Marion Bartoli does not agree with many people who are flirting with the idea that Novak Djokovic's era is over, warning his young rivals because of cramping issues.
The former French WTA player is still convinced that the Serbian is more than capable of dominating the ATP Tour. In the past decade, Djokovic has comfortably dominated the Tour, and it wasn't until this year that things started to fall off for the 24-time major winner.
Part of what went wrong this year was related to injuries, which thankfully haven't really bothered him too much in the past. Djokovic was beaten fair and square at the Australian Open, but who knows what might have happened if he hadn't injured his knee at Roland Garros?
Young players like Carlos Alcaraz and Jannik Sinner are rising through the ranks, but for the most part, Djokovic is still right there.
Speaking with RMC Sport, Bartoli discussed how she sees the Tour unfolding in the future. She noted that Djokovic is still ahead of any of his competitors, which is why his era has not ended yet.
"When we see the Roland Garros final between Carlos Alcaraz and Alexander Zverev, who are obviously very great champions, and the number of unforced errors that they still commit, the cramps of Alcaraz and Sinner in the semi‐finals."
Although it's not just about the other players stepping up but also about Djokovic failing to play on the level he used to play on, Bartoli also sees an issue with young players who are struggling with cramps, noting it's not something that the Serbian legend struggled with in his prime.
"Tell me the number of times Djokovic cramped in finals against [Roger] Federer or [Rafael] Nadal that lasted more than five hours? The number of mistakes made by these players in the finals of Grand Slam tournaments where the level is higher… This is not at all the end of the Novak Djokovic era."
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