World tennis number one Novak Djokovic admits he is drained and looking forward to a rest after a year that began with a 41-match winning streak, included three grand slam titles and saw him knock Rafa Nadal off his perch.
But 2011 ended in tame fashion for Djokovic when he made an early exit from the ATP World Tour Finals.
A surprise 3-6 6-3 6-3 defeat by fellow Serb Janko Tipsarevic combined with Czech Tomas Berdych's victory over Spain's David Ferrer meant Djokovic finished third in Group A and can start packing his bags for a well-earned rest in The Maldives.
It will be a chance for the 24-year-old world number one to recharge his batteries for the 2012 season when he will hope to rediscover the form that made him almost unbeatable at times this year.
Djokovic arrived at the season-ender with doubts over his shoulder and, despite an opening win against Berdych, he looked to have nothing left in the tank by the time he hit a tired-looking forehand into the net on match point against Tipsarevic.
He says his body is telling him it's overloaded and it has been too much this year.
Djokovic says mentally he feels a little bit drained and just didn't have that freshness in his mind nor the dynamics he had in 10 months of the year, but that's something to be expected and he's looking forward to going for a much-needed rest.
Despite ending the year with his first back-to-back defeats since March 2010, Djokovic says he's satisfied with his display against Tipsarevic and believes he will be in great shape for the defence of his Australian Open crown.
