Novak Djokovic’s outcomes in opposition to Jannik Sinner and Carlos Alcaraz – a small a part of an enormous downside

Nearly twenty years after the final time it occurred, Novak Djokovic finds himself occupying an area in males’s tennis with which he’s all too acquainted. He’s, by a distance, the third-best participant on the earth.

In the summertime of 2007, quickly after he turned 20, Djokovic made the semifinals of the French Open and Wimbledon, earlier than reaching the ultimate on the U.S. Open. He was No. 3 on the earth for all of that July, dropped to No. 4 for every week within the August, after which stayed at No. 3 till… Might. Of 2009.

In his approach had been Rafael Nadal, who beat him in these French Open and Wimbledon semis, and Roger Federer, who noticed him off in straight units in New York. Excluding his 2008 Australian Open title, losses to Nadal and Federer outlined Djokovic’s profession from that summer time till 2011. Each defeated him a pair extra occasions every within the closing levels of majors between 2008 and 2010, with Djokovic posting two wins of his personal in opposition to them at these occasions.

Now, because the 2024 season attracts to an in depth, Djokovic has Jannik Sinner and Carlos Alcaraz in entrance of him.

On Sunday, Sinner beat Djokovic in straight units within the last of the Shanghai Masters — a match Djokovic has received 4 occasions, greater than some other participant, and the place he has a 39-6 report. Sinner has now crushed him twice this yr, 3 times in a row, and in 4 of their previous 5 ATP conferences; in that point, Djokovic has additionally misplaced consecutive Wimbledon finals to Alcaraz. It makes Sinner solely the sixth participant to win three ATP-level matches in a row in opposition to Djokovic, based on Opta:

Djokovic did beat Alcaraz 7-6(3), 7-6(2) to win Olympic gold in August, however in his 5 matches in opposition to the highest two this yr, he has received simply three units. Two of these had been in that Olympic last, the opposite got here in his in any other case easy four-set loss to Sinner on the Australian Open.

Sinner and Alcaraz have additionally shared this yr’s 4 Grand Slams between them, leaving him with out a main in a calendar yr for under the second time since 2010.

Djokovic reiterated on Sunday that Grand Slam titles are what encourage him to maintain going at age 37, having received all the pieces there’s to win within the recreation. “Proper now, it’s actually about Slams and about nonetheless seeing how far I can push the bar for myself,” he stated in a information convention.

The Serbian wants yet another main to maneuver away from Margaret Court docket’s report of 24 — 9 of which she received earlier than tennis turned skilled — which he equalled by successful the U.S. Open final yr. For the remainder of 2024, and into 2025, he should stability sustaining his degree and health for these 4 majors with the data that, with out rating factors accrued in different occasions, his conferences with Sinner and Alcaraz at these majors will occur in earlier and earlier rounds.

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Djokovic’s semifinal loss to Sinner was his first defeat on the Australian Open — the place he’s a 10-time champion — in six years. For less than the second time in his Grand Slam profession, Djokovic did not earn a break level and his 17.2 p.c of factors received on first-serve return was his third-worst tally of 2024.

In Shanghai on Sunday, maybe the best returner within the historical past of the game had comparable struggles, this time successful simply 34.6 per cent of second-serve return factors — once more his third-worst displaying of 2024. And whereas most opponents yield to Djokovic’s larger solidity within the essential moments, Sinner didn’t. It was Djokovic, not Sinner, who coughed up a decisive error within the essential first-set tiebreak.

In opposition to Alcaraz at Wimbledon, an admittedly not-fully-fit Djokovic once more returned poorly. He received 16.1 p.c of first-serve return factors, his second-lowest complete of the yr, and stated after the match that he had by no means seen the younger Spaniard serve so properly.

Djokovic additionally had a dreadful day serving. He received 40 p.c of factors behind his second serve, his second-lowest determine of 2024 and approach down on his common for the yr of 55.9 p.c. The 6-2, 6-2, 7-6 (4) scoreline that day arguably flattered the crushed finalist, with Alcaraz obliterating Djokovic’s serve at 4-4 within the third set after largely coasting by way of the 4 earlier service video games performed. To beat Alcaraz within the Olympic last, Djokovic performed his finest match of the yr within the match that mattered most to him, elevating his degree within the two tiebreaks, particularly the second. Alcaraz, who transformed zero of eight break factors within the match, dipped in each tiebreaks and on these break factors.

An issue for Djokovic is that Sinner and Alcaraz are acting at such a degree that there’s little he can do in the way in which of getting ready for them with match observe that doesn’t contain enjoying significant matches in opposition to them. His comparatively sparse schedule has allowed him to take care of his health whereas reliably easing into majors by way of the primary week, getting himself match-ready by successful within the early rounds. He did it at this yr’s French Open, falling solely to the medial meniscus tear from which he recovered to achieve the Wimbledon last. He did it on the U.S. Open, too, earlier than assembly an impressed Alexei Popyrin and failing to carry his degree to satisfy that problem.

