After a Grand Slam defeat, Djokovic (almost) always bounces back

The tennis world has not seen Novak Djokovic on a tennis court since January 26, 2024, when he left the Australian Open in the semi-finals, beaten by Jannik Sinner. A thunderbolt in Melbourne for the man who hadn’t lost on this court since 2018!

The world No 1 took some time off to rest after this setback in Australia. He is now ready to bounce back at Indian Wells, the first Masters 1000 of the season. Fans of Djokovic can rest assured that crisis is far from being the order of the day.

Indeed, when the Serb loses a Grand Slam, he is generally the type of player who doesn’t let it get him down, and likes to set the record straight at the very next tournament. After his defeat at Wimbledon last year, Djokovic went on a 19-match winning streak on Tour, with victories at the US Open, Cincinnati and Bercy.

DJOKOVIC OUT FOR REVENGE IN INDIAN WELLS
It was the same story when the Serb exited the French Open in the quarter-finals in 2022, having been beaten by Rafael Nadal in four sets. The Serb returned to the ATP circuit a few weeks later to win Wimbledon, Tel Aviv and Astana before reaching the final of the Rolex Paris Masters.

As the saying goes, “beware the wounded beast”. The last time Djokovic failed to bounce back from a Grand Slam defeat was after losing the French Open final in 2020 – a completely different era.

In Indian Wells, the world No 1 one is thirsty for revenge and wants to show Sinner, Alcaraz and company that he is still the boss of the circuit. The only cause for concern is that he hasn’t triumphed in California since 2016, and he hasn’t even played in the tournament since 2019. So he’s in dire need of a reference point.

His last match at Indian Wells was a third-round defeat in 2019 to Philipp Kohlschreiber (6-4, 6-4). Nonetheless, many, starting with Californian tournament director Tommy Haas, see him as the favourite