"Novak Djokovic no longer has a guy he's chasing": Diminished rivalries with Rafael Nadal & others have impacted Serb, suggests Fabrice Santoro

Fabrice Santoro recently expressed his views about Novak Djokovic's 2024 season, which has been underwhelming. The Frenchman believes that the Serb is experiencing a lack of motivation with Rafael Nadal and Roger Federer no more in contention for the Majors.

Djokovic has struggled with his form this year, having gone titleless in the first five months of the season. The 37-year-old's No. 1 position in the ATP rankings is also at stake this fortnight in Paris.

Against that background, Fabrice Santoro gave his thoughts to Prime Video France on why Novak Djokovic was relatively subpar this season. He suggested that during his career, the World No. 1 played his best when he was trying to usurp his top rivals at the big tournaments, which include Rafael Nadal and Roger Federer.

"Novak has always had a hare. He had Roger, he had Rafa. He was always chasing someone. Where is the hare today? I do not see it," Fabrice Santoro told Prime Video France. "He no longer really has a guy he's chasing after because he's broken all the records: the Grand Slams won, the weeks spent as number 1, the Masters 1000, the face‐to‐face meetings with Federer, with Nadal and with Jo (Tsonga) too!"

The 51-year-old further stated that Djokovic is going through a "drop in motivation". He added that the Serb will have to be near his best levels in the second part of the 2024 season, where he's defending a truckload of points.

"The hare is no longer there so perhaps there is a drop in motivation, or not. In any case, he will give us the answers in the coming weeks," he said. "There is a three and a half month block which will be crucial for him."

---

Novak Djokovic is defending 8,500 ATP ranking points for the rest of 2024

The Serb poses with the 2023 French Open trophy

Novak Djokovic got off his 2023 French Open defense to a fine start on Tuesday (May 28), overcoming the challenge of home hope Pierre-Hugues Herbert 6-4, 7-6(3), 6-4 in the first round. The Serb will next face Spain's Robert Carballes Baena for a place in the third round of the tournament.

The 24-time Major is defending a whopping 8,500 points from now on; he won the titles at Roland Garros, the US Open, the ATP Finals, the Cincinnati Open and the Paris Masters, and also finished runner-up at Wimbledon (to Carlos Alcaraz in a five-set battle).

Djokovic will be looking to hit top gear on the terre battue this year considering his place in the pecking order is at peril. If the World No. 1 fails to go deep at Roland Garros, he might be displaced from the top by Jannik Sinner — whose rankings tally is only 1,190 points short of the Serb.