The struggles continue for Novak Djokovic. And from the looks of things, they aren’t going away any time soon.
Just as he did in Indian Wells, Djokovic crashed out of the Miami Open right away–this time with a disconcerting 6-3, 6-4 loss to Benoit Paire on Friday afternoon. The 12-time Grand Slam champion recorded more double-faults (three) than aces (two) and won only 53 percent of his first-serve points before exiting in one hour and seven minutes.
Djokovic remained on serve until 3-3 in the first set, when Paire seized an initial break and then struck again for another scalp of his opponent’s serve at 5-3. Although Djokovic briefly fought back from an early break deficit in the second, he never entirely turned the tide in his favor. Paire steadied himself with a crucial and emphatic hold at 4-4 and broke the Serb at love in the following game to clinch his upset victory in abrupt and relatively unceremonious fashion.
Day 3 highlights:
“I mean, I’m trying but it’s not working,” Djokovic admitted. “That’s all. That’s all it is. “Obviously I’m not feeling great when I’m playing this way. Of course I want to be able to play as well as I want to play; just it’s impossible at the moment.
“I felt I started the match well, first six games, then I just ran out of gas…. I’m not at the level that I used to be. I’m aware of that. I just have to obviously believe in myself and hopefully it will come.”
All that’s coming right now are historically bad results. The former world No. 1 has now lost three matches in a row dating back to the fourth round of the Australian Open, where he fell to Hyeon Chung. Djokovic then lost to Taro Daniel at the BNP Paribas Open. Prior to Friday, he had not dropped three straight matches since 2007. The loss to Paire marked the 30-year-old’s first in Miami since 2013, where he captured three consecutive titles before not playing in 2017.
“I wanted to come to Indian Wells and Miami because I wanted to see whether I [could] play a match,” Djokovic explained. “I love playing on the hard court. I wanted to get a couple tournaments before the clay court season starts. I obviously wasn’t ready.
“I don’t know what to expect,” he added after being asked if he anticipates a return to his peak form sometime in the future. “I’m not expecting anything…. Obviously I’m facing myself with various challenges in my game, health. I’m trying to figure things out and see what happens.”
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rough
veganism and tennis are no match
Nonsense. Meat is not necessary to get the needed nutrients and a high fat diet isn’t good for anyone. (Btw I am so not vegan!)
Exactly Ramara. Nole did more than fine for years getting the grand slam on three different surfaces and playing at arguably a higher level than any other player in the history of the game against the best level of competition ever from 2011-2015.
His problem is mental and has been for quite some time.
Honest self-appraisal by Novak. So many things are required for anyone to play at the very top level which he has done for most of the last 10 years. One of them is fitness. The fact that he used to be the fittest player on tour just shows how far he has fallen in that regard.
Maybe diet could have something to do with it, though it’s hard to get accurate information on just when Novak went to a mostly meat-free diet (some fish, apparently). Some say August 2016, but I’ve also read that he adopted the diet in 2015, just before winning 4 straight slams.
Some combination of age, motivational decline, and lingering injury seem to be the most likely explanation. The longer he stays at this level, the harder it will be to return to where he was, if that’s even possible at this point.
Well said Joe. To stay at that level, one must be extremely rigorous and disciplined. Any deviation from that standard, will drop the level. He needs to build that momentum again. At this point my question is whether he’ll manage to reach his top form ever again.