Gilbert provides the key for Djokovic's resurgence

Novak Djokovic has suffered one of the most painful defeats of his career at the US Open 2026. The Serbian tennis player had never lost in his debut in New York, but this time his body said enough, and he ended up succumbing to Mariano Navone after more than 4 hours of battle. This setback has generated numerous opinions among tennis experts, and Brad Gilbert believes the key is that the rest of the circuit already knows how to beat the GOAT of tennis, in addition to the fact that he is not choosing his schedule well.

In another era, it was Djokovic who had the upper hand when matches extended. However, today it is proven that Nole suffers physically against rugged opponents like Navone. Adding to this is the fact that with the heat and humidity, his body is beginning to react very negatively, opening the door for opponents to find the cracks in the Serbian's game, as the renowned American coach states in 'The Big T Podcast.'

“In long matches, I felt Novak was like the casino; he kept collecting more chips. If the match extended, you felt like reinvesting, buying back in, and in those matches, if he didn't play well, he could withstand anything. And I think now the most important thing is probably the atmosphere in the locker room. What the guys saw in Cincinnati, and you know what Navone's coach is telling him, listen, make this match physical, wear him down, he’s getting tired,” he admitted.

Time is working against Djokovic, and so are his methods

The reality is that time passes for everyone equally, and Novak is no exception. However, in his case, it seems that the problem is something more than just a physical issue, as in just half an hour, he was already showing signs of fatigue and soon after called for the physio to take a pill. "This is the type of match and opponents, a year or two ago, that guy would have been a set down walking onto the court, and they wouldn't have thought they had any chance of winning and would have hoped not to be annihilated," Brad continued.

According to Gilbert, there's only one way for the situation to change, and that is by playing more tournaments, as this year Djokovic has been very selective in choosing his schedule. “I also believe that the big change, if I spoke with Novak, is that he is playing with the same schedule he had three to five years ago when he dominated. I feel that he lacks preparation now. He needs to play more matches and needs more practice. It sounds strange to say.”

Tomljanovic sees Djokovic as unmotivated

The co-host of Gilbert's podcast is WTA player Alja Tomljanovic, who believes the reasons behind Djokovic's crisis are related to a possible lack of motivation due to being far from winning his twenty-fifth Grand Slam. “Sometimes he comes out for these matches and I feel he's not very motivated, I don’t want to say motivated, but rather unmotivated, and I get it. He's probably waiting for the semifinals or quarters of these tournaments, and he's done it so many times that sometimes I feel like I’d be tired too,” she concluded.

There are many doubts surrounding Djokovic's figure, but many things can happen in the upcoming months. Perhaps he will find a remedy for those problems he has and doesn't want to reveal, perhaps the situation will improve on its own, or in the worst-case scenario, he might end up making a drastic decision if he does not feel competitive. So far, he has shown no signs of wanting to retire, and everything indicates that he will continue fighting and competing to give himself another chance to achieve another major.

This is an automatic translation. You can read the original news, Gilbert da con la clave para el resurgir de Djokovic