“His body has been a marvel, right?” says Gill Gross, a renowned tennis analyst, about Novak Djokovic. But then, what is hindering him from playing his best in the ongoing season this year? Well, according to Gross, it is not his physical limitations, but the impact of something psychological.

Novak Djokovic, who has played only four tournaments this year so far, has earned no title as of now. It’s a sharp contrast to last year, when the Serbinator was at the top of his form and won 3 out of 4 Grand Slams. During the Tennis Channel Inside-In podcast, Gill Gross shared his insights on the reason behind the declining form of the world number one.

“It just has not broken down, like a player in their mid-30s body should break down. When it comes to injuries. When it comes to movement, all that stuff has been preserved,” said the broadcaster for Tennis Channel.

The 36-year-old player, who started his season with wrist pain, has suffered fewer injuries during his career as compared to other players. And the ones that he has had in the past, like his elbow issues and abdominal tears, never slowed him down too much. But still, this year, Novak Djokovic has not performed in his usual form, as he only managed to appear in two semifinals of the season. 

Pointing to this, Gross highlighted the lack of an important element that might have a role to play in his declining form. “So it was always going to be the motivation as the main thing that I was going to look toward look for when it came to Djokovic. His eventual decline, you knew it was going to come eventually.”

He further emphasized that, unlike other players, in the case of Djokovic, “it’s actually the motivation that’s the concern.” Djokovic, who once stated how he loves competition, also admitted something similar during an interview, last year.

Novak Djokovic confesses he needs “even more extra motivation nowadays”

In 2023, the 24 Grand Slam champion revealed how his former coach, Goran Ivanisevic, was engrossed in finding new ways of motivating him. After having had an illustrious career for decades, Novak Djokovic knows that he only has so many years left. Before last year’s French Open tournament, he addressed his lack of motivation and admitted, “I’m as flawed a human being as can be. I need even more extra motivation nowadays at this later stages of my career than maybe what I needed five years ago or 10 years ago. Things are different. My life is evolving.”

However, his commitment to tennis has not wavered, even after being at the top for 425 weeks. But as he evolves and moves forward in this year’s season, fans are waiting to see him back motivated to earn another title to his name.