(March 9, 2024) INDIAN WELLS TENNIS GARDEN – No. 1 Novak Djokovic won his first match at the BNP Paribas Open after a five-year absence. The Serbian, the all-time leader in majors beat Aleksandar Vukic of Australia 6-2, 5-7, 6-3
“It feels great obviously to come back with the win,” Djokovic said to media. “It’s been five years, and, you know, the great feeling is still there. Enjoyed myself very much. Beautiful stadium. Great atmosphere.
“Obviously I was a bit, you know, nervous at the beginning, you know, whether I’m going to start off well. Haven’t played a match in more than five weeks. I thought the start was good. Obviously 6-2. Then, you know, I think he upped his game.
“I probably, yeah, lost a little bit of the momentum. We got into the third set, I thought the level of the tennis was pretty good in the third. Great points. He made me, you know, produce some really important points in games in order to prevail in this match.
“You know, I’m glad that I was pushed, as well, which is important. It’s always great. You know, looking forward to the next one.”
Djokovic talked about the importance of having of a challenging match in the opening match.
“Well, it was very important. Obviously at one point I was, you know, a bit worried because I lost a set, and then in beginning of third it was kind of going toe to toe.
“But I thought, you know, the chances will come, you know, as I, you know, stay in the match and try to raise the level of tennis.
“I have to, you know, give him credit because he stepped it up. He served well, ripping forehands towards the end of the second, beginning of the third, and was just deservedly still in the match.
“Could I have done some things better? Yeah, of course I could. But, you know, hopefully the rust is a bit, you know, off or at least a bit less rust that I’m feeling for the next match, and the continuation of this tournament.”
The five-time Indian Wells champion joined Rafael Nadal as the only players to win 400 matches in ATP Masters 1000 series events.
Djokovic is trying to win his sixth title here to become the record holder for the tournament.
“Obviously still a long way to get to the title match, but it’s a good start.
“I know I can always produce better tennis. Obviously very self-critical, and I think some extent it’s also important because then it puts you in the right mindset of wanting to work more and being engaged in the process of improving on a daily basis, or trying to perfect your game and right the wrongs that you’ve done in a previous match or previous practice session.
“So that’s what I’m going to keep doing and hopefully building my game as this tournament is played over 10 to 14 days, so it allows you to have the practice days also between matches, which then, you know, of course allows you to work on certain specifics in the game. I think as the tournament progresses, I believe my game will get better as well, I will feel more confident about myself and my chances to go far in the tournament.
“I have to take it step by step.”
Next match for Djokovic, he’ll face Lucky Loser Luca Nardi in the third round
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