Second Serve: Novak Djokovic rediscovers mojo before Monte Carlo Masters

There is no escaping the fact that age is catching up with Novak Djokovic.

With his 38th birthday fast approaching, the evidence shows the 24-time Grand Slam champion’s powers are waning.

But as the men’s clay-court season begins in Monte Carlo, Djokovic looks in a much better place than a fortnight ago.

Finishing runner-up in Miami to Czech teenager Jakub Mensik showed that the world number five is not ready to roll into retirement yet.

“There is no doubt that [motivation] has become more difficult throughout my career but the performances in Miami give me more inspiration to keep going,” Djokovic said.

The Serb veteran knows his serve needs to be potent if he is going to challenge at the upcoming French Open and Wimbledon.

Unable to rely as much on physicality against his younger opponents, Djokovic wants the accuracy of his opening shot – an underrated part of his game – to help limit the baseline rallies.

We saw the effectiveness in Miami.

Based on precision rather than power, he landed 79% of first serves – including a career-high 87% in the semi-final against Grigor Dimitrov – and only faced seven break points in his opening five matches.

“Now I know what it’s like to be John Isner,” he joked after beating Dimitrov.

Djokovic has not won a major since the 2023 US Open and claimed only one title last season – albeit the Olympic gold he had long craved.

That came on the Roland Garros clay, where he aims to win a standalone 25th Grand Slam title in June.

His other priority is becoming only the third man to claim a 100th tour-level singles title.

He will, however, have to come through a strong field in Monte Carlo, with 17 of the top 20 players competing.

Britain’s Jack Draper is one of them, with Alexander Zverev and Carlos Alcaraz among the favourites.