Novak Djokovic will commence another Australian Open campaign with a point to prove – but a very different one to that of a year ago.
The favourite to win a 17th Grand Slam title at AO 2020, he did just that, departing Melbourne Park with Roger Federer and Rafael Nadal in his sights ahead of him in the Grand Slam titles race – and rapidly closing that gap.
MORE: Djokovic enjoys early win in Adelaide
But 12 months on, his progress has stalled. That narrowing gap has widened. Instead of what appeared an inevitable march to history, some doubts now exist as to whether the driven Serb will end his career with the biggest major title haul of all – one of his career goals.
When Djokovic returns to Melbourne Park in February, his happiest hunting ground on Earth, it presents the perfect opportunity to rebound, and banish those doubts.
Unstoppable force
Djokovic’s five-set triumph over Dominic Thiem in the AO 2020 final was telling.
Facing an inspired underdog who had the crowd’s support, Djokovic was struggling to hit top gear, and fell behind two-sets-to-one in an AO final for the first time – yet still won.
Many pundits declared him head-and-shoulders above the rest of the field; Steve Flink wrote for tennis.com that Djokovic was "primed to make this year one of the best in his illustrious career."
As predicted, Djokovic continued winning, scooping the ATP Dubai title and revealing – perhaps tongue-in-cheek, but with some seriousness – his aim to go undefeated in 2020.
Coronavirus then intervened. But when the ATP season resumed five months later at the Western & Southern Open, Djokovic kept rolling, winning that title to improve his 2020 win-loss record to 23-0.
“Can anyone or anything stop Novak Djokovic from winning his 18th Grand Slam title two weeks from Sunday at the US Open?” asked Adam Zagoria in Forbes.
Grand Slam setbacks
It turned out something could. Djokovic was defaulted in the fourth round after accidentally striking a line-judge with a ball.
Admirably, he appeared to have re-focused when he returned to Europe and won the Rome Masters titles before reaching the Roland Garros final.
The feeling was Djokovic was primed to beat Nadal in that final given the tournament’s rescheduling came with a drastic change in conditions; they were now cold, damp and heavy, and indoors.
Djokovic’s coach Goran Ivanisevic even declared: “Nadal has no chance … on this clay and with Novak, who has got into his head.”
Nadal won 6-0 6-2 7-5.
Djokovic, still with 17 major titles, is now three behind Nadal and Federer, who own 20 each.
"I think Djokovic can look back at 2020 and feel hardly done by, more so than any other athlete in tennis,” said Todd Woodbridge. “Because he was, in my opinion, in his absolute prime and ready to dominate in that season.”
After exiting the season-ending ATP Finals, Djokovic described his season as “OK”.
“I have had better and I have had worse. I have won one Grand slam title, played the final in another one and I am year-ending world No.1. When I think about it, it is not just ‘OK’, it was a great season, but I strive to be better and I think that I can do better,” he said.
“Right now, after this kind of ending, it feels bitter.”
Looking to rebound
“Bitter” feelings can serve as redemptive fuel, especially when coupled with the confidence boost that comes with returning to Melbourne Park, where he has won more than 90 per cent of his matches.
Djokovic has openly discussed his desire to achieve tennis history; most recently he admitted “I will do all I can to make it happen” with regard to accumulating the most weeks ever at world No.1.
Motivation, therefore, will not be lacking. And what better way to take another step toward his goals than with a ninth AO title?
Wally Masur believes Djokovic, like other great champions, has an uncanny ability to rebound quickly from setbacks.
"You would think that Novak had the opportunity to go home (after 2020), to sort of refresh and train hard,” said the former world No.15.
“I just back him in at the Australian Open. Geez he plays well in Australia. He likes the surface, he likes the conditions, and I think he's probably had a bit of time to reset.”
Woodbridge agreed the Serb will be incredibly difficult to beat at AO 2021.
“Physically he's good, and he's incredibly driven to become the greatest of all time,” he said.
“He's obviously the most dominant player to ever play here. And he's now back in a position where he's got something to prove.
“He's dangerous when it's like that.”