Yikes! The state of Novak Djokovic going from bad to worse
Soon after their match ended, Martin Klizan expressed sympathy for Novak Djokovic after he stunned the struggling Serbian star in the first-round round of the Barcelona Open.
"I want to wish him all the best," Klizan told Sky Sports. "I'm sure he will come back stronger."
Kind words. Nice sentiments. Many, including Rafael Nadal, have said similar things. Despite the well-wishes, this question is growing ever louder: "So just when will Djokovic come back even half as strong?"
"I feel I haven't lived up to your expectations, not even my own," the 30-year-old Serbian star admitted on Sky TV in Barcelona. "It's hard to deal with these types of games and defeats. I will try to continue and see where it takes me."
We are almost a full third of the way through 2018 and the 12-time Grand Slam singles champ Djokovic is 5-5, his worst start since his first year on tour. His confidence is obviously in tatters. His surgically repaired right elbow is no longer painful, but it remains an ongoing subject of conversation. And opponents he once rolled through -- Klizan being a perfect example -- are showing him that payback is a daily fact of life for slumping titans.
"Everybody he dominated over the years is walking on the court now with a different attitude," ESPN analyst Brad Gilbert told ESPN.com. "If you're Novak, whatever they say, the guys you smoked are not feeling badly for you because you're struggling. I'm not going to say [Djokovic] can't get it back -- look at Rafa and Fed. But Novak has to realize his situation."
Gilbert feels Djokovic isn't moving as well as he did in his glory days, guessing that he might have become too thin. Others say Djokovic waited too long to have surgery on his elbow, then jumped back into competition too soon.
The ongoing upheavals of Djokovic's coaching situation are certainly a baffling aspect of his recent history. His last official full-time mentor was Boris Becker, who guided him through his most prolific period but walked out late in 2016, citing Djokovic's flagging commitment.
When Becker left, Djokovic's personal, as well as professional, life were in flux. Once a finely tuned machine, Djokovic began spinning out in the turns once he went solo. He hasn't won a Grand Slam title since completing the career Grand Slam, at the 2016 French Open.
Andre Agassi stepped in last spring, as a pro bono friend and adviser. Radek Stepanek, a recently retired Czech pro, also joined the team later in the year. He was looking for a more formal arrangement that never materialized. Stepanek and Agassi were out by the end of the Miami Open. Agassi conceded he and Djokovic too often found themselves "agreeing to disagree." Stepanek just wasn't the right fit.
Still, Djokovic appears to be motivated. That could be partially a result of his recent reunion with Marian Vajda, an easy-going coach who guided Djokovic through the longest, calmest period of his pro career. They began working together again earlier in the month in Monte Carlo, though no long-term commitment has been made.
"Vajda knows me better than any tennis coach I've worked with," Djokovic said. "He's a friend. He's someone I can share a lot of things with, whether it's professional or private life. He's always there for me. He knows me inside out. He knows what I need in order to get to the highest possible level of play."
Anyone hoping that Vajda would provide a swift fairytale ending to Djokovic's struggles may end up disappointed, as the Klizan match suggested. Gilbert knows how laborious a process it can be to build confidence. He coached Agassi in the late 1990s, a period that included Agassi's terrible slump in 1997 as well as his subsequent return to pre-eminence.
"It was a process that took about 18 months," Gilbert said. "I'm not sure Novak is aware of how much it can take to come back or what you really need to do to recover. I'm not sure he ever talked with Andre about it. But maybe putting Vajda back in there is a good thing."
A top player needs three paramount things to function at or close to his peak: health, confidence and a solid support team. Djokovic admits it was probably a mistake to play Indian Wells and Miami so soon after his elbow surgery, but he was pain free in the long run-up to Monte Carlo.
He showed signs of life there, winning his first two encounters and was inspired to ask for a wild card into the tournament he hadn't played since 2006, Barcelona.
But that was a step in the wrong direction, even if Djokovic is feeling rejuvenated by teaming up with Vajda, who hopes to prove that he is indispensable as a coach.
Of course, that means Djokovic needs to start winning, and at this point, that's hardly a guarantee.
