Novak Djokovic's woes started long before French Open withdrawal and time is running out
COMMENT: Novak Djokovic has his sights set on one more record but his hopes are fading.
If Novak Djokovic had converted a set point in the second set tiebreak in last year’s Wimbledon final, he would have completed a calendar Grand Slam.
And the Serbian superstar would already have set a new record of 25 Major singles titles.
But from a memorable 2023, the soon-to-be deposed world No.1 has suffered a 2024 to forget. And maybe the beginning of the end of his amazing career. Even his famed powers of recovery will be tested by the torn medial meniscus in his right knee. And now, with the next generation winning Majors, there is an increasing possibility that he will never break the record of 24 Grand Slam singles titles he has shared with Margaret Court since the US Open.
Related articles
Last September it only seemed a matter of time before he became statistically and indisputably the greatest player of all time.
Yet there have since been big changes on and off the court for the most charismatic and controversial star in the sport.
In November, he split with his long-time Italian agent Edoardo Artaldi and then with his coach Goran Ivanisevic in March and fitness trainer Marco Panichi in April.
HIs domination of the Australian Open ended with a semi-final defeat to Jannik Sinner, lost to world No. 123 Luka Nardi at Indian Wells and pulled out of the Miami Open claiming he needed to balance his "private and professional schedule".
Our community members are treated to special offers, promotions, and adverts from us and our partners. You can check out at any time. Read our Privacy Policy
Getting injured by a water bottle falling out of a fan’s back before losing in Rome summed up his strange season.
His demands to sweep the court - and his apparent mid-match argument with his wife Jelena - was evidence of his perturbed mental state.
In his pre-tournament press conference, he admitted: “It's various things that were happening in the last couple of months, but I don't want to get into it. I hope you understand that. It's just I don't want to open Pandora Box and talk about things. Just really try to focus myself on what needs to be done. What has happened, happened, and it's in the past.”
Now his future is about getting fit. Taylor Fritz left court in a wheelchair at the French Open in 2021 after suffering the same injury, underwent surgery and recovered in time for Wimbledon. He was 23. Djokovic is now 37. His former coach Niki Pilic said: “Those knees have been in professional tennis for 20 years.”
Pilic added: Novak has already done more than everyone else, there is nothing to prove to anyone. Wimbledon and the Olympics are coming up, and he wants gold in Paris. Why would he risk hurting his knee even more?”
