Novak Djokovic: "I lost my love for tennis sometime after Paris"

[Djokodal Fan]

El serbio y actual número uno del ranking mundial no está pasando por el mejor momento de su carrera a nivel psicológico y emocional. Los resultados le fueron esquivos en esta temporada, teniendo algunos encontronazos con derrotas no esperadas en los papeles previos, lo que hizo que su autoestima fuera en baja considerablemente, aunque mucho no lo demostrase durante la disputa de los torneos que jugó. Sin embargo, está determinado a terminar y continuar en los más alto de las posiciones antes del Masters de fin de año.

El bajón anímico dice haberlo sentido luego de haber ganado el torneo de Roland Garros al escocés Andy Murray. “De alguna manera, siento que perdí mi amor por el deporte en algún momento después de París y abierto francés. Sentí lo mismo en los últimos meses de competencia y me fue difícil reacomodarme”, comunicó.“Para ser honesto, estoy buscando con ansias la forma de lograr la paz y frescura en mi mente para poder volver a disfrutar de estar en una cancha de Tenis”, agregó.

“Tuve los Juegos Olímpicos en la mitad del año, para recuperar mi ritmo, pero también tuve un par de lesiones que no ayudaron a lograr el objetivo”, comentó Nole. “La final del US Open fue muy buena considerando las circunstancias previas al torneo, por lo que ha sido un período turbulento”, continuó. “Pero ha sido una gran temporada y aún no ha terminado. Ahora estoy ansioso por jugar en Asia y competir nuevamente, espero, con en buena forma física”, finalizó.

Habiendo llegado a su tercer final de Grand Slam del año en Nueva York, Djokovic cayó frente al suizo Stan Wawrinka en la ya recordada final, dejando a la vista que su performance en la segunda mitad del año ha venido en decaimiento. Ha revalidado siete títulos este año, incluyendo dos Grand Slams y cuatro eventos de la Serie Masters, pero admite que desde que ganó el número 12 en París, se ha enfrentado a un momento difícil en el dinamismo de sí mismo por los desafíos a través de la temporada, mental y físicamente.

Translation: Somehow I lost my love for the sport sometime after the French Open, I feel the same in the last months and it was hard to adjust to me. To be honest, I'm looking forward to how To have peace and freshness in my mind to be reliable to return and enjoy being in a tennis court.

I had the Olympic Games at the middle of the year, to recover my rhythm, but also I Have a couple of injuries That did not help me to Achieve my goal. The US Open finish was good considering the circumstansces prior to the tournament, so it has-been a turbulent period. But It's Been a great season and has not finished yet. Now I want to play in Asia and compete again, I hope to be fit

Taken from MTF, but I thought it was worth posting it here. I'm rather puzzled as to how someone like Djokovic can lose motivation. All he Had to do was to look at His peers like the Great Fed / Nadal and keep himself motivated. I'm not blaming him give life long goal RG was, but I'm little disappointed as a fan

 

[KINGROGER]

Yeah it must get boring pushing your way past mugs every grand slam and slow boring pusher surface master.

I imagine that's why he peaked during 08-12 because he had Fedal pushing him on.

 

[Xavier G]

I can see something in this myself. Novak had come close in Paris quite a few times before and he finally completed the career Slam. People were speculating that he may never win Roland Garros so it was probably a big relief for the guy. It was his big aim for the year, I think, and Rio. Money isn't a problem for him, so if he can keep motivated, he's chasing the record books.

 

[Tennisanity]

It's simply another excuse to bring up the injury card for Djokovic. In truth, Djokovic and Nadal are cut from the same cloth.

 

[mistik]

People lost the love of fallowing the sport because off him.

 

[hipolymer]

As always, the greatest enemy for Djoker's entire career has been his own mentality. His insecurity and desire to be loved by the audience, the period from 2008-2010 where he wanted to redefine his game even though it was suiting him perfectly well, the period from 2012-2014 where he had trouble in the big moments, and his mental block in Roland Garros. I'm afraid this may be the final nail in his coffin as a serious slam contender. Once you lose the will, all hope is lost in a sport like tennis. It's not like other sports where your team can motivate you through hard times.

