Former world No 3 Ivan Ljubicic believes Novak Djokovic “will definitely have the motivation” for the Olympic Games in Paris, but cast doubt over “what will happen after.”
Ljubicic, a former coach of tennis great Roger Federer, revealed Djokovic’s former coach Boris Becker told him he felt the Serb “accepted Carlos Alcaraz’s superiority” in the 2024 Wimbledon final.
Djokovic fell to a resounding 2-6, 2-6, 6-7(4) defeat to Alcaraz in the championship match at Wimbledon in his record-extending 37th Grand Slam final appearance.
The 37-year-old legend underwent surgery on his right knee just over a month before reaching the final at the All England Club after he tore his meniscus at the French Open.
The 24-time Grand Slam champion is yet to win a title in what has been a challenging 2024 campaign to date and — prior to Wimbledon — he had not reached a final since his triumph at the ATP Finals in November.
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Djokovic is next set to compete at the tennis tournament at the 2024 Olympics. which will be played on clay at Stade Roland Garros from July 27 to August 4. An Olympic gold medal is the only significant prize Djokovic has not win in his astonishing career.
Ljubicic feels it is more difficult for Djokovic to find motivation now than when he was competing with Federer and Rafael Nadal for the biggest titles.
“For the Olympic Games, he will definitely have the motivation, but what will happen after? Without Federer, without Nadal, the circuit is a little different for him, it’s not the same motivation,” the Croatian told L’Equipe.
“Boris Becker told me that it seemed to him that Novak had practically accepted Alcaraz’s superiority, which he had never done with Rafa and Roger. We are not far from the generational change. That’s life.”
In March, Ljubicic assessed that Djokovic’s issues in a difficult start to the 2024 season had been mental.
“His problem is psychological, he certainly hasn’t forgotten how to play tennis. Undoubtedly, ‘Nole’ must have fire inside, otherwise he is missing something,” he told Gazzetta dello Sport
“He is used to fighting on every point, to conquering the pitch inch by inch, and if he doesn’t feel those stimuli, he can get into difficulty.”
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