Back in the day, Goran Ivanisevic used to quip that there were three versions of himself: good Goran, bad Goran and emergency Goran. To judge from comments Novak Djokovic made earlier this year, something of his former coach’s mentality has rubbed off on him.
“The little Novak, the four-year-old Novak that started playing tennis in Kopaonik in Serbia, is still inside and still in love with this sport, and is still so hungry for more,” Djokovic told Nick Kyrgios in an interview at the Australian Open in January.
“But at the same time, there is probably this more mature Novak, father and husband, that is like, ‘Come on man, there are other things in life as well.’ I really miss my children.”
In a season of struggle for the Serbian world No 1, those words have resonated more strongly with each passing week. Since losing to Jannik Sinner at Melbourne Park in a semi-final match he described as one of the worst of his grand slam career, Djokovic’s year has become a tale of late withdrawals, early defeats and the downright bizarre.
Djokovic skipped the Miami Open following a shock loss to Luca Nardi in Indian Wells. He pulled out of Madrid to step up his clay-court preparations only to last just two rounds on his return in Rome, where he was struck on the head by a water bottle that fell from a spectator’s backpack after his opening match against Corentin Moutet. And while that freak accident may account for a strangely disengaged performance in his subsequent defeat to Alejandro Tabilo of Chile, it does not explain his travails at this week’s Geneva Open, where he slumped to a 6-4, 0-6, 6-1 semi-final defeat against Tomas Machac on Friday afternoon.
“Of course I am worried,” said Djokovic, who will open his defence of the French Open title against Pierre Hugues Herbert, a 33-year-old wildcard entry from France ranked 143 in the world.
“I haven’t played well at all this year, apart from a few matches here and there. Things are what they are. I don’t see myself as a favourite in Paris. I will try to take the matches one after the other.”
It was an honest assessment by the 37-year-old, who can at least console himself that his decision to accept the offer of a late wildcard for the ATP 250 event in the Parc des Eaux-Vive gave him a few extra outings on clay before heading to Roland Garros. In mitigation, the Serb has been struggling with a stomach upset, and he certainly looked green around the gills against Machac, taking a medical timeout after the first set.
Even so, Djokovic remains for the moment a shadow of his normal all-conquering self. He had to save three set points against Tallon Griekspoor in the previous round, and survived an alarming dip against Yannick Hanfmann in his opening match, where his indifference briefly invited comparison with his performance against Tabilo in Rome. It was perhaps telling that, after dispatching Hanfmann, he spoke of his pleasure at being able to spend time with his aunt, uncle and cousins in Geneva. Clearly the pull of family remains strong.
In fact, Djokovic’s entire season has felt like an expression of the internal struggle he described to Kyrgios at the start of the year. If he has played like a man whose mind is elsewhere, perhaps that is because it has been. With 24 grand slam titles, 40 Masters 1000 crowns and 426 weeks at world No 1 behind him, at what point is the allure of carving a yet deeper niche in history outweighed by the desire to watch his two children, nine-year-old Stefan and six-year-old Tara, grow up?
The next fortnight should provide, if not a definitive answer, then at least the beginnings of one. A fourth victory at Roland Garros, where he is seeded to face Sinner in the final, would leave Djokovic out on his own as the most successful player in history, moving him clear of fellow 24-time major winner Margaret Court. It would also guarantee that, for now at least, Sinner cannot overtake him at the top of the rankings. Should the Serb leave Paris ranked No 2 and still searching for a first title of the season, however, speculation about his appetite for further conquest will inevitably intensify.
Djokovic’s task is likely to be complicated by a draw that has not fallen kindly. The third round could bring a meeting with Lorenzo Musetti, who defeated him in Monte Carlo last year and has form for running him closeon Court Philippe Chatrier, with Tommy Paul, a semi-finalist in Rome, expected to follow in the last 16. If the seedings hold, he would then face Casper Ruud in a repeat of last year’s final before meeting Alexander Zverev, Daniil Medvedev or – who knows? – old rival Rafael Nadal in the semi-finals. No wonder Djokovic doesn’t see himself among the leading title contenders.
That said, if the Serb plots a course to a historic 25th major, will anyone really be surprised? Out of form and playing on the surface that comes least naturally to him, the burden of expectation will be lighter than it has been in years at a slam. And while his motivation may indeed be waning, it would be foolhardy to dismiss the title claims of a man who came within a whisker of completing the first grand slam in more than half a century last year.
Lest we forget, Djokovic has won seven of the past 11 majors he has contested. This week, he celebrated the 1,100th victory of his career, a record bettered only by Jimmy Connors and Roger Federer. He is a winning machine, a master of milestones whose ability to find a way, regardless of who stands across the net and irrespective of the vagaries of form and fitness, is the hallmark of his greatness.
And while history has shown that landmark successes like the one he achieved by equalling Margaret Court’s all-time grand slam record at last year’s US Open may indeed slake his thirst for more, the condition tends to be temporary. After winning at Roland Garros for the first time in 2016 to complete a career grand slam, Djokovic did not win another major for two years. He has since claimed a dozen, cementing his status as arguably the greatest player ever to have picked up a racket.
Can Djokovic triumph in Paris for a fourth time? The internal dialogue between his past and present selves may hold the answer. Can the four-year-old boy whose journey began 37 years in the mountains of Serbia still shout louder than the father and husband?