There’s something inherently sad about watching a sporting legend struggle in front of the whole world as their playing days wind down. Simple shots that would have once been made almost without thinking become tough tasks, and the body doesn’t follow instructions, maybe due to fitness issues or just general wear and tear. Doubt creeps into the mindset, where once was just unshakeable belief in one’s own ability.
Most of those watching on Wimbledon’s Centre Court would have had similar feelings as they saw World No.1 Jannik Sinner routinely dismantle 24-time Major winner and seven-time champion at the All England Club, Novak Djokovic in straight sets.
The match lasted five minutes short of two hours, but if it had been a boxing contest, the referee would have stopped the bout much earlier on account of it being a mismatch. The Sinner-Djokovic semifinal was the marquee clash of the day and was the second match scheduled on Centre Court but as it turned out, the first semifinal, between defending champion Carlos Alcaraz and Taylor Fritz, was much more competitive and lasted almost an hour longer.
When the Serb threatened a mini-comeback by breaking serve in the early part of the third set, the crowd was vociferous in its support, but they — as well as the player himself — would have known deep down that it was a false dawn.
When he was in his prime, Djokovic made no secret of his feeling that he didn’t get the crowd support and adulation that he deserved, and most of the love was reserved for his two greatest rivals, Roger Federer and Rafael Nadal. Hence, it was more than a bit ironic that the cheering was the loudest when arguably the greatest men’s tennis player of all time was nowhere near his best. As they say, one often doesn’t appreciate something unless it’s gone.
Djokovic had faced Sinner in the French Open semifinals as well just over a month ago, and though that also ended in a straight-sets defeat, it was by no means one-way traffic. And as it has been less than a year since Djokovic won the Paris Olympics gold medal, filling the one gap in his tennis resume – beating Alcaraz, no less, in the final at Roland Garros – one may have been justified in thinking that the rumours of his terminal decline were highly exaggerated.
A diminishing force
Not on Friday’s evidence. His movement may have been hampered by a niggle and a fall on his hip in the earlier round, but that’s part of the grind if one has to win seven best-of-five-sets matches to clinch the biggest prizes. It was quite unusual, to say the least, to see Djokovic not going for balls which whistled past not too far from him.
Federer’s last few years as a professional tennis player were largely hampered by the pandemic and injury. His last set on Centre Court – where he has lifted the trophy no less than eight times – was the 0-6 bagel suffered at the hands of tall Pole Hubert Hurkacz in the 2021 quarter-finals when he was a month short of turning 40, which would have signalled that the end was near.
Nadal won a few Majors in his mid-thirties before injuries took their inevitable final toll. He had to miss a major chunk of the circuit and even his last competitive outing on Court Philippe Chatrier at Roland Garros – a stage he had ruled for almost two decades – was his straight-sets defeat to Alexander Zverev in the first round of the 2024 edition.
But Djokovic’s diminishing returns are in full media glare. He endured three successive defeats on hard courts and clay earlier this year, a prospect unthinkable a couple of years ago. But when it comes to the Grand Slams, it takes an elite player to stop him in his tracks. He had to retire from his match against Zverev at the Australian Open due to a hamstring tear and lost to Sinner in Paris and SW19. His usual game is still good enough to get past most other players – they may get a set off him but his experience, court nous and ability to raise his game at the opportune time still gets the job done in the early rounds.
When the US Open comes along in the last week of August, it would be two years since Djokovic added to his Grand Slam tally. Wimbledon was said to be his best chance for a 25th Major, but a player can only take on one adversary at a time. Not only does the Serb have to contend with two players a decade and a half younger than him taking tennis to greater heights, he also has to try and slow down the march of Father Time, something nobody has managed to do.
New firm in charge
It’s amazing to consider that the Golden Generation of Federer, Nadal and Djokovic was something which, it was said, couldn’t be replicated. But barely have they vacated the stage that Alcaraz and Sinner have begun to emulate them, at least in terms of dominance. The likes of Alexander Zverev, Jack Draper and Taylor Fritz need to do something quite special if they want to avoid the same fate as Jo-Wilfried Tsonga, Tomas Berdych, David Ferrer, Nikolay Davydenko and David Nalbandian.
Djokovic may or may not watch today’s Wimbledon final, in which Alcaraz may join a very exclusive club – which includes the Serb – of men to have won three straight crowns at the grass-court Major. But what he can’t avoid over the next few weeks is to take a good hard look at his game and current physical capabilities, and decide whether he’s up to the challenges posed by the reigning duopoly in the men’s game.
The commentary team during Friday’s semi-final were almost pushing Djokovic through the retirement door, saying it’s time for him to seriously consider his future, and he himself admitted later that the physical grind of five-set tennis was a bit too much for him at the moment.
But only the player himself, especially one as great as Djokovic, will be able to best judge where his game is at the moment. Nobody can force anyone to pull the plug. The hunger to compete and the sheer joy of playing the game often keeps them in the gym and on the court. The top players often have almost an irrational belief in themselves, but they also need some tangible returns or results to make it all seem worthwhile.