"The hare is no longer there so perhaps there is a drop in motivation," Fabrice Santoro analyzed recent form of Djokovic

Fabrice Santoro believes Novak Djokovic's motivation has waned due to the reduced rivalry with Rafael Nadal and Roger Federer. The former world No. 17 opined that the Serbian star lost his drive after surpassing all records and no longer having the intense competition from the Big-3 that defined his career.

Nole has faced surprising defeats against lesser-known players on the Tour, including Luca Nardi in Indian Wells, Alejandro Tabilo at the Rome Open, and Tomas Machac at the Geneva Open. This is only the second time Djokovic has entered the French Open without winning any titles earlier in the season.

Santoro on Djokovic's recent performance dip

The former Italian tennis player shared his views on Prime Video France regarding Djokovic's decline in performance. In 2023, Djokovic secured three Grand Slam titles in one of the best seasons of his career at 36 years old.

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This achievement gave him the historic record of 24 Grand Slam titles, surpassing Rafael Nadal (22 titles) and leaving behind the retired Roger Federer (20 titles). Santoro noted that Djokovic played better when chasing his major rivals Federer and Nadal: "Novak has always had a hare. He had Roger, he had Rafa. He was always chasing someone. Where is the hare today? I do not see it," Fabrice Santoro stated.

"He no longer really has a guy he's chasing after because he's broken all the records: the Grand Slams won, the weeks spent as number 1, the Masters 1000, the face-to-face meetings with Federer, with Nadal and with Jo (Tsonga) too!" he added.

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"The hare is no longer there so perhaps there is a drop in motivation, or not. In any case, he will give us the answers in the coming weeks," he said. "There is a three and a half month block which will be crucial for him."