Novak Djokovic walked into the news conference room wearing a black lightweight jacket, and slacks more fitting for an early spring barbecue at a friend’s house than an assembly of reporters waiting for a 24-time Grand Slam champion in search of his 25th.
There was no entourage accompanying him, just his hitting partner, Carlos Gomez-Herrera. The usual swagger, the just-try-to-take-my-trophy stridency that has long been the ubiquitous word bubble above his head? Nowhere in sight.
“I almost feel a bit embarrassed to say what my expectations are,” he said, as though he believed he had no better than a puncher’s chance to win matches at Roland Garros; as though he believed he had no right to consider himself a favorite for the title in just under two weeks.
Six months ago, Djokovic was wrapping up one of the most remarkable years in his career, of any career men’s tennis has ever seen: three Grand Slam titles — little more than a missed floating forehand away from a fourth — and the world No 1 at the end of the year for a record eighth time, at 36 years old.
By his admission, he has largely been lost ever since, and at a loss to explain how or why. He’s parted ways with nearly everyone who had worked with him for years — his coach, his agent, his spokesperson, his fitness coach — replacing them with some new faces and some old ones.
Djokovic is the most alone he’s been in terms of entourage for some time (Clive Brunskill/Getty Images)
He still has not hired a full-time replacement for Goran Ivanisevic, the coach who helped him take over the sport during the past five years and turn his serve into one of the most effective weapons in the sport. Ivanisevic also served as a kind of Djokovic explainer to the world less familiar with the quirks of the Balkan psyche. When Djokovic said that he didn’t want to “open Pandora’s Box” in discussing “things in the last couple of months” that have affected him, Ivanisevic was probably nodding sagely somewhere, turning the obliqueness into clarity in his head.
Djokovic has occasionally spoken of the fleeting nature of life at the top of the sport, how one loss can roll into a second, shaking the confidence and making even the best of the best — that includes him — believe that they may never win another match again.