Since winning his first professional tennis title in 2006, there had only been two years in which Novak Djokovic has gone into the busy clay season without picking up a trophy. In 2018, when he had been recovering from an injury hiatus and in 2022, when his unvaccinated status did not allow him to play most tournaments in a COVID-derailed season. This year, however, mid-April has arrived and Djokovic’s haul for the year remains empty. After suffering a third defeat in four outings against Jannik Sinner – on form, currently the best player in the world – in the semifinals of the Australian Open, Djokovic slumped to a third-round defeat against Luca Nardi, the 20-year-old World No. 75 from Italy, at Indian Wells. Moving to clay, looking improved and hoping for a revival, there was another uncharacteristic loss against Casper Ruud in the semifinals of the Monte Carlo Masters, the first major clay-court event of the year, on Saturday. As on-court fortunes have taken a dip, the 24-time Major winner has made a slew of …