Becker mystified by Djokovic's performance: 'I didn't recognize him'

Novak Djokovic's second-round Australian Open loss to wild card Denis Istomin came as a shock to everyone in the tennis world - including Istomin himself - and Djokovic's former coach was as struck by the mystifying performance as anyone else.

Boris Becker, who split with the world No. 2 in December after a bountiful three-year union, was as confounded by Djokovic's demeanor and energy as anything else.

"I didn't recognize him today, his mentality," Becker told Christopher Clarey of the New York Times after the match.

Becker said the pair's partnership ended because Djokovic acknowledged that winning Grand Slams and being world No. 1 were no longer his top priorities. But even as his level and focus appeared to slip dramatically at the end of the 2016 season, Djokovic's inner fire was visible. He still played with desperation, bounced around on his feet, roared, castigated himself, tore his shirts open. Even if his energy was often negative energy, it was energy nonetheless.

"Obviously the second half of last year, there was a different priority," Becker said. "Novak was the first one to admit that, and I think that was the main reason for me to stop this because I thought my job isn't that important anymore obviously. Having watched the match today, I felt he tried and he played five sets and four and a half hours, but I didn't see the intensity, didn’t see the absolute will to win, didn’t see him mentally going crazy.

"He always was very nonchalant about it, and that is not the Novak that I know. I'd rather see him break a racket or pull the shirt or something, for him to get emotional. I thought it was very even keel the whole match through, and that was unusual, and I don't know what to make of that."

Perhaps it was part of Djokovic's ongoing search for inner harmony and balance. During the changeover before Istomin served for the match, Djokovic sat with eyes closed in silent meditation, as Bobby McFerrin's "Don't Worry, Be Happy" played over the loudspeakers in Rod Laver Arena.

It didn't help, as the 117th-ranked Uzbekistani promptly served it out with relative ease.

"You play against (Andy) Murray, (Rafael) Nadal or (Stan) Wawrinka in the final of the Open, you can lose to those guys. Even Novak playing good can lose," Becker said. "But not against Denis Istomin. Novak wasn't injured, apparently. He was two-sets-to-one up. That is unusual and doesn't fit into the picture I have of him."

Whatever Djokovic is going through right now, on or off the court, Becker believes his former charge can return to the soaring heights he reached in 2015 and the first half of 2016, if he wants to.

"I hope Novak goes back to the drawing board and remembers what made him good in the first place," Becker said. "That's really the key, to face the situation and be honest with yourself. If he does that, he knows what to do. If that's his main priority, then he will do what is necessary to find the winning ways again."