Tennis world english n 45 Tennis World english 45 | Page 13

him down this season, and far from being
his go-to weapon, now it is at times
bordering on a liability. Another sign of his
physical issues can be seen in the two
losses he has suffered when forced into a
deciding set. Both those matches were
tough, long, physical encounters, the first
against Denis Istomin at the Australian
Open and the second against David Goffin
in Monte Carlo. When pushed to the limit
this year he has hit a wall of fatigue,
something that was unthinkable not too
long ago.
It seems likely that whatever personal
problems Djokovic had last year led,
perhaps indirectly, to him changing his
training regimen. This has in turn affected
him negatively from a physical
perspective, which has impacted his game
on the court. Not being able to rely on his
physical dominance has probably also
caused him some mental distress. To be
sure, he can still call upon his mental and
physical talents to bail him out of tough
spots on most days, but when it comes to
the very highest level of play against the
very best opponents, his body and his
mind are letting him down.
So what does Nole have to do to fix this?
Itʼs hard to say for sure, but the physical
component is likely the most difficult to
address. His psychological situation can
change relatively quickly, if he can catch a
lucky break here and there and regain
some confidence. To regain his physical
peak will be more difficult and take more
time, especially given that he has parted
ways with the coaching team that saw him
to those physical heights.
The final component is motivation.
Djokovicʼs personal life has change a lot
over the past few years, and some have
openly questioned how important tennis is
to him at present. Does it still occupy the
top of his list of priorities? Most likely not.
The question is whether he can still play
at a high level with so many distractions
vying for his attention.