New Delhi: World no. 2 Novak Djokovic witnessed a shock loss when he went down in the Australian Open second round to world no. 117 Denis Istomin of Uzbekistan.
This was the first time since 2007 that Djokovic had failed to reach the quarter-finals of the Australian Open, and the first time ever in his career that he had lost to a player ranked outside of the top 100 in a Grand Slam tournament.
A more recent setback came when he lost to Australian Nick Kyrgios in the quarter-finals of an ATP event in Acapulco.
Tennis legend Boris Becker, who parted ways with the Serb in December after a three-year association, says Djokovic will “bounce back” soon from the slump.
“He is very experienced. He knows what to do to win again and I am sure he will make a comeback. In Melbourne everyone was surprised, but I am not worried. Novak knows how to be back at the top,” the multiple Grand Slam said here on Wednesday.
Asked what advise he would like to give to Djokovic, he said with a smile, “I don’t know. I am no one to give advise to him, he is very experienced and a champion.”
‘Paes can go long way’
Talking about Indian tennis, the charismatic Becker said that the country needed to develop more interest in individual sports in order to taste success in tennis. “I don’t see a reason it shouldn’t happen. You have the fascination about sport. But something about the mindset pulls you people more towards team sports than individual sports.
On Leander Paes, the former world no. 1 said, “Age is just a number for Paes. As long he is fit and enjoying tennis, he can sustain.”
