No crisis for Djokovic despite loss

Dubai: World number one Novak Djokovic has assured his fans there is no need for concern following his loss to Andy Murray in Friday's semi-final of the Dubai Duty Free Men's Open.

"It's a new year for me. It's been a great tournament here in Dubai and now I look forward to Indian Wells and Miami, which are the next tournaments and the new challenges before me," Djokovic, who won the Australian Open last month, said after falling in straight sets to Murray for his first defeat of 2012.

"And I think I have more than enough time to get ready for the challenges ahead."

Djokovic's 2-6, 5-7 loss to Murray on Friday ended the world's No 1's clean record of ten successive wins this season. It was also revenge for Murray after the British player had gone down to the Serbian in the Australian Open semi-finals in five sets after four hours and 50 minutes on court.

The defeat also halted Djokovic's 18-match winning streak in Dubai, where the Serb had three titles in as many years.

But the Serb still has high hopes for the remainder of the season. "I'm feeling good on the court, aside of this match. I played well in some parts, but he [Murray] was just the better player," Djokovic said.

"But generally I feel good, physically and mentally. It's just the start of the season and with some [ATP] 1000 events coming up which are really important [Indian Wells and Miami], I need to get ready."

Constant demands

Despite the rigours of the ATP Tour, as well as almost constant demands on his time from sponsors and fans, Djokovic refuses to believe that he may have strayed a bit with off-court activities. "I thought I've been doing well since Wimbledon last year. I have been having a lot off-court activities since I became No 1, but I have a team of people that controls it well," he said.

"Obviously there are a lot of temptations and a lot of things that you can enjoy. And this is normal. You can't on one hand just be 100 per cent of your life in tennis. You are young and you have to enjoy life and you have to experience some other things as well.

"We're not imprisoned. We play tennis, it's a very demanding sport, especially now — it's very high intensity. You have to be committed to the sport as much as you can. You have to be professional and in my case I like to balance the things. This is something that has brought me a lot of success in the past."