Novak Djokovic admitted he had to accept his new reality after suffering another early exit (Image: Getty)

Novak Djokovic suffered more disappointment at the Madrid Open over the weekend, falling at the first hurdle to Matteo Arnaldi. The world No. 5 is now on a three-match losing streak and has lost his opening match at four of his last five tournaments. Some fans believe Djokovic should have retired on a high, calling it quits while he was at the top of the game.

The 37-year-old has already explained why he’s against doing so and, after his defeat to Arnaldi, said he had to accept his “new reality” of early exits. And a US politician has now waded into the debate, claiming Djokovic has nothing left to prove.

Djokovic lost his opening match in Madrid on Saturday. He looked flat and made 32 unforced errors, going out 6-3 6-4.

It’s been a similar story in a lot of his other matches this season. Barring an Australian Open semi-final run and a Miami Open runner-up finish, it’s been a difficult year for the 24-time Grand Slam champion.

Although he now finds himself in unknown territory dealing with regular early exits, Djokovic is keen to keep competing. And American politician Claudia Tenney has voiced her support for the former world No. 1 on social media.

“@DjokerNole doesn’t have to prove anything more to me. He’s already the greatest tennis player of all time and in my opinion, the best professional athlete of all time,” the US representative for New York’s 24th congressional district tweeted after his Madrid loss.

Claudia Tenney voiced her support for Novak Djokovic (Image: Getty)

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Djokovic is well aware that some believe he should have ended his career after winning the Olympic gold medal last summer. But he has already explained why he still chooses to play.

Speaking ahead of the Monte-Carlo Masters earlier this month, the world No. 5 said: “I still feel like I have some gas left in the tank.

“I feel like I can, as I have proven in Australia, in Miami that I can still play on a high level and that gives me still satisfaction to be on the court and compete.

“I know that there’s a group of people that thinks that I should leave tennis on a high, which I understand, you know. It’s a lot of people that thought that I should call it quits after gold medal last year. But you never know. Let’s see what future brings.”

Following his defeat to Arnaldi, Djokovic was in good spirits and said he was still enjoying the nerves and excitement of competition, even if things had become more challenging.

“Pressure is part of the sport and part of what we do on this highest level, so it’s never going to go away, you know, it’s just different kind of pressure,” he explained.

“But every time I step on the court I feel the nerves, I feel stress, I feel everything that I guess all the other players feel, and excitement as well.

“So, still like to compete, it became a bit more challenging for me, to be honest.”