Novak Djokovic once again had to swallow a bitter pill in the Wimbledon final. The Serb now has tough competition and had to taste defeat in two Wimbledon finals. The disappointment from within is likely eating him alive, but the added doubt from the tennis community is kicking the man when he’s down. Amid the woes, Roger Federer’s ex-coach, Ivan Ljubicic, is the latest to cast doubt on Djokovic’s future dominance.

In an exclusive with L’Equipe, Ljubicic discussed several factors about Wimbledon and the future of the 24-time grand slam champion. He admitted that while this might not be the end for the Djoker, his defeat, which came in straight sets, was nothing less than a generational change incident.

Speaking in the interview, the 45-year-old said, “Wimbledon is the first tournament of the year where he is 100% mentally. Frankly, he played at a very good level against Rune in the round of 16, and he had the keys to be comfortable against Musetti in the semi-finals.” But Djokovic has failed to win a single title this season. 

When he was smashing it out of the park at the French Open, a meniscus tear in his right knee halted his run and forced him to withdraw despite qualifying for the quarterfinals. However, in his clash against Rune and Musetti in Wimbledon, he won both matches in straight sets with not much difficulty.

However, Ljubicic is not concerned about his health. “For the Olympic Games, he will definitely have the motivation, but what will happen after? Without Federer, without Nadal, the circuit is a little different for him, it’s not the same motivation.” Ljubicic has concerns about the challenge the Djoker will face in the near future as well.

For the Croatian coach, the concern was the Wimbledon champ. “Boris Becker told me that it seemed to him that Novak had practically accepted Alcaraz’s superiority, which he had never done with Rafa and Roger. We are not far from the generational change. That’s life…”

Djokovic, Nadal, and Federer have been one of the greatest rivals on the tennis courts. Nole’s motivation to win against them can be seen from his record against them. He has a 30-29 lead against Rafa and 27-23 against Federer. However, against Alcaraz, his head-to-head tally stands at 3-3, with two major defeats at the Wimbledon finals. This is not the first time Alcaraz’s superiority over Nole has been the talk of the tennis town. 

After losing his match against the Spaniard at Wimbledon, the Serbian himself admitted the dominance, “I was inferior on the court. That’s it. He played every single shot better than I did.” As the series of backlash continued, Djokovic’s gameplay was also questioned by Rafael Nadal’s coach and uncle. 

Rafael Nadal’s uncle dissatisfied over Novak Djokovic’s ‘changed’ playing style

Djokovic was left baffled by Carlos Alcaraz as he defeated him in straight sets at the Wimbledon finals. Amid the backlash and criticism that he received, the one that stands tall is that of Rafael Nadal’s uncle, Toni Nadal. In a column for El Pais, Toni Nadal expressed that his changed gameplay turned out to be detrimental for the Serb.

“Do we face it with our usual weapons and our own style or, on the contrary, do we try to neutralize our opponent by looking for other solutions by moving away from our characteristic game?” He believes that while many would choose the first option, Nole went with the latter, and that cost him the match. Continuing further, Nadal said that Djokovic could have instead tried to slow the match against Alcaraz, which could have given him better chances. 

As the season progresses and Novak Djokovic looks forward to the Paris Olympics, it will be interesting to see how well he can cope with the criticism and perform better on the grand stages. Can he finally acquire a title this year?