Bengaluru, May 4: World number 2 Novak Djokovic will be back in action at the Mutua Madrid Open starting on Sunday (May 7) with the Serb having to defend 1,000 points following his win in 2016.

Djokovic's recent run of form has not been the best as he has won just one title of late that was the Qatar Open. That is his only win since August last year when he had succeeded at the Montreal Masters.

Due to his recent form, Djokovic has lost his number 1 rank to British tennis superstar Andy Murray and the gap between the duo could draw further if Novak fails to defend his crown in Madrid.

"I had not played in Madrid for a couple of years so it was great for me to be able to play again," Djokovic said about his 2016 outing in Madrid, as quoted by "Tennis World USA".

"It was a fantastic week for me, I had tough opponents and we had some great battles, especially in the final against Andy which set the theme a little bit for the rest of the year. We then played many other finals in Rome, Paris and London," he added.

Djokovic is well aware of the fact that he will have to face in-form Rafael Nadal on his home soil in order to win the Mutua Madrid Open and he has acknowledged that it will hardly be a straightforward task.

Nadal is heading to Madrid with two back-to-back clay court wins in Monte Carlo and Barcelona. Nadal, "the king of clay court", is extremely difficult to overcome in his favourite conditions and Novak realises that very well.

"Rafa has had a great start to 2017, he was very close to winning the Australian Open and will be very dangerous on clay. It is his best surface for sure," the Serbian tennis star said about his main rival on clay.

Djokovic also heaped praise on Roger Federer who has had his best start to a season since 2006 winning three of the four tournaments he played since the start of the season.

Federer is not a part of the Madrid Open though as he is enjoying an eight-week break before he makes his return in the second grand slam of the year.

"Roger proved in Melbourne what a great champion he is, coming back from six months off to win another title. It is great for tennis to have him back on the tour," Djokovic said.

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