Melbourne (CNN)Elevated to superhero status in his native Serbia when Novak Djokovic loses – especially as he did at the Australian Open – his fans worry.
“The concern is huge,” Vojin Velickovic, tennis editor of Serbian sports daily Sportski zurnal, told CNN. “Novak is a kind of Superman in Serbia. And Superman never loses, so you can imagine how big that loss was.
“People live his games as a kind of TV series and organize their daily routine according to his schedule.”
Kryptonite didn’t come in the form of Djokovic’s “Big Four” colleagues Andy Murray, Rafael Nadal or Roger Federer in Melbourne.
Instead, it was a humble wildcard, Denis Istomin, a 117th-ranked journeyman, who had to save four match points against world No. 284 in the semifinals of the wildcard qualifier.
Istomin was an overwhelming 1-32 in his previous games against top 10 opponents.
The stunning result left viewers wondering if Djokovic can ever regain his dominant form from 2015 and early 2016 when he won five Majors and played in all six finals. Faster than a speeding bullet, he made up some serious ground up the Grand Slam ladder on Federer, Nadal and Pete Sampras.
Paul Annacone, the former coach of Federer and Sampras, does not expect another era of Djokovic dominance.
“Rarely, if ever, have we seen results that he achieved in 2015 and 2016 — and rarer still is when an athlete regains that dominance,” Annacone told CNN. “I think he can play great again and he will.
“I don’t think he can dominate like he has during this remarkable period.”
When he took Istomin’s game to new heights in the second round on one of the biggest stages in tennis, the Rod Laver Arena, Djokovic owned that spot and won six Australian Open titles.
But against the towering, bespectacled Uzbek – and after eliminating the seemingly more dangerous Fernando Verdasco in the first round – the 12-time Grand Slam winner gambled away a 2-1 lead in sets.
Djokovic declared defeat and was merciful.
“He was a better player in the clutch moments,” he told reporters. “He stepped it up, played aggressively. Served very well, very precise. There’s not much I could do.
“Of course I wasn’t happy with my performance overall.”
READ: Djokovic stunned by Istomin
READ: Lucky Loser Hits Jackpot After Spooky Fall
READ: Flavors of the real world revitalize a tennis pro’s career
READ: Spin King loves life on the road
Roland Garros hangover
Less than eight months ago, Djokovic did something Federer, Nadal and Murray failed to do, winning a fourth straight Major in 1969 to emulate Rod Laver. The exclamation mark came out of his reach at the last Grand Slam, the French Open.
A Roland Garros hangover, ‘private’ issues that Djokovic cited but didn’t elaborate on, and wrist and arm injuries have all contributed to his slide, with a split from coach Boris Becker in December being another factor to consider.
While all certainly played a role, Djokovic conceded the loss to Istomin, his performance against Murray in the World Tour Finals final in November that left the year-end No. 1 at stake and a third-round loss to Sam Querrey at Wimbledon were still amazing performances.
Djokovic was crushed indoors by Murray in London, despite the Scot playing a four-hour match the day before.
He appeared to be back on track ahead of the Australian Open, ending Murray’s 28-game winning streak in Doha two weeks ago. Unusually, however, Djokovic flew west back to his residence in Monte Carlo rather than directly east to Melbourne.
The slump now ongoing is something that Murray, Federer and Nadal have largely avoided, or at least when unrelated to injuries or their aftermath. Mind you, Murray was upset by Mischa Zverev in the fourth round at the Australian Open.
READ: Federer strikes the right notes
READ: Nadal rally past Zverev
READ: No short sponsor but big wins for Evans
“Novak has just fallen behind a little bit, and we often talk about tight margins,” Annacone said.
“We see it with him. Missing targets by a few inches, a few more unforced errors, a little less of the unrelenting point mentality (for point) than we’ve seen.
“It’s all natural. He’s been so good for so long. Now he has to adapt and as a big player I would expect he will.”
“Must sacrifice everything”
Becker, analyzing Djokovic’s return to Istomin, said the 29-year-old’s priorities had changed “after winning so much”.
In December, the German had revealed that Djokovic – a father to little Stefan – hadn’t trained enough in the last six months of 2016.
“He still loves the game very much, but after winning so much the priorities change a bit,” the six-time Grand Slam winner told CNN last week.
“He’s a happy family man now, has a wife and son and obviously spends time with them.”
According to Becker, if Djokovic wants to return to his happier days, tennis must be a top priority.
“You have to ask yourself, ‘How important is this to me? How bad do I want it? And what am I willing to do to get it?’ said Becker, who won half of his Grand Slam titles alongside Djokovic.
“I think those are the key questions he has to ask. Obviously he has the talent and the size but something that was there last year is missing so he has to sacrifice everything else for his next major.”
“A Damned Athlete”
Becker is convinced that Djokovic can rediscover his magic and he is not alone. Andre Agassi, another multiple Grand Slam winner, agrees.
Agassi was in a worse position than Djokovic in the mid-1990s when a wrist injury, disinterest in tennis and a failed marriage to actress Brooke Shields all contributed to his ranking plummeting to 141. However, Agassi revived his career, winning half of his eight Grand Slams after returning to tennis in late 1997.
“At the beginning of 2016, I said on record that Novak was going to win every Grand Slam and everything looked damn good,” Agassi said in a video call with reporters at Melbourne Park. “Then one day he woke up and it was different.
“God alone knows what is going on that created this or what he is dealing with. I don’t know what that is, but I know it doesn’t change overnight. If it changes so quickly, it can change again.
“We all have our own unique journey. You had to watch me hit rock bottom over the course of two years.
“I assure you, Novak doesn’t have to study… as hard as I had to learn. He still has time. He’s a damn fine athlete. In my opinion one of the greats of all time. I’m giving him a high, high chance that he’ll come back quickly.”
Visit cnn.com/tennis for more news and videos
With his Australian Open ending early compared to previous years, Djokovic could turn up at home for Serbia’s Davis Cup encounter against Russia from February 3.
Whether it’s this weekend or later, the “Superman” Djokovic sequel – what’s next – is sure to have its fair share of viewers.
Add Comment