World No. 1 Novak Djokovic confirmed his ankle is feeling better by the day, and is hopeful that he will be able to take to the court for his first match on Wednesday at the Monte-Carlo Rolex Masters.
The 25-year-old Serb, a Monaco resident, twisted his ankle last weekend on Davis Cup duty, and is battling to be fit in time to compete at the Monte-Carlo Country Club. He reached the final of this ATP World Tour Masters 1000 clay-court tournament last year, falling to Rafael Nadal.
Im feeling better and better every day, said Djokovic. Im always inspired to play my best in this tournament, because I live in Monaco and I spend the majority of my time, when Im not at tournaments, here at this club, practising on these courts. I have a lot of friends, people who come to support me during the event. Thats extra motivation and inspiration for me to try to be fit and ready to go.
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Ive been practising for the past few days on the court and before that I was working on the rehabilitation, strengthening my ankle, and were still in the process. Things are looking good. Its better than I expected it to be. I still cant 100 per cent guarantee that I will be on the court on Wednesday, because I have to be realistic and cautious and see in practice in the next few days, if I push myself to the limit, if Im going to have any big problems. It will give me an indication if I should or should not play.
Its a very strong tournament and I think there is no room for any compromise, especially not for me. To compete at a high level, I need to be 100 per cent fit. So Ill be putting on a lot of tape and doing everything I can in order to play. I know theres a lot of people who expect me to be there. I want to be there more than anybody. I consider this place very special to me. Myself and my team will do everything in our power.
Djokovic confirmed he will decide by Tuesday at the latest if he will be fit to play his opening match against either Mikhail Youzhny or Daniel Gimeno-Traver.
I have the understanding of the Tournament Director and the tournament organisers, which is important to me, said the Belgrade native. Im more optimistic than I was at the beginning of the week, thats for sure. Im on court. This is the third day in the row that Im practising. My practices havent been 100 per cent effort, but Ive been increasing it day-by-day. The state of my ankle is more positive than I expected it to be.
