On June 5, 2016, on the sun-kissed grounds of Roland Garros, it appeared that fortune appeared to have taken a brighter turn for Le Coupe Des Mousquetaires. For the second year in a row, the usual suspect Rafael Nadal was not there to bite off a chunk.

Instead, it was Novak Djokovic, biting off a much bigger chunk of tennis history – the first man in almost 50 years, and only the third ever, to hold all four Grand Slams at the same time. He had won five of the last six Grand Slams, six out of the previous 10 Masters tournaments, and held more than an 8,000-point advantage over Andy Murray in the ATP rankings.

At that point, in all probability, the betting markets would have had Musk landing a man on Mars at higher odds than Murray making it to No. 1 on the ATP rankings by November. Yet, here we are, coronating a new world No. 1 for the first time in five years. So, what transpired in these six months?

Novak's downward spiral

The answer lies in the mind of Novak Djokovic. In recent interviews, he has openly admitted to not being able to find the inspiration post Roland Garros. He has talked about sorting out his priorities and not placing winning Grand Slams on top of the list.

And who can blame him? He had completed the most astonishing tennis achievement. And he did so coming from a war-ravaged country with little or no tennis history and no credible infrastructure.

His victory at Roland Garros did not come easy. It was his fourth final and third consecutive one. He lay bare his heartbreak after losing the 2015 final, fighting back his tears as an unusually favorable Paris crowd gave him a long standing ovation when he collected the runner-up trophy.

Crash and burn

The 2016 French Open victory was a catharsis for him. And it was only obvious that he was not going to be able to find the same all-conquering inspiration again, anytime soon. He spoke about chasing Roger Federer’s 17 major titles.

But it was evident that winning the French Open would mean a lot more to him in the current context. And so, when he lost in round three at Wimbledon, breaking a streak of 26 consecutive Grand Slam quarter-finals, there was an air of inevitability.

He had occupied the stratosphere for too long. He had to drop his level. But what followed has been more of a crash-and-burn than an adjustment to the orbit.

Plagued by injuries

The injuries haven’t helped either. The purported shoulder trouble at Wimbledon, the wrist injury that kept him out of Cincinnati and the bleeding toe that had him hobbling in the US Open final.

For a player who has been deemed a well-oiled machine, injuries seemed to be a foreign concept. And yet, like any tennis player who has grinded it out in the modern era, the injuries came.

Recovering from an injury to resume playing at the highest levels of professional sport is a hard ask. But what made it harder was the drop in the win at all costs mentality that he had sustained for five years.

In the past, when faced with a mid-match crisis, Novak often let out his frustrations, admonishing himself, gesticulating wildly, staring into his players box for inspiration. And he found it most often that not.

During his heyday, Novak would rip his shirt off after a tough victory (notably after beating Stan Wawrinka in an Australian Open epic in 2013 and Rafael Nadal in the 2012 AO final). Recently, though, his t-shirt-ripping acts seem more driven by frustration.

At one point during his stuttering victory over Gael Monfils, Djokovic continued playing with a torn shirt. It is fair to say that at this point, his mind is not where it should be to dominate men’s tennis as he has done for the better part of the last five years.

It is common for fans to assume they have a mysterious control over a player or a team’s performance. Going back to a bar from where they have never seen their team lose, not moving from their seats when their player is performing well or sometimes turning the TV off only because they want their team to win.

Indulge me, therefore, when I speak about how Novak’s mental vacation is in sync with my own. Sam Querrey’s Wimbledon upset barely registered. Instead, it provided me an opportunity to look back at the incredible achievements of Novak’s past 18 months.

Despite being at the stadium, his US Open final loss to Stan Wawrinka did not even register on the Richter scale compared to the seismic mood swing post his loss to the same player at the 2015 Roland Garros final.

The first time I could get myself to view the 2015 trophy ceremony was after his 2016 victory. Imagine the hurt he would have had to play through.

And yet, as he has suffered one loss after another to players he would never lose to otherwise (looking at you, Cilic), this has felt like a rite of passage. An inevitable trough after a seemingly unending high. The only loss that hurt – the first-round loss at the Olympics to the eternal crowd favorite Del Potro.

But for now, it is time to step back and applaud the monumental efforts of the man who has displaced Novak from the summit. Well played, Andy, and welcome to the club.

In a couple of weeks, the season will end and the post-season will provide the player and the fans a time to recover. To completely switch the mind off tennis. To rejuvenate and to reflect. The desire will be back. The victories will come and so will more records.