Novak Djokovic ’s decision to play in the mixed doubles at the Tokyo Olympics last summer was his one big mistake as he chased a historic Calendar Slam, according to his coach Goran Ivanisevic.
The World No. 1 was unceremoniously dumped out of the Monte-Carlo Masters, falling to underdog Alejandro Davidovich Fokina 6-3 6-7 (5-7) 6-1 in the second round. Djokovic was clearly lacking match sharpness as the tournament was just the second event he has competed in since the turn of the year due to his vaccination status amid Covid restrictions.
Djokovic’s difficult start to 2022 is a stark contrast to how the Serbian superstar played throughout the 2021 campaign, when he came within one win of becoming the first man since Rod Laver in 1969 to secure a Calendar Grand Slam. The Serb even eyed a ‘Golden’ Slam achieved by winning the Olympic gold medal as well as all four major titles, but came up short in both the Olympics and the US Open.
Djokovic lost to eventual champion Alexander Zverev of Germany in Tokyo last summer before he fell to Daniil Medvedev in the Flushing Meadows final. Ivanisevic disagrees with the popular belief that Djokovic should have skipped the Olympics to focus on winning the final Grand Slam of the year, but he conceded the 34-year-old played a difficult schedule.
“No one could stop him from playing in the Olympics. I don’t think he made a mistake,” Ivanisevic told ubitennis.net. “I just think he made a mistake playing the mixed doubles. That was not necessary, because in the end he was tired. He didn’t even play for third or fourth place. I don’t think that because of this he lost the final of the US Open.
“(Daniil) Medvedev was very good. You can never underestimate him at any time. He’s an unbelievable player. He was a better player that day. But Novak was not Novak. Something was missing. But again, I don’t think it was because of the Olympics.
“It just happens. It happened in a bad moment. It happened in the most important match. Probably it would have been the history of tennis to win after… so many years. The first guy who had the chance to complete the Grand Slam in the same calendar year.”
He added: “It can happen, but he’s human, he can have these days like that. But when you have Medvedev on the other side of the net you need to be one hundred percent.”
Many fans expected Davidovich Fokina to cause the Serb problems as the World No. 46 is considered a clay-court specialist. The 22-year-old excelled and proved to be a tricky test for Djokovic, who will now look to find form at the Serbia Open next week in his preparations for the French Open - where Djokovic is defending his title.
The 20-time Grand Slam champion has struggled as he played a reduced schedule largely due to complications surrounding his vaccination status. While he is in alarming form, Ivanisevic is not worried as Djokovic is in a similar situation to where he was a year ago - only to win at Roland Garros and Wimbledon.
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“This guy (Djokovic) for me is the best player in the history of tennis,” the coach said. “He always finds a way to win, he always finds a way to get out of trouble.
“One moment he was losing three love when he was supposed to be leading three love. He had break points and game points. He lost a lot of energy.
“But he’ll find his way out of this in his constant playing. He only had three matches prior to this tournament. Clay is not easy. Last year he started pretty badly here, he lost to (Dan) Evans. Then in Belgrade he lost in the semis.
“He started to play well in Rome where he got to the final, then he won the French Open. So I’m not worried. He just needs some continuity. He needs to play more and more matches and he’s going to find his way.”
