Washington March 24 (IANS) Former World No. 1 Novak Djokovic tried to sound an optimistic note after suffering a shock 3-6 4-6 defeat to France s Benoit Paire in the second round of the Miami Open tennis tournament.
"I wouldn t go out on the court if I didn t believe I can win a tennis match. I wouldn t be here if I wasn t trying " said a disappointed Djokovic after the match on Friday reports Xinhua news agency.
"I love this sport. There s a lot of people that support me especially here. I thank them for their great support. Unfortunately I m not at the level they would like to see me at and I would like to see myself at. But it is what it is.
"Life goes on " he added.
Djokovic only battled for one hour before losing the match in straight sets dropping serve four times and striking some poor groundstrokes at baseline.
Djokovic has seemingly always found a way to play great tennis but since suffering an elbow injury that kept the Serbian out for the final six months of last season the 30-year-old has struggled to find that great tennis this season.
"I mean I m trying but it s not working. I m not feeling great when I m playing this way. I want to be able to play as well as I want to play. Just it s impossible at the moment.
"The circumstances that I was in the last two years were very challenging. But I m not the only one that goes through that. There are tougher injuries that players go through. I don t want to sit here and whine about my last couple of years " said Djokovic who suffered his third consecutive loss.
"I m just in general trying everything I can. It is what it is. I m not at the level that I used to be " Djokovic added.
"I m aware of that. I just have to obviously believe in myself and hopefully it will come."
--IANS
ajb/vm
