Former ATP player Paolo Bertolucci believes the Sunshine Double will show whether Novak Djokovic is truly declining or not.
The Serbian dominated the Australian Open in recent years, but this year's event wasn't like that. He was still one of the best players Down Under but ran into an inspired Jannik Sinner, who ousted him somewhat easily.
That was interesting to observe because nobody expected an easy match for Djokovic, but most would agree that he was beaten comfortably. Sinner ultimately won the event, so it's not the worst loss ever, but it opens the question of whether Djokovic will be able to remain competitive in the coming months.
The first set will come at the Sunshine Double, as those are the ATP Masters 1000 events that all of the top players will play. Djokovic will be there, as will Rafael Nadal, Carlos Alcaraz, and the rest. As former player and analyst Bertolucci pointed out, we'll see it there if the decline has started.
"He is a player who played badly in Australia. Now if this is due to a problem that can happen, because it happens when someone doesn't get his preparation right, or if the decline had begun, we will find out between Indian Wells and Miami."
Nobody really thinks that Djokovic is declining, as bad events can happen, but it was interesting to see him lose easily. We'll have to see in the coming months, and even if he starts to decline, his greatness can't be denied, so don't expect him to be outside of the Top 10 overnight.
"We will see if he has recovered or not. I have no ideas because we would have to have seen the training sessions, understand if he stopped or not and with what intensity. Only those who know that within the team."
For now Djokovic is with his family in Spain resting, with Indian Wells Open seemingly his next event.
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