Novak Djokovic makes honest admission after another close shave at Indian Wells: 'Not really enjoying myself...'

Novak Djokovic entered the Round of 16 of the Indian Wells Open 2026 after a victory in United States' Aleksandar Kovacevic. It was another shaky performance from Djokovic who dropped a set but bounced back to win the match. After the clash, Djokovic made an honest admission about not being able to enjoy the game.

In his campaign opener too Djokovic had lost the opening set to Kamil Majchrzak but managed to come back to win the match. In the second round, he lost the second set but turned it around in the decider.

After the match, Djokovic, 38, said it was a tough game and said that he was not really enjoying myself all the time.

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Djokovic's honest admission

Djokovic praised his opponent Kovacevic, calling him one of the best talents in Indian Wells.

“Yeah, another tough one. I mean, great performance from Aleks. We know each other. We speak the same language, obviously his whole family is Serbian. Great to see him doing well. We’ve always had a great relationship, and I always thought he’s one of the best talents we have out there, particularly the one-handed backhand, it’s very rare nowadays,” Djokovic said.

He also said that he was not enjoying himself and was not being able to play freely.

“I’m not really enjoying myself at all times, to be honest! I think you are trying obviously to thrive in these kinds of conditions where you’re facing an opponent that is playing almost lights out tennis, you get tight, you’re not maybe swinging through the ball as well as you want to. But you’re winning ugly, right? That’s what counts in the end to get the W, and glad to be able to overcome the challenge today.”

Djokovic now plays Jack Draper in the Round of 16 of Indian Wells where he has reached after nine years.