Novak Djokovic: I've gone from king to crisis in a year
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ByEurosport
Updated 24/05/2017 at 15:42 GMT
Novak Djokovic admits he has a hit a "little bit of a crisis" only a year after becoming the fifth man to complete the career Grand Slam by winning the French Open.
Novak Djokovic after winning the 2016 French Open
Image credit: Getty Images
The 12-times Grand Slam champion has failed to win another major since Roland Garros last June, and has lost his world number one spot to Andy Murray, the man he beat in last year's French Open final.
He also parted company with his coach Boris Becker before sacking the rest of his coaching team in a bid to give his flagging form a jolt.
America's eight-times Grand Slam winner Andre Agassi, the first man to win all four majors on three different surfaces, will begin working with Djokovic at the French as the player seeks "shock therapy" following his plunge from top spot.
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Get Ready: Djokovic through the years at Roland Garros
"I am experiencing a little bit of a crisis, if you want to call it that," said Djokovic in an interview with CNN.
It was a lot of anticipation, expectations and pressure building up each year that I was coming back. It brought a lot of joy but also a lot of relief. There were so many emotions involved and so many things that were on the line.
"When I was able to achieve that, I was just so empty."
Becker accused Djokovic of enjoying his French Open win a little bit too much. It was an accusation that appeared to be borne out by his defeat to world number 28 Sam Querrey in the third round of Wimbledon and Juan Martin del Potro in the opening round of the Olympic Games that left the proud Serbian in tears.
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Rio 2016 - Tennis : Djokovic v Del Potro
Image credit: Eurosport
Like Wimbledon, his defence of the Australian Open ended prematurely in January as he lost to wildcard Denis Istomin in the second round at Melbourne Park.
His cloak of invincibility has slipped over the past year, but Djokovic arrives at Roland Garros as world number two and second favourite for the title behind nine-times champion Rafael Nadal.
It's all part of the sport. I'm feeling much better now than I was maybe three or four months ago. I'm excited to go back to Paris again, obviously.
"It's been a year and it feels like it was yesterday."
He agrees that Nadal is the man to beat again on clay at the Spaniard chases a 10th Grand Slam.
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Get Ready: Djokovic says having Agassi as a coach is a dream come true
"It's quite incredible that he's going for his 10th title. Rafa has been so dominant there," said Djokovic.
"He's been playing some extraordinary tennis this year, very high quality. He's definitely going to be the player to beat. He always is and he always was on clay especially in Roland Garros.
"It's going to be an exciting tournament."
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