Andre Agassi’s worrying Novak Djokovic warning rings true ahead of next Jannik Sinner showdown
Novak Djokovic put in a performance for the ages when he beat Jannik Sinner in a five-set epic at the Australian Open in January.
The Serbian snapped a five-match losing streak against the Italian with his semi-final victory, as he saved a remarkable 16 out of 18 break point opportunities.
At the time, Djokovic said he was “lost for words”, something that was understandable after his four-hour nine-minute thriller against someone who was 14 years his junior.
On the flip side to Sinner’s inability to break Djokovic’s serve, the then-38-year-old took three of his eight break point chances to win 3-6, 6-3, 4-6, 6-4, 6-4.
Fast forward to their Wimbledon semi-final last Friday and the story was very different. There were no miracles from the 39-year-old this time as the world No 1 put in a clinical display on Centre Court.
More Novak Djokovic News
Novak Djokovic’s ‘best chance gone’ to achieve last tennis dream
Novak Djokovic’s ‘behind the scenes’ actions after Jannik Sinner Wimbledon loss speak volumes
Want more from Tennis365? Add us as a preferred source on Google to your favourites list for tennis coverage you can trust.
Sinner wasn’t broken the entire match and he faced just one break point. Djokovic still saved 10 out of the 13 break point chances that he faced but it wasn’t enough to stop the 6ft 3in player winning 6-4, 6-4, 6-4.
Djokovic won just 38% of his second serve points and while his first serve points won was at a respectable 75%, it was dwarfed by Sinner’s 88% mark.
Sinner hit twice as many aces at Djokovic (16 vs 8) and on the return, the Serbian trailed his opponent for how he handled both the first and second delivery.
Before the contest, eight-time major winner Andre Agassi warned that Sinner was the better player almost entirely across the board, apart from using his second serve as a potent weapon to defend break points. However, he did point out that that is not something you want to rely on.
He said before the encounter on the BBC, “To me, there is one shot that he can do better and possibly only one, which is the second serve on break points. If he is relying on that, then he is in a whole heap of trouble.”
Agassi added that Djokovic had to “red line” if he wanted to beat Sinner, something he miraculously pulled off in Australia. But after playing for more than five hours in the Wimbledon quarter-finals against Felix Auger-Aliassime, another repeat seemed remote.
After the match, Djokovic did say that he was pleased with how well his body held up during Wimbledon, something that has not been the case for him for a couple of years at the Grand Slams.
However, the fact that he was injury-free this time around does not mean the same will be the case if they should meet at the US Open, for instance.
Agassi added, “I’ve also seen Novak do a lot of b*tching over his career about his body but you always feel like he’s throwing a bag of tricks at you. Now, it feels like he is somewhat hiding some things he is feeling.
“So when he is behind in a point, and somebody has a shot to take over, I see him doing a bit more of that early guessing, and he is choosing wisely and picking where he burns his fuel. All that is not going to play well in the long term.”
Unless Djokovic’s ranking drops drastically, he will only get to face Sinner in the semi-final or final at this rate. By that time, he will have used up so much energy and put his body through so much, it is hard to see Djokovic beating the Italian anytime soon.
The stars aligned for Djokovic in Australia, thanks to a walkover and a retirement. But if Sinner keeps on this trajectory, a 25th Grand Slam seems unlikely.
WANT MORE? Martina Navratilova tells Novak Djokovic how to win a 25th Grand Slam
