Milos Raonic explains what Novak Djokovic needs to recover his lost form and reach 100-title milestone
Novak Djokovic last lifted a title at the 2024 Paris Olympics and since then, he has reached the final only twice.
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Novak Djokovic, Milos Raonic (Image via X/Danny, We Are Tennis)
What should Novak Djokovic do to recover his lost form? Milos Raonic wants the Serb to sign up for more tournaments.
Djokovic focused only on the Grand Slam tournaments last year but not playing more matches didn’t help him at all as he secured just the gold medal at the Paris Olympics by beating Carlos Alcaraz in straight sets. But this year, Djokovic wants to play more tournaments so that he gets enough match practice before the Grand Slam tournaments.
So far in the season, the 24-time Grand Slam champion has participated in seven tournaments, producing his best at the Miami Open. He reached the final but was denied his 100th title by Jakub Mensik who lifted the first title of his career.
Djokovic registered three consecutive defeats when Matteo Arnaldi knocked him out of the ongoing Madrid Open. Prior to Madrid, Nole suffered a defeat in his opening round at the Monte Carlo Masters. The 37-year-old is just a shadow of his former self and fitness problems have been hampering his campaigns, including in Grand Slam events.
I think for me the most interesting thing is…before, it seemed like such an obvious formula that Novak had figured out how to get back quickly every time. And I think the biggest thing is once you get older, you just don’t respond as quickly. So I think the big thing for him now is like more than ever, he’s just needed the matches right.
Milos Raonic told Tennis Channel
Raonic, who was last seen in action at the 2024 Queen’s Club Championships, faced Djokovic 12 times, losing all the matches. They last met each other in the fourth round of the 2021 Australian Open which Djokovic won in four sets before beating Daniil Medvedev in the final to lift his ninth Australian Open trophy.
John Isner claims Novak Djokovic only wants to win Wimbledon
John Isner pointed out why Novak Djokovic won’t be a favorite at the French Open. He said that clay is not the surface where Djokovic dominates; so the chances of him winning his fourth Roland Garros trophy is quite low.
But it’s Wimbledon that Djokovic is aiming for this year, believes Isner, who had registered only two wins against the Serbian great in their 12 matches. Djokovic, the winner of seven Wimbledon titles, last lifted the grass-court Major in 2022. He had reached the finals in 2023 as well as 2024 but lost on both times to Carlos Alcaraz in five and straight sets, respectively.
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.
John Isner said on the Nothing Major podcast
If Djokovic wins another title, he will become the third man in the history of ATP tennis to reach the 100-title mark following Jimmy Connors and Roger Federer. Djokovic will next participate in the Italian Open, which starts on May 7.
Since winning the Paris Olympics gold medal, the Belgrade native advanced to two finals: at the Shanghai Masters and the Miami Open. Last year on the clay swing (excluding the Paris Olympics), Djokovic reached two semifinals and also the French Open quarterfinals but was forced to withdraw due to an injury.
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