Form of Novak Djokovic & Rafael Nadal faded when there was trouble in their private life, says Brit player
Roger Federer, Rafael Nadal and Novak Djokovic have utterly dominated the men's tour lately, having won a mammoth 56 of the last 67 Grand Slam titles. Commonly known as the "Big 3", the trio has also occupied the top three positions of the year-end singles rankings eight times since the advent of their three-way rivalry.
But there have been a few occasions where they have shown cracks in their armor. The professional careers of tennis players are often affected by their personal & family lives, and Roger Federer, Novak Djokovic and Rafael Nadal are no different.
British tennis player Liam Broady touched on that aspect while appearing on the podcast "Control the Controllable", and spoke about the mental struggles of tennis players while trying to balance their on-court and off-court lives.
Things were going badly for Novak Djokovic and Rafael Nadal: Broady
Roger Federer, Rafael Nadal and Novak Djokovic are greatly admired for their resilience. They have taken knocks - both physical and emotional - that threatened to stall their careers, and yet have still remained at the top.
But not every player has mental fortitude like the Big 3 to overcome all obstacles, according to Liam Broady. The Brit tennis player, having been ranked as high as 150th in the world, said:
"I had a massive complex about having been so good when I was younger, and then feeling I was not fulfilling my potential. It wasn't very much the expectations, I just didn't think I met people's expectancy about me."
Elaborating more on the personal aspect of a tennis player's life, Broady added:
"It's hard. Not sort of succeeding in tennis world, and then things falling apart in my personal life. I think a couple of greats like Novak Djokovic or Rafael Nadal - things were rumored to have been going badly off the court for them, when their form on the court was fading. I think both are tied together."
The personal troubles of Rafael Nadal and Novak Djokovic that threatened their careers
In the podcast, the Brit player elaborated on the factors that dominate a tennis player's life. According to Broady it is a weighted sum of professional, personal and family life, and that is evident even in the case of the Big 3.
Rafael Nadal described in his book how his parents' divorce in 2009 emotionally ate at him, and how his depression seeped into his tennis as well. Not having enough confidence in his play, the Spaniard ended up crashing out of the French Open early and missing Wimbledon due to a knee injury.
By his own admission, Nadal had lost his love for life.
Then there is Novak Djokovic, who was rumored to have been going through marriage troubles of his own. In 2017 the Serb stumbled on the court as well, failing to win a Slam for the first time since 2010.
John McEnroe had said then that Djokovic had some off-court issues with his family, and rumors of Novak Djokovic having an affair also added to the drama.
It is easy to see that the personal and private lives of tennis players are intrinsically linked, and that even goliaths like Novak Djokovic and Rafael Nadal are affected by the dynamic.