 

[ibbi]

Greatest of all time, no doubt. Half way to the grand slam, and loses his love for the game.

 

[Xavier G]

IF Novak has truly lost his mental edge and hunger, he's through with winning Slams. We'll see...

 

[Mainad]

I wonder at what point after Paris he no longer felt the love? I did think he approached Wimbledon in an uncharacteristically flippant manner so maybe something had already set in by then? He didn't seem to have to do all that much to win Toronto and wasn't even playing anything close to his best tennis. He couldn't even rouse himself all that much for the Olympics although he was clearly very upset when he lost in the 1st round. He didn't even have to do very much to make the US Open final given that his draw was a complete joke until he came up against Stanimal again.

He's talked of injuries but also of personal problems and this latest statement seems to throw in loss of motivation as well. I wonder if they are they all just different aspects of the same problem?

 

[Deleted member 307496]

Greatest of all time, no doubt. Half way to the grand slam, and loses his love for the game.

Only in the weakest era ever witnessed.

 

[big ted]

sounds like he has a case of wilander-itis. probably needs to find a new way to motivate himself since now he's won everything the only thing left to do is win the same things over and over (altho federer and nadal don't seem to have this problem). its like climbing the world's tallest mountain and then trying to motivate yourself to climb it again. plus he has no rival to push him..federer, murray, and nadal don't win enough against him to be called rivals altho federer comes closer than the others.

 

[bitcoinoperated]

I still suspect relationship drama

 

[Deleted member 307496]

Taken from MTF, but I thought it was worth posting it here. I'm rather puzzled as to how someone like Djokovic can lose motivation. All he Had to do was to look at His peers like the Great Fed / Nadal and keep himself motivated. I'm not blaming him give life long goal RG was, but I'm little disappointed as a fan

Realized the weak era would stop at some point probably.

 

[GrassCourtFan]

It's one of the reasons it's hard to dominate. Takes intense mental focus, and it's easy to lose it. Best of luck to him getting it back.

 

[Achilles82]

I get it

The thing is, he almost won everything there's to win (except cinncinatti and the olympics). Guy won over 200m dollars so far from prize money and endorsements, and he keeps earning around 45m per year.


He's been playing tennis since he was 5, non stop, I actually don't know how he keeps himself going.

 

[r2473]

Novak Djokovic: "I lost my love for tennis sometime after Paris

I think "Paris" is code for "Deepkia"

 

[mistik]

sounds like he has a case of wilander-itis. probably needs to find a new way to motivate himself since now he's won everything the only thing left to do is win the same things over and over (altho federer and nadal don't seem to have this problem). its like climbing the world's tallest mountain and then trying to motivate yourself to climb it again. plus he has no rival to push him..federer, murray, and nadal don't win enough against him to be called rivals altho federer comes closer than the others.

He didnt win everything. He desperately want to win Olympic Gold and failed FALL ON TO TEARS. Not everything is in his hands as he tries to make it seem to be.

 

[ultradr]

It's understandable to have a let-down or semi burn out after he achieved Novak slam.

It's a mental let down or mental pressure after achieving complete domination.
or the fear that he might go down fast from the top.

In Federer's case, he kept losing to Nadal. once in a while, he would beat Nadal. Then back to losing.
That kept him going.

You need a nemesis / rival to keep motivated, so to speak.

 

[TupeloDanger]

"Although it's hard to pinpoint the exact moment I lost my love for the game, it was probably somewhere around Querrey's 25th or 26th ace."

 

[Roddick85]

I'm not surprised at all. Any objective tennis fans can tell that since he won the FO, he doesn't look happy on the tennis court and isn't the same player as before. People tend to overlook this, but I think Federer & Nadal being injured, on/off the tour and nowhere near what they once were form wise probably plays a big part as to why he lost his motivation to improve and compete. He clearly dominates the rest of the tour without trying much, so why should he care? Sure Wawrinka troubles him when he peaks, but that happens maybe once a year? On a personal level, I can totally relate to Novak as I also lost my passion for the game this year. Not that I'm comparing myself to an ATP pro, but as a very decent amateur player who's been dominating the players in his network, I also lost my motivation to improve and keep going

