Wimbledon Takeaway #6: Not Djoking around

A peculiarly scorching sun had its way with the Wimbledon grass over this fortnight. But the sun also sets. Here, our ongoing roundup of passing shots from SW19, a curated much-ado-about-everything – if a bit less manicured than the Wimble-lawns themselves.

See No. 7.

6

The smile came off.

That perpetual grin, the dimple-induced folds in the face that Novak Djokovic has worn so well over these past few years were rarely in view over the course of his one-and-a-half weeks on the court in London.

Despite that, he enjoyed a wedding anniversary with his wife Jelena. Even if this off-court mixed-doubles duo detested the scheduling of his fourth-rounder, they didn't let that circumstance rain on their celebratory day.

But for tennis, Djokovic had a tough time in London. Still, as his play went–and to be sure, it came and went–questions such as "What's the Deal With Novak Djokovic?" arose in the media. He pounded Mannarino in his fourth-round match before retiring from a quarterfinal showdown with Tomas Berdych, down, 7-6, 2-0.

Another who would know, Bethanie Mattek-Sands, issued her well-wishes for Djokovic, and his opponent, Berdych, likewise shared good thoughts for his imminent recovery:

The frustrations for Djokovic didn't end there, though. John McEnroe wouldn't shut his trap about the Serbian star's potential woes away from the court, likening his plight to that of Tiger Woods. In the face of that, Djokovic weathered the verbal storm.

Djokovic and his French-Open–through–Wimbledon coach, Andre Agassi, weren't immune to responding, rightly speaking out in measure against McEnroe's words. They handled that would-be fracas with relative aplomb.

Now, if Djokovic can do the same with what happens between the lines of the court, he will really be back in business.

Follow Jon on Twitter @jonscott9.