Novak Djokovic has lost his aura for now – can he get it back to revive his last tennis dream?
For the first time in his more than 15 years, Novak Djokovic is walking onto tennis courts without one of the chief weapons in his armoury.
The true greats of sport have a huge hold on their rivals that begins to grip before the first ball is struck.
Playing the legend rather than the opponent is a natural reaction when your name is placed next to the most successful male tennis player of all-time in the draw, with that fear factor inevitably impacting performance.
When a young player is drawn against a legend of Djokovic’s status on a show court at one of the world’s biggest tournaments, the inevitable bolt of fear associated with the occasion is multiplied when you look over the net and see a 24-time Grand Slam champion.
That aura has given Djokovic a head start on so many of his rivals, but now his crown appears to be slipping.
Even the greats reach a point in their careers when their superpower wane and Djokovic openly admits he reached that point last year, when he failed to win a Grand Slam title and only showed flashes of his brilliant best.
As he edges closer to his 38th birthday in May, his decline is inevitable and that encourages opponents to see a match against Djokovic as an opportunity rather than a moment of peril.
Djokovic has lost so many matches against players he would have beaten with plenty to spare when he was in his prime with Luca Nardi, Alejandro Tabilo, Tomas Machac and Alexei Popyrin among those who beat the Serbian last year.
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We can add Botic van de Zandschulp to that list after he beat Djokovic in surprisingly convincing fashion in Indian Wells earlier this month, with Djokovic likely to be among those questioning whether his glory days after finally done.
“If you put things in that larger perspective, of course I’ve had an incredible career,” he said after that defeat against van de Zandschulp.
“Being consistent for so many years, obviously you have high expectations of yourself.
“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 couple of good tournaments, but, you know, mostly it’s really a challenge. It’s a struggle for me.
“So it is what it is. You know, I guess nothing can prepare you for that moment, in a sense. You have to experience it and try to deal with it in the best possible way.”
Those words gave the impression that Djokovic was losing faith with his ability to summon up the passion required to compete at the top end of the sport and he made similar comments ahead of his opening match at the Miami Open.
“I’m in pursuit to find the desired level of tennis. I haven’t played my best or even close in Indian Wells and Doha,” said Djokovic.
“I haven’t been able to find that quality of tennis that I’ve been looking for. I’m working hard giving it my all on the practice courts and eventually it’s going to come. I know that, hopefully here.
“I played great in Australia. I thought I had a pretty good shot at the title in Melbourne. Unfortunately, it ended for me the way it ended, but nevertheless, it’s still encouraging for me to see that I was able to play the way I was playing Australia.
“I’m still able to win against the likes of [Carlos] Alcaraz. That’s probably the biggest reason why I still keep pushing myself, and motivating myself because I know I still have it in my legs, in my hands, in my arms.
“I still have that tennis level that can put me in a good position to win the biggest titles in sport.”
The next few weeks will tell Djokovic so much about where his levels are at as he looks to stay in the sport for long enough to win what would be a record-breaking 25th Grand Slam title.
An early exit in Miami and more disappointment at the start of the European clay court season would test Djokovic’s desire to continue in a sport that he has dominated for so long.
Great champions don’t want to finish their career as punchbags for young guns cashing in the chance to build their own reputations with high profile wins and Djokovic will want to get out of the firing line if that becomes his new role in tennis.
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