Novak Djokovic will never win another Grand Slam | Thebigtip

On Monday morning when the newest ATP rankings are released, Novak Djokovic will be in the second spot, taking over the mantle from Roger Federer. However, after yet another dispirited showing in the latter stages of a Grand Slam, I am now more convinced than ever that Djokovic will not win another Grand Slam for a long, long time.
 
Before we get to his current predicament, it’s worthwhile to track the rise of Novak Djokovic. As he rose up the ranks in 2007, he was almost universally hailed as the next big thing. An all-court player with a well rounded game, and more importantly – someone who seemed to have the will and drive to win that set him apart from his other rising competitors.

He reached the final of the 2007 US Open before losing to Roger Federer in straight sets, but the showing he put up suggested he wasn’t far away, and he proved that in the first Grand Slam of the new year, knocking out Federer in the semi finals before beating Tsonga in the final to bring up a groundbreaking victory for himself and his native country of Serbia.
 
So after the Australian Open victory, Djokovic was regarded as the form player of the game. Articles were being written about his next few years at the top of the rankings, and how it was now the top 3 and then daylight. What has happened since then? He’s never seriously threatened for a Grand Slam title again.
 
There are a multitude of reasons for the change in fortunes, but it seems like the Serbian’s tennis riches have dipped almost simultaneously alongside his public opinion. As Djokovic rose through the ranks, crowds the world over took to him as he entertained with his impressions of various players. From Nadal to Roddick, it seemed like no-one was out of reach of imitation and initially the response from the locker room was positive.
 
However, as the imitations kept coming, locker room sentiments began to sour, and as they began to sour, the general public started seeing a different version of Djokovic. No longer the happy-go-lucky newcomer; a more tense, highly strung version of the Serbian appeared. Whereas once upon a time he played to the crowds, now Djokovic was openly hostile towards crowds that even dared to choose the other player. A prime example of this was in the 2008 US Open quarterfinals where he questioned the crowd for supporting – wait for it – Andy Roddick. With idiotic statements such as that, it was no wonder Djokovic received little sympathy when his biggest flaw became apparent.
 
Even before his Grand Slam victory, Djokovic has had a tendency to retire from matches. However, from the beginning of 2009, that was combined with a propensity to completely check out of matches. With the two of these put together, he rapidly became the most maligned top-level player on the ATP tour. Even though he still lodged heavy ranking points at the major tournaments, the change in Djokovic’s temperament meant that he was rightfully passed over as a threat at the Grand Slams.
 
When he was rising through the ranks, Djokovic played with a freedom on the big points, and that, combined with his booming ground strokes was the reason he got as high as he did. However, now that’s replaced with a tentative approach, volatile demeanour, and most curiously, a complete lack of stamina. In his first couple of years on the tour Djokovic would have no problems playing five set matches. Now, any time there’s a weather forecast that’s over the mid twenties, Djokovic almost throws in the towel when playing any decent level of opponent.
 
It’s obviously not too late to give up hope though. Mental fragility and a suspect temperament can be overcome – Djokovic can look at his semi final conqueror in Tomas Berdych as proof. Nevertheless, when you take into account everything that Djokovic has shown since winning the 2008 Australian Open, I feel confident in proclaiming that unless something dramatically changes, Novak Djokovic will not win another Grand Slam.