{"id":28807,"date":"2025-02-26T03:13:45","date_gmt":"2025-02-26T03:13:45","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/usatoday.azontree.com\/?p=28807"},"modified":"2025-02-26T03:13:45","modified_gmt":"2025-02-26T03:13:45","slug":"novak-djokovic-concerns-raised-in-flat-emotionally-assessment-by-ex-atp-pro","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/usatoday.azontree.com\/?p=28807","title":{"rendered":"Novak Djokovic concerns raised in ‘flat emotionally’ assessment by ex-ATP pro"},"content":{"rendered":"
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\"Novak<\/figure>\n

A disappointed Novak Djokovic<\/p>\n

Former world No 21 Steve Johnson has expressed uncertainty over Novak Djokovic\u2019s \u201cplan\u201d as he questioned the Serbian\u2019s decision to play at the Qatar Open.<\/p>\n

Djokovic lost 7-6(4), 6-2 to Matteo Berrettini\u00a0in the first round of the ATP 500 tournament in Doha last week.<\/p>\n

The tennis legend made a swift return to action in Qatar after the hamstring tear that ended his Australian Open campaign.<\/p>\n

The 37-year-old suffered the injury during his four-set quarter-final triumph over Carlos Alcaraz in Melbourne, but he was unable to continue after losing the opening set of his semi-final with Alexander Zverev.<\/p>\n

Djokovic said\u00a0he felt fine physically after his early exit in Doha, although a video surfaced showing him appearing to limp as he entered an airport to depart from Doha.<\/p>\n

The former world No 1 has his sights set on winning a record-extending 25th Grand Slam title in 2025, while he is also chasing his 100th singles title in total.<\/p>\n

On the Nothing Major podcast, Johnson spoke candidly about Djokovic playing in Qatar and argued the\u00a0world No 7 has been looked flat emotionally more often recently.<\/p>\n

\u201cI am not sure what Novak\u2019s plan is going forward, nobody knows it but him,\u201d the American said.\u00a0\u201cI don\u2019t know why he is playing this tournament just in general.<\/p>\n

Novak Djokovic News<\/h2>\n

The 7 active players who have won the most ATP 500 titles: Novak Djokovic, Carlos Alcaraz, Jannik Sinner<\/p>\n

Novak Djokovic\u2019s ranking, prize money, sponsors and his next tournament<\/p>\n

\u201cIt feels like he just wants to win Slams to continue his legacy and stamp as the greatest champion of the sport we have ever seen.<\/p>\n

\u201cThere is obviously financial obligations and commitments he has made in the past, we don\u2019t know exactly what it takes for him to play these types of events.<\/p>\n

\u201cIt just feels as if he is not as motivated to win in Dubai or Doha than he is to win a Slam, which is rightfully so, because that\u2019s the only thing which can further his legacy.<\/p>\n

\u201cGood to see him out there playing, I thought we weren\u2019t going to see him until Indian Wells and just play some of the Masters series to win the French [Open], win Wimby [Wimbledon]. So interesting to see him out there.<\/p>\n

\u201cIt sometimes feels that he is a bit flat emotionally, which has usually never been the case for him.<\/p>\n

\u201cSo he has earned the right to play whatever schedule he deserves and wants to do.<\/p>\n

\u201cIt\u2019s a tough draw going against Berrettini who played really well that match, the serve, the forehand. Everything was going well.<\/p>\n

\u201cSo it\u2019s just interesting to watch Novak in these events because the Doha title is not going to further his legacy, so I\u2019m not sure his emotional investment.\u201d<\/p>\n

READ NEXT:\u00a0Tim Henman recalls his honest opinion on Djokovic, Nadal and Federer when they were young
\n<\/strong><\/p>\n<\/section>\n<\/article>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

A former world No 21 has expressed uncertainty over Novak Djokovic’s “plan” as he questioned the Serbian’s decision to play at the Qatar Open.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":28808,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[7],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-28807","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-tennis"],"yoast_head":"\nNovak Djokovic concerns raised in 'flat emotionally' assessment by ex-ATP pro - 24\/7 News America<\/title>\n<meta name=\"robots\" content=\"index, follow, max-snippet:-1, max-image-preview:large, max-video-preview:-1\" \/>\n<link rel=\"canonical\" href=\"https:\/\/usatoday.azontree.com\/?p=28807\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:locale\" content=\"en_US\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:type\" content=\"article\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:title\" content=\"Novak Djokovic concerns raised in 'flat emotionally' assessment by ex-ATP pro - 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