COLUMN: Novak Djokovic continues to be written off

Novak Djokovic (Image: Getty)

Everybody is coming out of the woodwork to write off Novak Djokovic following his withdrawal from next week’s Italian Open. Alarm bells are ringing because the Serbian will miss the event for the first time since 2007.

Three defeats in a row, devoid of confidence and refusing to turn up in Rome has Annabel Croft feeling that Djokovic has lost his aura. It’s likely he’ll arrive at Roland Garros having not won a match on clay in 12 months.

Fortunately for the 24-time Grand Slam winner, he won’t play anybody with half of his talent until at least the third round.

Being seeded gives him the benefit of facing lesser opponents to find his feet.

And if that is not enough, he has the luxury of best-of-five sets to overcome any early setbacks.

A player of Djokovic’s quality doesn’t need to get out of second gear in the early rounds and he could comfortably use those encounters as his warm-up.

Many wrote the 37-year-old off before the Australian Open and he beat Carlos Alcaraz en route to the semis.

When it comes to the Majors, Djokovic is a mentality monster. Pundits must be bloated with how many times he has made them eat their words.