Djokovic is satisfied despite season without majors

With an unexpected loss to Alexei Popyrin in the third round of the US Open, Novak Djokovic lost the chance to win the title at one of the biggest tournaments.

No trophy at the Grand Slam - Novak has not experienced such a bitter taste since 2017, when he operated on his elbow. Prior to that, we will have to go to 2009, when Djokovic did not triumph in any of the "big four" competitions for the last time.

To make matters worse, Djokovic generally does not have any ATP titles this season, which has not happened to him since 2005, when he was at the very beginning of his career.

He doesn't have much time to make his debut title in 2024, since there are a few months left, during which he will probably only play in Shanghai and Bercy, or Turin, if he secures the Final Masters.

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Novak, as the greatest of all time, has set such standards that he is only satisfied when he wins everything.

Agreeing to anything less is clearly impossible for the man, who has dominated tennis since 2011 more or less.

The question arises whether this is it, whether the inevitable moment of the change of generations has finally arrived, which we have talked about many times, especially after Novak's defeats like these.

This does not mean the sudden fall of Djokovic, who can still reach heights. Even with this season as it is, practically all tennis players from the ATP caravan would accept it wholeheartedly.

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His defeats against his biggest rivals, Sinner in Australia, and Alcaraz at Wimbledon, were almost convincing. In London for sure.

Still, the fact that Djokovic reached the Wimbledon final just six weeks after surgery on the meniscus in his right knee is a testament to the fact that he can still be a force at Grand Slams.

"Roland Garros, I had a feeling that I could win the title, but I got injured. The Wimbledon final, the biggest Grand Slam success of the year. The Olympics was the biggest goal, I prepared well for it... It's enough, if it's that kind of year. If I only won the OI, I'll accept it. I've been waiting my whole life. This is the weakest season in the last 15 seasons," said Djokovic after the defeat to Popyrin.

Novak has been recovering for months, he has almost no rest and his game suffers because of that. In the match with the Australian, his game completely fell apart.

"I haven't been fresh since the beginning of training, I was trying to find my game. Very fast conditions, different compared to clay. It was painful to play this way and feel like this with the racket in my hands. I felt and seemed like an amateur at times," he said.

Since returning from surgery, service has been critical, only to peak in New York, in a bad way.

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Only 52 percent first serve hit compared to a career average of over 60. Then, 32 double faults in 38 service games over three rounds.

That greatest success of the season, which he had been waiting for so long that it became an obsession, the Olympic gold, certainly affected his performance at the US Open.

The medal from Paris actually casts a new shadow on Djokovic's entire season.

The Grand Slam finals, except for the US Open, and the triumph, in this way at the Games, certainly improve the impression.

This year, Novak became the oldest world number one in history, but also an Olympic gold medalist, he crossed the "elevation" of 1,100 victories, he is the first player to have more than 90 victories at each of the Grand Slams...

Djokovic will return to the Australian Open, when it comes to Grand Slams, looking to reach his 11th trophy in Melbourne.

Seeing whether Novak will be able to "reset" himself will be one of the key tennis stories in 2025.