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Novak Djokovic’s Struggles Set Up a Battle to Keep the No. 1 Ranking
- Updated: October 20, 2016
Is Novak Djokovic becoming a victim of his own lofty success?
He raised the bar to extreme heights the last few years, winning with unflinching ease and sending shivers down the spine of anyone unlucky enough to stand in his path. Like one of the human guests on the HBO show Westworld, it seemed like nobody could harm him.
But he’s encountered a glitch in the programming.
Mired in a malaise since capturing his first French Open title and completing the hallowed career Grand Slam, an off-kilter Djokovic is struggling to regain his footing. The expectations reaped upon him at every tournament seem to be weighing more heavily these days, with his focus and energy visibly slipping at times.
When he left Paris, Djokovic appeared set to challenge for the rare calendar Grand Slam. Those hopes came crashing down as he bowed out of Wimbledon in the third round, barely mustering a fight against heavy underdog Sam Querrey.
“It’s been a very successful year so far, but a very long, exhausting one, in every sense of that word,” Djokovic told Wimbledon.com following his defeat. “I need some rest. … Coming into Wimbledon, I knew that mentally it would not be easy to remotivate myself.”
A title in at the Rogers Cup in late July offered some encouragement that he snapped out of his emotional lull, but Djokovic still labored through a depleted Toronto draw that didn’t include Andy Murray, Roger Federer or Rafael Nadal.
His woes resurfaced when Juan Martin del Potro left him in the dust during their first-round match at the Olympics. Nursing a left wrist injury, Djokovic skipped the Western & Southern Open to recuperate before the journey to the U.S. Open.
The beneficiary of several walkovers and retirements, a wounded Djokovic navigated himself into the final. Less than 100 percent physically, Djokovic’s mental game let him down more than his body. Playing passive tennis on crucial points, he vacated a one-set lead along with his crown to a resilient Stan Wawrinka.
“I lost my nerves in the important moments,” Djokovic told the Associated Press (h/t Tennis.com). …
