5 things we learned from the French Open 2017: Lesson 3

Lesson #3

No man (or woman) is a machine...

This post is perhaps more personal to me than has been the case so far. Actually, I have a confession to make! So make a cup of tea, sit down and brace yourselves for a revelation….I am a Djokovic fan. I know, it’s not the hot thing to be right now but don’t try to save me friends: my appreciation of the Djoker already runs way too deep.

Seriously though, it’s not exactly news to any follower of the ATP tour (fan of Djokovic or not) that his form has taken somewhat of a nose dive in the last 12 months. It all started at Wimbledon 2016 when he crashed out of the 3^rd round to the ‘blind squirrel that found a nut’- Sam Querry- in 4 sets (don’t look at me like that! That’s the words of Querry’s own coach, not mine!!). But, realistically, for a man who had just conquered the pinnacles of the sport by holding all 4 slams at once (something not even Federer and Nadal have managed to date) it was not initially that concerning to most. However, since then there have been, by his impressive standards, some moments of horror form wise. The Olympic Games 1^st round and the Australian Open 2^nd round in particular jump out. These, mixed in amongst average results that have mainly included 4^th rounds and quarterfinals. Yet, there have also been brief flashes of brilliance! He made the finals of the 2016 US Open and London, the semi of Shanghai, he won in Canada and in Qatar and even dispatched ‘Nadal killer’ Dominic Thiem with a bagel and breadstick combo in Rome literally days before the French Open started!!!! So why then the third set 0-6 thrashing accompanied by justified accusations of tanking only a couple of weeks later? Its little wonder French publication l’equip nicknamed him monsieur yo-yo.

So what’s going on with him? No one knows for sure and it is beginning to look doubtful that he himself is certain. He has alluded to personal, physical, emotional, confidence and motivation related issues. The truth is it is probably a mixture of several, if not all, these factors. After all, no man (or woman) is a machine.

If we did not already know this then it was a point the French Open drove home harder than ever. Djokovic was not himself. A passion for the game: a hunger to even try to stay in the match after the 1^st set seemed completely and worryingly absent. For a long time commentators and bloggers have made reference to Djokovic the cyborg. The Serbian robot that gets plugged in at night and comes back recharged every day. Perhaps there were compliments in their somewhere? If by this they mean he was almost unhuman in his consistency for a period, then fine. But I suspect many were referring as much to his style of play and shot selection choices. I never saw the accuracy in the comparison personally: especially not in his personality or sense of humour. Still, if Djokovic was a machine (if he is a machine) then it was evident this French Open that he needs some repair work.

But let us not think other players are immune to this situation! We don’t need to look far to see that Andy Murray has had some physical issues this year which are probably a direct result from the immense effort expended last year. Even the 18 slam winning, GOAT candidate, Roger Federer took time out after his unexpected Australian Open victory and hard court career resurgence. His absence from the red dirt was maybe the biggest reminder of all that no man is a machine. Or Angelique Kerber who, since becoming world number 1, is having a rough patch of form which is possibly resultant from an introverts struggle to deal with the limelight and weight of expectation that goes with this ranking. Her 1^st round French Open loss made her look very human. As did the emotional press conference following defending champion Garbine Muguruza’s’ defeat. What about Halep? Was she simply out powered and outplayed or did she let the final slip from her grasp because she played too conservatively. Tightly? Nervously, even?

Going into Wimbledon this is definitely an interesting aspect to watch. Can these guys recover on grass? Maybe. Can Nadal and Ostapenko continue their dominance? It’s not improbable but, before you go putting money on either, we would do well to remember that no man or woman is a machine!

Disagree? You are entitled! Comments are very welcome J

See you tomorrow for lesson #4