Novak Djokovic confesses he 'loves' losing big matches after recent back-to-back defeats

Novak Djokovic has admitted he enjoys the feeling of losing big matches after narrowly avoiding defeat in his two Serbia Open matches en-route to the semi-final. The world No 1 is playing just his third tournament of the year and is hoping to gain momentum ahead of his French Open title defence after recently suffering back-to-back losses for the first time since July.

Djokovic ended his losing streak in Belgrade when he came from a set and a break down to defeat countryman Laslo Djere in his opening round, and was forced to do the same against another Serb in Miomir Kecmanovic in their quarter-final clash. The wins came off the back of the world No 1's first back-to-back losses since July last year, as he crashed out in the Dubai quarters in February before losing his opening match in Monte Carlo last week.

The Serb has barely been able to compete this year as a result of his unvaccinated status and admitted that he should "stop" his career but still enjoyed everything that came with playing tennis - including the tough defeats - too much. "I choose to play. No one is forcing me to play. I've done enough in my career that I could stop today. But I still feel motivated and inspired. I love to play in front of people," he said of his career.

"I also, as weird as it sounds, I love being devastated by losing big matches. Because I know that means that I care about winning and being able to compete with the best players in the world." The Serb has finally been able to build some momentum at the Serbia Open after avoiding defeat in his opening two matches but confessed he still wasn't where he wanted to be with the French Open looming.

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