Holding the world No.1 position and winning grand slam titles are no longer the priority for Novak Djokovic after his roller coaster summer on the tour.
Since his third round exit to Sam Querrey at the Wimbledon Championships, Djokovic has endured a series of highs and lows on the ATP Tour after being dodged by wrist and elbow injuries. After clinching the Canadian Open title, the Serbian suffered a first round exit at the Olympic Games followed by a loss to Stan Wawrinka in the US Open final. Then heading into the Asian swing, he was forced to withdraw from the China Open due to injury.
The setbacks are a stark contrast to 2015 when the 29-year-old won 82 matches to claim 11 titles. In light of the growing challenges facing Djokovic in his career, the Serbian has candidly revealed that he has changed his priorities.
“The number one ranking and winning grand slams are no longer a first priority.” He told reporters in Belgrade on Friday. “This does not mean that I’m going to lessen my commitment to tennis. I will continue to play in this rhythm, but I do not want to play tennis only to win titles. If they come, I will wholeheartedly accept them.”
Changing the goal setting in the latest effort made by the Djokovic camp to reignite his passion in the sport. At the start of the month the world No.1 admitted that he has lost some of his enjoyment in the sport. Reflecting on what it was that derailed his dominance in the men’s game, Djokovic believes that he finally starting to get back to his old mindset.
“Since Roland Garros, I was unable to find the fulfillment on the court. I am now in a position to be able to redefine the goals. I want to enjoy every moment on the court again, the attitude and approach to psychological changes.” The 12-time grand slam champion explained.
Guiding the Serbian through his patchy experience is Boris Becker, who has been at his side since 2014. Together the two has achieved major success with six grand slam titles. The pairing of Becker and Djokovic has certainly produced a fairy-tale outcome, but it is unclear as to how long the dream will last for.
“We need to talk. We continue to work in a team, and we follow the internal discussions.” Djokovic said about continuing working with Becker. “We look to all things. He has helped me very much mentally. Boris has been through what I am experiencing, has long been in the world of tennis, and the results speak enough about how much we are successful.”
Describing his current injury situation as ‘a micro injury’, Djokovic is confident that he will return to action in the second week of October at the Shanghai Rolex Masters to defend his title.
