Novak Djokovic has revealed what is crucial to his desire to continue competing after marking his return to the Miami Open with a victory.
The former world No 1 ended a three-match losing streak with his 6-0, 7-6(1) win over 24-year-old Australian Rinky Hijikata in the second round in Miami.
Djokovic‘s triumph against the world No 86 at the Hard Rock Stadium was his first match at the Miami Open since 2019.
The 37-year-old has won six titles at the Masters 1000 tournament in Florida — a record he shares with Andre Agassi. He secured his most recent Miami crown in 2016.
The Serbian made an impressive run at the Australian Open in January, defeating Tomas Machac, Jiri Lehecka and Carlos Alcaraz before injury cut short his semi-final showdown with Alexander Zverev.
Prior to Miami, Djokovic struggled at his two tournaments following the year’s first major as he lost to Matteo Berrettini in Doha and Botic van de Zandschulp in Indian Wells — both in his opening matches.
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After his strong display against Hijikata, Djokovic was asked if desire and health were the two most important things for him at this stage of his career during an interview with Tennis Channel’s Prakash Amritraj.
“If we have to boil it down to two things, yes, staying healthy definitely, which I’ve done pretty well for most of my career, but obviously, body is not the same like it was 15 years ago, so I have to put in more time in taking care of it,” the world No 5 explained.
“But also, yeah, taking care of my psychological state and trying to get up in the morning and feel motivated to keep going and push.
“And obviously, If I’m feeling and playing the way I did today, it’s pleasure and I have joy, I find joy on the court regardless of where I am. And then I want to keep going for as long as I have that feeling.
“Obviously it’s not going to be there every match, but as long as I have that feeling of being able to compete with the guys at the highest level, I’ll keep going. You know what I mean? So the desire is there, the support of the closest people in my life is there. Let’s see how far I can go.”
The 24-time Grand Slam champion will face lucky loser and world No 65 Camilo Ugo Carabelli in the third round in Miami.
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