Novak Djokovic is still dominant on the ATP Tour despite his age and he's by far the oldest player in the Top 50.
Novak Djokovic is a tremendous athlete but he's also an athlete that is willing to go beyond what most of them would. All top athletes have the same maniacal obsession about their craft but when it comes to Djokovic he's not afraid to go way beyond what most people would consider 'normal'.
He's quite open to various alternative methods which many would consider nonsense. A devout Orthodox Christian, Djokovic has no problem trying out various things that are not necessarily routed in his faith. He's been known to visit Buddhist temples, meditate in them, do various types of yoga, change his diet dramatically, and try all sorts of things to become better.
He's been spotted walking through forests barefoot, visiting places that seemingly have electromagnetic fields that improve your health and many other things. He's detailed some of the things in his book Serve to Win which is an interesting read if you want to find out some of the sacrifices he makes on a daily basis.
Being able to do these things that he's been able to do has a lot to do with the types of sacrifices he is doing on a daily basis. He's been luckier than most with injuries but it's not just about that. There have been other players that have been able to avoid injuries but it still remains the fact that he's dominating a Tour that is generally younger than him, and quite a bit so.
20-year-old Carlos Alcaraz cramping while a 36-year-old was flying around the court was just the perfect image to highlight that. The second-oldest Top 18 member right now is 27 years old which means that he's currently better ranked than players who are on average more than a decade younger than him.
That is not a coincidence. He's the oldest player in the Top 50 and he's beating these players as if it's nothing. It's not going to last forever and he's clearly losing a step and his body is breaking down quicker than before but it's still very impressive. So when you ask 'Is Djokovic luckier than most or a product of tremendous sacrifice? the answer is yes and yes.
At least in recent years, he has been better than most and all he did achieve is the product of tremendous sacrifice in the pursuit of being the best. Not eating this and that, doing anything that even remotely has a chance of helping him in the long run despite all the ridicule. Many of the stories will be long forgotten in 200-300 years, but the list of his achievements will not.
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