Story highlights
Becker admits Djokovic lacked motivation
Serb lost at the ATP World Finals Sunday
Andy Murray retains world No. 1 spot
It’s a difficult time for Novak Djokovic and his team. Few will be reeling more from the Serb’s failure to reclaim the world No. 1 ranking than his head coach Boris Becker.
Reflecting on Sunday’s 6-3 6-4 defeat in the ATP Finals showdown with Andy Murray, Becker suggested Djokovic might be suffering from the absence of his usual main rivals Roger Federer and Rafael Nadal, who both cut their seasons short due to injuries.
Read: Federer out of top 10 for first time in 14 years
“He didn’t have any opponents anymore,” the German tennis great, who has coached the Serb to six grand slam titles since December 2013, told CNN’s World Sport show. “His time was with Nadal, with Federer. Andy was always the fourth guy.
“So he lost a little bit of his opponents. Murray is showing something he hasn’t shown before.”
Watch: Murray on becoming World No. 1
After a phenomenal start to 2016, winning six of his first nine tournaments, Djokovic has struggled to maintain his usual high standards since completing his collection of grand slam titles at Roland Garros in June.
“The first six months were outstanding,” Becker added. “His pinnacle was winning the French Open and winning four majors in a row. It hasn’t been done since 1969 by a player called Rod Laver.
“Naturally, his motivation was a bit off afterwards. He really didn’t know what the next big goal would be.”
Watch: The race for World No. 1
Djokovic, who became a father in October 2014, has admitted he lost motivation to play tennis after the French Open, and Becker says that has made it difficult for the coaching team.
“Our hands were a little bit tied. He was focusing on off-court priorities, he wanted to spend more time with his family, he has other business interests,” the 48-year-old said.
Read: Angry Djokovic clashes with umpire
“He was like a machine for two and a half years, with all the power. But from a tennis side we didn’t know what to do.”
However, Becker has faith his player will bounce back next year.
“Novak is a competitor at heart. If I have one guy who has to play for my life, I would pick Djokovic. That’s how much I trust him,” the six-time grand slam champion said.
“This could potentially be a turnaround for Novak Djokovic’s 2017. As much as this loss is going to hurt him, it’s probably going to inspire him to be re-motivated, re-energized for next year. Maybe it was a good thing in the end.”
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Momentum with Murray
Murray won 24 matches in claiming five successive tournament wins to become the year-end No. 1 for the first time in his career. However, after losing the French Open final, the 2016 Wimbledon and Olympic champion did not face a top-five player again until last week.
Despite two record-breaking marathons in the lead-up to the London final, the British player overcame an out-of-sorts Djokovic, who was playing his first title match since losing to Stan Wawrinka at September’s US Open.
The Belgrade-born 29-year-old had dropped only one set all week – in his first match of the tournament – but he made 30 unforced errors as he missed out on a fifth successive season-ending championship, and a record-equaling sixth overall.
“From Novak’s corner, we were disappointed; we were frustrated; we didn’t sleep much,” Becker said. “For both players it was nerve-racking. I think Novak had more to lose than Andy. But then Andy deserved to win.
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“Novak played a bit casually in Shanghai and Paris and all of a sudden you have this ultimate showdown – one and two playing it down for the final spot. And for tennis fans it was probably the biggest, most important match of the year.”
January’s Australian Open will be the first big test to see whether Team Djokovic can heal the wounds suffered over the last six months.