What’s up with Novak Djokovic? Well, this has been the talk of the town in the tennis world recently! The 37-year-old tennis star hasn’t won an ATP Tour-level title since the 2023 Nitto ATP Finals. Tennis fans expected him to accomplish his dream of clinching his 100th career title by securing his sixth title triumph at the Indian Wells this year, but shockingly, he went down to Botic van de Zandschulp in his first match. After this match, Djokovic admitted, “I regret the level of tennis I produced, considering how I practice these days.” With this defeat, the Serb has now found himself in an unfamiliar territory! Djokovic has now lost three matches in a row for the first time since 2018. What does the tennis world say about the 24-time Grand Slam champion’s lackluster performance in the last twelve months?
Novak Djokovic had a decent start to his season, reaching the QF in Brisbane and then making it to the SF in Melbourne. However, after that, he made an early exit from the Qatar Open at the hands of Matteo Berrettini. Was he tired, or did he have some health/fitness concerns? Well, while speaking about the exact reason behind that loss, Djokovic admitted, “I didn’t have any pain or discomfort in that sense. I was outplayed by just a better player today.” He revealed that he wasn’t at his desired level and that his movements have been his biggest concern at the moment.
After that, he went down to the Dutchman, Botic van de Zandschulp, by 2-6,6-3,1-6 in the R64 of the Indian Wells. Djokovic was seen limping a bit at the Doha airport previously, so those indications raised a question mark about his fitness levels at the Indian Wells. Later on, even during the match, he appeared to be in some discomfort. After seeing these, the media personnel asked him whether he had any stomach concerns, and in reply to that, he said, “I mean, obviously no excuses for a poor performance.” He also spoke about his on-court inconsistencies since the start of 2024.
“You know, things are different obviously for me the last couple of years. I’ve been struggling to play on the desired level. Every now and then, I have a couple of good tournaments, but mostly it’s really a challenge. It’s a struggle for me,” said Novak Djokovic. His only success in the 2024 season was clinching the gold medal for his nation at the Paris Olympics. Talking about his stats, well, reports from TennisStats suggest that Djokovic has had an ‘Average Form’ with a win percentage of just 60% this season. He’s currently ranked 7th in the ATP Rankings with an ELO score of 3,900. In 2025, Djokovic has just 25% of his three-set matches! After seeing his horrid run over the last few months, former ATP pro-Sam Querrey showcased his concern for the Serb’s future in the recent episode of the ‘Nothing Major Podcast.’
Querrey said, “We’re all like very bullish on Novak still, especially me. I’m starting to lose faith now, I don’t know what happened, he was practicing well he said, and then went out there and losing that match, so odd. I feel like to lose that and now he’s got like the next 12 days [before Miami].” After hearing this, Steve Johnson also joined him, saying, “I mean I’ve said it a few times, like what is there to prove for him,” said Johnson. “I just don’t know what gets him excited to go out and compete non-stop, like he has done it for so long, his entire career, he’s an incredible, incredible competitor and he just seems flat out there.“
Last year, during a similar podcast, both these former pros were seen picking Roger Federer over Rafael Nadal and Novak Djokovic in the GOAT debate. At that time, Johnson even said, “Novak, he’s the easiest to play of the three because he lets you play tennis.” Even this time, he also made an interesting comment on the Serb. Steve Johnson said, “Winning Indian Wells doesn’t get the juices going, it doesn’t move the needle for him in his career anymore…And I just think the mojo is not there for these smaller tournaments, I think we’re going to see him be fine at the French [Open] and Wimby [Wimbledon]. “
Tennis – French Open – Roland Garros, Paris, France – May 30, 2024 Serbia’s Novak Djokovic reacts during his second round match against Spain’s Roberto Carballes Baena REUTERS/Lisi Niesner
According to him, it’s quite weird to see Novak Djokovic losing three matches in a row. What do the other tennis experts think about Djokovic’s poor run of form, though?
“His own body is now his biggest opponent” – Former ATP pro makes an interesting statement on Novak Djokovic’s tennis future
Before his two early exits from his previous two tournaments, Novak Djokovic was forced to call a mid-match retirement in the SF of the 2025 AO. The Serb has been struggling with his injuries in the last few months, and considering all these factors, former Russian tennis player Dmitry Tursunov made an interesting comment on the Serb’s tennis career.
He said, “His (Djokovic’s) own body is now his biggest opponent. Regardless of how he plans to cheat the time, ’tennis death’ will catch up to him. Of course, he still has the motivation to play at the highest level, but in tennis, you lose your sense of immortality much faster than in other sports. Previous achievements are quickly forgotten.” Even Serena Williams’ former coaches, Rick Macci and Patrick Mouratoglou, showcased their concern over Novak Djokovic’s poor run of form.
Macci said that the players now look at the Serb differently. “This year will 100% set the table for the future with the Joker. As he loses to players he used to squish like a Bug others now think different as in the past they already mentally lost just in awe of the Serbian Mug. @DjokerNole.” On the other hand, Mouratoglou shared a video clip from his interview with Tennis Channel at the BNP Paribas Open. In that video, he was seen playing a true-false game, and the statement thrown at him was: “Novak Djokovic will stop his career later than Roger.“
In reply, he said, “False,” because according to him, Novak Djokovic will end his career earlier than 41 years old. Not only that, the Frenchman even stated that he doesn’t feel Djokovic’s motivation is going to last four more years. What are your thoughts on these statements, though?
The post “Starting to Lose Faith”- Concerns Mount as American Tennis Insiders Detect a Troubling Novak Djokovic Trend appeared first on EssentiallySports.