A year ago, Novak Djokovic entered Wimbledon with a Career Slam under his belt. It can be said that the end of his title defence as early as in the third round in 2016 was the starting point of his downfall from the top.
Djokovic faced a first-round exit at Rio Games, but managed to reach the final of US Open, only to lose to Stanislas Wawrinka. Another defeat in a final followed at ATP World Tour Finals, shortly after he conceded his World No. 1 title to Andy Murray.
Earlier this year, with his win over Murray in the final of Qatar Open, the Serb seemed ready to resume dominating the rest of the pack. However, the fit-again Roger Federer and Rafael Nadal had other plans as Djokovic's season went from bad to worse.
As he prepares to take on World No. 59 Martin Klizan in the first round on Tuesday, July 4, Djokovic is not holding any major title and is ranked fourth. Half the season has already passed and the 30-year-old player's performance in majors, despite having signed up Andre Agassi as coach ahead of his French Open earlier this year, has been far from impressive.
Djokovic was forced to play his first grass court tournament outside Wimbledon since 2011 at Aegon International last month. The Serb seemed to know that he needed some match practice before he would start his quest for a turnaround in London in the coming weeks.
The short stint in Eastbourne seems to have done him good. The Serb romped to the top step of the podium without dropping a set, outclassing Gael Monfils, and Wawrinka-slayer Daniil Medvedev enroute. Right after the win, Djokovic announced former World No. 7 Mario Ancic would join his coaching team.
"Obviously I was not playing too many of the events in the week prior to the beginning of the Grand Slam in my career, but I decided to do so this time because I felt like I needed more matches in general. Especially on the grass, which is a unique surface that requires time for adaptation and adjustment, especially for the movement," Djokovic spoke of his Eastbourne stint, as quoted by ATP's official website.
He added: "I felt like this time I needed a proper tournament rather than just playing a couple of exhibition matches. I'm glad I've made that decision, and that I went to Eastbourne, because it was a very positive experience on and off the court as well. The people were very kind. It was a great week with a lot of good, positive energy."
For Djokovic, a good start at SW19 on Tuesday will be key as he looks to carry the new-found winning momentum into the tournament, which he has won three times in the past [2011, 2014, 2015]. Notably, the Serb's first-round opponent, Klizan has never managed to post a win, losing all their three previous meetings.
Klizan has never made it past the second round at Wimbledon and has not won a match on grass in the last two years. His recent form is a big cause of concern ahead of his big opener.
The Slovakian has a 10-14 record this season and is heading into Wimbledon on the back of a first round loss at Antalya, which means he needs to punch above his weight to even stand a chance of troubling DJokovic on Tuesday.
When and where to watch live
Djokovic vs Klizan is the second match on Centre Court. The first match of the day will begin at 1pm BST, 5.30pm IST. TV and live streaming information is given below.
India: TV: Star Sports Select 2HD. Live Streaming: Hotstar.
UK: TV: BBC One and BBC Two. Live Streaming: BBC iPlayer.
Spain: TV: Movistar+.
Australia: TV: Fox Sports. Live Streaming: Foxtel.
USA: TV: ESPN. Live streaming: Watch ESPN.
France and Middle East: TV: Bein Sports. Live Streaming: Bein Sports Connect.
Canada: TV: CTV and TSN. Live Streaming: TSN TV.
Asia: TV: Fox Sports Asia. Live Streaming: Fox Sports Play Asia.
China: TV: Beijing TV.
