‘I don’t want to open Pandora’s box’ - Djokovic on recent struggles

Novak Djokovic says he does not want to "open Pandora’s box" by revealing the reasons behind his below-par form this year.

The 37-year-old returns to the French Open - which he won for a third time last year - without having reached a final in 2024.

It has been a turbulent season for the 24-time Grand Slam champion, who also parted ways with long-time coach Goran Ivanisevic in March.

Asked if he could put a finger on why he has been below his lofty standards, Serbia's Djokovic said: "It's various things that were happening in the last couple of months, but I don't want to get into it. I hope you understand that.

“It's just I don't want open Pandora's box and talk about things.

"I just really try to focus myself on what needs to be done. What has happened, happened, and it's in the past."

It was felt Djokovic was likely to carry his dominant 2023 into the new season.

He reached the Australian Open semi-finals in January but was nowhere near his usual dominant levels and lost to eventual champion Jannik Sinner.

Coach Ivanisevic departed after Djokovic's early exit at Indian Wells, with fitness trainer Marco Panichi - another long-standing member of the team - also leaving at the end of April.

Djokovic reached the semi-finals in Monte Carlo at the start of the clay-court swing, but the uncertainty surrounding him came to the fore again at the Italian Open.

He was accidentally hit on the head by a metallic water bottle after his opening win and felt hampered by the after-effects in a shock loss to Alejandro Tabilo two days later.

Djokovic decided to play in Geneva last week, losing in the semi-finals on Friday and arriving in Paris on Saturday.

Speaking to the media on Sunday, the three-time Roland Garros champion said he had arrived with "low expectations and high hopes".

"I would say that I know what I'm capable of, and particularly in the Grand Slams I normally play the best tennis," he added.

"So that's the goal. I have been saying that in terms of clay I want to peak here in Paris. Hopefully I can have a great tournament."