After a surprising performance in a 6-2, 6-3 loss to Chile’s Alejandro Tabilo in Rome, Novak Djokovic’s devastating setback at the hands of Tabilo has reignited a new discussion about his tennis career.
Djokovic, who said after the match that he felt unstable on the court two days after being unintentionally hit in the head by a bottle after his opening match against Corentin Moutet, was defeated by the underdog in just 67 minutes. “I believe you saw it quite clearly in the video,” Djokovic remarked following his loss against Tabilo.
For me, it was an extremely bad and unlucky circumstance. That guy leaned over the fence by mistake, causing the bottle to fall out of his backpack and land squarely on my head. It was plainly unexpected. Not that I was looking up.
I then felt like I was struck really hard in the head. Yes, that has had a significant impact on me. experienced nausea, vertigo, blood, and a host of other various symptoms for thirty minutes to an hour.
“I had a decent night’s sleep. I experienced headaches. I decided it was alright because the following day went rather well. Perhaps it’s alright. Perhaps it isn’t. “I mean, it was like a whole other player stepped into my shoes the way I felt on the court today. Simply put, there is never any rhythm, pace, or balance on any shot.
It’s a little alarming. I didn’t run any tests or scans. I’ll give it a try and see what happens since I feel like I should right now. Let’s investigate the situation. Even while the bottle incident might have contributed to Djokovic’s most recent subpar performance, the way he lost will undoubtedly cause some discussion about why he still plays the game.
Djokovic has been experiencing motivation issues, according to his now-former coach Goran Ivanisevic.
The 24-time Grand Slam champion said he is no longer motivated by anything besides Grand Slam competitions. Because of this, Tennis Channel analyst Mark Petchey has begun to speculate that Djokovic would announce his retirement following the summer Olympics.
Anyone else getting a Paris Olympics massive push for the one thing Novak doesn’t have and then Au Revoir to tennis?
Starting to get Sampras 2002 vibes.
Still have him in the favourite category for RG and Wimbledon but to be this great for so long takes incredible sacrifice.
— Mark Petchey (@_markpetchey) May 12, 2024
The one medal Djokovic is lacking from his collection of achievements is an Olympic gold medal, and he has made winning the Games in Paris this summer his top priority.
“Are you also receiving a significant push for the one thing that Novak lacks at the Paris Olympics, and then it’s goodbye to tennis?” wrote Petchey, Andy Murray’s former coach, on X. I’m beginning to feel like Sampras in 2002.
He is still my favorite for RG and Wimbledon, but it takes a tremendous amount of sacrifice to be this good for so long. When Petchey made this reference, it was to the last few years of Pete Sampras’ dominance as the best player in men’s tennis.
Sampras had lost interest in playing after winning his 13th Grand Slam championship at Wimbledon in 2000, breaking Roy Emerson’s record for most major event victories at the time.
Naturally, having won 20 Grand Slams or more, Roger Federer, Rafael Nadal, and Novak Djokovic have surpassed that milestone in recent years, and the three tennis greats are acknowledged as the best three to have ever played the sport.
In the event that Djokovic fulfills his dream of taking home the gold in the singles Olympic competition later this year, he may be wondering if he really needs anything more.
After all, he has accomplished everything in the sport. It remains to be seen if Petchey’s query is answered, but it is difficult to disagree with his analogy to the conclusion of the Sampras era.
