Novak Djokovic Faces a Long Road to Return to Dominance

Many tennis observers believe that world No. 2 Novak Djokovic is still the best player in the world even as rival Andy Murray takes all the late-year spoils with his incredible play. It’s part of the puzzling Djokovic narrative that is garnering increased attention and scrutiny.

Consider that Djokovic’s domination from 2015 through to the French Open 2016 was possibly the greatest streak of the Open era for a six-majors period. The response from media and tennis fans was often indifferent or underappreciated. Many complained that it was all too easy for the Serb and that he was boring for tennis. He had eradicated all rivalries.

But the “Fall of Djokovic” has suddenly become a much more interesting story to the public than his heroics in defeating Roger Federer and Murray on his way to holding the Grand Slam. Long-time respected tennis writer Peter Bodo of ESPN called it a “great unraveling,” citing evidence from the Serb’s more impatient tennis to his motivational struggles. 

The decline came so unexpectedly, like a thief in the night. Nobody predicted a precipitous drop at Wimbledon, a first-round defeat at the Olympics, an injury-riddled loss at the U.S. Open final and the evaporation of his Asia-Paris-London trifecta.

How could the decline and fall of the Djokovic empire occur? Will he reestablish his reign?

What Goes Up Must Come Down

Last June, many thought Djokovic would continue his legendary pace, perhaps for a few more years on the way to surpassing Federer’s 17 career major titles.

Our outlook at Bleacher Report was more cautious. Three days after Djokovic won his 12th major on his long-suffering podium at Roland Garros, we asked some tough questions in “How Long Will Novak Djokovic’s Grand Slam Window Stay Open?”:

“Djokovic probably still has bottles of French champagne sitting in the ice bucket, but that does not mean it will be easy for the major titles to keep flowing into his trophy case. He is focused and loves to win, but there’s only so long a champion can remain the …

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