Chris Evert ‘feels bad for Novak Djokovic’ as ‘he had the momentum’ before the hiatus

ATP Tour

Shahida Jacobs
June 6, 2020

Former world No 1 Chris Evert believes Novak Djokovic could turn out to be one of the biggest losers from tennis’ enforced break as “he had the momentum” before the sport came to an abrupt halt.

Djokovic started the 2020 season with an 18-match winning streak as he won the ATP Cup with Serbia, the Australian Open and the Dubai Duty Free Tennis Championships.

However, the sport came to a halt at the beginning of March due to the coronavirus pandemic while August 1 has been pencilled in as a possible return date.

“I feel bad for Novak. He had the momentum,” 18-time Grand Slam winner Evert told the Roland Garros website.

“Everyone was saying, ‘Is he going to win a Grand Slam? Is he going to win four in a row? He was playing awesome tennis and then all of a sudden (season stopped). He’ll be an interesting story to see if he can get that momentum back.”

One of the big debates about the shutdown has been who will bounce back quicker once the sport eventually gets underway again.

Some believe veterans like Serena Williams, Roger Federer and Rafael Nadal will hit the ground running while others feel the younger generation will do well.

“I have a sneaky suspicion that the players that have been around for a long time, especially Serena, Roger, Rafa, I think they’re going to dive right into it,” she said.

“They’re appreciating that they can be with their family. They’re appreciating that they can rest their bodies. But they also know that time is not on their side.”

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