Perhaps there should have been, considering what he accomplished.
Thoroughly outplaying the best there's ever been on red clay, Djokovic ended Rafael Nadal's 39-match French Open winning streak Wednesday by beating the nine-time champion in a surprisingly lopsided quarterfinal 7-5, 6-3, 6-1.
''A match,'' Djokovic said, ''that I will remember for a long time.''
It's only Nadal's second defeat in 72 career matches at Roland Garros - and second in 95 best-of-five-set matches anywhere on the surface. The other came in the fourth round in Paris in 2009 against Robin Soderling.
Before that, Nadal won four championships in a row. And since? Nadal collected a record five consecutive French Open titles.
''I lost in 2009, and (it) was not the end,'' Nadal said. ''I lost in 2015, and (it) is not the end.''
The No. 1-ranked Djokovic lost all six previous matches they'd played in Paris, including the 2012 and 2014 finals.
But Djokovic's defense allowed Nadal only three winners off his heavy topspin lefty forehand, perhaps the most feared shot in all of tennis. With his coach, Boris Becker, jumping out of his seat to applaud, Djokovic conjured up 45 winners to only 16 for Nadal, whose 29th birthday sure was a downer.
''He was better than me,'' Nadal said. ''That's it.''
By the end, Djokovic not only had broken down Nadal's game but also his usually unbending will. Appropriately for a match that did not live up to the hype, it closed with a whimper on a double-fault by Nadal.
''An ideal scenario is today could have been (the final), and could have a different discussion,'' Djokovic said. ''It's only quarterfinals, and I want to fight for the title. That's what I came here for.''
Yes, significant as this victory was, Djokovic has more work to do in pursuit of a first French Open title to complete a career Grand Slam.
In Friday's semifinals, the 28-year-old Serb will meet No. 3 Andy Murray, who eliminated 2013 runner-up David Ferrer 7-6 (4), 6-2, 5-7, 6-1. The other semifinal is Stan Wawrinka vs. Jo-Wilfried Tsonga.
''I feel like I understand how I have to play on the surface better than I did in the past,'' said Murray, who is 15-0 on clay in 2015.
In the women's semifinals Thursday, Serena Williams plays Timea Bacsinszky, and Ana Ivanovic meets Lucie Safarova. Williams advanced with a 6-1, 6-3 victory over Sara Errani, and Bacsinszky beat Alison Van Uytvanck 6-4, 7-5.
The 44th installment of Djokovic-Nadal was merely a quarterfinal because Nadal's ranking slipped so far he was seeded sixth, all of his unprecedented French Open success notwithstanding.
The 14-time major champion missed time last season with a right wrist injury, then had appendix surgery. He has spoken openly about a crisis in confidence from poor-for-him results in 2015: Wednesday's loss was his sixth on clay, his most in a year since 2003. When the rankings come out Monday, he'll be no better than 10th, his worst spot since 2005.
Djokovic, who won his eighth Slam title at January's Australian Open, owns a 27-match winning streak.
''You need to play very well to stand a chance against him, and the truth is that Rafael did not play at his best,'' said Toni Nadal, who coaches his nephew.
After 15 minutes, Djokovic led 4-0, taking 18 of the first 22 points, including one 19-stroke delight in which both men sprinted to track down lobs.
Then, as though suddenly recalling who he is and where he was, Nadal snapped to it.
It took Nadal 21 minutes to complete the minimal task of claiming a game, with the help of an on-the-run, down-the-line backhand passing winner so exquisite Djokovic gave a thumb's up. That helped the Spaniard get to 4-all.
Couldn't have known it at the time, but that turned out to be his last surge. Nadal saved three set points while trailing 5-4, then another two at 6-5, despite missing an easy overhead early in the game. But Djokovic converted his sixth chance, breaking Nadal to seize the first set.
Djokovic wanted the court watered after that, a request that was ignored, leading to a series of complaints from him to chair umpire Cedric Mourier. A couple of times in the second set, Djokovic slipped on the clay, then glared at Mourier.
No matter. Djokovic was too good for his longtime rival, no matter the conditions.
Murray ready for Djokovic clash at French Open
PARIS: Andy Murray became the first British player to reach three semifinals at the French Open on Wednesday. More importantly, he claimed his first win on clay over David Ferrer, one of the best players on the slow, red surface.
The third-seeded Murray was in tremendous form in the buildup to the French Open — claiming his first two titles on clay — and has maintained that level of performance in Paris.
"I feel like obviously this year I played much better tennis on the clay," Murray said after his 7-6 (4), 6-2, 5-7, 6-1 win over Ferrer on Court Suzanne Lenglen.
"I feel like I understand how I have to play on the surface better than I did in the past."
Unbeaten in 15 clay-court matches this season, Murray showed his credentials as a title contender against Ferrer. And it didn't go unnoticed by his next opponent.
