He has been dethroned as world No1 but one of Novak Djokovic's closest allies insists the Serb remains a firm favourite to land a record seventh Australian Open crown next month.
Battling "personal issues", Djokovic's unbroken 122-week reign atop the rankings came to an end with his loss to Andy Murray in last month's winner-takes-all World Tour Finals tennis decider.
Despite failing to add to his 12 majors since the French Open, where he became the first man since Rod Laver to hold all four grand slam crowns simultaneously, most rivals would kill for Djokovic's end to the season.
Apart from the season-ending championship, Djokovic also reached the US Open final for the seventh time and won the Toronto Masters.
But the 29-year-old's seven-title season was otherwise tainted by rumours around his personal life and early exits from Wimbledon and the Rio Olympics.