Has Djokovic Lost His Desire?

[scoop]

Novak Djokovic is no longer the ruthless tennis machine who brazenly thrived while dethroning and then dominating icons Roger Federer and Rafael Nadal.

That relentlessly ambitious Djokovic is gone. Today we have a man who seems more interested in building his image as a peace and love ambassador, trying to attract love and adoration from all the fans and media by behaving as a perfect sportsman.

The man who used to roar like a lion and rip off his shirt after monumental wins now likes to gather a group of ballkids to symbolically give their hearts to the world after wins. The unnatural and silly act looks too contrived and flat out phony. Even ardent Djokovic-backer John McEnroe snickered about the charade on NBC on Monday.

Andre Agassi, the new coach of Djokovic, who knows a thing or two about images, has opted to sit away from the “peace and love” guru Pepe Imaz outside the player box. If that isn’t some kind of statement, I don’t know what is.

Jim Courier has noticed a change in Djokovic’s competitive demeanor and is not impressed. The combative two time Roland Garros king they used to call “The Rock” noted he believes Djokovic needs to cut out the peace and love shtick and get back to being a vicious, ferocious fighting machine. Couier, who won four majors overall and reigned as the ATP World No. 1 player, added that Djokovic has to get focused on the job and get nastier out there.

Word has come out that Djokovic sent roses to the WTA locker room this week. Is Djokovic focused on defending his Roland Garros title? Or would he rather win a popularity contest?

Djokovic was down two sets to one to Diego Schwartzman today but ended up winning in five sets to progress to the round of sixteen and possibly a semifinal showdown with Rafael Nadal. But today we did not see anything close to resembling the Djokovic we remember at his pinnacle, the one with the burning obsession to be the best. It seems Djokovic has lost a fraction (or a lot more) of his once unquenchable desire and greed to conquer. Mike Tyson said recently that as he aged in his boxing career, he lost his “desire.”

Having earned over $100 million in his professional career, Djokovic may have lost his desire and replaced it with grander motivations and inspirations. But… “to be the best at anything you have to be willing to get blood on your hands.”

And it does not look like Djokovic has that capacity anymore.

Playing tennis as if he’s had his fangs yanked out and his claws clipped, there is absolutely zero chance Novak Djokovic will defend his Roland Garros title or win any more major titles. – Scoop Malinowski

 

[Moxie]

Everyone is wondering what is going on with Djokovic. He says he wants to refocus his game, and hiring Agassi seems to be a step in that direction. But he also continues to do things to de-focus himself, and it shows on the court. He's the great mystery of men's tennis, at the moment.

 

[Fiero425]

Everyone is wondering what is going on with Djokovic. He says he wants to refocus his game, and hiring Agassi seems to be a step in that direction. But he also continues to do things to de-focus himself, and it shows on the court. He's the great mystery of men's tennis, at the moment.

Tell him to give up the "heart salute" at the end of every match he wins! He really hasn't been the same player since he began doing that after taking FO last year IIRC!

 

[scoop]

Good point Fiero winning Paris was the beginning of the downfall for Djokovic. The heart gesture looks like a ripoff of Guga Kuerten's heart drawing gesture.

 

[scoop]

Andrew; That's another tough loss for poor Isner. Khachanov still alive in draw instead of Zverev and Coric and Kyrgios is a surprise. Wozniacki has turned her career around since poor summer last year. Kiki is taking care of business with Muguruza. Raonic locked in a death struggle with Carrena Busta 4-4 in the fifth.

 

[scoop]

Raonic saved a match point vs Carrena Busta at 4-5 broke and is now rolling on serve.

 

[scoop]

Moxie; Djokovic did not actually hire Agassi. Agassi paid his own way and volunteered his services for a few days. Which leads one to believe Agassi initiated the union. Which is very interesting.

 

[scoop]

Verdasco is doing something right too. Carreno Busta is also a dangerous test. Khachanov could be ready to Safinate everyone. But yes it is hard to pick against Rafa Nole or Thiem.

 

[scoop]

Fritz has not played a match since losing in miami.

 

[Fiero425]

Fritz has not played a match since losing in Miami.

Diaper duty! :sleep:

 

[scoop]

Fritz could have been injured to be out that long.

 

[Moxie]

Good point Fiero winning Paris was the beginning of the downfall for Djokovic. The heart gesture looks like a ripoff of Guga Kuerten's heart drawing gesture.

Kuerten's gesture felt completely spontaneous, and was a one-off. Djokovic's pom-pom routine with the ball boys feels staged, wholly manufactured for crowd-appeal. He might consider uncomplicating his routine with a simple wave, and moving on, since his matches haven't been that uncomplicated, and neither has his relationship to the crowd. Or the ball boys, for that matter. He's painting himself into a weird corner.

 

[Fiero425]

Moxie; Djokovic did not actually hire Agassi. Agassi paid his own way and volunteered his services for a few days. Which leads one to believe Agassi initiated the union. Which is very interesting.

I think I heard Agassi couldn't stay the whole tournament; family obligations where he's meeting up with Steffi & the kids back in Germany! Not like he made a special trip to help out Nole! He's still in competition with Becker after all these years! :hoops:

 

[the AntiPusher]

Kuerten's gesture felt completely spontaneous, and was a one-off. Djokovic's pom-pom routine with the ball boys feels staged, wholly manufactured for crowd-appeal. He might consider uncomplicating his routine with a simple wave, and moving on, since his matches haven't been that uncomplicated, and neither has his relationship to the crowd. Or the ball boys, for that matter. He's painting himself into a weird corner.

Novak is that guy in high school that wore the strange outfits, strange hair styles and was the unfunny class clown. He does all of these antics which are mostly phoney ..even the columnist think so too.

 

[Ricardo]

clearly he hasn't lost his desire, it's just that he is in mentally unbalanced state (whatever must be troubling him) that he is temporarily unable to find a solution....my guess is there are too many PC farts who stink too much. Remember the backlash when he said ATP players should be paid more?

 

[scoop]

Halep should win but the fear factor of Kiki's gamesmanship and arousing the French crowd into a fury could be big trouble for a nice simple straight player like Halep. Kiki is willing to do or try anything and that could disturb or disrupt even the best player. Look at how it affected the defending champion yesterday.

 

[scoop]

Ricardo; I believe Djokovic has lost a fraction of his desire. Where is that ruthless intensity? Where is that fiery ferocity? Where are those bulging raging eyes? Djokovic's drive and thirst is not what it was. It's like he's trying to evolve into a Godlier figure than Federer. When Djokovic was at his very beast best his team mantra was not this "peace and love" phooey. Djokovic used to be a ruthless vicious destroyer. Now he's a peace and love ambassador.

 

[scoop]

Fatigue/burnout Could be an issue for Kiki as she is still alive in doubles with Kuznetsova. I think we can all lay to rest the silly charade of her supposed back injury. Halep is a lot fresher right now but Kiki's confidence has to be in the clouds after winning so many close tough tight matches and also playing so well in the doubles.

 

[scoop]

Djokovic is a very creative soul who likes to express his creativity in different ways on the court One thing you can't say is that he's boring. Appreciate the show even if there is a tinge of phoniness to some of his actions.

 

[scoop]

Chazz; Federer and Rafa definitely had a monopoly on tennis fans for a long time but Djokovic has done a very good job to amass his own fanbase. Following a pair of first class legends like Roger and Rafa was just about impossible but Djokovic has done the impossible. Though it seems like he's trying to hard to be loved by fans and media instead of letting it happen naturally.