Ivan Ljubicic and Novak Djokovic on the sidelines of the Davis Cup in 2010.
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Novak Djokovic is still waiting for his first tournament win this year. Have Carlos Alcaraz and Jannik Sinner already overtaken him? Roger Federer’s former coach Ivan Ljubicic believes there is a “mental problem” with the Serb.
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- Novak Djokovic is in a slump of form. The Serb recently lost in the third round against world number 123 Luca Nardi in Indian Wells.
- Roger Federer’s former coach Ivan Ljubicic says: “Djokovic has to have the fire in him, otherwise he’s missing something. If he doesn’t feel that urge, he can get into trouble.”
- Ljubicic believes that Jannik Sinner and Carlos Alcaraz will be the dominators on the ATP tour in the future.
Novak Djokovic is still world number 1. But if the sand season continues like it has in the last few weeks, it will only be a matter of time before Jannik Sinner replaces the Serb at the top of the world rankings. Sinner is almost 1,000 points behind Djokovic, but has far fewer points to defend than last year’s French Open winner.
However. For the first time in a long time, Djokovic is going through something like a crisis. After the clear semi-final defeat at the Australian Open against Sinner, the third round and Nobody Luca Nardi were the end of the line in Indian Wells in March.
Can Djokovic, who will celebrate his 37th birthday in May, find his top form again? Ivan Ljubicic assumes that it is not the Serb, but Carlos Alcaraz and Jannik Sinner who will dominate men’s tennis in the future. “I think they are ahead of everyone else at the moment and will remain so in the next few years. They will be the players to beat,” said Roger Federer’s former coach in the “Gazzetta dello Sport”. And Djokovic? “We have to wait and see how he feels.”
“He must have the fire in him”
When asked whether Djokovic was lacking some motivation after Federer’s retirement and Rafael Nadal’s long injury break, Ljubicic replied: “It’s a mental problem, he certainly hasn’t forgotten how to play tennis. Undoubtedly, Nole must have the fire in him, otherwise he’s missing something.”
Looking for his top form: Novak Djokovic.
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Djokovic is used to fighting for every point and every centimeter. “If he doesn’t feel this urge, he can get into trouble,” says Ljubicic. “But I am convinced that he can recover before his actual goals for the season – Roland Garros, Wimbledon and the Olympic Games.”
2024-04-03 16:36:44
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