Following five-year absence, Novak Djokovic talks about his motivations at Indian Wells
Novak Djokovic has not played at the BNP Paribas Open in five years, and on Thursday the Serbian tennis star offered a glimpse into his motivations this year in Indian Wells.
“I was very excited to come back,” Djokovic told reporters. “It’s been five years. Time flies incredibly fast.”
Djokovic, who has previously won this event five times and holds a 50-9 record at Indian Wells, last played here in 2019. That year he was upset in the Round of 32 by German Philipp Kohlschreiber in straight sets.
Then the COVID-19 pandemic hit, and the tournament was canceled in 2020. Djokovic opted not to play at Indian Wells in 2021, with the tournament postponed until October, and a United States mandate for unvaccinated foreigners kept Djokovic from entering the country for the 2022 and 2023 events.
But the attention that has been brought to his return, at what Djokovic refers to as one of his favorite tournaments, could be fuel for the 24-time Grand Slam champion.
“I wasn’t able to enter the States for several years,” Djokovic said, “but I was patient. I knew that the day would come, and here we are. So, I’m very happy to be here.”
In the draw, Djokovic will look to outlast returning Indian Wells champion Carlos Alcaraz of Spain, who is ranked second in the world, and Jannik Sinner of Italy, who is ranked third, is carrying the momentum of winning the 2024 Australian Open.
Sinner, who has beaten Djokovic three of the last four times they’ve played, including the last two, in the Davis Cup Finals in November and the Australian Open earlier this year, has not lost this season (12-0).
Djokovic, 36, has won the Australian Open a record 10 times, and enters Indian Wells without the springboard that winning in Melbourne typically provides. Djokovic has not played on the tour since losing to Sinner there and said Thursday that not having that “wind in the sails” to start the season changes the start of the year for him.
“The last 15 years I’ve been one of the top candidates to win every Slam I’ve played in,” Djokovic said. “If that doesn’t happen, people start to question whether you can do it again and again and the more time that passes by of course that question becomes even more of a focus.”
Djokovic said that he entered this year’s Australian Open without the proper amount of time to rest at the end of last season. Now that he’s had that over the last six weeks, he should be well-rested and surely motivated to jumpstart his season at a big tournament that provides the opportunity to do just that.
“Let’s hope I can have a good tournament. Obviously, I haven’t played an official match since the Australian Open semifinals. I’ve been practicing well. I arrived in LA early, spent some time with family and ready to get into competition,” he said. His first match will be on Saturday against Austrian Aleksandar Vukic.
Andrew John covers the BNP Paribas Open for The Desert Sun and the USA TODAY Network. Email him at andrew.john@desertsun.com.
This article originally appeared on Palm Springs Desert Sun: At Indian Wells, Novak Djokovic is motivated and ready to play
