Over the first 10 days of 2017, we're examining the Top 10 players on the ATP and WTA tours—how will they fare during the new season? All of the previews can be found here.
Last June, as he fell to the clay in Court Philippe Chatrier after winning his first French Open, Novak Djokovic was the most dominant male tennis player in more than four decades. With that long-awaited victory, the world No. 1 had become the first man since Rod Laver in 1969 to hold all four major titles. Five years after taking over the No. 1 ranking, he had vanquished all of his rivals. The only question that remained, it seemed, was whether Djokovic would go on to become the greatest player in history. Even more ominous for the rest of the tour was the fact that, despite all of his accomplishments, he was still the second-youngest player in the ATP’s Top 10. Yes, Djokovic had turned 29 the previous month, but who was going to stop him from piling up as many Slam titles as he wanted over the next three, four, five, maybe 10 years?
Four weeks later we found out the answer: It was Djokovic himself. With no rivals left, no immediate goals to achieve and expectations at an all-time high, he said the joy went out of the game for him. With it went his edge over everyone else. The new tone was set at Wimbledon, where unseeded American Sam Querrey sent Djokovic packing in the third round; it was the first time since 2009 that he had lost before the quarterfinals at a major. From there, Djokovic would go out in the first round at the Olympic Games, fail to defend his late-season titles in Shanghai, Paris and London, and lose his second straight major final to Stan Wawrinka, at the U.S. Open. Djokovic said he needed a rest, and he played like it.