Let’s face it: Novak Djokovic’s 2020 has been a very strange year. He started very well, with the victory in the first edition of the ATP Cup with Serbie, and then the 17th Slam title in his career, five times at the Australian Open, beating first Roger Federer in the semifinals, then Dominic Thiem in the final in five dramatic sets.
Only a few weeks later Nole conquered the title also in Dubai, beating Stefanos Titsipas in the final. Then the COVID-19 pandemic changed the rules of the game, even for Novak Djokovic. In June 2020 Djokovic organized a charity event in Zadar, the Adria Tour, inviting some colleagues, including Thiem, Dimitrov, Rublev and Zverev, to perform in tennis matches.
By failing to comply with individual protection and social distancing protocols, some tennis players, including Djokovic himself, have tested positive for COVID-19. The tennis player, for this happened, received harsh criticism, even from the tennis world.
Criticisms that have added to the negative statements of his father towards Roger Federer. In August the split within the council of ATP players and the formation of the PTPA, just before the incredible, sensational elimination at the US Open for accidentally hitting a line judge with a ball in a moment of frustration.
Novak Djokovic’s 2021: the chase to the record has already started
In between the victory at the Western & Southern Open, but then here is a new series of blows. First the defeat in the final of the French Open against Rafael Nadal, then the beating taken by Lorenzo Sonego in Vienna (one of Djokovic’s worst defeats ever) and finally the defeat in the semifinal at the ATP Finals.
Nadal and Federer are both at 20 Slams: Novak, at 17, will not have a task that is not too simple, but a tennis player with his willpower will do everything already in 2021 to reduce this gap. Little to say about it: at the Australian Open and Wimbledon he will be the favorite.
But in the meantime, before starting the new season, Nole will have to recharge her batteries, shake off the last difficult months and plan the next season calmly and serenely. As long as his mind and body are at the top, he will have a chance to catch up with his two rivals.
In the midst of all this chasing of records, wins, controversies and blows, Nole is still ahead in the head-to-head against Federer and Nadal: but this will never be enough for him. Too many bad things have happened this year, many of them his own fault. He can remedy already starting from the Australian Open.
