Seven months deep into the season of 2017 might be the right time to draw some conclusions about some of the top players of the ATP professional tour. Novak Djokovic, twelve times Grand Slam singles champion and the former world no. 2, seems to have lost most of his special aura following another disappointing outcome at a Grand Slam.
This time it was not his lack of motivation or eagerness, but a lingering injury on his right elbow. Perhaps it's time for him to change something about his approach to tennis in order to keep himself relevant for few more years within the ATP Tour.
In his latest performance, in the quarterfinals of Wimbledon, he was forced to call it a day due to the same bad elbow that kept him away from Miami Masters 1000 earlier this season. Thus, Tomas Berdych is in the semis of Wimbledon where the mighty Roger Federer awaits, the same Federer who could give Novak a lesson of how to properly manage things in order to stay at the top of the game.
It won't be a surprise if Djokovic chooses to follow Federer's way
Unable to put in a 100% effort, the Serb must take some drastic choices.The general lack of fitness throughout the past months or so demands a completely different approach. Also, it's a side effect of a burnout or overdoing things. Taking a look at his record, it reveals that last year he had 74 official matches ( seven ATP titles) while back in 2015, perhaps his best season to date, the numbers are impressive.
He featured in 88 encounters in that season and won eleven titles. So, maybe he is entitled to take an extended break, maybe to skip several future tournaments even though his ranking would plunge.
Last year, Federer and then Nadal sent waves of shock into the system by skipping the second part of the season almost completely.
But their strategy paid off as they came back stronger and hungry to accumulate once more. Basically, they have been the dominant names of men's tennis so far this season and things are likely to go using this trend.
Djokovic's ranking could plunge
If Djokovic will take some extra time to nurture his injury, he could see his ranking going down pretty quick.
The upcoming months mean that he has to defend few thousands point on the hardcourt session. Last year, he gave the impression that Wimbledon was barely an incident. He came back winning Masters 1000 in Toronto and then he reached the final at the US Open where he lost to Stan Wawrinka. Even further, he reached the semis in Shanghai while in Paris ( indoor session) he lost in the quarterfinals. The ATP Finals saw him reaching the final where he lost to Andy Murray. It was the moment when he handed the world no. 1 spot to Murray.
