Back in 2017, John McEnroe likened Novak Djokovic’s decline in form to that of Tiger Woods.
Djokovic endured elbow issues that year and his performances weren’t particularly impressive. A run to the Italian Open final and title wins in Eastbourne and Doha were his most notable performances.
McEnroe compared Djokovic’s drop in results to golfing legend Tiger Woods “going off the rails” after issues with his former wife Elin.
“The person that comes to mind immediately with Novak is not a tennis player, it’s actually a golfer: Tiger Woods,” McEnroe said, as per ESPN. [Woods] had the issues with his wife, and then he seemed to go completely off the rails and has never been even close to being the same player. So we’re starting to say: ‘Wait a minute, is this possible with [Djokovic]?'” McEnroe said.
The Serb’s 2017 season came to an end after that year’s Wimbledon Championships, where he reached the quarterfinals but had to retire against Tomas Berdych due to an elbow injury.
Novak Djokovic has won 12 Grand Slams since undergoing elbow surgery in 2018
Novak Djokovic underwent elbow surgery in 2018 following his fourth-round exit at the Australian Open. He eventually returned to form, producing a string of dominant performances.
The Serb won two Grand Slams that season, at Wimbledon and the US Open. He has clinched a total of 12 Majors since his surgery.
After impressing in the second half of the 2018 season, Djokovic won another two Grand Slams in 2019, at the Australian Open and Wimbledon, beating Rafael Nadal and Roger Federer in the respective finals. The following year, he successfully defended his title at the Melbourne Major, defeating Dominic Thiem in the final.
The Serb’s 2021 season is among the greatest of all time. He won all Grand Slams that year except the US Open, where he finished as runner-up after losing to Daniil Medvedev. He won Wimbledon in 2022.
Djokovic had a stellar 2023 season too, during which he reached the final of all four Grand Slams and won three. He won the Australian Open by beating Stefanos Tsitsipas in the final and later defeated Casper Ruud in the French Open final.
The Serb won the US Open by beating Daniil Medvedev in the title clash to win his 24th Grand Slam singles title, thus setting a new Open Era record. However, he missed out on the Calendar Slam as he lost the Wimbledon final to Carlos Alcaraz.
