Early on Friday morning, many joked about Novak Djokovic losing to 28th seed Sam Querrey, but nobody believed it. Now the unthinkable has happened, confusion has erupted in the sporting world about how the mighty Serbian fell victim at SW19.
The path to Wimbledon title No.4 was looking bright for Djokovic. After winning his maiden title at the French Open, he achieved another milestone this week by becoming the first man in the Open Era to win 30 consecutive grand slam matches. During his third round clash with Querrey, he was a shadow of the player he was against Andy Murray in the Roland Garros final. The below-par performance has sparked speculation that Djokovic currently has an issue, but nobody knows what it exactly is.
“He served very well, as he usually does. I think that part of his game was brutal today. He made a lot of free points with the first serve,” Djokovic said about Querrey.
“He just overpowered me.”
It isn’t very often that Djokovic admits that he was overpowered by a player ranked outside the top-10. The world No.1 might have an outstanding record on the tour this year, however, the latest loss isn’t his first wobble in 2016. At the Australian Open he produced 100 unforced errors before seeing off Gilles Simon in five sets. Then after winning back-to-back Masters titles in America, he succumbed to the power of former junior world No.1 Jiri Vesely in Monte-Carlo.
Djokovic’s Wimbledon explanation leaves more questions than answers. He has confirmed that he wasn’t at his best during the match, but refrained from elaborating on what this issue was.
“It’s not the place and time to talk about it. Again, the opponent was playing on a very high level and he deserved to win.” He said.
One theory for his sudden downfall could have been the weight of expectation. Triumphing at Melbourne and Paris, Djokovic was on course to become the first man since Rod Laver in 1969 to win all four grand slam titles within the same year. Was the pressure of this historic attempt starting to take its toll on the 29-year-old?
“I don’t think it played a big of a factor, to be honest,” Djokovic responded.
“Coming into this match, I knew that it’s going to be very close, not easy to break his serve. If he’s on a roll, as he was, it’s really hard to read his serve.”
Understandably disappointed, the usually upbeat and diplomatic Djokovic was visibly disheartened talking to the media. Recovering from such a loss will be hard, even for somebody who has received acclaim for his mental toughness. Some would expect him to focus more on tennis following his loss, however, the world No.1 has confirmed that he will be taking time away from the court.
“Thankfully I have a family and I have a life outside of tennis. I have plenty of things to look forward to,” the 12-time grand slam champion said.
“ I’m going to obviously pay more attention to those things than tennis in the next period. I need it. It’s been a very successful year so far, but a very long one, exhausting one, in every sense of that word. I just need a rest.”
Djokovic will not make his return to the court until the American hard-court swing. He was tipped to play in Serbia’s Davis Cup tie, but has now confirmed that he will not play. Sparking delight for the British Davis Cup team, Serbia’s opponents.
The loss to Querrey is more than just a bad day at the office for Djokovic. There was something else troubling him, yet nobody knows what it was. His downfall has happened, but still nobody can explain why. This is why his loss is such a shock.
