'That's the problem Roger Federer, Nadal and Djokovic have', says analyst

After five years, Novak Djokovic has won the Rome Masters. The Serbian champion writes his name for the fifth time on the notice board of the Foro Italico tournament. Against Diego Schwartzman the physicality and the great desire of those facing his first final of a master 1000 suffered, Djokovic's experience emerged in the first and hard-fought set (7-5, and in the second the Serbian wins it for (6-3), celebrating the victory. Greg Rusedski believes that Rafael Nadal and Roger Federer retiring could negatively impact Novak Djokovic. The 47-year-old also believes that the Serb might be inclined to prioritize his family once he is 40.

Rusedski on Novak Djokovic's future

"Novak Djokovic could possibly get that far but I look at it differently," Greg Rusedski said. "Physically, he is capable of getting that far but you have two kids, he has a wife and you don't want to be on the road every single week when you're 40 years of age.” Greg Rusedski, however, believes that Novak Djokovic could struggle to find motivation once Roger Federer and Rafael Nadal call it a day. "Life changes, so mentally more than physically, it will be a challenge,” Rusedski said. "Who knows, if Nadal or Federer retire, he doesn't have his greatest rivals once he creates those records. That's the problem great champions have. They need somebody else to motivate them,” Rusedski added. "These three greats have had this for generations, but once one says goodbye, they will lose a little bit of motivation once they have got their records." Djokovic’s win on Monday gave him his 81st tour-level title. The Serbian trails Jimmy Connors (No. 1, 109), Federer (No. 2, 103), Ivan Lendl (No. 3, 94) and Nadal (No. 4, 85) in that category. Djokovic secured the 36th Masters title of his career which takes him one clear of Nadal's tally. The next big record which the Serbian plans to break is at the Grand Slam tournaments. Djokovic has won 17 major tournaments heading into the French Open next week which is two fewer than Nadal and three behind Federer. Meanwhile, Djokovic was delighted to win the Italian Open but he hopes to kick on at Rolan Garros. "I'm super pleased," Djokovic said after the match. "It was a great week, a very challenging week. I don't think I played my best tennis throughout the entire week but I think I found my best tennis when I needed it the most."

from Tennis World USA https://ift.tt/3hXVPkb