India, March 12 -- Novak Djokovic has been going through a tough phase in his career, with his last three defeats raising questions about his future in the sport. The first came in the 2025 Australian Open semis, when he retired from a match against Alexander Zverev. Although a hamstring injury forced him to take the call, it was rather unusual for the 24-time Grand Slam winner to suffer an opening-round exit in the next two consecutive tournaments.

Djokovic lost to Matteo Berrettini in Doha in his first appearance since recovering from the injury at the Australian Open and then was stunned in Indian Wells last week by Botic van de Zandschulp, who had now earned the reputation of being a big slayer, having defeated Carlos Alcaraz at the ...