PARIS – Despite all of Novak Djokovic’s tennis success over the years – the 12 major championships, the career Grand Slam, the time spent ranked No. 1 in the world – he still finds himself searching for self-confidence these days.
That’s what an elbow injury and forced absence from the ATP World Tour can do to a player.
Djokovic was reflective and revealing Wednesday after moving into the third round at the French Open by virtue of a self-described up-and-down performance in a 7-6 (1), 6-4, 6-4 victory over 155th-ranked Jaume Antoni Munar Clar. Both of Djokovic’s matches so far have been against qualifiers; neither win was particularly impressive.
Serbia’s Novak Djokovic serves against Spain’s Jaume Munar during their second round match of the French Open tennis tournament at the Roland Garros stadium in Paris, France, Wednesday, May 30, 2018. (AP Photo/Christophe Ena)“At the moment, I’m not playing at the level I wish to, but at the same time, I understand that it is the process that obviously takes time,” said Djokovic, whose seeding of No. 20 is his lowest at a major tournament in 12 years. “And I’m trying to not give up.”
At least he got through in straight sets, saving energy for whatever might come next at Roland Garros. Other leading men were forced to work a lot harder in matches they would have been expected to breeze through: No. 2-seeded Alexander Zverev, No. 4 Grigor Dimitrov and No. 19 Kei Nishikori all faced two-sets-to-one deficits before emerging to win Wednesday.