Novak Djokovic said reaching the first final of the 2025 season at the Miami Open helped the 37-year-old find an incentive to continue his quest for more titles as he tries to win his 100th ATP trophy during the clay season.
The 24x Grand Slam champion won an Olympic gold medal in the Paris Games at Roland Garros last year, but has not won a men’s tour title since his extraordinary 2023 ATP Final victory.
The bid to join Jjokovic’s Jimmy Connors (109) and Roger Federer (103) said Serbia was spurred at the level in Miami as the only three men in a professional era who claimed that over 100 ATP trophies ended with the defeat of Jakub Mensik last week.
“I’m sure it’s been more difficult throughout my career, but my performance in Miami gives me more inspiration when I play that way,” Djokovic told reporters for Monte Carlo.
“It feels good on the court when you hit the ball well and win a game. Obviously, when you start losing early, there are more questions and more inside voices, and you have doubts about whether or not you should continue.
“In Miami, we’ve seen the joy at the court and performance level, so let’s see if we can bring it to clay. It’s a different surface and I didn’t have much time to get used to this tournament, so my expectations aren’t that high.”
Djokovic is expected to return to Madrid later this month without coach Andy Murray in the ongoing Monte Carlo Masters.
“Working with Andy this week was by no means part of the agreement,” Djokovic said.
“Apart from the fitness coach and physio, I was thinking who wanted. My brother Marco was able to join me, so he helped me on a different level emotionally.”
Third seed Djokovic managed to meet Stan Wawrinka in the opening match in Monaco.