Novak Djokovic is a global man. The Serb, without going any further, has a palace in Marbella, where he spends a good part of the year, but his empire goes much further than that. He also has homes in Miami, New York or Monte Carlowhere he established his base of operations for about ten years, before buying his home in Spain, in 2021. Today, in front of Russia’s Ivan Zhakhov (around 3:00 p.m.), who is 186th in the standings and comes from the previous, Noll will make his debut. 1,000 professors from the Monegasque Districtwhich he still considers his home. “It’s a club (Monte Carlo Country Club) that I know very well. Many of the best players in the world are based in Monaco and use this club for training. It changes a lot during the weeks of the tournament, But sleeping in your own bed feels great. “I feel like I’m playing at home,” he said during the pre-tournament press conference.
“Sleeping in your bed feels great, feels like playing at home”
Without Rafa Nadal, in the final stretch of his recovery after being injured at the Australian Open, or Carlos Alcaraz, with an upset after the Masters 1000 in Miami, Djokovic would be the absolute leader. Monte Carlo was expected to be the trident meeting point, but the multiple appointment will have to wait. In the absence of the El Palmar prodigy, Stefanos Tsitsipas is the second seed and, therefore, a possible opponent for Nole in a virtual final. Even she, a Serbian, if she debuted, could cross, by arrangement, with the Italians Lorenzo Musetti (21st place) and Janik Siner (9th place), already in the quarter-finals, and Russia’s Daniil Medvedev (4th) in the semi-finals. The Navy without its leaders and after yesterday’s elimination of Albert Ramos and Bernabé Zapata, Represented by Roberto Bautista (beat Filip Krajinovic yesterday), Jomi Munnar (today playing around 1:00pm against Andrey Rublev) and Alejandro Davidovich (today noon, around 1:00pm against Karen Khachanov)the current runner-up in the tournament after losing the most important final in his career last year, to Tsitsipas.
All three progress through the bottom of the draw and, therefore, cannot meet until the perfect final with Djokovic, who has accumulated desire. The current number one in the world, who can significantly increase his winning margin compared to Alcaraz (now separated by 380 points), has not played since March 3, when he fell in the semi-finals of the ATP tournament in Dubai, against Medvedev. However, in recent weeks, after missing Indian Wells and Miami due to his refusal to be vaccinated against the Corona virus (the United States did not allow him to enter), he has stepped on a lot of mud. “I trained more on clay, which is positive if you think about the upcoming part of the season,” he added to the press. He arrived in Monte Carlo over a week ago and hasn’t stopped since: events for Sinner kids, training sessions to make peace between Holger Rune and Stan Wawrinka Or even a basketball match in Monaco, where his boss, Alexei Fedorichev, had a very friendly conversation.
Only two addresses
Djokovic set foot in Monte Carlo for the first time at the age of seventeen, to compete in the previous tournament. Gradually, he started spending more time because one of his former coaches, Riccardo Biatti, lived there. “The atmosphere is incredible, it’s an intimate little club. Loud and cool. People are very excited to see tennis and it’s a tournament that has been successful throughout the history of our sport,” he says now of the Masters 1000, which pleases him most, but is not very present in his performances. He has won it only twice, in 2013 and 2015. The first time he beat Nadal in the final, breaking the historic streak of 46 consecutive victories for the Spaniard at the tournament.; In the second, he had just won Indian Wells and Miami. Without his opponent or Alcaraz alone, he has a golden chance to succeed again in “home”.
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