Is Novak Djokovic back? The former world number one showed signs of returning to his chest-beating, eye-popping, competitive best when reaching the final of the Fever Tree Championships at Queen's Club in London, although a three-set defeat to Marin Cilic showed that he isn't quite the all-conquering force of old - yet.
Djokovic missed the second-half of the 2017 season through injury before undergoing elbow surgery in January and the 31-year-old has been tentatively working his way back up the world rankings since. A fine run of results on the grass of Queen's will have done much for the confidence of the 12-time Grand Slam champion as he reached his first final since winning the title at Eastbourne twelve months ago, and bookmakers have swiftly installed him as second-favourite for Wimbledon - behind a certain Roger Federer.
The concern for Djokovic ahead of the third Grand Slam tournament of the year is his inability to win the big matches, when the pressure is on and there is a trophy on the line. At his best, Djokovic's aura alone would have won him Sunday's final. Instead, a second-set match point was wasted as nerves came to the fore and he succumbed to a 7-5, 6-7 (4-7), 3-6 defeat to the impressive Cilic.
Cilic of course is no mug on grass as the big-serving Croatian has reached the final on four occasions and has now won the title twice. The 29-year-old looks primed for another good run at Wimbledon after losing out to Federer in the final of SW19 in 2017.
It is testament to the improved mental and physical state of the 2014 US Open winner that he was able to win Sunday's match from behind, particularly as his head-to-head meetings stood at 14-1 in Djokovic's favour prior to the final.
However, it is also a sign of the fallibility of Djokovic at the moment. In his nine matches that have lasted longer than two sets (ATP Tour events) or three sets (Grand Slams) during this 2018 season, Djokovic has won just three times - 'only' beating the notoriously flaky Gael Monfils, Roberto Bautista-Agut and Kei Nishikori in that time.
Djokovic at his best was a master when it came to finding a way to win gruelling marathons. Cynics suggest he has lost his 'edge' since finally winning that first, long-awaited French Open title in 2016 - which was the last of his 12 Grand Slam titles. In reality, injuries have also played their part.
The challenge for a now fully fit Djokovic is to find the mental edge that previously lifted him above the rest. On that front, he can take a leaf out of the book of his great rivals, Rafael Nadal and Federer, who have overcome injury problems in their 30's to return to the summit of the men's game.
