Tennis fans fear that Novak Djokovic is on the decline as he prepares to return at Indian Wells. The world No. 1 started the season with losses in two tournaments including his first Australian Open defeat in six years. And fans are now divided over how many Grand Slam titles he will be able to win this season after he failed to capture his 25th in Melbourne.
Djokovic had a disappointing start to the year by his standards. The 36-year-old was ousted by Alex de Minaur at the United Cup and had a shaky start at the Australian Open where he was pushed to four sets in his first two matches. His run eventually ended in the semi-final with a 6-1 6-2 6-7(6) 6-3 loss to Jannik Sinner.
Apart from 2022 – when he was deported from the country and unable to compete – this was the first time since 2017 that Djokovic had started the season without lifting the trophy in Melbourne. Djokovic confessed that he wasn’t playing “up to par” during his time Down Under.
The uncharacteristic defeats have prompted some to question whether he has started to dwindle at the age of 36. And 60 per cent of Express Sport readers believe that the 24-time Grand Slam champion is on the decline.
It comes after former world No. 12 Paolo Bertolucci recently questioned Djokovic’s level after his outing in Australia. “He is a player who played badly in Australia, as in previous matches. We have not seen him in good condition,” he told Fanpage.it.
Now, if this is due to a problem that can happen, because it happens that someone doesn’t get his preparation right, or if the decline has begun, we will find out in the American matches between Indian Wells and Miami.”
With Djokovic’s exit in Melbourne, it means that all hopes of the Calendar Grand Slam and Golden Slam – winning all four Majors and Olympic gold in the same season – are off the table for 2024. And fans are divided over how many of the three remaining Slams the Serb will be able to win.
31 per cent believe that Djokovic won’t be able to win any Grand Slam tournaments this year, which would be his first full season without a Major trophy since 2017. Meanwhile, 29 per cent are backing the 36-year-old to win just one in 2024, and 30 per cent think he will win two. And just 10 per cent are confident that Djokovic will sweep the French Open, Wimbledon and the US Open.
It remains to be seen how Djokovic performs when he returns at Indian Wells at the beginning of March. It will be the world No. 1’s first time competing in the Masters 1000 tournament since 2019 and he will be ready to emphatically prove that he is not on the decline just yet.
The 98-time title winner has proved time and again that he knows exactly how to bounce back from a tough loss, including when he suffered defeat to Carlos Alcaraz in last year’s Wimbledon final. Djokovic went on to win 19 matches in a row and didn’t lose again for four months. And he’ll be keen to do the same in response to his Aussie Open exit.