 

[Noelan]

Taken from MTF, but I thought it was worth posting it here. I'm rather puzzled as to how someone like Djokovic can lose motivation. All he Had to do was to look at His peers like the Great Fed / Nadal and keep himself motivated. I'm not blaming him give life long goal RG was, but I'm little disappointed as a fan

Because he is a bit different to two real high tennis profile robots, emboided in Federer and Nadal.
Neither of them won 4 GS in a row (including one that he was chasing over the last 5 years), they just cant imagine how it's like being in his skin at time from Paris 2014 to RG2016. To be honest we don't know how they( as you mentioned them) would react as they never experienced nor physically nor mentally

And OP you should've known that your thread will turn in another Djokovic bashing fiesta .

 

[Sartorius]

He's talked of injuries but also of personal problems and this latest statement seems to throw in loss of motivation as well. I wonder if they are they all just different aspects of the same problem?

He certainly has mouthed quite a lot, frankly I sort of rolled my eyes to this latest piece, even though you could sort of see it in the flesh. Reading all what he said the last month or so, you'd think his world is falling apart. Beside the Wimbledon loss, he actually won in Toronto and made (walked to) the USO finals. So, you know, not bad. I guess it's also the "what was wrong" question he often gets, but seriously, we get it: something was wrong.

"Although it's hard to pinpoint the exact moment I lost my love for the game, it was probably somewhere around Querrey's 25th or 26th ace."

LOL... Win.

 

[csmoove899]

.

 

[ChaelAZ]

In truth, Djokovic and Nadal are cut from the same cloth.

Not even close in my eyes. Nadal's competitive spirit and drive, as well as his humility and genuine character is intrinsic. Djo often bowed out and played possum/injury when faced with challenges. He was arrogant and self-aggrandizing, and only as of late (now that he is handled) does he have a practiced facade of grace. That is the profile robot where Nadal and Fed it is natural.

The skills might make winning tennis players, but the character is what make champions in my book. Nadal and Fed have had that, but guys like Djo or Murray don't carry themselves as such.

 

[Deleted member 307496]

Not even close in my eyes. Nadal's competitive spirit and drive, as well as his humility and genuine character is intrinsic. Djo often bowed out and played possum/injury when faced with challenges. He was arrogant and self-aggrandizing, and only as of late (now that he is handled) does he have a practiced facade of grace. That is the profile robot where Nadal and Fed it is natural.

The skills might make winning tennis players, but the character is what make champions in my book. Nadal and Fed have had that, but guys like Djo or Murray don't carry themselves as such.

If Nadal had lost his love for the sport, he'd have retired by now. He's "cut from the same cloth" as Federer in that regard. He doesn't care if he is ranked 5 or 8 or whatever, just as long as he can play competitive tennis.

 

[ChaelAZ]

If Nadal had lost his love for the sport, he'd have retired by now. He's "cut from the same cloth" as Federer in that regard. He doesn't care if he is ranked 5 or 8 or whatever, just as long as he can play competitive tennis.

Misunderstood your premise. Totally agree in that regard for the most part.

 

[eagletennis]

He lost interest in tennis but found new interest in Bollywood
Joking aside like I said many times.Djokovic plays with chip on his shoulder.And that style will eventually start wearing out.He played to escape poverty,played to get recognition...Now he is rich, aside from couple nut jobs on TT he has recognition of the world,very loved with millenial crowd.Like big NFL star Howie Long say "I stoped playing when I couldn't manufacture anger anymore"Add to that cheating on his wife I hope he gets to Nadal number but even that is dubious at this point

 

[The Fedfather]

Somehow lost his love for the sport? Did he even love the sport in the first place? Seriously, statements like this one confuse the hell out of me. Maybe it was just a poor choice of words from Novak and he meant that he wasn't as concentrated and focussed on tennis as before.

 

[Big_Dangerous]

I still suspect relationship drama

Tennis isn't the only thing he lost his love for!

