Novak Djokovic had a shock exit from the Indian Wells Masters earlier this month, dropping in his very first match to Dutchman Botic van de Zandschulp in a match he has received 5 instances previously. This implies Djokovic has began the yr with a 7-4 document, with this being his third consecutive loss. The Serb had not misplaced three matches in a row since coping with damage in 2018.
Novak Djokovic is presently on his worst run in seven years(IMAGN IMAGES by way of Reuters Join)
Djokovic’s quiet begin to the yr, which included retiring within the Australian Open semifinal regardless of defeating Carlos Alcaraz within the prior spherical, has led to some questions being requested whether or not a decline as a consequence of age is lastly beginning to register for the 37-year-old.
Talking on the Tennis Channel, former American WTA professional CoCo Vandeweghe requested a query of his requirements. “The question arises – is Novak Djokovic getting too used to defeats? It’s a strange feeling for a player when he loses a few times like this, and then you see him in the press conference smiling a little too much, and you wonder – is he not as mentally strong as before.”
Within the lead as much as Indian Wells, Djokovic additionally suffered a loss within the first spherical of the Qatar Open to big-serving Matteo Berrettini, the primary time the Italian has overwhelmed the legendary Serb in 5 contests.
Nevertheless, former British primary Andrew Fortress believes Djokovic is all about gearing himself in the direction of the largest tournaments, these being the grand slams.
“One of the central questions he has to ask himself is what will be his best preparation for the French Open, Wimbledon and the US Open?” acknowledged Fortress to Globusbet.
Fortress famous that Djokovic is dealing with a stiff problem from the likes of Alcaraz and Jannik Sinner, who’ve overwhelmed him on a number of events over the past yr and introduced an finish to the Serb’s latest dominance over the ATP tour.
“It means, he feels he still has an edge to gain and it’s very obvious to everyone watching that there are three or maybe four players now who are probably capable of beating him. That’s a cool thing to watch in how he responds to that,” defined Fortress.
Djokovic has teamed up along with his recently-retired rival Andy Murray as coach within the hope of maximising his late-career outcomes. Nevertheless, Fortress did have a warning for Djokovic relating to match-sharpness and the necessity to fine-tune his sport for these greater events. “You need to play matches so has Novak still got the fire? There’s a couple of questions there.”
Djokovic’s consideration will now flip to the Miami Masters occasion starting this week, a match he has received a document seven instances. He begins this yr’s match with a match towards Australian Rinky Hijikata.