By Chris Oddo | Sunday October 16, 2016
It’s been a strange second half of the season for Novak Djokovic. After winning his fourth consecutive major at Roland Garros he really struggled to find himself on the court and has since ended up losing more regularly. It’s something we’re not accustomed to seeing, but it was inevitable, one would think.
Watch: Novak Djokovic, Hilarious Moments, Part II
Nevertheless, Djokovic’s recent struggles bring up a valid question, given his age and what we know to be true about the greats of the game beyond the age of 30: Are we seeing a short-term blip or the beginning of a long-term trend?
Clearly, something is different at the moment. After going 43-3 and winning two major titles from the beginning of the season through Roland Garros, Djokovic has won 16 of 20 and claimed just the Toronto title since. Most ATP players would kill for results like that over a 20-match period, but for Djokovic, the trend is actually a bit alarming.
In truth, this really seems to be nothing more than a sign that Djokovic is human, and that the toll of playing so many matches over a two-year span has taken its toll on his body—and mind.
Djokovic himself subscribes to that theory. “[I am] just exhausted by the amount of matches I have had in the last 15 to 20 months,” Djokovic said after falling victim to Roberto Bautista Agut in Shanghai on Saturday. “So maybe all in all that's the cause of me feeling this way.”
It wasn’t just the loss that was surprising about Djokovic’s tennis last week. It was the tone. The World No.1 was making his first appearance since falling in the U.S. Open final to Stan Wawrinka, and also since he had made public comments about a philosophical change in his approach that he has undergone since.
“I want once again to enjoy every training and every moment I spend on court,” he said. “The psychological approach and attitude is changing and I want neither to talk nor to think at all about No. 1 or winning titles.”
He reiterated those sentiments in Shanghai in a pre-tournament presser, and clearly showed a different on-court demeanor. But it didn’t quite go as planned. Djokovic tried his very best to resist the temptation to get frustrated in his matches, but his efforts came off as a bit too forced. It was as if he was experimenting; Searching for a new way to behave and hoping to find a method to marry his off-court philosophical beliefs with the intensity of real-life ATP tennis.
It proved to be a difficult task. During his quarterfinal victory over Mischa Zverev, Djokovic seemed almost distracted by his struggle to embrace the “joy of tennis” rather than its frustration. Several times he was seen laughing off his errors (better to laugh than cry, right?) in an odd, uncharacteristic manner. At one point, in an error-strewn match, Djokovic still took to the time to wave to changint fans in the rafters at 5-2 in a tiebreaker. At that moment it was clear that Novak had taken the train off the tracks.
Those who know him best surely saw the difference in Djokovic’s “rituals.” It was alarming, but not too worry. This was just stage one in an evolution. There is time to rethink, retool and try again.
But that time wasn’t Saturday. In the semifinals the old angst returned and Djokovic smashed a racquet and ripped his own shirt out of frustration before arguing with umpire Carlos Bernardes. In less than a week the World No. 1 had given us both sides of the emotional spectrum. Walking that tightrope (and trying to laugh it off) is an enormously difficult task, and even though Djokovic didn’t hit the mark he deserves credit for trying. He wants to be a better person on court. One that doesn’t pass up opportunities to live life and experience joy. He wants to be a role model for his baby boy Stefan.
After his loss, Djokovic copped to the notion that all of his success might be finally exacting a toll.
“But again, you know, as I said, I had to experience sooner or later this,” he said. “I knew I could not go on playing on highest level for so many years all the time, you know, but it's good to experience this so I can hopefully get better in the period to come.”
Shanghai wasn’t a successful week by Djokovic’s standards, but maybe he’ll benefit from what he learned about himself on court. Maybe he’ll realize that a duality is best for him. That he can be happy, satisfied, joyous in his personal life, and fierce, moody, cantankerous and UBER competitive in his professional life. It has most certainly worked up til now. Djokovic’s fire is one of the things that has made him relentless and impossible to take down for so many years. There’s no shame in desperately wanting to win or showing anger on a tennis court. And it doesn’t indicate in any way that Djokovic isn’t enjoying life to the fullest or being a good role model.
As long as Djokovic leaves that intensity out on the court, he should be fine in his personal life. Maybe he doesn’t need to change a thing about his approach on the court. Maybe, as he’s alluded to, he just needs a little bit more time to rest and relax with his family.
“I'm going to celebrate my son's second birthday,” Djokovic said, when asked what he plans to do between now and the beginning of the Paris Masters on October 31 (his son’s birthday is October 21). “That's an event I look forward to.” He added: “I'm going to do a lot of things off the court, plenty of things off the court.”
Sounds like a plan—and a good one—for now.