Ex-ATP Pro Reveals How Novak Djokovic Dealt with Heartbreaking 2016 Wimbledon Defeat: “Leave Me Alone, I Don’t Want to Talk”

Novak Djokovic clinched two titles this year, the Geneva Open and the Hellenic Championship.

Ex-ATP Pro Reveals How Novak Djokovic Dealt with Heartbreaking 2016 Wimbledon Defeat: “Leave Me Alone, I Don’t Want to Talk”

Novak Djokovic (Image via X/Swish Tennis)

🔍 Explore this post with:

ChatGPTPerplexityGrok AIGoogle AI

Novak Djokovic was not losing much from 2015 to 2016. He ended up playing 17 consecutive finals, winning 10 big titles. Even Djokovic has admitted, during his recent interview with Piers Morgan, how, during that phase, he felt he was invincible.

But after he lifted the 2016 French Open by defeating Andy Murray, Djokovic entered Wimbledon only to suffer a four-set defeat at the hands of Sam Querrey. The now-retired American player revealed how Djokovic felt after that disheartening defeat. Because there was a rain delay during the match, Djokovic went to the isolated room.

If there’s a rain delay, they have these little tiny like it’s, almost like a doctor’s waiting room, right inside the tunnel that you would sit in if it looks like the rain delay is only going to be less than 30 minutes.

Sam Querrey said on the Nothing Major podcast

Djokovic remembers that match vividly. During that aforementioned interview with Morgan, the Serb revealed how he did not feel like talking to anyone following the defeat.

Back to Novak. “My team comes in and I’m like, ‘Guys, you have to leave me alone. I want to be by myself. I don’t want to talk. I left the bags. Everything. Didn’t want to drink anything.” He said he just stared at the wall for 20 to 30 minutes, and it was the first time he felt empty. So, like something was going on in his life. And obviously, when I was playing him, I didn’t I didn’t know what was going on. I still don’t know what was going on necessarily, but you could tell when we were playing that he wasn’t the normal Novak.

Sam Querrey added

Following Wimbledon, Djokovic lost the US Open final to Stan Wawrinka. He did not win a Major the following year and also suffered an elbow injury that forced him to skip the US Open. Since 2018, Djokovic has won at least one Major every year until that streak ended in 2024 as he played his last Grand Slam final at Wimbledon. Alcaraz denied him his 25th Major at SW19 last year.

John Isner calls Novak Djokovic the third-best player this year

Jannik Sinner and Carlos Alcaraz have been dominating on the tour since 2024, winning titles one after the other, including the last eight Majors. This year, they lifted a combined 14 titles from 22 finals.

Novak Djokovic
Novak Djokovic (Image via X/AllAboutHQ)

Former player John Isner, during the Nothing Major podcast, thinks the third-best player this year was Novak Djokovic. He disagreed with Jack Sock, who named Felix Auger-Aliassime as the third-best man.

I’m gonna say Novak had the best year. He made the semifinals of all four Slams at 38 years old. I think the answer is Novak, and I think it’s a pretty easy answer.

John Isner said on the Nothing Major podcast

Djokovic played the semifinals of all four Majors this year. An injury forced him to give the walkover to Alexander Zverev at the Australian Open, while at Wimbledon and the French Open, Sinner knocked him out in the semifinals. At the US Open, Alcaraz denied him the win.

The 24-time Grand Slam champion took home two ATP 250 titles- the Geneva Open by defeating Hubert Hurkacz and the Hellenic Championship by defeating Lorenzo Musetti. He also reached the final of the Miami Open but failed to go past Jakub Mensik.

The former World No.1 ended the season as a No.4 player. Following his win in Athens, a shoulder injury forced him to skip the ATP Finals, where Sinner defeated Alcaraz to defend his crown.

Also read: Davis Cup Director Admits the Event is Open to Changes Following Alexander Zverev’s Criticism