"It's a struggle for me" admits Novak Djokovic after crushing Indian Wells loss sees form plummet

Novak Djokovic returned to Indian Wells but was roundly trounced by the giant killer himself Botic van de Zandschulp who has got a reputation for producing displays like this and beating top names. It left the former World No.1 suitably puzzled.

Despite a brief fightback in the second set, he got outplayed and after losing to Luca Nardi last year in this tournament, he was left pretty crestfallen about his display. He called it a struggle and acknowledged his recet struggles.

He injured himself at the Australian Open and then looked poor at the Qatar Open. He gave credit to his opponent but obviously wasn't happy with his display.

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"Things are obviously different for me in the last couple of years. I've been struggling to play on the desired level," said the Serb.

"Every now and then, I have couple good tournaments, but mostly it's really a challenge. It's a struggle for me."

"Congratulations to my opponent. It was just a bad day in the office, I guess," said Djokovic maintaining his sportsmanship despite being puzzled and seemingly searching for answers.

He also mooted that perhaps the court was an issue. "I mean, it's always something happening, but I don't want to talk about it. I mean, obviously no excuses for a poor performance. Just it doesn't feel great when you play this way on the court, but congratulations to my opponent. You know, just a bad day in the office, I guess, for me."

"You know, I regret for the level of tennis, considering how I practice these days. To be honest, the difference between the center court and the other courts is immense. Ball is bouncing on the center courts higher than some of the highest clay courts, to be honest. Yeah, just struggled a lot with that. Couldn't find the rhythm."

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