Novak Djokovic's unexpected fall from grace is merely a reminder of how thin things are at the top of the game. His reign over the ATP professional tour used to be something that seemed to never end, a monstrous pace letting all the opponents with no proper response on the tennis court. But, in a matter of months, the whole empire went from a flourishing state to a completely different organism putting Djokovic in a strange position.
His ship seems to have lost its compass, the inner balance that once stood as a fundamental piece of the machinery.
Yesterday, the Serb champion stirred up further debates after the announcement of him parting ways with his longtime technical staff. An abrupt end of which Djokovic is hoping to dig out another chapter of his career as a tennis pro.
Novak Djokovic's radical decision could be a disastrous choice in the end
It's not uncommon for a top tennis player to went for a change regarding his coaching staff. By taking a look around it's more likely a trend. Rafael Nadal did something similar by replacing his uncle Tony with Carlos Moya; Roger Federer co-opted Ivan Ljubicic while Andy Murray resumed his partnership with Ivan Lendl.
All these happened over the last year or so. But Djokovic is going even further with the change of lines as he is not in a hurry to bring in a replacement.
Being into a lot of turbulence lately, the Serb output of tennis constantly declined. Since 2016 french open final breakthrough, his tennis went from the stratosphere back to a more earthly one. In the late stages of 2016, it was clear that something was not working as it supposed to.
The direct consequence was Djokovic splitting ways with Boris Becker, the super-coach that stood behind the Serb's most fruitful time.
A three years partnership cemented with 6 Majors title and another pile of trophies and records along the way. Now, the cards were reshuffled again, and the casualty was simply the rest of coaching staff. Marian Vajda, Miljan Amanovic, and Phil-Gritsch will no longer be a part of Novak Djokovic's staff.
Djokovic has a lot of points to defend
Still ranked as the world no. 2, Novak Djokovic is not off the hook yet as he will enter into a difficult part of the calendar having to defend the title in Madrid and the French Open and as a bonus the final of 2016 Rome Masters 1000. So, the second slot in the ranking is no longer a safe bet as Nadal is gathering momentum while Wawrinka is expected to shine again following a let down lately.
And of course, there is Roger Federer who will rejoin the herd at the French Open. For Djokovic, a successful run is more needed than ever. With only a title this season his numbers are somewhere around the average, a qualifier that has never been suited for the Serb.
