Novak Djokovic’s doubters given a firm reminder by world No 1 ahead of French Open
Novak Djokovic looks set to head into the French Open with big doubts surrounding his form, but those suggesting his days of winning Grand Slam titles are over need to look back on recent history to confirm he can still be a threat.
Djokovic’s defeat against Alejandro Tabilo in Monte Carlo and his loss against Matteo Arnaldi in his first match at the Madrid Open set alarm bells ringing louder than ever as a player who will toast his 38th birthday this month admitted he may be running out of time to win a record-breaking 25th Grand Slam title.
It inspired a downbeat Djokovic to admit he faces an uncertain future before he confirmed he was pulling out of this week’s Italian Open.
“Kind of new reality for me, I have to say,” said Djokovic after the defeat against Arnaldi.
“You know, trying to win a match or two, not really thinking about getting far in the tournament. It’s a completely different feeling from what I had in 20-plus years of professional tennis, so it’s kind of a challenge for me mentally to really face this kind of sensation on the court, going out early now regularly in the tournaments.
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“I guess, the circle of life and the career, eventually it was going to happen. Now I’m trying to, you know, use this as a driving force for the future. Obviously, Grand Slams, I was saying many times, are the most important tournaments for me.
“Which doesn’t mean that I don’t want to win here, of course I wanted to, but Grand Slams are where I really want to play the best tennis. I’m not sure if I’ll be able to do that in Roland Garros, but I’ll do my best.”
Djokovic is clearly downbeat about his current form, but former US Open champion Andy Roddick has insisted the Serbian can flick the switch and become a competitive contender in the upcoming Grand Slams at the French Open and Wimbledon.
“His year is littered with first-round losses. It’s like I can’t just show up at tournaments and be in the semis. It’s not something that is the norm for me anymore, but he doesn’t have to,” said Roddick on his Served poscast.
“For me, it’s just a matter of can he get off the mark? What is his start? If it’s a 100m dash, I don’t know if he can kick and make up ground once he’s behind now.
“But if he gets a couple of matches in, he is in the semis of Australia and might have been considered co-favourite.
“We have very short memories. All we remember right now is [Matteo] Arnaldi. But he beat [Carlos] Alcaraz, and he was playing [Alexander] Zverev, and people are saying if he’s healthy, he is the favourite.
“He can reset that expectation so quickly. If he looks great in his first two rounds at Roland Garros, we are throwing him right back up to the top of the favourites list. He can reset quicker than anyone.
“One of the advantages for him is that every Masters series is two months long now,” said Roddick.
“Maybe he takes this block and sneaks some matches in in Geneva.
“But I think I am done trying to apply what is normal for the rest of us, as far as I haven’t played enough matches, I need to enter as many tournaments as possible. It’s just not his rules.”
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