“Djokovic played badly in Australia,” Former Italian tennis ace rings the bell on Novak Djokovic’s declining form after the 2024 Australian Open

Djokovic is not likely to take part in any of the tournaments in the month of February.

“Djokovic played badly in Australia,” Former Italian tennis ace rings the bell on Novak Djokovic’s declining form after the 2024 Australian Open

Novak Djokovic (L), Paolo Bertolucci (R) (Sources: Open Source/X)

To everyone’s surprise, Novak Djokovic lost to Jannik Sinner in the semifinal of the 2024 Australian Open. This brought an end to his 33-match win streak in the tournament that started in 2018 and it was also the first time that the Serb lost in an Australian Open semifinal match.

During his bout against Sinner, it was clearly visible that he was physically struggling to cope with the Italian’s intensity and that is something that has never been seen in his career before. 

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This is something that has concerned a lot of fans, as it might be the beginning of the 36-year-old’s decline. Former Italian tennis player Paolo Bertolucci gave his opinion on the topic in a recent interview with Fanpage and said that the Serb played poorly in the Australian Open. Nole lost three sets in his campaign till the semifinals against many inferior opponents like Alexei Popyrin, Dino Prizmic, and Taylor Fritz. 

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Djokovic played badly in Australia, as well as in previous events. We have never seen him in good conditions. Now, if this is due to a problem that can happen - because it happens that one doesn't get the preparation right - or if the decline, we will find out in the American match between Indian Wells and Miami.
Bertolucci said. (H/T: Tennis World USA)

The Italian explained that he would need to have seen Novak’s training sessions to make a better analogy about the same and to check whether he prepared with the same intensity. However, his performances in the Miami Open and Indian Wells will make the situation pretty clear. 

I have no ideas because we would have to have seen the training sessions, understand if he stopped or not and with what intensity. 

Novak Djokovic might play even less tournaments in 2024 

Djokovic is not likely to take part in any of the tournaments in the month of February and will directly enter either Indian Wells, the Miami Open, or both. This suggests that the Serb will be playing in an even more selective or restrictive schedule in 2024. He has always been pretty well known for selecting the correct tournaments to save his energy and ensure his fitness throughout the year-long tour. 

Novak Djokovic
Novak Djokovic (Credits: CODE Sports)

Now that the World No. 1 is apparently struggling physically, he will be even more cautious and fans can expect to see him play in even fewer tournaments this year. He has made it clear that he has no intention of giving up on his intentions to win more Grand Slam titles for as long as he can go and now that there are some serious competitors on his way, Djokovic will take his steps even more carefully. The Indian Wells and Miami Open will perfectly show the situation that Novak currently is in. 

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