ANALYSIS: Is retirement imminent for Novak Djokovic as 2024 nightmares rear their head again?

Novak Djokovic will be one of the main names on the marquee until the day he finally decides to hang up his racquet and call it a day but is that coming sooner than we perhaps expected a few years ago when he looked like he was going to dominate the sport long past his predecessors.

Roger Federer retired with injury blighting him, as did Rafael Nadal while Andy Murray retired and became his coach. But in reality he wasn't the same player and the aforementioned duo weren't either. Djokovic is a sporting anomaly that way into his late 30's, he is still in the top five of the ATP Rankings and aside from the high bar that is set for him in terms of his own results, he is still doing ok.

But Djokovic is a winner, he always has been and in what has been semi a mirror image of last season, he has shown flashes but then collapsed. He got injured at the Australian Open and perhaps rushed back too soon in Doha and Indian Wells itself wasn't exactly vintage Nole.

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Going into Miami if he plays and then the clay court season, the question of motivation is one to flag. While we know he loves Wimbledon, the clay aside from the Olympic Games last year was a wake-up call in Geneva in particular.

Players such as Luca Nardi, Alejandro Tabilo among others picked off the scalp last year and showed that the days of fearing Djokovic are somewhat over.

Botic the Giant Killer in California

The last gauge of this was against Botic van de Zandschulp at Indian Wells. A player who is a known spoiler for the top names.

He was the last player to beat Carlos Alcaraz at the US Open and he basically retired Rafael Nadal. Among the grandeur of his mooted farewell, he turned up as he always does and handed Nadal a harsh dose of reality.

He did the same against Djokovic winning 6-2, 3-6, 6-1 in a flat display from the 24-time Grand Slam champion who no doubt would've known the tools that the Dutchman possesses but it is just another damning indictment.

Novak Djokovic is open that his career does have an expiration.

But it also comes down perhaps to motivation or a lack of it. He has often said that he is mainly there for the Grand Slams over anything else at this point of his career and at a time when legacy is a main focal point, he wants 25 and only really the remaining records.

“The 4-year-old Novak is still inside and still in love with this sport and still hungry for more," he said on Kyrgios' podcast recently.

“But at the same time, there’s probably a more mature Novak, a father and a husband, who is like, ‘Come on, man. There’s other things in life too.’

“Part of me always wants to keep going, I don’t have an expiration date. I’m lucky to have my life but, some mornings, I’m unmotivated and less inspired to travel and play when I want to be at home and have a normal life.”

A match against Van de Zandschulp won't really hang off the tongue as much as winning another Grand Slam.

Victim of age

From the hunted to the hunter, Djokovic also now holds a new role. He goes from being the World No.1 to suddenly having to fight for what used to be his.

That is a harsh reality also to live through. Jannik Sinner albeit currently banned has managed to take his top spot and now anchors the sport.

It has now gone from a lonely existence at the top to one which sees Djokovic now sitting behind the 8 ball. Alexander Zverev even who despite not winning a Grand Slam yet has managed to catch up and pass him.

Only really Carlos Alcaraz who has had a hit and miss time against him is still somewhat fragile at times whether that is in the pursuit of World No.1 or facing Djokovic. So it is very much the case that age has caught up with him despite it not being due to poor play.

The young guns have managed to usurp him and don't fear him anymore which spells bad news for his future career. He will now have to hope that either of the big two lose or he won't win the Grand Slams which in a decade where he managed to dominate is a bitter pill to swallow.

As the Wham! song goes Young Guns Go For It, Sinner and Alcaraz have gone for Djokovic's crown.

So what next?

The fact of the matter is Novak Djokovic should never be underestimated or written off. He has made a habit in his career during a time when Rafael Nadal, Roger Federer among others have been seen as bigger fan favourites of spoiling the party.

He now faces that with Sinner and Alcaraz being popular. Like he did at the Olympic Games, he came back from a potential season ending injury quicker than expected with the fight firmly in his belly to attack it.

So while he is going through a rough patch in these smaller tournaments, the Grand Slams are the real evidence about Djokovic's future.

But he is on the understanding himself that his career is finite. He has said often that he won't play forever and only a year after Nadal retired, he could find himself pondering his future post summer.

How long can you lose to Nardi, Berrettini, Van de Zandschulp's and even Ruud's and De Minaur's before you start to think is this worth it. Many players have played too long due to not letting it go and tarnished their legacy.

Was Murray hire a signal of impending retirement?

As the greatest player of the modern era and all time to some depending on who you ask, Djokovic won't do that and sits in a unique position. But he also given he has prided himself of sitting atop the spot is unlikely to sit there being defeated by inferior players.

Also it could even be said that Andy Murray is a hire is a nod towards his career coming towards a close soon. Many saw it as a bit of a vanity hire and one to get tongues wagging and help his mate/former rival.

It hasn't paid dividends yet but it still could. But the fact he has sacked members of his team he hasn't replaced and has streamlined his approach shows that perhaps he knows it is one final crack at this and that'll be it.

Whatever Djokovic decides in the next year or two, he remains one of the best players in the world and what is next is an uncertainty. But Djokovic himself will know when it is the right time to step away.

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