Djokovic: Seeing Nadal, Federer in Aussie Open final 'was positive'

Novak Djokovic, who is playing in Acapulco this week, says that he was happy to see Roger Federer and Rafael Nadal meet in the Australian Open final.

“It was surprising to see Roger win the Australian Open, having had an injury at his age,” Djokovic told reporters at a pre-tournament press conference in Acapulco. “...It proves that you can play at a high level for a long time. To see Roger and Rafa in a final was positive, because they are icons.”

In the past six months, the Serb has only won one tournament, in Doha to start the season. At the Australian Open, he lost in the second round in five sets to Denis Istomin.

The world No. 2, who has won 67 titles, acknowledged that his early ouster in Melbourne surprised him.

“I had not experienced defeat in the first week of the Australian Open for a long time,” he said. “This is a tournament that had been successful for me for many years. But when you're not playing your best tennis, or the rival was better than you, you must deal with it.

"You have to make adjustments to improve, because when you're winning, it may not always reflect some things that you need to work on.”