Novak Djokovic did not expect to get such a disappointing result at the Indian Wells Masters 1000, a tournament not too congenial to his game but in which he triumphed five times during his career.
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Although the Serbian ace had never particularly shone in California in recent years, there was nothing to suggest that he could be eliminated as early as the second round by making 37 unforced errors against Botic van de Zandschulp.
The 'Stadium 1' was very different from the secondary courts and Nole complained a lot because of this huge difference, but it is clear that it cannot be enough to justify one of the worst performances of his career.
Corretja understands Nole
The former world No.1 had practiced well alongside Andy Murray in the days leading up to his debut at'The Tennis Paradise', but his feelings changed a lot when he played his first official match.
Before the Serbian's debut at the Miami Open, former world number 2 Alex Corretja revealed that he had experienced a similar moment to Novak's in the last part of his career: "I must confess that it happened to me too. I had the feeling that I was practicing well and that my level was quite high, but I couldn't find those feelings in official matches.
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The positive thing is that Djokovic is much better than me and has more chances to solve this situation. This mechanism is the same for everyone: you lose a bit of speed in your movements, you don't hit the ball with the same force, you start to have doubts and your opponents take advantage of it.
Rivals play against you with the knowledge that they can beat you, but before they knew it was mission impossible."
Nole's first opponent in Miami will be Australian ace Rinky Hijikata, already defeated by the former world number 1 in Brisbane at the beginning of the year.
The Serbian legend is back from three defeats in a row and absolutely needs to win a few matches in order not to lose further certainties.
