Djokovic content with grass-court preparations
Astro Arena
June 26, 2015 09:03 MYT
June 26, 2015 09:03 MYT
Defending Wimbledon champion Novak Djokovic said he has full confidence in his Wimbledon preparations, as he prepares for the only grass-court tour tournament he has played at since 2010.
The world number one did not play an ATP World Tour lead-up event to the major at the All England Club in 2011, but he did win his first Wimbledon title - and he has followed suit for the following four years by going straight from the French Open to London.
Djokovic, however, has appeared at the exhibition event, The Boodles, in recent times, an event he hopes can propel him to defend his 2014 win at SW19.
"Am I worried for that? No," Djokovic replied, when asked about his lack of competitive grass-court preparation.
"I mentioned before that I've had this particular situation before when I don't play any lead-up tournament so I try to get a couple of matches here at Boodles and then getting on the Wimbledon courts, obviously it's quite different than clay or French Open.
"After three months of the slowest surface in sport, it's the fastest surface in sport.
"The movement is completely different, the way you adjust your steps, your game, so it does take time to get used to it but I believe that I'll be fine."
Djokovic conceded his main title rivals of Andy Murray, Roger Federer and Rafael Nadal would all be threats due to their more conventional preparations.
"The likes of Murray, Federer, Nadal, those three guys are always up there," Djokovic said.
"Murray and Roger won Halle and Queen's, Rafa won Stuttgart so all three of them won a grass-court tournament this season and they are in good form.
"[Stan] Wawrinka, Roland Garros winner, of course [he is a chance]. And [Tomas] Berdych, [Jo-Wilfried] Tsonga, loves playing on grass.
"It's a large group of players that are able to go all the way so we can't predict anything, let's see what's going to happen."
Djokovic said coach Boris Becker's affiliation with the Wimbledon grass had improved his own game on the surface, and said the presence of a three-time champion in his camp was a boost.
"He loves the grass, and each year, last year I remember the first practice it felt so good for both of us," the Serbian said.
"You could see the sparkle in his eye when he's on grass courts. It's like no other tournament or surface, he just loves it.
"So he does contribute to my game on any surface or tournament, but especially on the grass.
"He tends to make me come to the net, we talk about the variety, slice, serve and volley sometimes, being aggressive, the movement, all these things."