Novak Djokovic will lose motivation without his rivals in Rafael Nadal and Roger Federer.
That's according to renowned tennis coach Gunter Bresnik who believes having the likes of the pair and even Andy Murray drove Djokovic to the levels we know today.
However, despite his loss to Carlos Alcaraz at Wimbledon last week, the 36-year-old lacks the same sort of rivalry with the Spaniard in the eyes of Bresnik.
“I have the theory that the rivalries with Roger Federer, Rafael Nadal and Andy Murray drove him to top performances – of course that also applies to the others,” Bresnik told Kleine Zeitung (via Tennis 365). “Not only in the match, but also in the time in between, during training or preparing for a match. And this rivalry does not exist with Alcaraz.
“I have always said that Djokovic will lose motivation once there is no more constant competition with Nadal and Federer and he has won 23 Grand Slam titles. Alcaraz, on the other hand, played freely and finds it easier against the older ones, because they are on the decline. The branches are high, but descending.”
It's a big shout given that Novak Djokovic still won two of out the three Grand Slams this year so far and was gunning to increase his tally to 24 until Alcaraz stopped him.
However, Bresnik also feels the Big Four all played at a higher level at their peak than Alcaraz is currently playing.
So if, for example, Nadal comes back fit and healthy next year and plays at that level again, Bresnik expects the 22-time Grand Slam winner to challenge Alcaraz.
“I’m still convinced that Federer, Nadal, Djokovic, and maybe Murray – played better at their best than Alcaraz is doing today,” he added. “So yes, if Nadal should reach that level again, [he can challenge Alcaraz].”
The same should surely apply to Novak Djokovic as well.
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