Australian Open: Novak Djokovic Needs A Break?
Novak Djokovic was the defending champion down under, and he has won the Australian Open six times in the past. He went last year from afflicting heavy damage in the men’s tennis tour to a misfit in the sport in the span of just a few months. Today, almost everybody has an opinion about Novak Djokovic and his chances of winning a record seventh Australian Open title. However, the opinions of those people have been put to a stop, some proved wrong, while many were proven right. The Serbian suffered a shock loss at the hands of Uzbekistan’s Denis Istomin in a thrilling five-setter.
Istomin took a lead in the very first set in what was the most enduring one in the match. The Serbian returned strong with consecutive set wins, and needing just one more set to win the match. But, that is when the Uzbek hit all the right spots and recovered from a set down to winning the match. It ended 7-6 (10-8), 5-7, 2-6, 7-6 (7-5), 6-4.
It is common to see Djokovic a little frustrated when he is not playing well. But, such signs were almost invisible during his game against Istomin. The Serbian during his first round win over Fernando Verdasco acknowledged to having played a little below his expectations and was not happy with his performance. That could be seen on the court, but it was completely different this time.
Boris Becker: I could not recognize him
In an interview with The New York Times, Djokovic’s former coach Boris Becker said, “I did not recognize him, his mentality.” Djokovic was very nonchalant during the game, and that is not the person all tennis fans knew. He added, “I’d rather see him break a racquet or pull the shirt or something, for him to get emotional.”
Becker said, “I felt he tried, and he played five sets and four-and-a-half hours, but I didn’t see the intensity; didn’t see the absolute will to win, didn’t see him mentally going crazy,” about the match with Istomin.
Becker’s words could sound harsh to a lot of Djokovic’s fans, but that is the truth of the situation. The Djokovic that was seen on court in the first week of January in Doha, the one who defeated Andy Murray, once again seemed a little out of touch. This time at his favourite hunting ground, down under.
Time for Novak Djokovic to take a break?
This would be a question buzzing across the minds of many tennis fans and experts alike. Is it time for him to take a break from the sport and come back afresh. There is no denying that the Serbian has played his life’s best tennis in the last two years. Everyone was shocked by Novak Djokovic’s exit in Melbourne, for sure.
It is hard to keep up the intensity week after week, and that has been the reason why everyone is so impressed by the group of players at the top of the game in the last few years. The same guys have been in the semi finals and the finals ever so consistently that when that does not happen everyone is in a state of shock. Having been so inconsistent in the last few years, it would seem almost inevitable that it would drop off at some point of time. Unfortunately for Djokovic, that time seems to be now.