World number one Novak Djokovic has admitted that he will not be at his best in this month's Monte-Carlo Masters.
The 20-time Grand Slam champion is making his return to the ATP Tour in the Masters 1000 event after being forced to miss the Indian Wells Masters and Miami Open last month.
Djokovic's most recent tournament and only 2022 appearance to date saw him reach the quarter-finals of the Dubai Tennis Championships in February, and the Serbian expects to take some time to "get in the groove".
"I still feel motivated to be on the Tour and compete with young guys and try to challenge the best players in the world for the biggest titles. I'm very pleased to be here and Monaco has been home for over 10 years," Djokovic told a press conference.
"I understand that I probably won't be at my best at the beginning of this week. I am still testing my engine, so to say, and building my game, so it will take obviously some time, some matches to really get in the groove and find the competitive play that I really need.
"I have been eagerly waiting for the moment when I will be out competing again, so this is the best place where I could possibly start. Clay court is the surface on which I grew up in Serbia and played many years only on that surface actually.
"Historically it hasn't been my most successful surface, but I have had some big success on clay. [The] Roland Garros win last year is still fresh in my memory, so I try to use that as an inspiration to kick-start the clay-court season [in the] best possible way."
Djokovic will take on Spain's Alejandro Davidovich Fokina in Tuesday's second-round match and has won the tournament on two occasions in 2013 and 2015, but he was eliminated by Dan Evans in the third round last year.
Ben Knapton