"He has improved on clay, no doubt about it," said Novak Djokovic, who beat nine-time champion Rafael Nadal in straight sets to book a spot in the last-four. "Here he's been playing some really good tennis. He's moving better, serving very well, and he always had a (good) touch."
Despite struggling with his serve in the opening set, Murray saved two set points in the 12th game and then kept his cool in the tiebreaker while Ferrer made some sloppy errors to lose the set.
Murray was more solid on his service games in the second set, saving all three break points and breaking twice. His aggressive returns also earned him a break in the third set and he looked destined for a comfortable win.
But Ferrer stayed true to his reputation of never giving up and broke back to level at 3-3. The Spaniard saved a match point when he served at 4-5, broke for a 6-5 lead and sealed the set.
"I was frustrated to lose that set for sure," said Murray. "But I got off to a good start in the fourth set, so my frustration didn't last long."
Murray entertained the crowd with a vast array of shots and 11 winners to close out the final set in 32 minutes.
Now he faces a much bigger obstacle on the road to a third Grand Slam title. The Scot has an 8-18 record against the top-ranked Djokovic and hasn't beaten him since the 2013 Wimbledon final.
"I feel like to put yourself in position to win against the best players in the world, it's not just about one day before the match. It's about what you do in the whole of the buildup to it," Murray said.
"And going into the match having not lost on clay this year and having some big wins on the surface is important for me."
French Open Lookahead: Williams wary of Bacsinszky threat
PARIS: Serena Williams sees something of herself in Timea Bacsinszky, her semifinal opponent at the French Open on Thursday.
The top-ranked Williams is chasing her 20th major title, while Bacsinszky is in a Grand Slam semifinal for the first time.
Williams leads her 66-3 in career titles, making twice as much prize money this year as the Swiss player has in her career.
But Williams sees past all of that.
’16 champ Djokovic stunned by Thiem in French Open quarters
''I think most of all about her is she's a major fighter. You can have a match point, be up a set, and she's not going to give up,'' said Williams, who overcame strong resistance from Bacsinszky in the quarterfinals at Indian Wells in March.
''I need to come out strong again,'' Williams said.
The 33-year-old Williams is looking to win the French Open for the third time. Her other wins were in 2002 and 2013. Although she has been playing Grand Slam tennis since 1998, she joked that she sees herself ''continuing to play tennis for 60, 70 years.''
The only bragging rights for Bacsinszky: She has dropped just one set in this tournament, compared to three for Williams - who has come back three times from a set down.
Facing Williams is a daunting prospect for most players, but perhaps not for Bacsinszky, who is used to scrapping for success.
After two injury-plagued seasons, during which her ranking sank to 237th, she left the tennis circuit in 2013 and worked in restaurants, kitchens and bars as she considered a career in hotel management.
Life away from the glamour of the tennis circuit toughened her up - but also made her realize what she was missing out on. She came back last year, losing in the second round at the French Open, Wimbledon and the U.S. Open.
''It gives you a lot of humility because there are many people in this world (who) are working in restaurants, hotels, in the kitchen, making our beds in hotels,'' said Bacsinszky, who turns 26 on Monday. ''Maybe when you're a tennis player, and you have everything around you which is already given to you and you're kind of assisted, then you don't see all the people (who) are working for you.''
The biggest lesson she learned from her time away was to treat people with kindness.
''I get less angry with ball boys or umpires or also the locker room attendants,'' she said.
Bacsinszky has already won two titles and nearly half a million dollars in prize money this year - and has passed the $2 million mark in career earnings. Winning the championship at Roland Garros would earn her another 1.8 million euros ($2 million).
It would only make her even more generous.
''Before I was, OK, tipping, but not that much maybe. I didn't have much money,'' she said. ''At that time I loved (it) when someone tipped me. That's why I said now if I can tip, I tip.''
Here's what else is happening at the French Open on Thursday:
ANA IVANOVIC VS. LUCIE SAFAROVA
Seven years ago, Ana Ivanovic raised aloft the French Open trophy.
It remains the only Grand Slam title the seventh-seeded Serb has ever won, and she is back in the semifinals of a major tournament for the first time since then when she takes on 13th-seeded Lucie Safarova of the Czech Republic.
Safarova plays in only her second Grand Slam semi after advancing that far at Wimbledon last year.
It will be their ninth career meeting, with Safarova enjoying a 5-3 lead - including in the third round here in 2014.
But Ivanovic will remember her run to the title in 2008, when she beat Safarova in the second round.
There is another omen, too.
Ivanovic will again be cheered on by Bastian Schweinsteiger, the Bayern Munich soccer star who helped Germany win the World Cup last year.
Perhaps some of his luck is now rubbing off on Ivanovic.
AMERICANS IN ACTION
Bob and Mike Bryan play in the men's doubles semifinals as they seek their 17th Grand Slam title. Mike has a busy day, also teaming with fellow American Bethanie Mattek-Sands in the mixed doubles semis.
