Novak Djokovic walked into the news conference room wearing a black lightweight jacket, and slacks more fitting for an early spring barbecue at a friend’s house than an assembly of reporters waiting for a 24-time Grand Slam champion in search of his 25th.
There was no entourage accompanying him, just his hitting partner, Carlos Gomez-Herrera. The usual swagger, the just-try-to-take-my-trophy stridency that has long been the ubiquitous word bubble above his head? Nowhere in sight.
“I almost feel a bit embarrassed to say what my expectations are,” he said, as though he believed he had no better than a puncher’s chance to win matches at Roland Garros; as though he believed he had no right to consider himself a favorite for the title in just under two weeks.
Six months ago, Djokovic was wrapping up one of the most remarkable years in his career, of any career men’s tennis has ever seen: three Grand Slam titles — little more than a missed floating forehand away from a fourth — and the world No 1 at the end of the year for a record eighth time, at 36 years old.
By his admission, he has largely been lost ever since, and at a loss to explain how or why. He’s parted ways with nearly everyone who had worked with him for years — his coach, his agent, his spokesperson, his fitness coach — replacing them with some new faces and some old ones.
Djokovic is the most alone he’s been in terms of entourage for some time (Clive Brunskill/Getty Images)
He still has not hired a full-time replacement for Goran Ivanisevic, the coach who helped him take over the sport during the past five years and turn his serve into one of the most effective weapons in the sport. Ivanisevic also served as a kind of Djokovic explainer to the world less familiar with the quirks of the Balkan psyche. When Djokovic said that he didn’t want to “open Pandora’s Box” in discussing “things in the last couple of months” that have affected him, Ivanisevic was probably nodding sagely somewhere, turning the obliqueness into clarity in his head.
Djokovic has occasionally spoken of the fleeting nature of life at the top of the sport, how one loss can roll into a second, shaking the confidence and making even the best of the best — that includes him — believe that they may never win another match again.
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Given his records, this all sounds a little ridiculous.
Even some of his rivals are struggling to accept the idea that he has truly become vulnerable, though he has not won a title all year and is 14-6 overall. Years of dominance have cowed them from the reality of the man that might be in front of them on the terre battue at Roland Garros, this week and next.
“He is still the favorite,” said Casper Ruud, who lost to him in the final here last year. “He is the No 1 seed, and he has 24 Slams under his belt, so if there’s anyone who knows when to find their peak and form, it’s probably him.”
There were some days during the off-season when Djokovic thought this might be the year when tennis might become an activity that didn’t send his blood pressure skyrocketing and didn’t make him scream like a crazy person at his box or snap rackets. He really had nothing left to prove. In 2023, after spending years chasing the legacies of Roger Federer and Rafael Nadal, he had surpassed them. He was the best of his era, arguably of any era.
Everything else was gravy.
Then he went to Australia, and all the stress came roaring back, even when he was winning, even when he was dominating matches. He was up 6-0, 2-0 against Adrian Mannarino, the wily French veteran who had just played a string of five-setters and looked like he might expire at any time. Djokovic won 18 of 21 games in that match. But the ninth game was long that night, too long, and before he knew it he was yacking away at Ivanisevic and the rest of the crew.
“I don’t think I’ll be able to, while still competing, really nonchalantly go out on the court and have fun with it,” he said.
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He’s not had much fun since then. Jannik Sinner beat him handily in the semi-finals of that tournament, Djokovic’s first defeat in Melbourne since 2018. He didn’t play again until he traveled to California before Indian Wells in March. Once there, he palled around with LeBron James, lived the good life of a Los Angeles celebrity, and practiced in front of awestruck students at UCLA. Then he lost his second match to Luca Nardi of Italy, who was No 123 in the world at the time.
A month later, he had a decent week in Monte Carlo, but lost to Ruud in the semi-finals. Then in Rome two weeks ago, a water bottle accidentally dropped onto his head while he signed autographs after his first win. Two days later, he lost in straight sets to Alejandro Tabilo, before going for concussion tests in Belgrade.
Was the bonk on the head to blame? Maybe. Regardless, he did something he never does: heading to Geneva to play a tournament the week before a Grand Slam, searching for rhythm and form and, yes, confidence. Really.
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It went well until it didn’t, as he suffered physically, gasping to catch his breath and managing a bout of dyspepsia during his semi-final loss to Tomas Machac of the Czech Republic. Then it was off to Paris, to the environment where, maybe, he just feels more comfortable.
“I know what I need to do in a Grand Slam environment or Grand Slam competition,” he said Sunday — and of course he does, but he also knows that knowing what to do and doing it are different. He’s been in ruts like this before, worse even, especially after a career-threatening elbow surgery. He knows that getting out of them is as simple or as complicated as just trying to be a little better this week than you were the last one.
There is one wrinkle now, though, he said.
Djokovic has always been a master at managing his way through a Grand Slam, of getting better with each match and conserving his energy so he can play his best tennis when he needs to, when the big players are on the other side of the net in the later rounds. He’s not sure he has that luxury anymore.
He can’t look ahead at the moment. The most important opponent is the one he is facing next, even if that is Pierre-Hugues Herbert, a French wildcard ranked world No 142.
Djokovic has always found a way to bounce back from the emotional and physical valleys that are inevitable during a 20-year career, but he’s never done it as a 37-year-old.
“I know what my qualities are,” he said Sunday, trying to will a bit of his famous steeliness before tempering it with the reality of the moment.
“Of course, you need some luck as well.”
(Top photo: Fabrice Coffrini/AFP via Getty Images)