You are at the peak of your career, and one injury derails your entire season: Novak Djokovic knows this script by heart. So when Jannik Sinner was cast in the same role almost a decade later, he knew exactly what awaited the Italian.
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“I’m aware of how difficult that is and making that comeback,” he said at the press conference in Shanghai Masters. “It’s mental. You know, you’re on the court and you’re thinking, you know, am I really completely healed and free to make this run.”
“I mean, for him, if it’s a knee, obviously it’s affecting everything. It’s affecting every single movement.”
In 2017, Djokovic decided to withdraw from the rest of the season due to acute pain in his right elbow. That not only snapped his streak of 51 consecutive Grand Slam appearances, but he also dropped out of the ATP Top 10 rankings. However, his biggest mistake came after this.
After his surgery in January 2018, he made a hasty return to training in just two months. This resulted in him facing two back-to-back first-round losses in Indian Wells and the Miami Open.
“It was my decision [to return] because I missed playing tennis so much,” said Djokovic at that time after the loss. “But I was not ready and it backfired.”
But Djokovic doesn’t want Sinner to repeat the same mistakes.
Facing a series of heartbreaks at that time, Djokovic got over the self-doubt and finally found his footing. He went on to win Wimbledon and the US Open in 2018, marking a full-circle moment, and also ended the year as the World No. 1. And quite expectedly, the Italian wants to achieve the same.
However, Djokovic’s comments aim to make him rethink that the mental ordeal of an injury makes returning to the tour and returning to your best tennis two very different milestones. Hence, all Sinner needs to do right now is resist.
Jannik Sinner’s Withdrawal Gives Novak Djokovic Unexpected Boost
After a stunning win in the China Open, Novak Djokovic has again entered the race to the ATP Finals in November. However, with Jannik Sinner out for the rest of the season, the qualification seems all the more achievable.
Djokovic was in ninth place in the qualifications ahead of this, but with the Italian not in the mix anymore, the Serb has a real shot at making it to Turin. In addition to that, his recent win over an in-form Alexander Zverev put the tennis world on notice that he can still do what he does best.
Currently gearing up for the Shanghai Masters, he has expressed his wish to be in Turin and compete.
“At the moment, I’m also not really qualified yet for Turin. I mean, this year I would like to play if I qualify,” said Djokovic a few days back.
“I’m planning also to play Paris, Bercy. Shanghai, I still don’t know. I need to see how I feel here, and then I’ll decide.”
After his shock exit from the US Open in the first round, Djokovic is eagerly seeking to regain his winning momentum. With his Shanghai Masters campaign now hours away from kicking off, it is for us to wait and see if he can add another chapter of redemption in his glorious career.