The goal of winning the 100th title of his legendary career is becoming a curse for Novak Djokovic, who hoped to achieve this incredible milestone at the Miami Open. The Serbian ace reached the final in Florida without losing a single set and playing flashes of excellent tennis, also favored by a surface more suited to his game than that of Indian Wells (where he had already been eliminated in the second round amid general shock).
The former world No.1 was favored against Jakub Mensik in the final last Sunday, but the young Czech star put in a truly impressive performance against his idol to make the difference in the two tiebreaks. The 24-time Grand Slam champion gave his best to avoid defeat, but had to acknowledge the superiority of his opponent who deserved to lift the first prestigious title of his career.
Nole's level in Miami was still satisfactory and can lead him to be optimistic for the rest of the season. After reaching the semifinals at the Australian Open, the 37-year-old from Belgrade had been very disappointing in both Doha and Indian Wells and many insiders had expressed their concern about his future.
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Djokovic can still hope
Djokovic will be among the protagonists of the Monte Carlo Masters 1000 next week and will also play the Mutua Madrid Open this year, confirming his desire to play more tournaments in 2025 than in recent seasons.
During an interview with 'L'Equipe', former Wimbledon champion Marion Bartoli expressed her candid opinion on Novak's future after his loss to Mensik in Miami: "Although he lost the final in Florida, I saw him motivated to compete at the highest level again. His gaze is always the same, despite everyone thinking he would relax after winning Olympic gold last summer. He absolutely wants to conquer his 25th Major title to break a new record and be alone at the top of that standing.
He will not retire until he has given his best."
