Novak Djokovic admits he is “trying to enjoy himself” a bit more off-court during the final few years of his career, but that won’t stop him from being a “fierce competitor” who wants to “win every single match, every single tournament”.
The tennis great made a triumphant return to the Indian Wells Open on Saturday as he defeated Aleksandar Vukic in his first match at the ATP Masters 1000 event in five years.
But while Djokovic was as fierce as ever during his 6-2, 5-7, 6-3 victory over the Australian – his first match since he lost in the semi-final of the Australian Open – the lead-up to the tournament has been different as he has adopted a more relaxed approach.
Instead of playing in warm-up events in the Middle East or South America before the Sunshine Double, the 24-time Grand Slam winner arrived in the United States earlier than usual and he opted to take part in several high-profile excursions.
He watched Lionel Messi’s Inter Miami against LA Galaxy in the MLS, caught up with his fellow Serbian and Denver Nuggets star Nikola Jokic during an NBA match against LA Lakers, trained with a college player at UCLA and also took part in a celebrity fundraising match, among other things.
WATCH: Serbian icons embrace, Novak Djokovic and Nikola Jokic show mutual respect
Following his win over Vukic, Djokovic was asked by the Tennis Channel about being in such a good space in his life – on and off the court and he gave a very thoughtful answer as he admits tweaking his playing calendar has played a big role.
“I try to balance things out, meaning there is a part of me that is a fierce competitor that wants to win every single match, every single tournament and I have to do my chores, respect the routine, be disciplined and I still have that drive,” he said.
“But at the same time I am also trying to enjoy myself a bit more, pay attention to off-court activities, people and [do] things I haven’t had a chance to do in almost 20 years so I am kind of more picky and more selective with the tournaments where I am playing and competing.
“[That] gives me a bit more time to work around my off-court schedule and watch [the LA] Lakers or [Nikola] Jokic, spend some quality with my family around LA.
“Those are pros of not playing the lead-up tournaments to Indian Wells, it gives you a bit more time, which is lovely. I am still trying to find the balance because I have been kind of robotic about things for the last almost 20 years and I’m just trying to enjoy myself.”
