Former World No.8 believes there’s only one tournament Novak Djokovic cares about winning this period
Novak Djokovic has lost four of his last five opening matches this season, including against Matteo Arnaldi in Madrid.
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Novak Djokovic (via Instagram/Rolex Monte Carlo Masters)
Novak Djokovic suffered an uncharacteristic defeat at the Madrid Open to Matteo Arnaldi in his opening match. This comes after the former World No.1 loss to a Chilean at the Monte Carlo Masters second round. However, former World No.8 John Isner believes that the 37-year-old has only one title on his mind.
Djokovic has performed below par on the court this season. In fact, he has only recorded 12 victories this season, most of which came at the Australian Open and Miami. He has lost in the opening match of four of his last five tournaments, something rarely seen from him in the past twelve years of his career.
He’s now at the twilight of his career and it showed at Monte Carlo, where he lost to Alejandro Tabilo in straight sets. He looked to bounce back at the Madrid Open, but a day before his second-round match he was seen angry in the training court. That eventually played out in his loss to Arnaldi the following day.
John Isner believes that the 24-time major winner is only focused on winning the Wimbledon Championship at this point in his career. The former World No.8 also ruled out his chances of winning the Roland Garros.
It is really hard for us to say but I think he only cares about Wimbledon at this point. It is very hard for him to win Roland Garros and maybe he might even understand that now. Three out of five sets over two weeks on clay, with all the great players, with [Jannik] Sinner coming back – it is very unlikely. It is not his best surface to begin with, he is playing poorly on it right now. He was very frustrated on the practice court in Madrid.
John Isner said via Nothing Major podcast
Several former players have suggested that Djokovic retire from the sport. The former World No.1 seems to lack hunger for titles and has not been at his best on the court. However, he has slammed the suggestion on several occasions.
John Isner believes Novak Djokovic will bounce back from Madrid defeat
Novak Djokovic has been one of the greatest players of his generation. Despite his lack of form of late, John Isner believes that he will bounce back from his loss at Madrid as he’s just seeking one more career Grand Slam.
I think give him another day and he will put this loss behind and we all know that his goals for the rest of his career are to try and win another Grand Slam, which would be ridiculous for him to do at 37 or 38 years old.
John Isner said
Djokovic has reached the quarter-finals of the last five Grand Slam tournaments he has been a part of but has only been to one final. The Serbian’s last major win was at the US Open in 2023.
Novak Djokovic withdraws from the Italian Open
Novak Djokovic has withdrawn from the Italian Open in Rome. The former World No.1 is fresh off from his opening round loss to Matteo Arnaldi at the Madrid Open. He currently holds a 12-7 win-loss record this season and has lost three of his last four matches on Tour, something that is unusual of him.
Djokovic has won the Italian Open on six occasions and has reached the final six times also. His most recent triumph at the event was in 2022. The Italian Open starts on the 7th of May.
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