Novak Djokovic's downfall: Drop of form is normal in sports, says World No. 1 after losing to Marin Cilic

Paris: Novak Djokovic insisted he isn`t concerned by the threat of losing his world number one ranking to Andy Murray following his quarter-final defeat at the Paris Masters on Friday.

Djokovic, the record four-time champion in Paris, limped to a 6-4, 7-6 (7/2) defeat against Marin Cilic to leave Murray two wins away from replacing the Serb who has been on top of the rankings for 122 weeks.

It marked Djokovic`s first loss in 15 meetings with Cilic, reflecting his waning dominance in the wake of completing a career Grand Slam at the French Open in June.

"Look, I`m aware that I`m not the only player in the world that wants to win when he gets out on the court," 29-year-old Djokovic told reporters, adding that his current priority wasn`t the rankings.

"I have to get to the -- first of all, to that state of mind where I`m able to perform as well as I want to match after match. I was not able to find that level for last couple of months.

"So, for me, again, going back to that, a lot of things are coming out, a lot of things, a lot of emotions went through my mind and body in the last two years with the things that I was blessed to achieve, obviously, and the career Grand Slam this year.

"But it took a lot out of me and it has put some things in perspective and, obviously, raised some questions in which direction I want to go.

"So I`m in the process at the moment, and it`s going to obviously take some time really for me to redefine all these things.

"But I`m still here, and I feel like I`m on the right path. I`m in a better state of mind than I was some time ago. That`s all I`m thinking about right now."

The Serb`s end-of-year dominance in recent years had seen him sweep three straight titles in Paris and lift an incredible four consecutive Tour finals crowns in London.

And while the 12-time major winner champion won`t add to his haul in the French capital, he will have another chance to convince he is far from in decline at the 02 Arena in London next week.

"At a certain point, I had to reach this kind of phase where, you know, I had to reflect and say, okay, I mean, I have played on the highest possible level for that much.

"The drop of form is normal in sports. I`m not too concerned about how the future will go for me.

"You can`t always expect to win. In terms of what the future brings to me, that`s not in my hands. I`m going to obviously keep playing at this level as long as I feel like that`s the right thing for me."