Looking back, few could think this beginning of 2024 would be Novak Djokovic. The Serbian took the victory in three of the four Grand Slamswon the ATP Finals and various Masters 1000 throughout 2023, but his start to the year is becoming one of the worst of his professional career.
Novak Djokovic is mired in a complete crisis of results after these first four months of the season. He has not managed to win any tournament so far and his feelings on the court do not help to generate enthusiasm either, since he seems incapable of taking flight.
‘Nole’ is going downhill and without brakes. In it Monte Carlo Masters 1000 He suffered again this Saturday the honeys of defeat. It was against Casper Ruuda rival who had never beaten him before and who also seemed to have a curse against the top 3. Even though he was the favorite, he ended up biting the dust.
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A new major setback for Djokovic before facing a crucial stretch of the season for him. Ahead are the Rome Masters 1000 y Roland Garros, where he defends crown. It also remains to be seen if he participates in the Mutua Madrid Openwhere you could add much-needed points for the ranking.
The truth is that Djokovic is number one in the world, but his advantage is gradually decreasing due to the growth of players like Jannik Sinner. The Italian has become their great threat before the most important stage of the clay court tour.
Djokovic, during the Monte Carlo Masters 1000. REUTERS
Stumble after stumble
Novak Djokovic’s path has encountered many obstacles at the beginning of the season. He has come face to face with reality after finishing one of his best years as a tennis player in the best way. ‘Nole’ has lost his aura in 2024, something that seemed completely unthinkable.
His debut at the Australian Open ended with him falling in the semifinals against a grown Sinner. It was the first Grand Slam of the season and one of his favorite tournaments, but he was not able to give it his all. In fact, the Italian is in the opposite situation, since he has so far won 25 games and three titles.
Things didn’t go any better for him in his second tournament of the course either. Indian Wells presented itself as a perfect opportunity to hit the table, since it arrived fresh. The reality was completely different and he again took an unexpected blow after falling to the semi-unknown Luca Nardi in the second round.
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He decided to take a break and declined to participate in the Miami Masters 1000 to reconsider his situation. He tried to turn his season around with a drastic change and got rid of his coach, Goran Ivanisevic, to reverse the bad results or feelings they were facing.
In Monte Carlo, where it seemed he was regaining his level again, he met a superlative Casper Ruud and said goodbye to another title after falling in the semifinals of the Masters 1000. In short, Djokovic has played three tournaments and has added three failures.
Djokovic serves at the Monte Carlo Masters 1000. REUTERS
Doubts and an uncertain future
After seeing how Novak Djokovic has behaved in 2024, doubts are once again increasing about a possible drop in level. The Serbian seemed to have been the only one of the ‘Big Three’ who stood the test of time and had barely taken his foot off the accelerator in recent years.
Looking back, Djokovic had not arrived without titles this late in the year since 2022, as a result of the veto in Australia and the United States, and only in 2018 did he experience something similar, although on that occasion he was marked by an injury to his elbow. That is to say, those two times there were plenty of reasons.
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Now it seems very different and his version on the track has done nothing but raise doubts. The Serbian could lose his number one on the clay court tour if Sinner and Alcaraz reach perfection. It’s difficult, but we’re looking at the most worldly Djokovic in recent years.
Now Novak Djokovic’s future involves finding some continuity with his new coach, Nenad Zimonjic, and managing to recover his winning version. Meanwhile, ‘Nole’ is fully aware that his level has dropped considerably in recent months.
“I’m used to a very high level of expectation of results, so not having a title is not, perhaps compared to the last 15 years, a great season at all,” he explained after his loss to Ruud. “I hope I can come back, in terms of results, I can build from here, because I have played good tennis. I hope that in the next tournaments I can play even better,” he added. Now we just need to see if he is able to take flight or continues downhill without brakes.
2024-04-15 00:06:15
#titles #failures #doubts #uncertain #future
