A month ago, Novak Djokovic appeared to be on top of the world. Now, part of the world is crumbling.
The world's No. 1 tennis player suffered a second consecutive surprising early exit from a tournament, losing 7-6 (6), 7-5 to Tommy Robredo in the third round of the Western & Southern Open on Friday.
The result follows his more stunning, 6-2, 6-2 loss in the third round of the Rogers Cup in Toronto last week to eventual champion Jo-Wilfred Tsonga.
Tennis.com reported that Djokovic's loss in that event was assumed to be the result of his post-Wimbledon championship rust that included his wedding to longtime girlfriend Jelena Ristic. The two are expecting their first child later this year.
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But back-to-back hard-court losses on what tennis.com called his favorite surface has turned the speculation of rust into speculation about the changes in Djokovic's life taking the edge away from his game after he regained the NoFrom title. 1 ranking with his thrilling, five-set win over Roger Federer in the Wimbledon final.
Even Djokovic talked as a man stunned by his own lack of fight.
"Many, many, many things are not clicking these two weeks on hard courts," he said, according to tennis.com. "It's unfortunate, but it's more than obvious I'm not playing even close to what I'm supposed to play. I have to keep working and trying to get better for the U.S. Open."
It could be a bit early to sound the warning siren on Djokovic's career; he reached the French Open final before losing to nine-time champion Rafael Nadal. Then, he won his seventh career Grand Slam with his Wimbledon victory.
Those deep runs easily could have taken both an emotional and physical toll on Djokovic, and then the emotional break of his marriage may require him more time to get himself back into the mental and physical peak he needs when the U.S. Open starts on Aug. 25.
But it has been his own surprise at his lackluster play that raises questions about his immediate future, according to tennis.com.
Only time will tell whether his new, family man lifestyle simply requires an adjustment or marks a more permanent change in his priorities away from tennis.
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