Djokovic ‘always looking for the right rhythm’ after a slow start to clay-court season

Novak Djokovic has played only a handful of clay-court matches this year, having lost in the second round in Monte-Carlo and Banja Luka before withdrawing from the Madrid Open with a recurring elbow injury.

Now in Rome, the Serb only has the Italian Open to play himself into some form and fitness ahead of Roland-Garros. But so far, so good for Djokovic in the Italian capital, winning his opening match against Tomas Martin Etcheverry.

However, it was not quite the clinical show of dominance that observers may have come to expect from the Serb in the opening round of a tournament. Etcheverry put in a fine display of shotmaking ability to trouble the 22-time Grand Slam champion throughout the first set.

Djokovic required the help of a difficult tiebreak to get him over the line in that opening set, but was then able to settle into the match, taking the second set much more comfortably.

A six-time champion in Rome, Djokovic admitted that he did not start the match in the way he had hoped.

“I started slowly. It’s a bit like the summary of my season on clay. I have really slow starts. But I think I played a good second set and finished the match really well. I’m happy with how I fought in the first set. It lasted 1h15, there were very long exchanges. It was good quality tennis. I am happy with the victory. I haven’t had many matches or wins on this surface, I’m always looking for the right rhythm.”

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The current world No 1 had some fans concerned after he had his right arm back in the protective sleeve he had worn during Monte-Carlo and Banja Luka to protect his elbow.

But Djokovic reassured reporters that this was more to do with the cold conditions than anything else.

“It was really cold. 17, 18 degrees. Sometimes it can affect how I feel with my elbow. I just wanted to put this sleeve on to feel it getting warmer. I think it’s more comfortable for me.”

Djokovic will take on Grigor Dimitrov in the next round, a player the Serb has beaten ten out of 11 times – although the one defeat to Dimitrov did come on clay in Madrid.