By Tennis Now | Wednesday, December 27, 2017
"I would not be honest, not to you, to myself, if I tell you anything less than being No. 1 and winning Slams,” Novak Djokovic said of his comeback goals.
Photo credit: Qatar Tennis Federation
Novak Djokovic returns to tennis this week armed with a new coaching team and ambitious aims.
The 30-year-old Djokovic, who been sidelined nearly six months recovering from an elbow injury, will launch his return on Friday at the Mubadala World Tennis Championship in Abu Dhabi against either Roberto Bautista Agut or Andrey Rublev.
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It will be Djokovic’s first match since he retired from the Wimbledon quarterfinals against Tomas Berdych.
The former world No. 1 is enthused by his return and told Reem Abulleil of Sport360.com he’s aspiring to win Grand Slam titles and regain the top spot.
“I would lie to you and I would not be honest, not to you, to myself, if I tell you anything less than being No. 1 and winning Slams,” Djokovic told Sport360.com. “I know that I’ve done it in the past, I’ve proven to myself that I can do it and why not aim for it again? Because I feel that, first of all, I have the willpower. Which is the most important thing. You need to really want something, you need to wish for it, you need really strongly believe and commit to that. So I am.
“And not just myself, which is very important, my family, my wife, my children are there, my parents, my brothers, and my team, are very supportive of me and they’re giving me that energy that I need. For these circumstances now that I am in, I’m trying to balance these goals, at the same time be a bit more understanding of what’s going on here (elbow) and say just take your time. Even if it doesn’t happen next season or whatever, take your time. But once I’m there, I’ve got to be honest, I don’t satisfy myself with anything less than that.”
The 12th-ranked Serbian spent recent weeks in Monte Carlo practicing with recently-retired Radek Stepanek, who joined Andre Agassi on Djokovic’s coaching team and is striving to play more efficient tennis in 2018.
“We’re starting to spend more and more time with each other and I still look forward to get to know him even better,” Djokovic said. “I was very happy with how our couple of weeks of training went in Monaco. Andre Agassi was there as well and it was the perfect week because everybody was together, the whole new team, and we obviously put objectives, daily objectives, long-term objectives, between us, and on paper, and discussing how we can improve my game and how I can play as efficiently as possible, with less energy spending as possible.
“And obviously Radek is one of the oldest players to play actively on the tour and there’s definitely a lot of great insights there from him on how you can keep your mind and body sharp and keep that longevity and also Andre’s incredible, smart and wise approach to tennis and to life in general helps me get different perspectives of who I am and what I do and just tennis in general.
"But I think what impressed me the most with Andre is how he’s able to break down very complex conversations into very specific, precise information that sticks with you and that is the exact direction that you need in order to actually accomplish what you want. So that’s a part of him that is so impressive and both Radek and I are learning a lot from Andre.”
The 12-time Grand Slam champion pulled the plug on his season in July in order to heal from the elbow injury that pained him for nearly 18 months. Djokovic’s streak of 51 consecutive Grand Slam appearances—the seventh-longest streak overall—ended when he missed the US Open.
Djokovic went about four months without swinging a racquet and said in retrospect the injury issue helped him reassess his goals.
Seeing 36-year-old Roger Federer win two Grand Slam titles and 31-year-old Rafael Nadal claim two major crowns and regain the world No. 1 ranking nine years after he first ascended to the top inspires Djokovic to believe he can play into his late 30s.
“Yes I do, even older than that actually," Djokovic told Sport360.com. "I don’t want to put any limit to my career or to anything that I do, really. The limits only exist in the mind and if you set yourself a limit, or say ‘hey, it was a standard before so we have to accept the standard that once you reach that magical number 30 in tennis you’re not anymore at your peak’. Who says that? Jimmy Connors played when he was 40 semis of US Open, Roger is where he is winning Slams at his age. Who says that?
“I truly believe that we are the creators of our own destiny and our own paths and what we really want. What do you really want? That’s always a question: what do I really want and how much do I want it? Because for now I am very happy and very grateful to be able to have a family and play the sport that I love with all my heart today, as I did when I was four, when I started, and of course it’s essential to have the support of your close ones."