Novak Djokovic remains optimistic ahead of Madrid Open despite tumultuous 2025 season

Novak Djokovic is currently in Spain for the Madrid Open 2025, which gets underway from Tuesday, April 22. However, he also attended the Laureus World Sports Awards on Monday, April 21, prior to the start of the tournament.

At the awards ceremony, Djokovic had a quick chat with Eurosport Spain, where he evaluated his chances of success at the Madrid Open. He's a three-time champion at the venue and won his most recent title in 2019.

While the Serb remains upbeat about his chances, he doesn't consider himself as the leading title contender this time given his inconsistent results this year. He knows that he needs to raise his level, and that could happen either here or in the coming weeks, though he would prefer it to be sooner rather than later.

"I don't know. I'm always optimistic, but I don't know if I'm a favorite because I'm not getting very good results this year. The level I'm looking for can come here or in Roland-Garros, I hope it's here," Djokovic said.

Djokovic's momentum came to an abrupt halt at the start of the season. He advanced to the semifinals of the Australian Open but retired from his match against Alexander Zverev due to an injury. He failed to win a match in his next two tournaments upon his return to the tour.

The 24-time Major champion snapped his losing skid with a run to the final of the Miami Open. However, he went down to teen sensation Jakub Mensik in the summit clash. He couldn't carry this momentum onto clay and lost his first match on the surface at the Monte-Carlo Masters. He will aim to turn things around at the Madrid Open, where he will have to navigate a tricky draw to get to the end.

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Novak Djokovic seeking a 100th career title at the Madrid Open

Novak Djokovic at the Laureus World Sports Awards 2025. (Photo: Getty)

Novak Djokovic is seeking to claim his milestone 100th career title at the Madrid Open 2025. It would also be his fourth at the venue. After a first-round bye, he will face the winner of the match between Matteo Arnaldi and a qualifier. Sebastian Baez and Frances Tiafoe could be his potential opponents in the next two rounds.

Djokovic could bump into either Jack Draper or Tommy Paul in the quarterfinals, followed by a potential semifinal showdown against Carlos Alcaraz. Alexander Zverev, Taylor Fritz or defending champion Andrey Rublev could await him in the final.

A gold medal at last year's Paris Olympics has been the Serb's only triumph since the start of 2024. He hasn't won a tour-level title since he won the ATP Finals 2023. If he wins the title here, then he would become the third player to win at least 100 career titles. Jimmy Connors leads the list with 109 titles, followed by Roger Federer with 103 titles.