Novak Djokovic criticizes Italian Open courts for poor quality

Novak Djokovic has raised concern over the quality of the courts in Rome, saying that more matches should have been played ahead of the 2023 Italian Open.

The Serb beat Grigor Dimitrov 6-3, 4-6, 6-1 in the third round on Sunday, May 14, and registered his 1050th tour-level win since turning pro in 2003. He broke the 26th-seed Bulgarian six times and hit 21 winners and 10 unforced errors, compared to 28 winners and 24 unforced errors from Dimitrov.

In a press conference after the match, the World No. 1 was asked about the court conditions. He stated that not many matches were played on the courts in Rome, which was vital for preparation.

"Rome never had a great reputation for the quality of the court, to be honest with you," Djokovic said. "What is interesting would be to understand how much tennis they're playing on the court before the tournament starts. I think the other year I asked, and they were not playing much at all."

The top seed remarked that the Masters 1000 tournament should reconsider seeking assistance from experts at the French Open to get the courts ready.

"If you don't use the court, and you have a clay court, the court breaks, you have many holes, you have uneven surface, really bad bounces, a lot of clay," he said. "I remember maybe about 10 years ago, someone told me they brought Roland Garros people in, and that year the court was best. I don't know why they don't call them again because obviously, they're the best clay court specialists in the world."

Djokovic also said that he felt better while playing on Court 5 than on the Center Court and that he hoped for the surface to get better with matches.

"I had a feeling that these days, training on Court 5 is better quality than center court. Now there's really not much you can do. It's just kind of covering the holes here and there. Yeah, I guess that's a reality that you just have to accept. Hopefully, as the days pass and the tournament progresses, the court will get better," he added.

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Novak Djokovic credits Big 4 members for pushing him to improve

2022 Laver Cup

In an on-court interview after his win over Grigor Dimitrov, Novak Djokovic stated that he improved a lot by playing against Roger Federer, Rafael Nadal, and Andy Murray, especially during difficult moments.

"In my career, I managed to win more matches than those that I lost when I was facing difficult circumstances,” he said. "I also lost a lot of matches, particularly at the beginning of my career. For a few years, whenever I needed to make that final step or win a Slam, I didn’t manage to do that, so I learned a lot. I got stronger because of the rivalries, particularly with [Roger] Federer, [Rafael] Nadal, and [Andy] Murray."

Djokovic will face Cameron Norrie in the fourth round of the 2023 Italian Open on Tuesday, May 16.