 

[Noelan]

Somehow lost his love for the sport? Did he even love the sport in the first place? Seriously, statements like this confuse the hell out of me. Maybe it was just a poor choice of words from Novak and he meant that he wasn't as concentrated and focussed on tennis as before.

he actually said that he lost his enyojment in playing tennis , not love for the sport

 

[Tennisanity]

Not even close in my eyes. Nadal's competitive spirit and drive, as well as his humility and genuine character is intrinsic. Djo often bowed out and played possum/injury when faced with challenges. He was arrogant and self-aggrandizing, and only as of late (now that he is handled) does he have a practiced facade of grace. That is the profile robot where Nadal and Fed it is natural.

The skills might make winning tennis players, but the character is what make champions in my book. Nadal and Fed have had that, but guys like Djo or Murray don't carry themselves as such.

Sorry, but I had to stop at Nadal's humility, LOLLLLLLL. You guys are so addle minded.

 

[Terenigma]

If you lost your love for tennis then retire, live your life with the millions you've earned with your family. Don't whine about it and continue to play tennis chalking all your poor losses due to lack of motivation. Jesus, no wonder no-one likes the guy. I think tennis would be better without him anyways, he's a great player but he really does make tennis boring on the court and off it and this statement on solidify's that view.

Federer stuck with the sport when he could of retired many times as the best because he loves it and is inspiring people to take up tennis and is one of the reasons he's so popular is not just his talent, its his passion. Same goes for Murray, not as respected on court but look how much he tries to do for the sport off-court. Speaking about funding for tennis academy's and equal pay.

 

[Goosehead]

sounds like he has a case of wilander-itis. probably needs to find a new way to motivate himself since now he's won everything the only thing left to do is win the same things over and over (altho federer and nadal don't seem to have this problem). its like climbing the world's tallest mountain and then trying to motivate yourself to climb it again. plus he has no rival to push him..federer, murray, and nadal don't win enough against him to be called rivals altho federer comes closer than the others.

no rival to push him ?..thought djokovic lost twice to stan in major finals within the last 15 months.

 

[vive le beau jeu !]

sounds like he has a case of wilander-itis. probably needs to find a new way to motivate himself since now he's won everything the only thing left to do is win the same things over and over (altho federer and nadal don't seem to have this problem). its like climbing the world's tallest mountain and then trying to motivate yourself to climb it again. plus he has no rival to push him..federer, murray, and nadal don't win enough against him to be called rivals altho federer comes closer than the others.

i agree with that.
it's not really surprising: he achieved something "big", and something he'd been chasing for some time.
he could have kept winning 'freewheel' for a while, but it was bound to happen at some point...

loss of motivation can be one of the limiting factors for the tennis greats...
(potentially coupled with other things, of course)

still, i don't think his wilander-itis will be as severe as wilander's
after all, he already did better than wilander by reaching a slam final !
(even if circumstances helped him a bit...)
let's see how/if he's able to remotivate himself... in this strong era

 

[Deleted member 743561]

 

[DreddyTennis45]

I refuse to believe Novak Djokovic suddenly lost motivation. Theres something deeper

 

[mistik]

I refuse to believe Novak Djokovic suddenly lost motivation. Theres something deeper

What deep throat ??

 

[nowhereman]

"Novak, I think this is the beginning of a beautiful decline."

 

[ChaelAZ]

Sorry, but I had to stop at Nadal's humility, LOLLLLLLL. You guys are so addle minded.

Easily called like easily seen. So simple minded would better fit.

 

[papertank]

I always had a strong gut feeling this would happen after Novak got the CYGS. In a way those RG final losses helped him because it motivated him to get better year after year from 2012 to 2016. Now that he's finally got it, it must be tough to maintain that sheer dedication to play well at every tournament. The same thing has happened to other players. Federer only won 1 more slam for more than two years after his RG victory. Murray had a long dry spell after finally winning Wimbledon.

After trying so hard to finally get the CYGS, and seeing that his next big record (slam record) is still so far off, that must be demotivating.

My gut feeling now though is that this won't last forever for Djokovic. He may have a bad few months or even a bad year or two, but his hunger will be back eventually.

 

[thrust]

Somehow lost his love for the sport? Did he even love the sport in the first place? Seriously, statements like this confuse the hell out of me. Maybe it was just a poor choice of words from Novak and he meant that he wasn't as concentrated and focussed on tennis as before.

