Novak Djokovic (Photo : Getty Images)
Novak Djokovic will not participate in any grass-court tournaments until Wimbledon, where the Serb won three of his 11 Grand Slam titles.
Djokovic has confirmed his schedule in the next three months, and will have fairly limited appearance until the third Grand Slam event of the year, according to a schedule released in his official website.
The world No. 1 will start the clay-season with an appearance at the Monte Carlo Rolex Masters, where he joins career rivals Roger Federer and Rafael Nadal. Djokovic will then make a comeback at the Madrid Open after skipping the tournament last year due to fatigue.
His next stop would be at the Rome Masters, where he bids for a fifth tournament title, then heads into Roland Garros before taking part at Wimbledon, skipping the lead-up grass-tournaments.
In all of his 62 titles, Djokovic has only won thrice in grass-court events, all of which are wins at Wimbledon. His last match on grass was in 2010 at the Queen's Club, where the Belgrade native lost in the second round against Belgian Xavier Malisse.
The 28-year-old's schedule seems identical to his calendar last year, except for his impending participation in Madrid. It is also worth noting that Djokovic intends to get a substantial amount of rest after the French Open, which proves to be effective after winning Wimbledon in 2011, 2014 and 2015.
Meanwhile, Djokovic is inching closer to his sixth Miami Open title after reaching the final round of the tournament in Key Biscayne, Florida. Djokovic defeated David Goffin in the semifinal round 7-6(5) 6-4 and will face Japan's Kei Nishikori, who beat Australia's Nick Kyrgios 6-3 7-5.
"He plays very clean," Djokovic said of Goffin, reports the ATP's official website.
"It's a tennis that is beautiful to watch. Also, I think he improved his serve. I had difficulty reading it. It's not as powerful as maybe some other guys', but it's very precise and efficient. Also, he backs it up with a very efficient first shot after the serve."
Djokovic's clash against Nishikori will be the ninth meeting between the two players, with the Serb leading the world No. 6 by 6-2 in their FedEx ATP Head2Head matchup. Their last outing was at the Australian Open in January, where Djokovic defeated Nishikori in the quarterfinals.
