Saturday 30 July 2016 07:35, UK
As Andy Murray sits out the start of the American hard-court season, we ask whether his target of becoming the world No 1 is a realistic one.
The Scot boosted his chances by racking up 2,000 ranking points to Djokovic's meagre 90 at Wimbledon on the back of his best-ever showing on the European clay, but remains 4,845 behind in the world rankings.
That deficit is set to increase after he decided not to defend his Rogers Cup title, meaning he will slip further behind if the Serb prevails from a field also missing Roger Federer and Rafael Nadal.
The alternative option of playing in the Olympics is a detrimental one to his chances, given that there will be no rankings points available at the showcase event this year.
The ATP 'Singles Race' provides for more encouraging reading for Murray, with less than 800 points between the two in 2016, although that also means he has still got to improve on what many consider to be the best form of his career.
More specifically, he is going to have to improve on an unfavorable head-to-head record against the Serb, having lost 13 of their last 15 meetings.
The latter sections of the campaign also take us back on to the world No 1's stronghold - the hard-courts - a surface on which Djokovic's only 'loss' of 2016 came due to an eye problem.
Indeed, it is the surface that Djokovic is rated the greatest of all time on, according to ATP Performance Zone, winning 84 per cent of all matches - a greater ratio than Rod Laver, Jimmy Connors or Roger Federer.
Murray, on the other hand, suffered last-32 losses to Federico Delbonis and Grigor Dimitrov in Indian Wells and Miami earlier this year, after yet another Australian Open final loss to Djokovic.
His 2015 Rogers Cup also represents his only success on the surface in Masters or Grand Slam events in the last three years. That's one title out of 27, if we include the indoor events in Paris and London. Djokovic has won 18 of them.
It remains to be seen how the SW19 outcome will impact the pair but ultimately the measure of the Serb's shock exit is his supreme consistency.
In a year of great sporting upsets, Djokovic's third-round loss to Sam Querrey was right up there. Plenty have questioned the reasoning behind the Serb's shock loss, with suggestions of conspiracy theories even floated, such was the scrambling for logic caused by his relentless success during his 106-week stranglehold on the No 1 ranking.
He will now be looking to prove that his Wimbledon loss was the exception that proves the rule, with recent history suggesting further evidence will be forthcoming.
Djokovic has lost relatively early in two other events this season, in the quarter-finals to Feliciano Lopez in Dubai and to Jiri Vesely in Monte Carlo, only to respond by winning the following titles, the Indian Wells and the Madrid Masters.
His only other loss came at the hands of Murray in the Rome Masters final and his response was once again faultless, winning a first French Open title, gaining swift revenge on the Scot in the process.
Assuming Djokovic sees off a weakened field in Toronto, Murray must surely defeat his nemesis in Cincinnati and then New York if he is to have any chance of capturing the second-ending No 1 spot, with the Olympics potential being key to maintaining momentum.
For all the ground Murray has made up, the challenge ahead is more profound than ever.
