For the first time since 2017 – when he was conditioned by a serious elbow injury – Novak Djokovic will close a season without having won even a Grand Slam title. The former world number 1 was eliminated in the third round of the 2024 US Open by a great Alexei Popyrin, who exploited his opponent’s imperfect conditions to achieve the most prestigious victory of his career.
The Australian ace came out knowing he had a great chance of making the feat against Nole, who had struggled in the first two rounds against Radu Albot and Laslo Djere. After the extraordinary feat achieved at the Paris Olympics, the 37-year-old from Belgrade seemed very tired and the choice to skip the Masters 1000 in Montreal and Cincinnati did not allow him to find the right pace on the hard court.
Novak’s level was not constant in 2024, especially in the Grand Slam tournaments. The current world number 2 was beaten by Jannik Sinner in the semifinals at the Australian Open, while at the French Open he had to withdraw before the quarterfinals due to a knee injury. Despite a very precarious physical condition, the 24-time Grand Slam champion reached the final at the Wimbledon Championships losing sharply to an unstoppable Carlos Alcaraz.
Djokovic will play the Davis Cup
Despite having stated repeatedly that he is still hungry and wants to continue playing for many more years, many believe that Djokovic no longer has the right motivation after his triumph at the Paris Olympics.
In a recent interview with Sky Sports, tennis legend Martina Navratilova opened up on Nole’s shocking loss against Popyrin at the US Open: “His goal for the year was to get the Olympic gold medal, and he got that done, so I’m not surprised he didn’t have the focus or that fire. It’s impossible to keep it going consistently. When you have a slight off day when you are older, it’s way worse than when you’re 25.
Everything gets harder, takes longer. Recovery from training hard, recovery from injury. You want to train less but then you’re in worse shape. I just don’t see how he can stay motivated. If anybody can, it’s him, but he has got to play a little bit more than he has been playing. If he pulls back too much… you have to be match tough. You can’t practice that.” Due to his premature elimination in New York, Novak has decided to play the Davis Cup tie with Serbia against Greece scheduled for 14th and 15th September in Belgrade.
The former world number 1 played a bad tennis at this US Open: “Congrats to him and his team. He played better and deserved to win. Honestly with the way I felt and played from the start of the tournament… round 3 is a success. I played some of the worst tennis I’ve ever played. Serving by far some of the worst ever. On a quick surface like this, you can’t win without a serve. You can’t win against the guys who are in form like Alexei. It was just an awful match from me.”
The Serbian ace has struggled this year
A few weeks ago, it was announced that Nole will play the Masters 1000 in Shanghai after a long absence. It is unclear whether the Serbian legend will change his schedule to make as many ATP points as possible or choose a conservative approach. Despite not being a satisfactory season from the point of view of results, the 24-time Grand Slam champion won the title that interested him most: “I had a feeling that I could win the title at Roland Garros, but I got injured there. The Wimbledon final… The Olympics was the biggest goal, that’s where I played my best. If it’s such a year to win only gold, I accept that, I have been waiting for it all my life. The weakest season in terms of results in the last 15 years, that’s how I feel, but that’s how it is. I will return to Belgrade so we will see going forward.”
There is no doubt that a new era has begun for men’s tennis. For the first time since 2002, no one between Novak Djokovic, Roger Federer and Rafael Nadal will win a Grand Slam title in an entire calendar year. The Swiss man retired in 2022, while the Spaniard – who only played the French Open in 2024 – is very close to retirement and could announce his decision soon. After three Majors last year, Novak has struggled this year to find the best form in the most important tournaments (excluding the Olympics).
