Novak Djokovic expressed his disappointment when admitting that he played poorly in his defeat to Alejandro Tabilo in the second round of Monte Carlo. However, what the Serbian tennis player needs to think about more is the decision to participate in the Masters 1000 tournament that opens the clay court season this year.

Djokovic’s tactics are backfiring

After a strong performance at the Miami Open, where Djokovic was in his best form since winning the 2024 Paris Olympics, it would have been wise to delay his clay-court return. It would have been more sensible to wait until the Madrid Open at the end of the month or the Rome Masters in early May. But with a new strategy in place for 2025, Djokovic decided to play Monte Carlo early.

Djokovic is having a hard time in the 2025 season

The clear goal is the ranking points, to help Nole return to the top 4 in the ATP rankings. This could play an important role in the journey to conquer the 25th Grand Slam title at Roland Garros, or Wimbledon in the near future.

However, Djokovic’s performance in Monte Carlo showed otherwise, he was not ready at all. The 37-year-old tennis player himself admitted that in an emotional press conference after the match.

“It was a really bad day. I was hoping it wouldn’t happen, but I expected it to be bad. But it was a terrible feeling. I’m really sorry to everyone who had to see that performance. I didn’t expect too much, I knew the opponent was tough and I wasn’t in good shape. But to be this bad… I didn’t expect it,” Djokovic said.

Djokovic also confirmed that his entire clay court season was focused on Roland Garros, a detail that clearly shows his real motivation for choosing Monte Carlo. However, the Serb now probably realizes that Monte Carlo was the wrong choice.

Last year, Djokovic admitted that he no longer had enough motivation to compete in smaller tournaments, but this year, things seem to have changed. He participated in more tournaments, including the tournament in Qatar, which was not in the initial prediction.

Djokovic’s problem now is to find a reasonable schedule, enough to accumulate the feeling of competition, but not to overload the body. If he can do that, the chance of winning a Grand Slam is still intact.

The early exit at Monte Carlo could be seen as a serious warning for Djokovic. Don’t be surprised if Nole decides to temporarily withdraw from upcoming tournaments, in order to prepare best for the campaign at Roland Garros.

Ivanisevic compares Djokovic with Nadal

Goran Ivanisevic, Djokovic’s former coach, recently gave an interview to Croatian television. He revealed the memorable experiences and challenges of working with the Serbian tennis player.

Ivanisevic accompanied Djokovic from 2019 to March 2024

In a recent conversation with his home media, Ivanisevic frankly shared: “Djokovic is a perfectionist. He likes to talk about biomechanics. I am not against that, but there are situations where it is not applicable. You cannot think about the hip or knee movement when you serve when the sun is shining directly in your eyes and you cannot see anything. You serve blindfolded. At that point, mechanics no longer make much sense.”

However, Ivanisevic did not hesitate to praise his former student: “The easiest thing about working with Djokovic is that I have never seen anyone who can take two months off and still play as if he had never left the court. His ball feel, vision, flexibility on the court, everything is as if he had practiced 5 hours a day for those two months. I have never seen anything like that. Nadal is different, he has to practice every day to regain his form.”

Ivanisevic’s tenure with Djokovic, from 2019 to early 2024, saw the Serbian win nine Grand Slams and reach four more major finals. However, since the split, Djokovic has yet to win an ATP title, apart from a gold medal at the 2024 Paris Olympics.