Reflections of Novak Djokovic's Grand Slam season
pWhen a href='https://www.atptour.com/en/players/novak-djokovic/d643/overview'Novak Djokovic/a reached all four Grand Slam finals in 2023, winning three, including a record 24th major, there was nothing to suggest that 2024 would not bring another year of Grand Slam success for the Serbian./P
pBut when he lost in the third round of the a href='https://www.atptour.com/en/tournaments/us-open/560/overview'US Open/a on Friday, Djokovic concluded his Grand Slam season without a trophy for the first time since 2017. /p
pBelow, ATPTour.com reflects on the 37-year-old’s season at this year’s majors./p
pstrongAUSTRALIAN OPEN: SEMI-FINALS/strongbr
Playing in his second tournament of the season after the a href='https://www.atptour.com/en/scores/archive/perth-sydney/9900/2024/results'United Cup/a, Djokovic arrived in Melbourne in the hunt for his 11th title. Slowly building rhythm, he edged out a href='https://www.atptour.com/en/players/dino-prizmic/p0hw/overview'Dino Prizmic/a, a href='https://www.atptour.com/en/players/alexei-popyrin/p09z/overview'Alexei Popyrin/a, and a href='https://www.atptour.com/en/players/tomas-martin-etcheverry/ea24/overview'Tomas Martin Etcheverry/a in the first three rounds. He put up a vintage performance against a href='https://www.atptour.com/en/players/adrian-mannarino/me82/overview'Adrian Mannarino/a in the fourth round, dropping only three games en route to victory. In the quarter-finals, he was tested by a href='https://www.atptour.com/en/players/taylor-fritz/fb98/overview'Taylor Fritz/a before winning in four sets./p
pBut Djokovic, a 10-time champion at Melbourne Park, suffered a surprise defeat to eventual champion a href='https://www.atptour.com/en/players/jannik-sinner/s0ag/overview'Jannik Sinner/a in four sets in the semi-finals, where his streak of 33 consecutive wins in Melbourne ended./p
pldquo;I was, in a way, shocked with my level, in a bad way. There was not much I was doing right in the first two sets,rdquo; he said after the match. /p
pldquo;I guess this is one of the worst Grand Slam matches I've ever played,” Djokovic said.” /p
pstrongROLAND GARROS: QUARTER-FINALS/strongbr
Djokovic started his a href='https://www.atptour.com/en/tournaments/roland-garros/520/overview'Roland Garros/a campaign with easy wins over a href='https://www.atptour.com/en/players/pierre-hugues-herbert/h996/overview'Pierre-Hugues Herbert/a and a href='https://www.atptour.com/en/players/roberto-carballes-baena/cf59/overview'Roberto Carballes Baena/a before surviving a tough battle with young Italian a href='https://www.atptour.com/en/players/lorenzo-musetti/m0ej/overview'Lorenzo Musetti/a, who led two sets to one./p
pHe survived another five-setter against a href='https://www.atptour.com/en/players/francisco-cerundolo/c0au/overview'Francisco Cerundolo/a in the fourth round, but suffered a meniscus tear in his right knee, which forced him to withdraw from his scheduled quarter-final against a href='https://www.atptour.com/en/players/casper-ruud/rh16/overview'Casper Ruud/a./p
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pstrongWIMBLEDON: FINAL/strongbr
A few weeks after undergoing surgery on his knee, Djokovic arrived at a href='https://www.atptour.com/en/tournaments/wimbledon/540/overview'Wimbledon/a, hoping to win a record-equalling eighth title. After a routine victory against a href='https://www.atptour.com/en/players/vit-kopriva/ki82/overview'Vit Kopriva/a in the opening round, he was pushed to four sets by a href='https://www.atptour.com/en/players/jacob-fearnley/f0by/overview'Jacob Fearnley/a and Popyrin in the next two rounds./p
pThe Serbian breezed past a href='https://www.atptour.com/en/players/holger-rune/r0dg/overview'Holger Rune/a in the fourth round and had extra time to rest when a href='https://www.atptour.com/en/players/alex-de-minaur/dh58/overview'Alex de Minaur/a retired before their quarter-final. He advanced to the final by winning his semi in straight sets against Musetti. The seven-time champion, who pushed a href='https://www.atptour.com/en/players/carlos-alcaraz/a0e2/overview'Carlos Alcaraz/a to five sets in last year’s final, was unable to push the young Spaniard this time around, falling in straight sets. /p
pldquo;Overall, the way I felt on the court today against him, I was inferior on the court. That's it. He was a better player. He played every single shot better than I did,rdquo; he said after his loss. /p
p"My preparation for a href='https://www.atptour.com/en/tournaments/wimbledon/540/overview'Wimbledon/a wasn't as I would have it normally, usually, or commonly to prepare myself. There was hindrance obviously because of the injury.rdquo;/p
pstrongUS OPEN: THIRD ROUND/strongbr
Coming into the tournament as the defending champion, Djokovicrsquo;s early exit was without question one of the biggest shocks of the season. Signs of trouble emerged early, as he struggled with his serve in straight-sets victories over a href='https://www.atptour.com/en/players/radu-albot/a829/overview'Radu Albot/a and a href='https://www.atptour.com/en/players/laslo-djere/db63/overview'Laslo Djere/a in the first two rounds./p
pIt all came crashing down for Djokovic against an inspired Popyrin in the third round as his serving troubles peaked, leading to a stunning defeat. Coming into the event light on match practice after an extensive celebration of his a href='https://www.atptour.com/en/scores/archive/paris/96/2024/results'Paris Olympics/a gold medal, Djokovic hit 14 double faults in the matchmdash;a career-high for him at a major, and 32 overall across three matches. /p
pldquo;On my end, honestly, the way I felt and the way I played from the beginning of this tournament, third round is a success. I mean, I have played some of the worst tennis I have ever played, honestly, serving by far the worst ever,rdquo; he said after the loss./p
pDjokovic’s quest to capture a record-extending 25th Grand Slam will now have to wait until 2025. The good news is that the quest will begin at the a href='https://www.atptour.com/en/tournaments/australian-open/580/overview'Australian Open/a, his happiest Grand Slam hunting ground./p
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