Novak Djokovic seemed to be very dejected after his opening-round loss at the 2025 Indian Wells Open.
Djokovic rarely exits the tournament in the first round. But in recent weeks, he did that twice in a row. He first lost to Matteo Berrettini in Doha, and now he lost to Botic van de Zandschulp in Indian Wells.
Of course, every loss is disappointing for the Serbian legend, but at this stage of his career, each lost match has an even bigger meaning. His struggles are becoming very evident, and even the 24-time major winner is aware of it.
One of the reasons why the likes of Djokovic, Rafael Nadal, and Roger Federer managed to be so successful in their careers was because players feared them. Now, Djokovic is losing that fear factor, and even Van de Zandschulp spoke about it after beating the 37-year-old.
“It helps you. You saw him in Doha he lost to Berrettini. In Australia, he retired during the match. But I still believe he’s one of the best players there is now on the tour. It’s never easy to face him. But it also gives you a little bit of confidence if he loses some matches here and there.”
The struggles are real for Djokovic, and they are not related only to him losing the fear factor. By not winning enough matches, he doesn’t get into the proper match rhythm, and that creates a vicious cycle.
The five-time Indian Wells Open champion couldn’t really find any positives after his loss either. He looked back on his career, which is obviously a positive, but he couldn’t hide the disappointment.
“Yeah, hard to appreciate anything now, really. I’m disappointed that I lost, but I guess, you know, if you put things in that larger perspective, of course, I’ve had an incredible career. Being consistent for so many years, obviously you have high expectations of yourself.”
Despite being able to talk about his successful career and look back on his achievements, Djokovic also talked about how challenging the things are for him now.
“Things are different obviously for me the last couple of years. I’ve been struggling to play on the desired level. Every now and then, I have a couple of good tournaments, but mostly, it’s really a challenge. It’s a struggle for me.”
The 37-year-old is aware that nothing could have prepared him for this stage of his tennis career. Maybe one of the reasons why he hired Andy Murray was to tackle these years better, as the British player went through this period only recently.
“So it is what it is. I guess nothing can prepare you for that moment, in a sense. You have to experience it and try to deal with it in the best possible way.”
