French Open 2018: Novak Djokovic facing crisis after quarter-final loss

Novak Djokovic PicAFPNovak Djokovic is facing the gravest crisis of his career after a shock French Open defeat to Italian journeyman Marco Cecchinato left him contemplating missing Wimbledon to rebuild his game and reboot his state of mind The 31yearold Serb slumped to an epic 63 76 74 16 76 1311 quarterfinal loss to world No 72 Cecchinato a player who had never won a match at the majors before this years Roland GarrosDjokovic a former world number one and 12time Grand Slam title winner had previously only been beaten by a player ranked lower than 25yearold Cecchinato at the majors on two occasions Marat Safin at Wimbledon in 2008 when the maverick Russian was at 78 and 117thranked Denis Istomin at last years Australian Open Tuesdays defeat left Djokovic shellshocked so much so that he threatened to skip the forthcoming grasscourt season and by extension Wimbledon where he is a threetime championI dont know if Im going to play on grass Im just not thinking about tennis at the moment said Djokovic who opted to conduct his postmatch media duties on Tuesday in a minor conference room which had already been shut up for the evening far away from the waiting cameras His career statistics which used to sing of recordbreaking feats now make grim reading The last of his 12 majors was secured at Roland Garros in 2016 when he completed a career Grand SlamThat was the year he also became the first player to break through the career 100 million prize money barrier But his last run to a semifinal at the Slams was when he went onto finish runnerup at the 2016 US Open The Djokovic resume lists 68 career titles but hes only won four since his French Open triumph in 2016 That Paris win came after three final defeats in 2012 2014 and 2015What was particularly frustrating for Djokovic on Tuesday was the manner of his defeatHe may have had to call two medical timeouts for a neck and right leg injury but chance after chance was squandered Three set points came and went in the 12th game of the second set three break points were wasted in the sixth game of the fourth before he blew the chance to level the tie at two sets apiece in the ninth gameHe had another three set points in the gripping fourth set tiebreaker the third of which flew into the Paris evening sky off an ugly ballooned forehand There was still a hint of the old Djokovic magic as he desperately clung on saving one match point with a nolook backhand volleyDjokovic attempting to reach a 32nd Grand Slam semifinal knows there are lingering problems in his game A ranking of 22 is the lowest for 12 years a consequence of his longstanding elbow problems and indifferent form He hasnt made the final of a tournament since winning the Wimbledon warmup at Eastbourne last summer He won just two titles in 2017 compared to seven in 2016 and 11 in 2015 This year too has been a rollercoasterHe was knocked out of the Australian Open in the last 16 by Hyeon Chung then ranked at 58 Taro Daniel the 109ranked Japanese player stunned in him in Indian Wells before Benoit Paire at 47 in the rankings knocked him out in Miami In what was becoming a familiar tale Martin Klizan at 140 stunned him in Barcelona before there were signs of life with a semifinal run at Rome where it took Rafael Nadal to snuff out his challenge in the semifinalsIt is difficult Many things in life are difficult said Djokovic Any defeat is difficult in the Grand Slams especially the one that you know came from months of buildup And I thought I had a great chance to get at least a step further but wasnt to be Thats the way it is At least Djokovic can look to old rival Roger Federer for inspiration It may be two years since Djokovics last Grand Slam triumph but Federer went almost five years from Wimbledon in 2012 until the 2017 Australian Open before he added to his majors collectionAlso Read French Open 2018 Novak Djokovic Loses To World No 72 Marco CecchinatoCatch up on all the latest T20 news and updates here Also download the new midday Android and iOS apps to get latest updatesThis story has been sourced from a third party syndicated feed agencies Except for the change in headline the story has been provided ASIS AS AVAILABLE without any verification or editing from our side Midday accepts no responsibility or liability for its dependability trustworthiness reliability and data of the text Midday managementmiddaycom reserves the sole right to alter delete or remove without notice the content in its absolute discretion for any reason whatsoever