Novak Djokovic’s third Miami Masters title on Sunday has the world No.1 in a confident mood as he moves onto clay and his quest for the one grand slam title he’s yet to win.
“This is going to be very encouraging for me prior to the clay court season,” said Djokovic after beating Andy Murray 6-1 7-6 (7-4) in the final at Key Biscayne.
The world No.1 didn’t drop a set on the hardcourts in Miami, closing out his quarter-final, semi-final and final opponents with second-set tiebreakers to preserve that record.
Djokovic will open his clay season at the Monte Carlo Masters, gearing up his bid for a first French Open title in Paris where, if successful, he will hold all four major titles at once.
“I didn’t play Monte Carlo last year,” said Djokovic, who won Masters titles on clay at Madrid and Rome last year but fell in the semi-finals at the French Open.
“I look forward to it. I want to start well. I want to start strong.
“Clay demands the most physical effort out of all surfaces. You have to be physically very fit. Your endurance has to be on a very high level, because all the long rallies that you play on hard courts, it’s double that on clay.”
While Djokovic hasn’t matched the astonishing 43-match winning run he put together in the first half of 2011, he did maintain his grand slam winning streak by triumphing at the Australian Open.
He reached the semi-finals at Dubai and at Indian Wells before lifting the trophy in Miami – encouraging signs in a 2012 campaign in which he is also focused on retaining his Wimbledon crown and on the London Olympics.
“I think I’m playing equally well as I did 12 months ago,” he said.
“But again, it’s different. It’s a different approach. I still want to fight for every title, not really defending or calculating how many points I can lose and things like that.
“I’m playing at the peak of my form. I have to use that as much as I can.”
Far from separating himself from his rivals, Djokovic said he believes the top players on the men’s tour are closer than ever.
“There is no gap, really,” he said.
“Every tournament is a new opportunity for all the players to win a title. That’s how I look at it.”
