What Novak Djokovic Must Do to Pull Out of Slump Before the French Open
On a sun-filled Sunday in Paris last June, Novak Djokovic triumphantly lifted the Coupes des Mousquetaires above his head. Years of heartbreaks and close calls finally culminated in his first French Open title and a cherished career Grand Slam.
The first man to hold all four majors simultaneously since Rod Laver in 1969, Djokovic dominated the sport to a degree rarely before witnessed.
Not anymore.
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With his championship defense at Roland Garros looming, Djokovic isn't that same player right now. Far from it. He's locked in a tailspin that began after his historic achievement, one that has cost him dearly.
Stripped away is the No. 1 ranking. Gone is coach Boris Becker, with whom he won half of his 12 Grand Slams. Lost is his air of invincibility.
A streak of reaching 25 consecutive major quarterfinals ended in the third round at Wimbledon, followed by a first-round loss at the Olympics and an unraveling in the U.S. Open final. At the Australian Open, the six-time champion couldn't make it beyond his second match, upset by (then) 117th-ranked Denis Istomin—his first loss to someone outside the top 100 in nearly nine years.
"I'm not used to losing in the Australian Open second round," a morose Djokovic told CNN's Ravi Ubha. "I've always played so well. This court has been so nice to me. Of course it's disappointing but I have to accept it."
When Djokovic began this season by defeating Andy Murray in the Doha final, it appeared as if he turned the corner. And then he fell flat on his face in Melbourne.
We're not at DEFCON 1 just yet, but a failure to improve his performance these next few months will put Djokovic in a larger state of crisis entering the French Open.
The next round of tournaments are therefore vital if he wants to pull himself from this mire.
Defending titles in Indian Wells, Miami and Madrid, Djokovic has a lot of points to lose. Already lagging behind Murray in the rankings, he could slip further without better and more consistent results than he's recently mustered.
Those first two stops are ideal places for him to earn back momentum. He's swept Indian Wells and Miami each of the last three years, winning them a combined 11 times during his career. Both slower hard courts, they're the Masters Series events where Djokovic plays his best.
Djokovic's last "big" tournament win came at the Rogers Cup last July. Taking either Indian Wells or Miami would end that drought and could do wonders for his sagging confidence. Before worrying about the switch to clay, he needs something positive to build on.
First and foremost, he has to trigger his old fighting mentality. It escaped him during the Australian Open to the disbelief of Becker.
"I didn't recognize him today, his mentality," Becker told the New York Times' Christopher Clarey. "I hope Novak goes back to the drawing board and remembers what made him good in the first place. That's really the key, to face the situation and be honest with yourself. If he does that, he knows what to do. If that's his main priority, then he will do what is necessary to find the winning ways again."
Following their split, Becker also became publicly critical of Djokovic's practice habits, which he believes weren't up to par during the second half of 2016. That would explain why his play dipped, but there's probably more to the equation.
Like his health. He dealt with injuries to his wrist, arm and shoulder, skipping Cincinnati and laboring through the U.S. Open. The shoulder problem resurfaced last week in Davis Cup action when Djokovic called for the trainer. Dropping the first set to 63rd-ranked Daniil Medvedev of Russia, he won the match when his opponent retired because of his own physical problems.
"The pain I had prevented me from playing the points as I wanted to," Djokovic said, per Tennis.com's Kamakshi Tandon.
That's a troubling development, but Djokovic now has time to rest and get right. Bypassing this month's event in Dubai (where he's a four-time champion), he'll return in Indian Wells.
For Djokovic to pick up the slack, being close to 100 percent healthy again is a prerequisite. On clay, with the longer rallies and higher-bouncing shots, any lingering shoulder issues would render him vulnerable to more disappointment.
Approaching his 30th birthday, Djokovic is entering a new phase. It was around this same age that Roger Federer began to slow down. To remain relevant in his 30s, Federer's had to evolve his game and racket technology. Djokovic might not be at that point, but he could take a page from the Swiss' book and look for new methods to keep things fresh.
"People don't realize what it takes to win one Grand Slam," Becker told Sky Sport's Jen Howard. "Imagine—he won four in a row, he was the holder of the real Grand Slam."
Satiated by that success, Djokovic's motivations are different these days. Moving forward, the immediate goal will be to show that the last couple months were simply a bump in the road rather than the end of the journey.
With five Master Series events around the corner, Djokovic has valuable opportunities to break out of his malaise and silence the doubters.
It's time for him to starting dreaming big again.
All statistics are courtesy of ATPWorldTour.com unless otherwise noted.
Joe Kennard is a Featured Columnist for Bleacher Report.
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