Whats wrong with Novak Djokovic? Former world No.1's fall explained after shock defeat to Denis Isto

[Miguel Cicenia]

http://www.mirror.co.uk/sport/tennis/whats-wrong-novak-djokovic-former-9653346.amp

 

[britbox]

Thanks Miguel. Good read. Some very interesting stats.

 

[Miguel Cicenia]

Thanks Miguel. Good read. Some very interesting stats.

Back to writing!!

 

[shawnbm]

I did not realize such things are measured over the years. Very interesting.

 

[brokenshoelace]

Very interesting article. It's the sort of stuff we probably don't think about.

 

[isabelle]

for me his problem's mental and it brings some bad tennis in the process

 

[Moxie]

for me his problem's mental and it brings some bad tennis in the process

That's what it seems, but Miguel's interesting analysis of the speed on his shots seems to tell us it's a bit more than lack of motivation since winning the French, and some otherwise distraction. Thanks for the article, @Miguel Cicenia. Keep 'em coming.

 

[britbox]

That's what it seems, but Miguel's interesting analysis of the speed on his shots seems to tell us it's a bit more than lack of motivation since winning the French, and some otherwise distraction. Thanks for the article, @Miguel Cicenia. Keep 'em coming.

Agreed. Nice to have @Miguel Cicenia posting. He used to play Davis Cup for Venezuela.

 

[JesuslookslikeBorg]

I wouldn't mind a djokodal fo final..

if trying to defending his title vs rafa on clay cannot get him back in the zone then nothing will.

 

[Backhand_DTL]

That's what it seems, but Miguel's interesting analysis of the speed on his shots seems to tell us it's a bit more than lack of motivation since winning the French, and some otherwise distraction. Thanks for the article, @Miguel Cicenia. Keep 'em coming.

I got the impression that he plays with notably less average pace than before since the Olympics. It would be interesting to have those average speed stats for the WTF semis against Nishikori and the Doha final against Andy as those were the only two matches in the past six months where Novak was striking the ball really well in my opinion.

I think the minor injury problems and lack of motivation he had after the French Open kept him from practicing like he used to in combination with a possible slight physical decline is what caused the drop in level of play since Wimbledon and ultimately resulted in Novak losing a relevant amount of confidence in his game when he is not feeling the ball well. From 2011 to mid 2016 even on off days he could play with a mix of pace, depth and consistency that combined with his defensive skills and will power allowed him to basically outlast anybody but other top players playing well. But at the moment on those days he is prone to making an unusual amount of errors on what used to be routine shots before or playing with less quality in terms of depth and pace which makes it significantly easier for the opponents to dictate without playing out of their mind for big parts of the match. Overall I don't think Novak's level when playing reasonably well is much different to what it used to be but he seems clearly easier to beat when he plays average or poor by his standards. And while my impression is that he got most of his motivation back by now the intensity and ultimate will to win which made him play rather well in almost all important moments and matches from the fall of 2014 to May 2016 still seem to be lacking and regaining that might be the key for his success in the near future.

 

[Obsi]

On other forum a poster said they heard the problem is chronic injury. It comes and goes.

 

[mrzz]

It could be a lot of things, but I would go out on a limb and say that this Fedal final was the best thing that could happen to him. He has stated more than once that the desire to beat those guys was what moved him, so there they are once again. He is too good to stay on the shadows for long. He will be firing in all cylinders at RG time. If he finds that insane level again it remains to be seen, as that was the result of a long period of training and winning.

 

[Federberg]

I'm particularly keen to see a match between Rafa and Novak again. Will Novak despite his seeming decline still have a hold over Rafa? Can't wait! Similarly has Murray actually improved, can he dominate Rafa now? It'll tell me if the Fedal final was the battle of imposters or perhaps Novak and Murray were just the mice playing while the big cats were away. This is supposed to be their time now

 

[DarthFed]

Whatever happens I don't think we could ever say Novak was a fake great player. He dominated Nadal even when Rafa was at his peak and he has also has gotten the better of Roger who is still quite strong in his early to mid 30's. Murray may be the "mouse" who has risen up a bit as others have clearly struggled.

I actually think Nole is going to need more time to get used to the fact that he may be past his prime. That match vs. Istomin wasn't just a case of being unfocused, Nole's movement and game lacked pop in a major way. Istomin played well but it wasn't like Stan at 2015 RG or Soderling at 2009 RG. It didn't take anything truly special from Istomin to win that match.

It took Fed awhile to adjust and maybe Rafa has finally adjusted after 2.5 years (time will tell). We may be seeing the same with Novak now and it may take time to adjust. If he stinks the next few months up to and including RG I wouldn't expect much from him until indoors.

 

[Murat Baslamisli]

Novak worked probably as hard as any pro athlete ever had to , to break through the Roger-Rafa duopoly and remained almost unplayable for a good 2-3 years. It would be inhuman to maintain that level, no? After RG last year, mentally, he must have hit rock bottom. Tennis is a complete mind and body game. When one is not there 100%, the other always suffers.

I think he will pick it up. He is too young to just say I am done.

 

[El Dude]

I'm also curious how Rafa and Novak will match-up, as well as Andy. I think if AO was any indicator, Rafa would have the edge over both, but I'm thinking Novak might be sparked by seeing Fedal back on top...just like the old days of being the perennial #3.

As for Andy, he was always the "worst of the best/best of the rest." What remains to be seen is whether his level of the last seven months is on par with a resurgent Rafa and Roger, not to mention a potentially re-inspired Novak. My sense is that he'd slip back down to being the least-among-near equals.

Twisted, I think you make a good point about Novak needing to adjust to being post-peak. It took Roger all of 2013, pretty much - although that was exacerbated by his bad back, plus the new racquet. It took Rafa two and a half years, as you say, which is quite awhile. Maybe we can chalk the second half of 2014 down to injury, and then look at his clay season in 2016 to see resurgence, so maybe it took more like a year and a half. But the point is, every post-peak adjustment is different. Many greats simply don't do it and just decline and fade. Hmm...sounds like a fun blog article to write...

 

[DarthFed]

I think it's way too early to say Rafa would have the edge over Nole on a hardcourt, bad form by the latter and all. Dimitrov played a great semi but if Nole is standing there, even in weakfish form I'm not sure Rafa beats him and I'm not sure Rafa would've even gotten to the semi. I think that early loss by Nole helped spur him on to make a massive push to take advantage of the opportunity and, to his credit, he did just that.

Clay may be a different story and Rafa will be the big favorite at RG again if Nole doesn't step up.

 

[Moxie]

I think it's way too early to say Rafa would have the edge over Nole on a hardcourt, bad form by the latter and all. Dimitrov played a great semi but if Nole is standing there, even in weakfish form I'm not sure Rafa beats him and I'm not sure Rafa would've even gotten to the semi. I think that early loss by Nole helped spur him on to make a massive push to take advantage of the opportunity and, to his credit, he did just that.

Clay may be a different story and Rafa will be the big favorite at RG again if Nole doesn't step up.

Like it or not, I have to agree with you. Folks will be looking to the next Rafa-Novak meet-up. Rafa can't keep going down to him at every match-up. But, hey, Roger got a little help on his side, too.

 

[El Dude]

Yep, agree with both of you. I'd love to see a Novak-Rafa showdown at RG.

 

[Moxie]

Yep, agree with both of you. I'd love to see a Novak-Rafa showdown at RG.

Well, I'm hoping for earlier, with Rafa coming good. Then, OK, bring on RG.