Djokovic Reflects on His Lost Final in Miami: "It Was a Bitter Defeat, but I Played a Very High-Quality Match"

A week after losing in the final of the Miami Masters 1000 to Jakub Mensik, Novak Djokovic appeared at a press conference in Monte-Carlo this Sunday, ready to kick off a new clay-court season.

Despite last week's setback, the Serb remained positive and confident about his level of play:

"We talked about Miami. It was a bitter defeat, but I played a very high-quality match. I served well and played very well. A bit unlucky at the end, in the two tie-breaks, but he was better. I have a lot of positive takeaways from how I played in Miami. [...]

I’m thrilled to have rediscovered some joy on the court in Miami and to have reached a certain level of performance.

We’ll see if I can carry that momentum onto the clay. It’s a different surface, and I haven’t had much time to prepare for this tournament, so my expectations aren’t very high."

Djokovic also commented on the continuation of his collaboration with Andy Murray, who is expected to reappear in his box in Madrid:

"It wasn’t planned for Andy to be here this week. My brother Marko is with me this week, along with the other members of my team. His presence will help me emotionally."