Novak Djokovic is in unfamiliar territory after his latest loss to Botic van de Zandschulp at Indian Wells.
Djokovic made unwanted history following his loss to the Dutchman, as his relatively poor run of form continues.
There is now a lot of discussion surrounding the 24-time Grand Slam champion, with Djokovic not used to shock defeats like this during his decorated career.
Even the man himself could not quite put his finger on his drop in form, with Djokovic struggling with the Indian Wells courts that have changed this year.
Sam Querrey and Steve Johnson react to Novak Djokovic defeat at Indian Wells
Former American professional players Sam Querrey and Steve Johnson backed Djokovic to return to form at Indian Wells prior to the tournament getting underway.
However, following his third consecutive defeat Querrey has admitted to losing faith in Djokovic when speaking on the Nothing Major Podcast.
“We’re all like very bullish on Novak still, especially me. I’m starting to lose faith now, I don’t know what happened,” said Querrey. “He was practicing well he said and then went out there and losing that match, so odd I feel like to lose that and now he’s got like the next 12 days [before Miami].”
While Johnson suggested that he expects Djokovic to still perform at the Grand Slams, he claimed that the Serbian just does not seem motivated to win other tournaments like he previously did.
“I mean I’ve said it a few times, like what is there to prove for him,” said Johnson. “I just don’t know what gets him excited to go out and compete non-stop, like he has done it for so long, his entire career, he’s an incredible, incredible competitor and he just seems flat out there.
“Winning Indian Wells doesn’t get the juices going, it doesn’t move the needle for him in his career anymore. I mean the guy has won everything multiple times over, it’s truly remarkable that he’s still doing it.
“You know I think a lot of us would probably have called it a career by now if we had this many titles and all the records and what not, but it just looks like he’s just flat and the vibes play with [Andy] Murray in the box didn’t get him to where he needed to be this week at Indian Wells, which it did in Australia.
“And I just think the mojo is not there for these smaller tournaments, I think we’re going to see him be fine at the French [Open] and Wimby [Wimbledon]. And you know he’s only going to have that opportunity the next time he plays and it might be Miami.
“It might be a while so it’s going to be interesting to see with him and it’s just weird to see him kind of handing guys you know career wins on his last potentially, last couple years, tournaments, who knows on tour. It’s weird to see Novak as a human out there, losing three matches in a row.”
Will Novak Djokovic play the Miami Open?
Djokovic is next scheduled to compete at the Miami Open, where he is a record six-time champion.
However, the 37-year-old has not competed at the second half of the sunshine double in six years and last won the Miami Open title in 2016.
When asked about the likelihood of him returning to Miami this year, Djokovic said he would talk to Andy Murray and the rest of his team about future plans.
Last year the Miami Open was won by Jannik Sinner, who is currently banned and will not be able to defend his ttile.
The men’s singles main draw at the Miami Open gets underway on Wednesday March 19, with Djokovic set to be the sixth seed.
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