Will Injuries Derail Novak Djokovic’s Quest for 18 Grand Slam Titles?

Not even Novak Djokovic can win every major title. After more than four merciless hours in his U.S. Open championship loss to Stan Wawrinka, the world No. 1 marveled that he had made it that far.

“I struggled the first couple of days with practice and the first match and so forth, and then to get the finals, I mean, it’s a big result,” Djokovic said, per ATP World Tour.

After all, Djokovic overcame long odds after battling a left wrist problem that forced him out of action preceding the U.S. Open. During the tournament, he struggled with muscle pain in his upper-right arm, which severely hampered his serve.

Despite a favorable road to the final with plenty of rest, due to three opponents who could not complete matches, he was spent in the final. He had medical timeouts for injured toes, and it appeared that he was cramping, most likely a result of not having played a match that long since the French Open final.

Ben Rothenberg for the New York Times tweeted out the prognosis from Djokovic’s long-time coach Marian Vajda:

Djokovic’s coach Marian Vajda said Novak’s toe injury was severe. “They need to take his nails off. It’s just terrible.” #USOpen

— Ben Rothenberg (@BenRothenberg) September 12, 2016

Was this just a tough few months that had been the price for the most dominant year and a half of tennis in the Open era? The Serbian superstar had looked nearly invincible after holding the Grand Slam from July 2015 to June 2016. Tennis fans have to go back to the 2014 French Open for the last time Djokovic had not won at least one of the previous two majors.

Anybody else would be ecstatic after winning the year’s first two majors; that had not been done since Jim Courier turned the trick in 1992. But Wimbledon and the U.S. Open felt like an anticlimax, and with all due respect to Sam Querrey, Andy Murray, Juan Martin del Potro, Stan Wawrinka and others, Djokovic was a shell of himself—albeit a champion to the end with a lot of heart and class to credit the Swiss and his opponents.

He’s going to win more than the the 12 major titles he has won, but are the injuries of today a portent of tomorrow? Will he be able to recapture his health and dominance for another few years, or will injuries and age derail his chance to surpass Roger Federer’s record 17 major titles?

Last of the Big Three

Federer’s last truly dominant era ended in February …

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