Novak Djokovic is the only Fab Four member that has never taken a break from tennis. He seems burned out, but he has new sponsors obligations with Lacoste to fulfil.
PARIS – Listening to Novak Djokovic talk after he threw in the towel and accepted a straightforward defeat to Dominik Thiem in the French Open quarterfinals was quite a painful experience. Novak sounded like a broken man who is incapable of finding a solution to his recent woes. His troubles originate from multiple factors, including the unexpected decision to fire the entire team that had been the cornerstone of his tennis for so many years – Marian Vajda in particular. When the new ATP rankings come out next Monday, Novak will no longer be one of the top two players in the world for the first time in six years. In this week’s projected rankings, Nadal has already surpassed him and Wawrinka could do the same by reaching the final. This means Novak could also slip all the way down to No. 4.
During his post-match press conference, Novak was asked about the possibility to take a break from the sport. He said that he thought about it, but he has a few contractual obligations to fulfil. He has recently signed a new five-year deal with Lacoste and is virtually obligated to represent his new sponsor at Wimbledon. He can’t just take a vacation and disappear. Unlike other situations during which Novak always accepted defeat with a positive mindset, this time he really looked dejected, not only as a tennis player but also as a man. He’s a shadow of himself and it will not be easy for him to see the light at the end of the tunnel and bounce back.
I was very surprised when Novak said that: “All in all, the match was decided in the first set.” Since when could a champion like Djokovic even remotely think that a five-set match was decided by one set? The real Djokovic would have never articulated such a statement. Against Thiem, he basically tanked the match after losing the first set and going down a break in the second. I don’t think that such an attitude will ever be showed by Nadal in a Grand Slam tournament, even if it is fair to say that Rafa once gave up in a round robin match against Roger Federer at the 2011 ATP Finals when he lost 6-3, 6-0.
When Federer lost his No. 1 ranking, his reaction was to peak for and win Grand Slam tournaments rather than obsessively chasing the No. 1 spot. Probably Novak will make the same decision as Roger. After capturing Grand Slam title No. 17 at Wimbledon in 2012, it took Roger five years to add another major trophy to his resume with an unexpected win at the 2017 Australian Open.
I doubt that Andre Agassi could heal the Serb’s current self-doubts. In theory, adding a superstar like Agassi to his team could have taken a little bit of pressure off Novak, but it seems that this choice had the opposite effect instead. Novak found himself wearing too many hats. If he decides to continue working part-time with Agassi, he will also have to find another coach that can travel with him full-time without overshadowing the role of the American superstar.
The Novak Djokovic engine has recently gone in overheating. In his entire career, Novak never took a break from tennis and, besides a few minor physical problems, he never really suffered from any long-term injuries. He always played tournament after tournament without catching his breath. On the other hand, Nadal took a few long breaks to heal multiple knee and wrist injuries. Murray, who is the same age as Djokovic, almost lost a year before and after undergoing back surgery and also reached the top of the game at a slower pace than Novak, who rapidly booked his spot among the elite in his early twenties.
Stan Wawrinka, who at 32 is a couple of years older than Djokovic and Murray, mentioned how he feels fresher than the other members of the top 5 because he has been among the elite for only four or five years, while all of his biggest rivals have been there for almost a decade. “Tennis has gone through significant changes in the past few years. Roger and Rafa have been splendid examples. Today players have longer careers and it is more difficult for teen-agers to make an impact as they need to mature and put in more work both physically and mentally. I still feel very motivated at this stage of my career,” said the Swiss.
Roger Federer had a couple of difficult years after winning Wimbledon in 2012. His only title in 2013 was the grass court event in Halle in 2013 and he reached only three Grand Slam finals between 2013 and 2016. After taking a six-month hiatus from the game, he came back strong in 2017. In the past, he also took a few breaks when his two sets of twins were born and he always paid a lot of attention to his schedule. Roger never overplayed and, once he turned 30, he took advantage of the ATP rule that allows 30-somethings to skip a few Masters 1000 events without being penalized.
It is also fair to mention that Novak Djokovic is the only member of the top five to carry the weight of his entire country on his shoulders. Federer, Nadal and Murray are major stars in their home countries, but none of them has ever taken on the role of ambassador like Novak.
Murray felt the pressure to win Wimbledon and the Davis Cup for Britain since Fred Perry achieved such results in the 1930s, but he never had to “politically” represent the U.K. since he is Scottish. Nadal is an icon in Spain, but he always had to simply be a tennis player due to his Mallorca heritage. If Djokovic decided to run for president in Serbia, he would probably be elected.
(Article translation provided by T&L Global – Translation & Language Solutions – www.t-lglobal.com )
