The Serb’s third-round defeat in New York raises questions. Because Djokovic justified his early exit by saying he was exhausted and at the end of his strength. When is too much too much?
Novak Djokovic leaves New York exhausted and unusually early.
Julia Nikhinson / AP
There has recently been a constant in the tennis circus: Novak Djokovic wins at least one major tournament per year. 2017 was the last season in which this rule was broken. The winners of the four most important events in that calendar year were Roger Federer (Australian Open and Wimbledon) and Rafael Nadal (Roland-Garros and US Open). It was a kind of return to the time before 2011, when Djokovic’s dominance began with his triumph at the Australian Open.
A below-average season for Djokovic’s standards
The Serb has now won 24 major titles, the last of which was a year ago in New York. And it seemed only a matter of time before title number 25 would become a reality. With this, he would no longer have to share the major record with Australian Margaret Court. But since then, the 37-year-old’s career seems to have gone downhill. It started with his defeat in the Australian Open semi-final against Jannik Sinner in January. Shortly afterwards, the South Tyrolean also ended Djokovic’s reign as world number 1, which had lasted a total of 428 weeks.
Djokovic looks back on a season that was below average for him: He only celebrated his first title at the Paris Summer Games, closing the last big gap in his list of achievements with Olympic gold. After a few unexpected defeats, such as the one against Carlos Alcaraz in the Wimbledon final a month earlier, he seemed to be back on track and on his way to the top of the world rankings.
Instead, Djokovic, as defending champion, failed earlier in New York than he had in a long time. Against the Australian Alexei Popyrin (ATP 28), he made fourteen double faults, which was a negative record for him. After the match, he said: “Given how I felt and how I played, it is already a success for me just to have reached the third round here. I haven’t played tennis as badly as I have in the last few weeks for a long time.”
After Alcaraz was eliminated from the tournament two days before him, Jannik Sinner is now the first contender for the last Grand Slam title of the season. But the South Tyrolean has also been struggling with problems since his positive doping test became known.
One thing is clear: For the first time since 2002, a season will end without one of the big three (Federer, Nadal, Djokovic) having won at least one of the major tournaments. Back then, the winners were Thomas Johansson (Melbourne), Albert Costa (Paris), Lleyton Hewitt (Wimbledon) and Pete Sampras (New York).
But is this more than a snapshot? After Federer and Nadal’s careers, is Djokovic’s also coming to an end? The Serb is not yet talking about retirement. But the signs of wear and tear are also evident in him. In the spring he split from his long-time partner Goran Ivanisevic in order to revive his career. But will that be enough?
It wasn’t meant to be tonight. Well played, @AlexeiPopyrin99. Time for me to relax, regroup and move on. Until next time, NYC. 🙏🏼 pic.twitter.com/wsh4F9YzEQ
— Novak Djokovic (@DjokerNole) August 31, 2024
Criticism of the overloaded calendar is not new
In New York, Djokovic spoke openly about being exhausted and at the end of his strength. The summer in particular was brutal. In just over three months, the Roland-Garros, Wimbledon and New York titles as well as Olympic gold are awarded. The protagonists in this sport are squeezed like lemons until they simply can’t go on and there is not a drop of juice left in them. The tennis circus eats its children.
Criticism of the overloaded calendar is not new and crops up again and again. Occasionally plans are formulated to restructure the tour and make it a little less demanding for its main players. But as long as so many people still make money from tennis, there is little interest in real reform.
Djokovic did not look for excuses after his defeat against Popyrin. He said: “You could argue that it is because of the Olympics. But honestly, I don’t know if that is true.”
Perhaps the truth is simple: After winning Olympic gold, Djokovic is running out of goals and motivation. Of those on the tour who are currently hungrier, one will win the US Open in a week.
