Novak Djokovic: Why the Djoker Will Drop Back to Earth After Historic 2011

After a remarkable 2011 season, many have wondered if world No. 1 Novak Djokovic will ever return to being mortal. Things were looking great for the Djoker all season long, but this 2012 season will not be quite as bright for the man who currently dominates the tennis world.

There is no denying the success that he had, as he finished the year atop the ATP with a 70-6 record.

He won three of the four Grand Slam titles, only failing to reach the final at the French Open. Still, he made the semifinals and looked dominant on all surfaces.

The problem is that it will be tough for him to match the reign of terror that he had this past year.

At last year's Australian Open, Djokovic only dropped one set in the entire tournament, which happened in just the second round of the tournament. Could he see a fall from last year? Quite possibly.

Many things went great for the Serbian all year, but good things can always come to an end.

Here is why.

Djokovic is Hurting

Currently, the Djoker is experiencing some back problems.

Despite winning the US Open, Australian Open and Wimbledon his past year, he was unable to escape the round robin portion of the ATP World Tour Finals tournament. His group consisted of Tomas Berdych and David Ferrer, but he was unable to get through to the finals stage.

It remains to be seen how he will be feeling when the tournament gets underway, but this past tournament was just a little over a month ago. We have seen the result that troubling injuries have had on stars like Roger Federer and Rafael Nadal, so there is no reason to believe that Djokovic will be immune to the same result.

He is coming off of a good showing at the Abu Dhabi exhibition, a tournament in which he knocked off Federer 6-1, 6-2.

A best-of-five set tournament could be a completely different scenario, though. He may be able to hold up in this tournament, but it definitely remains to be seen if his back woes could hold him up for the rest of 2012.

The Field Will Be Competitive

Right now it appears that both Federer and Nadal are potentially entering the Australian Open injured, but there is no reason to eliminate these two from potentially derailing Djokovic down the line.

While those two remain the obvious candidates, one can never eliminate players like Andy Murray or Jo Wilfried Tsonga.

In 2011, the Djoker fell to both men, including a loss to Murray in Cincinnati during the US Open Series. While Djokovic did end up retiring halfway through the second set, it could be possible that players are starting to catch up to his level a lot quicker than they did with Federer.

There also remains a chance that dark-horse players like Juan Martin Del Potro could come through and surprise many. The 2009 US Open winner has been on a rocky road since that season, but he could be in shape to make a big comeback this season.

If he is healthy, he is another player that could give Djokovic a run for his money. 

Could it Have Been a Fluke?

Not to discredit the amazing performance that he put up in 2011, is there a possibility that Djokovic got lucky this past year?

Unlikely, but the world No. 1 still has much to prove. He has only been on top of the tennis world since July of last year, so he will need to make the most of this year to keep him above the rest.

When asked about his competition's season, Rafael Nadal was quoted:

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"It's probably the highest level of tennis that I ever saw,"

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Djokovic managed to win 10 tournaments last season, which were eight more than he had won the previous year. One has to wonder. Could he do it again?

His past doesn't bode well for him.

He did win five tournaments back in 2009, but it remains to be seen if he will ever be able to match the mark he reached last season. 

What to Expect

While it isn't likely that Djokovic will fall dramatically, it will be very hard for him to match what he did last year.

He will have to win the Australian Open, US Open and Wimbledon so that he doesn't lose points at those tournaments, but it will likely not be that easy for him to repeat at each tournament.

The way he dominated the field echoed the dominance of Federer and Nadal, but will he be able to keep it going as long as they did?

Perhaps, but it will be difficult to match those results.

Unfortunately for the Djoker, he really set the standards high in 2011. While he could still put up good numbers in 2012, it will be nothing close to what he accomplished in his reign of 2011.

This season, it will be hard for Djokovic to stand so many levels above the rest.