Serbia’s top-ranked tennis player and world no.2 Novak Djokovic said at the press conference in Belgrade on Friday that he was pleased with the progress of recovering from a right wrist injury and that he would almost certainly play at the upcoming Masters 1000 tournament in Rome.
“I completed a session of stepped-up training today after sparing my arm for the past five or six days. I am pleased, everything went without pain,” Nole said. “I am 95 percent certain that I will play in Rome.”
He said he felt sorry he had to miss the Madrid tournament, and that his medical team had advised him to skip the event and prepare for Rome, Roland Garros and Wimbledon.
Speaking about Roland Garros – the only Grand Slam event he hasn’t won in his career – Djokovic said: “I will do all that I can to win that title. There is no doubt that Nadal is the absolute favourite, regardless of the defeats in Monte Carlo and Barcelona. There are also Federer and Wawrinka. Stan has matured mentally after winning the Australian Open and joined the ‘big four’. Murray is there, too, so it will depend on many factors.”
Novak said that the battle to regain the world no.1 position is high on the list of his priorities, and that Boris Becker and Marian Vajda will be with him in Rome and Paris.
“Both of them will be with me at Roland Garros, and Rome will be the best final test for us to see how it works altogether. Becker is the head coach, but the significance of Vajda’s role is a known fact and I hope that the collaboration will be successful,” Djokovic concluded.
