World number one Novak Djokovic has said that his movement is being impeded by an ankle injury that threatened his participation in the Monte Carlo Masters.
The Serbian overcame a scare in his second-round match against Mikhail Youzhny, as he lost the first set before prevailing 4-6 6-1 6-4.
Djokovic hopes that the injury will subside as the tournament progresses, adding that he was pleased to overcome a "quality opponent".
"I'm not 100% because of my physical issue but I'm still in the draw. Everything's alright," the 25-year-old told reporters. "I haven't practiced much. An hour maximum a day. Obviously it's taking its toll on my game. But as I said, happy to win and see what tomorrow can bring.
"My movements on the clay are still not at the maximum and not where I want them to be, but as the days go by, I think I'm going to slowly get into it and hopefully I can elevate the level of performance in the next match.
"Today was a big test, over two hours. I had a great quality opponent. I'm very happy to win. I'm just happy to compete, to be honest."
Djokovic faces 14th seed Juan Monaco in his third-round match later today.
Michael Penkman