Most players get tired mentally and physically playing year after year at a very high level. Eventually, they regain their strength and desire and win again. I think little injuries caught up with him at Wimbledon. Having to play an in form powerful player early on was a problem at Wimbledon, as well No doubt there was a mental let down after the FO as well. Whatever, Novak already, has had a great year. Hopefully, he can add to it in Asia and London. Not talking to the press, more than he has to, might help too-LOL!

 

[Red Rick]

"Although it's hard to pinpoint the exact moment I lost my love for the game, it was probably somewhere around Querrey's 25th or 26th ace."

Savage

 

[sportsfan1]

Novak Djokovic: "I lost my love for tennis sometime after Paris

I think "Paris" is code for "Deepkia"

Then it follows that "tennis" is code for Jelena? Freudian slip from Novak.

Seriously it's just a temporary letdown after the high of winning RG. He had a similar shorter one losing at the USO after his second Wimby 2014 win beating Federer on grass for the first time, and then getting married.

 

[VarmasPermo]

It was the personal family problem, then the physical problem, then the shoulders, the wrist, then the toes, and now the disinterest in tennis. When will the excuses stop?

Now we heard he has tennis elbow...

 

[Dave1982]

This is no real surprise if I'm honest, have speculated on a couple of occasions that what he achieved in Paris was almost inevitably going to lead to a let down, especially with such a quick turn around to Wimbledon and then the Olympics.
I have no doubt once he's able to take some time off, let his achievements sink in and refocus his attention that he'll back to his dominant best.

 

[Tennisanity]

Easily called like easily seen. So simple minded would better fit.

I disagree, addle is better.

 

[Doctor/Lawyer Red Devil]

From the article I read recently, the enjoyment in sport and spending time on tennis court was lost, not exactly love. Don't know which quote of the two is true though.

I guess the RG win really drained him. Maybe if he won that tournament the previous year he would have switched off a bit already while the loss he suffered then might have been a perfect motivation for him to go on the perfect 12 months that followed.

 

[cc0509]

More excuses from this attention-wh*ore Djokovic? How can you lose your motivation when you are half way to a CYGS? Does that make sense? No. It's like he talking and saying things to hear himself talk. First it was "personal problems" then it was a left wrist, right shoulder, right arm injury responsible for his past losses at Wimbledon, the Olympics and the USO. Now he's using the "I lost motivation" excuse when he was half way to a CYGS? Oh please. Just stop talking already Djokovic. Nobody cares. Just get on with things already.

 

[cc0509]

I wonder at what point after Paris he no longer felt the love? I did think he approached Wimbledon in an uncharacteristically flippant manner so maybe something had already set in by then? He didn't seem to have to do all that much to win Toronto and wasn't even playing anything close to his best tennis. He couldn't even rouse himself all that much for the Olympics although he was clearly very upset when he lost in the 1st round. He didn't even have to do very much to make the US Open final given that his draw was a complete joke until he came up against Stanimal again.

He's talked of injuries but also of personal problems and this latest statement seems to throw in loss of motivation as well. I wonder if they are they all just different aspects of the same problem?

It's all hot air from him. He had some big losses and he's trying to come up with reasons after the fact to help the blow to his ego. The reality is these great players are human and can't sustain domination forever but they have trouble accepting that so they look for excuses.

 

[cc0509]

Noelan, post: 10671362, member: 595355Because he is a bit different to two real high tennis profile robots, emboided in Federer and Nadal.
Neither of them won 4 GS in a row (including one that he was chasing over the last 5 years), they just cant imagine how it's like being in his skin at time from Paris 2014 to RG2016. To be honest we don't know how they( as you mentioned them) would react as they never experienced nor physically nor mentally

And OP you should've known that your thread will turn in another Djokovic bashing fiesta

.

Who cares if he's different to Federer and Nadal. The bottom line is will he be perceived as greater than them when all is said and done and the only way he can do that is to keep winning slams and keep accumulating weeks @ #1.

As for Djokovic bashing, Djokovic deserves it with all these excuses he is coming up with because he can't deal with some big losses and his loss of invincibility Nobody dominates forever.