Novak Djokovic hit another unfortunate low as he crashed out of the US Open in the first round at the hands of Mariano Navone.
The Serbian’s health issues once again got the better of him in the humidity of New York as he fell to a five-set defeat to the 25-year-old Argentine.
Djokovic has now lost three matches in a row since losing to Jannik Sinner in the Wimbledon semi final, having been beaten in his opening match at the Cincinnati Open and now the US Open.
Following another early exit for Djokovic, legendary tennis coach Brad Gilbert has urged the Serbian to make a major change to his schedule.
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Speaking on The Big T Podcast, the former coach of Coco Gauff and Andy Murray said: “I also think the big change, if I was talking to Novak, he’s playing the same schedule that he was playing three years ago, five years ago, when he was dominating.
“I feel like he’s undercooked now. He needs to play more matches and he needs more reps. It’s weird to say that.” “The reason why I say that is because it’s not about winning Cincy, but it’s about getting into match fit form, getting into match shape and when you’re not playing that many matches it’s not that easy just to turn it on.
“And at 39, the biggest challenge is, I’m sure what Federer went through, what Rafa went through, [Andy] Murray and a lot of guys, great champions. If you feel like you can’t win the tournament, that’s probably when father time has beaten you.
“I’m sure he feels like the opportunity was, especially with [Jannik] Sinner out, he missed the opportunity at the French, he still feels like he can win it, he probably hasn’t come to that resolution.
“But I just feel like he’s undercooked in matches and there’s definitely something going on and he revealed this sickness that he needs to figure out, but he needs to I feel like get back to winning a few matches.
“I know you don’t think he needs to, but that’s the belief in the locker room that he needs to show guys. If you lose to guys like this, everybody’s going to start thinking you’re beatable.”
A recent announcement could suggest that Djokovic is about to listen to Gilbert’s advice.
The 24-time Grand Slam champion has appeared on the entry list for the China Open at the end of the month, which would be his first appearance at the ATP 500 event since the 2015 season.
