Sky expert Patrik Kühnen highlights the most important topics from the tennis world in his column. This time he deals with the Australian Open and the triumph of Novak Djokovic.
The former Davis Cup captain and tournament director of the BMW Open in Munich is impressed by Novak Djokovic’s ninth Australian Open title.
Patrik Kühnen sees number one in the world on the way to further record levels in the next few years. Novak Djokovic played nine finals at the Australian Open. Novak Djokovic won nine finals at the Australian Open.
Djokovic’s stage is called Rod Laver Arena
What the French Open is to Rafael Nadal and Wimbledon is to Roger Federer, the Australian Open is to Djokovic. The Rod Laver Arena is his “home game”, is his stage.
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Before the tournament, I had Daniil Medvedev as the new champion on my list. Medvedev also convinced me during the tournament and reached the final in an impressive manner. The smooth final defeat against an incredibly strong Djokovic surprised me.
Changing of the guard a little further away
In addition to Thiem, I especially thought Medvedev would be able to change the guard at a Grand Slam. But after this Australian Open, men’s tennis seems to be a little further away from a changing of the guard. Djokovic was too impressive, too dominant in the decisive moments.
Alexander Zverev was very close in his quarter-finals against Djokovic. He performed with a break in the third and fourth movements, but Djokovic kept coming back and, above all, shone with his service in the crucial moments. Against Zverev, Djokovic served 23 aces against 21 aces from the German. How Djokovic, the best return player in the world, has improved in the last few years, especially when serving, is extraordinary.
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Mental hurdle against Djokovic especially big
For the young challengers, it is still a very special attraction to conquer the “Big Three”. Against Djokovic, the hurdle seems to be particularly big, especially mentally.
The “Djoker” makes it even more into the heads of his opponents. Due to his ability to seal off the court, to return so brilliantly and to play flawlessly in the decisive moments, the pressure increases on the opponent to dare something special. Even the otherwise savvy Daniil Medvedev could not withstand this pressure in the final in Melbourne.
Medvedev smashed against a Serbian wall
Medvedev went into this final with a run of 20 wins and crashed on the Serbian wall in less than two hours with 5: 7, 2: 6 and 2: 6. With these qualities, the 33-year-old has every opportunity to continue to dominate the tour in the years to come and to gradually expand his hunt for records.
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Djokovic will continue to do everything possible to improve his game in order to achieve his big personal goal. And this at least as long as Roger Federer and Rafael are still on the tour, possibly even longer. The big goal is clear: the most Grand Slam victories at the end of the career. Djokovic is now at 18, Federer and Nadal at 20 Grand Slam titles.
The top favorite for the French Open is, as always, Rafael Nadal, the top favorite for Wimbledon and the US Open is currently Novak Djokovic. There is much to suggest that the Serb will eventually overtake Federer and Nadal and become the champion of records. The Australian Open once again made it clear to me that Djokovic is in his own league, especially mentally.
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