The Serbian ace suffered his third consecutive loss as he was beaten in three sets by Botic van der Zandschlup on Saturday (08.03.25) and was frustrated by his error-strewn display in California.

Djokovic said: "You know, things are different obviously for me the last couple of years. I've been struggling to play at the desired level.

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

"I guess nothing can prepare you for that moment, in a sense. You have to experience it and try to deal with it in the best possible way."

The 24-time major champion added: "It was just a bad day in the office, I guess."

It is only the second time since 2008 that Djokovic has lost three consecutive matches and he felt that his errors left him in a vulnerable position during the contest at the California tournament.

The former world number one said: "The first three games, four games of the third set were quite close. Had my chances. Was just some awful mistakes.

"I thought I was on most of these points at the beginning of the third. I don't know, when I reflect on this match, obviously I'll see a little bit more what I could have done more, but he played some really good points to break my serve.

"But just putting myself in that position, I shouldn't allow myself to do that."

Djokovic's loss comes just days after he claimed that his game had improved under the tutelage of coach Andy Murray.

He said last week: "I think I've played maybe the best tennis that I played in quite some time since the Olympics actually. So I definitely [attribute] that to the work that I had with Andy."