Djokovic has performed 12 tournaments this yr, in comparison with 14 for Sinner and 16 for Alcaraz (counting final month’s Davis Cup qualifiers as one occasion fairly than two separate ties). Djokovic will most likely finish the yr with 14 occasions, the identical as in 2023 and two greater than a yr earlier when he missed the Australian swing due to his Covid-19 vaccination standing. Djokovic performed 13 occasions the yr earlier than that.

This very constant method has typically led to persistently good outcomes, but it surely’s his world rating and his factors accrued from persistently successful titles which have allowed him to do that with out risking dealing with the very best gamers earlier than the ultimate levels of occasions.

That could be about to alter.

Djokovic has accrued 3,910 rating factors to date in 2024, successful only one occasion and nil ATP titles — his lowest tally since 2005. That places him at No. 6 within the ‘Race to Turin,’ the Italian metropolis the place the season-ending Tour Finals are held. He’s presently No. 4 within the ATP world rankings, behind Alexander Zverev, who’s forward of Djokovic in factors however not on-court high quality. Djokovic is defending 1,000 of these factors on the Paris Masters, which begins October 28, the place he’s the reigning champion. He’s not anticipated to play any additional occasions in 2024.

His outcomes have additionally declined. He has received 80 p.c of his matches in 2024 (37-9), down from 89 p.c (56-7) final yr. It’s his lowest win share for a calendar yr since 2010, wherein he received 77 p.c of matches — the ultimate season earlier than Djokovic donned his superhero cape and went stratospheric. His 2011, wherein he received a staggering 92 p.c (70-6) of matches, was top-of-the-line years for a person in males’s tennis historical past.

It feels unlikely that, at 37, Djokovic will need to tweak his quantity of tournaments to attempt to be extra match-tight for the majors, however with out rating factors, his rating will drop. If his rating drops, his seeding for Grand Slams and Masters 1000 tournaments will drop. If his seedings for Grand Slams and Masters 1000 tournaments drop, he can be assembly Alcaraz or Sinner earlier and earlier within the occasions he most needs to win.

Even a seeding of 5 to eight on the Australian Open would presently imply a attainable quarterfinal in opposition to one or the opposite, and he’d solely should drop one place from his present rating of fourth to be dealing with that situation.

Djokovic was phlegmatic about this newest defeat to Sinner on the weekend, saying: “So long as I carry out the way in which I carried out this week, and I believe I can go toe-to-toe with the massive guys. So long as that’s the case, I assume I’ll nonetheless really feel the necessity to carry on competing, and motivation to be on the market, and let’s see how lengthy that’s going to final for.”

Whereas the possibility to reel in Sinner and Alcaraz — who had been aged 5 and 4 respectively when Djokovic first grew to become the world No. 3 — needs to be loads of motivation, if losses to them develop into continual, that will rapidly develop into dispiriting. A lot has been revamped the previous week of the retirement of Rafael Nadal and what which means for Djokovic because the final one of many sport’s Huge Three standing, with Federer having hung up his racket in 2022.

After listening to the Nadal information, Djokovic stated in an on-court interview in Shanghai, “I nonetheless take pleasure in competing, however a part of me left with them, an enormous a part of me.”

It’s truly the third member of the group whose expertise is likely to be extra pertinent.

Between Wimbledon in 2012 and the Australian Open in 2017, Federer didn’t win a Grand Slam title. For a lot of that interval, he discovered himself in an analogous place to the place Djokovic is now — the world’s third-best participant however with a pair of rivals a degree above. A type of rivals was Djokovic, who beat Federer in three Grand Slam finals between Wimbledon in 2014 and the U.S. Open the next yr. Nadal, in the meantime, beat him within the 2014 Australian Open semifinal. Andy Murray and Stan Wawrinka had been different complicating components throughout these years.

Federer, who was in Shanghai for Sunday’s last, may provide Djokovic some recommendation on hanging in when youthful rivals emerge — particularly as he needed to take care of the Huge One changing into the Huge Two after which the Huge Three within the mid-to-late 2000s.

There have been no indications that Djokovic is but eager about the tip.

“I don’t know what the long run brings, I’ll simply attempt to waft to see how I really feel in a given second,” he stated on Sunday. “I nonetheless plan to compete and play subsequent season and, yeah, let’s see how far I’m going.”

Djokovic dismantled one duopoly to kickstart his profession.

As he approaches his last act, he should repeat the trick to extend it.

(Prime photograph: Clive Brunskill / Getty Photos)