Photo: Fred Mullane/Camerawork USA, Inc
THE DJOKER IS BACK Novak Djokovic with the Wimbledon Trophy 2018
NOVAK DJOKOVIC
W
e expect our tennis heroes to be superhuman, immune to the afflictions that plague us mere mortals. They exist only to show us that the impossible can be conquered; that mountains can be moved, demons may be vanquished, miracles shall be claimed. The myth of Roger Federer barely breaking a sweat as he flicks his one-handed backhand wonder across the net, or the certainty that Rafael Nadal is always on the cusp of a turnaround even when he’s two sets and a break down, and the belief that Novak Djokovic is, finally, at the end of his Grand Slam drought—we have seen, and so we believe. The Serbian’s two-year slump following the 2016 French Open
came at a time when he was expected to win trophies by merely turning up. He beat Andy Murray to win the Australian Open that year, followed by blazing runs at Indian Wells and Miami, the latter making him surpass Federer in the all-time ATP prize money race. The rivals were beginning to show cracks in their invincibility, but Djokovic showed no signs of letting up. His win against Murray, again, this time at the French Open final, gave rise to the ‘Nole Slam’ moniker—as the trophy-holding champion of all four Slams at the same time. It looked like it would be a long reign. The US Open final defeat to the other Swiss, Stan Wawrinka, was put down to a blip, the usual year-end fatigue that fells
SHREYA CHAKRAVERTTY
so many players who start the year strong. But all the introspection done by Djokovic in the early parts of 2017 led him to one inexplicable conclusion: the foundation was the problem. In a move that he himself called ‘shock therapy’, he parted ways with his long-time coach Marian Vajda, trainer Gebhard Phil-Greitch and physiotherapist Miljan Amanovic. “I want to continue raising the level of my game and stamina and this is a continuous process,” he told the media at the time. “I enjoy this journey, it feels like I am starting something new again... I am a hunter and my biggest goal is to find the winning spark on the court again... I have so much faith in this process
Advantage Tennis Grand Slam Yearbook 2019
23