Djokovic relieved to be getting his mojo back

Novak Djokovic says changing his coaching team means he is now playing "with a new skin" ahead of the Rome Masters.

Published : May 15, 2017 22:18 IST

Former World No. 1 Novak Djokovic says he is beginning to "get that mojo back" after a tumultuous first half of the season.

Djokovic has won just one title so far in 2017 - in Doha - having endured a slump in form that has connected the tail-end of the previous campaign with the current one.

Having lost his number-one ranking to Andy Murray, Djokovic has also lost his titles at the Australian Open, Indian Wells, Miami and Madrid - where he reached the semi-finals before defeat to Rafael Nadal.

As the Spanish 'King of Clay' continues to pick up momentum on the dirt courts, Djokovic's French Open title could also come under threat.

However, having recently parted ways with the coaching team that had helped him through a glittering decade of dominance, the Serbian feels refreshed.

"If I could describe my tennis in one word, I feel like I'm in transition," Djokovic told the ATP's official website. 

"From the beginning of my career, I have been very fortunate to experience only an upwards direction in my success and results. 

"I have been playing at a high level and with consistent results for many years. 

"After winning Roland Garros, I didn't know how I was going to feel. I never had that issue after winning a big trophy, of bouncing back and finding new ways to motivate and inspire myself... to keep playing at that level and stay emotionally recharged. 

"But last year I found some emptiness for the first time in my life in terms of motivation. 

"I needed a few months to think about things and get that mojo back on the court."

The Rome Masters provides Djokovic his latest chance to win a Masters 1000 title for the seventh straight season.

"We'll see whether this week is going to give me that springboard into where I want to be in the next six months," Djokovic continued. 

"Or if it's going to take a little longer, I don't know. What I know for sure is that I'm doing my very best to rediscover myself in a new way and get the new strength and the new skin, so to speak."

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