an eye infection and a recent viral illness. The Serb, who is 37 years old and was a runner-up at the Miami Open last week, said the infection had started during his semi-final in Florida and had worsened during the final, where he was beaten in straight sets by the twenty-seven teenager Jakub Mensik from the Czech Republic.
Djokovic, a two-time Monte Carlo champion, has not won a trophy since securing Olympic gold in Paris last summer. Speaking to reporters before the start of his clay-court campaign, though, he said his focus was less on achieving results early on and more on finding match fitness.
“I am not keeping my hopes too high here. I didn’t have a lot of time to get used to clay,” Djokovic said. “I want to work on form and peak for Paris.
The French Open, which runs from May 25 to June 8 at Roland Garros, is still the main target for Djokovic in this clay season.
He has a first-round bye and will begin his Monte Carlo campaign against either Alejandro Tabilo of Chile or the veteran Stan Wawrinka. “If we meet on the court, it would be a nice duel of veterans,” Djokovic said, smiling.
