LONDON: At the end of last year Novak Djokovic was unsure of what the future had in store for him. Now he is preparing to fight for a place in the final of a tournament for the second time in as many months.
Troubled by an elbow injury, the former world No.1 decided to end his season early to recover after Wimbledon last year. Six months went by before he started a roller-coaster return in January. After reaching the fourth round of the Australian Open, he suffered back-to-back losses in Indian Wells and Miami. During that period he also visited a clinic in Switzerland in February to undergo what he refers to as ‘a small medical procedure’ on his elbow.
“There were times when I was thinking and questioning everything when I was injured and going through surgery process, but everyone has those moments.” Djokovic said during his Friday press conference at Queen’s. “Everyone has doubtful moments. Everyone has moments when they are feeling like everything goes their way.”
It was on the clay where the momentum started to gather for the Serbian. The same surface where he won his last grand slam title at the 2016 French Open. At the Rome Masters he reached the semifinals before falling to his nemesis Rafael Nadal. A player named the ‘king of clay’ in recognition of his success on the dirt. Following on from Italy, at Roland Garros he reached the last eight, dropping just one set. His run was ended by underdog Marco Cecchinato.
Djokovic’s latest triumph occurs at this weeks Fever-Tree Championships. On Thursday he defeated Grigor Dimitrov to record his first win over a top 10 player for 13 months. Then he defeated Adrian Mannarino to move into the last four of the tournament. Matching Rome with his best result of the year so far.
“I’m just very glad to be able to play semifinals here (in London) after Rome and Roland Garros tournaments that went pretty well for me.” the 31-year-old reflected.
“Before that, it was a struggle with surgery and elbow and up-and-downs and trying to figure things out and get that consistency in the game.”
The next chapter
Awaiting Djokovic in the last four will be Jeremy Chardy, who defeated Frances Tiafoe 6-4, 6-4. A player who has already won a Challenger title on the grass this year and reached the final in s-Hertogenbosch. On paper, it should be a one-way show in favour of the Serbian. He has defeated Chardy ten previous times without dropping a set. However, Djokovic is not getting ahead of himself. Six out of his eight defeats this year have been to players ranked outside the top 20, including five ranked outside the top 50.
“I didn’t think that it was going to take me too long to build momentum, but obviously it was proven to be otherwise. It took me quite a few months to actually feel comfortable playing again on this level, back-to-back matches and playing consistently well.” He concluded.
“I’m just very excited to be able to win in straight sets against very good players.”
It remains to be seen what the future holds for the 31-year-old, who had previously spoken about a desire to play until he is 40. Given the growing trend of players playing later into their careers, it is a possibility. Providing his body can keep up with his mentality.
“I don’t like to put any numbers on how long (I will continue playing) and when it’s going to end. I’m 31 on the paper, but I’m 19 in the real sense.” He joked.
“I just love to keep on going and see where it takes me.”
Following his latest win, Djokovic is the tenth player in the Open Era to record 800 wins on the ATP World Tour.
