Gloomy questions and a new reality for the Serbian

Last year, Djokovic was struggling to win titles. This year, he is struggling to win matches on the tour

- Rutvick Mehta

MUMBAI: "You can imagine," Novak Djokovic said, resting back on his chair moments after losing his Madrid opener and days before his Rome withdrawal, "20 years I didn't experience what I'm experiencing in the last 12 months. Early exits, and way too many."

Over those 20 years, Djokovic surged to levels that were so unshakably consistent that it personified mechanical excellence. Across the last 12 months, there were evident signs of slide and rust. In the last month, it has been on an alarming free-fall.

Last year, the Paris Olympics gold medallist was struggling to win titles. This year, the 24-time Grand Slam champion is struggling to win matches.

Djokovic is set to head to Roland Garros later this month having not won a match on clay. He lost his opening duels in Madrid and Monte Carlo and, earlier this week, announced he was pulling out of the Rome tournament. Add the defeat in the Miami final and make it three consecutive losses for a champion who, a decade ago, went an entire season losing just six matches (and winning 82).

That's not even the most shocking stat, by the way. The last time Djokovic lost three matches on the bounce was in 2018. That's happened twice in 2023 already; Australian Open-Doha-Indian Wells being the other tumbling troika.