In the wake of a remarkable run to the top of Wimbledon鈥檚 men鈥檚 singles draw, Novak Djokovic was subdued at best. Forget that he ruled the All England Club for the fourth straight year. Never mind that he thereby managed to move past living legend Roger Federer with his 21st Grand Slam title. Even as he appreciated the feat, he understood that it represented a blip in the grand scheme of things. The start of the year saw him miss out on the Australian Open, the other major championship in which he could be considered an overwhelming favorite. The end of the year could find him in the sidelines as well, unable to travel to America for a stab at his fourth United States Open crown. And while the situation puts a major crimp on his plan to finish his career with the highest number of trophies of all time from the sport鈥檚 four holy grails, he鈥檚 at peace with the development.
As far as Djokovic is concerned, it鈥檚 a matter of principle. He got in trouble with immigration authorities in Australia due to his failure 鈥 or, to be more accurate, refusal 鈥 to be vaccinated against the COVID-19 virus. And because inoculation is a requirement to get a visa to the US, he鈥檚 slated to be on the outside looking in, literally and figuratively, for the last Grand Slam event of 2022. He knows that the pandemic shows no signs of abating, so the prerequisite for competition doesn鈥檛 seem headed to the scrap heap anytime soon. And that鈥檚 all right for him.
Perhaps Djokovic believes that the mark will ultimately be his, anyway. As the youngest, and fittest, of the Big Three that also includes provisional leader Rafael Nadal, he does seem to be in the best position to end up with the most crowded mantel. That said, 鈥渟eem鈥 is the operative word, since he鈥檚 doing himself no favors in slashing his chances by half from the outset. And here鈥檚 the thing: No matter how he spins his beliefs, they go against science, not to mention the need to protect the population at large. In other words, his cause is far from worthy or worthwhile, and yet he has seen fit to plant his flag on it, head held high.
It鈥檚 a wonder, really, because Djokovic cares about public opinion. In fact, he has been trying hard 鈥 make that very, very hard 鈥 to be on the good graces of fans who can鈥檛, or don鈥檛, think of him as fitting of adulation, his otherworldly successes on the court notwithstanding. In this particular case, though, it isn鈥檛 that he鈥檚 not trying hard enough. It鈥檚 that he鈥檚 not trying, period. Which, in the final analysis, puts him right where he wants to be, and exactly where he deserves to be 鈥 in the crosshairs of critics who feel just as strongly that the tennis alone won鈥檛 be enough.
Anthony L. Cuaycong has been writing Courtside since 大象传媒 introduced a Sports section in 1994. He is a consultant on strategic planning, operations and Human Resources management, corporate communications, and business development.
