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Novak: I made too many errors and that made me nervous

Bedene had the 2-0 lead in sets, but Busta would have probably made a turnover had he not injured himself in the fifth set. Djokovic was incredibly bad, and he was very self-critical after the match, but by winning in three sets he has proven that the best can still win even on a bad day

ATP Croatia Open Umag

Djokovic rarely does more unforced errors than his opponents. In the Rome finals he convincingly lost, and he made only four more than Murray. This time he had 42 of them, even though he won in all three sets. Darcis made 17 less, and he had a similar number of winners. It was immediately noticeable that Djokovic was having a bad day, even though he took the lead with 3-0 at the start of the match. He wasn't doing well, not at break points (3-for-12), not on the net. He had only 15 points more in the end. In other words, he won the most important ones. That's where his class was still visible.

- Sometimes I put too much pressure on myself. Vajda said after the match that sometimes I wish too much to win each set with 6-1. He's right. I enjoy playing, but sometimes I ask too much of myself and when I fail, days like this one come along. I made too many errors, and that made me even more nervous. Luckily, I managed to calm down and play well when it was the most important - commented Novak his weak edition, and then the key problems:

- I had too many unforced errors behind the first and the second hit. I lacked focus from time to time, but I'm used to that. You can't always be fully focused, but I'm aware I have to make that better in the following rounds. It's all going to be alright.

We have to pay respects to Darcis who was playing smart. Djokovic wouldn't have problems with his points in general, but on a weak day he had more problems with the lower slice which came from the backhand side of the quick Belgian. However, the first tennis player of the world is not up against a much better clay player. Darcis has only three ATP wins on clay in the last four years. Last year Bedene won in two strong challengers, and reached the quarter-finals of the ATP tournament.

Before the start of the tournament, the Brit said that the Davis Cup disappointment is behind him, that he's focused again and the results can be seen. In the first round he beat Melzer, a proven challenger player, and then Busta who had the role of the favorite on paper. It was an equal match from the very start. It seemed the Spaniard would have a turnover when he came to a draw in sets at 2-2. It was all in his hands, but then he injured himself. Bedene took advantage of that.

- I knew he had problems, he was moving more difficult, but he still kept fighting. He's just that kind of a player. He's one of the most prepared on the tour, while this was only my second fifth set in my career. If anything, I have shown I have the strength for it, which is great for my confidence.

He will definitely need strength because he's up against the best in the world. They met once, last year at Australian Open.

- I learned a lot from that match. He punished each of my weaker games, so I have to be focused on each one of those. We'll see what will happen. If I play the best I can, anything is possible - announced Bedene his eighth try to beat a Top 10 player, while Novak spent less time analyzing his opponent this time:

- I know him well. We practiced a couple of times in Monte Carlo. We speak the same language, so it's easier to communicate. He's a good guy. He's fast at his serve, so he's uncomfortable. There are no easy matches. You've seen that.