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NOVAK Skinny-Shamed
There are coincidences we won't talk about. We have no proof. Next tournament, please. Last edited by Ace2Ace on Apr Thu 26, 2018 3:44 pm, edited 1 time in total.
<font color=brown>@ <b>Ace2Ace</b>:</font> Ummm, elaborate please! He looked unbeatable up until RG 2016 and poof!! Last edited by Grossefavourite on Apr Thu 26, 2018 3:55 pm, edited 1 time in total. <font color=brown>@ <b>Grossefavourite</b>:</font> LOL LOL lol lol Last edited by Ace2Ace on Apr Thu 26, 2018 3:58 pm, edited 1 time in total.
He's being skinny-shamed in his home country too! ______________________ Novak Djokovic admits his confidence has been knocked since surgery Djokovic lost in the fourth round of this year's Australian Open to Chung Hyeon Novak Djokovic blames his recent decline on a premature return from elbow surgery and says he is working hard to rediscover his winning form. Serbia's former world number one, 30, returned to training two months after his January surgery and fell to successive first-round defeats at Indian Wells and the Miami Open. "It was my decision [to return] because I missed playing tennis so much," said Djokovic. "But I was not ready and it backfired." The 12-time Grand Slam champion is currently ranked 12th in the world and has failed to reach the last eight in any of his five tournaments since making his return. He was defeated by Martin Klizan, ranked 122nd in the world, in the second round of the Barcelona Open and knocked out of the Monte Carlo Masters in the third round by Dominic Thiem last month. He has not won a Slam since the 2016 French Open. Djokovic added: "I have always believed in myself and that's why I was able to make all my childhood dreams come true, but right now my confidence is not at the highest level. "The recent results have not been what we are used to but coming back is a process and all I can do now is knuckle down to some hard work, "I have had some similar situations in the past but not one quite as challenging as this, so I have to accept it as part of a learning process." Djokovic was forced to retire from his Wimbledon quarter-final against Tomas Berdych last year because of an elbow injury he said had been bothering him for more than a year. Several local nutritionists have been quoted by Belgrade media in recent weeks, saying that his meat-free diet was hampering his fitness. In response, Djokovic said: "I don't want to elaborate because people have been twisting facts in the past two years and all I'll say is that I reckon I know what's best for me as an athlete and a person, "It doesn't affect me what people say, but it does affect those who are close to me." Last edited by Grossefavourite on May Wed 02, 2018 3:36 pm, edited 1 time in total. hmmm Meldonium anyone? Let's see: when did WADA start monitoring meldonium? Let's list the players that of a sudden started losing badly. Let's say there are probably 100 or so.. How many were just losing by coincidence? 80, 60, 40, 20? How about the other ones? Hope Djokovic was in the innocent group with the unfortunate bad coincidence. Petkovic, Jankovic, Makarova, Safarova, etc.. were you in the good group? I hope so. Heard a lot of those rumors.. but no proof.. So folks, let's say it was all 100% coincidence... and the world will be a better place. Last edited by Ace2Ace on May Wed 02, 2018 5:10 pm, edited 6 times in total.
how about Sharapova's boyfriend Dimitrov? I don't follow ATP so don't know much about his performance since the meldo monitoring.. Well his girlfriend didn't stop until she got caught so... Maybe he never touched that thing. Last edited by Ace2Ace on May Wed 02, 2018 5:13 pm, edited 1 time in total. Casting aspersions without any proof good way to damage reputations. However, that seems#ed_op#br#ed_cl#the way these days. Try people in the court of public opinion because actual courts require#ed_op#br#ed_cl#proof to back up baseless accusations and innuendo. Last edited by Pyotr on May Wed 02, 2018 5:37 pm, edited 1 time in total. #ed_op#font color="brown"#ed_cl#@ #ed_op#b#ed_cl#Ace2Ace#ed_op#/b#ed_cl#:#ed_op#/font#ed_cl##ed_op#br#ed_cl# #ed_op#br#ed_cl#Dimitrov actually improved over the last two years (he is now #4); so there goes your theory out of the window...#ed_op#br#ed_cl##ed_op#br#ed_cl##ed_op#br#ed_cl# "Never argue with an idiot - they take you down to their level and then beat you on experience" "Don't wrestle with a pig: you both get dirty, but the pig actually likes it" |
