Novak Djokovic is not putting too much stock in his semifinal loss to Roberto Bautista Agut at the Qatar Total Open on Friday. The World No.1 had his chances to win in uncomplicated fashion, but couldn’t hold a break lead late in the second set and ended up paying for it against a very inspired opponent.
"I thought I was pretty much in control of the match, set and a break, serving 4-3," Djokovic said, according to AFP. "He played a good game. I missed some easy balls and that's what you get as a result of losing the focus in the most important moments and it happens, it happens."
Djokovic ended up falling in three sets, ending a busy week that saw him play three three-setters in singles as well as three match tiebreakers on the doubles court. It was an extremely heavy workload for the first week of the season.
"I wasn't the freshest, you know,” Djokovic said when reflecting on his performance.
Still the Serb is happy with what he got in Doha. He wasn’t able to claim his third title at the event but he played over ten hours in singles and doubles combined—more than enough to consider himself match tough for the Australian Open, which begins in just over a week in Melbourne.
"This is what I was looking forward to, to get from this tournament, as many matches as possible, to get ready for the Australian Open, so I'm very pleased,” Djokovic said. "Obviously, I'm not pleased that I lost the match today, but I lost to a better player in the end."
Djokovic leaves Doha without a title, but he’s sanguine about his chances in Melbourne, and perhaps even a little more determined to win it now without the satisfaction of a trophy lift this week.
When asked what his goal was for Melbourne, he made it clear that nothing has changed in his mind.
“A trophy,” he said.