Javier Frana, a special columnist for Clarín, focuses on the start of the last Grand Slam of the season, where the Serb has the table set to recover 1 in the world ranking.
Novak Djokovic could be a Mohican. It’s just like Form in the famous novel he was the one who was able to survive the longest in his tribe, the Serb went through the same thing with Roger Federer y Rafael Nadal, his companions in battle -but generational friends- in search of perpetuating the throne and maintaining the reign. They were able to take over that empire, but both the Swiss and the Majorcan empires were marginalized because they have not defeated an implacable rival like time. The epic duels between them, a Djokovic who very audaciously managed to take over that feud that at some point only passed from hand to hand between Roger and Rafa. Today The Serbian is the one who continues to survive and fight a new generationwhich is not the one immediately after them, but rather he had to resort to the next one to try to see if this change of hands could be done in a forced way and not with the complicity of the biological clock.
Novak once again shows his hierarchy, his ability, his warrior spirit and his unmatched intelligence. They talk about his diet, his very particular practices and techniques. Of some other procedures not yet approved – you will remember when he put that patch on his chest – in search of his maximum capacity and potential. And one could say that this is the great success of an athlete when he retires: it is not how much he has been able to earn, but rather how much he has been able to get out of himself in this search for constant evolution.
Photo: EFE/EPA/Sarah Yenesel
But we said that Djokovic, beyond being attentive to being able to use all the technologies and sciences to maintain his impeccable physique, to maintain his tennis -which although at times seems to have certain cracks- always ends up becoming a gladiator.
When the circumstances get too complicated and when he seems to start kneeling before his rival, the best version of him appears. And this is something that has always happened throughout his history. They will remember those old battles, they will also keep in mind the recent final of the Cincinnati Masters against Carlos Alcaraz, in which the Spanish put him in check- and once again it seemed that he was going to fall. He resurfaced almost magically. A battle in which afterwards, almost as if having an induced amnesia to what had been old battles, he ended up congratulating his opponent and letting her know that it had been one of the most difficult matches he had had in his career.
Foto: Matthew Stockman/Getty Images/AFP
But regardless of everything, what is shown is that when Djokovic is not balanced, when his mind is in competitive mode, it is simply impossible to dethrone him, especially on those big stages.
As a good gladiator, he is clinging, determined and, above all things, convinced that his validity is something that is at its best.
In this US Open, probably the road may not be easy. hypothetically, Stefanos Tsitsipas may be on your way Holger Rune too, but it is very likely that he will have a new opportunity to stretch his records, to stretch his marks, to continue building this legacy and this reign.
Your determination is a trademark. His conviction is too. And that is why he is one of the great favorites to win the US Open, because he could also have a much lighter path in terms of the uncertainties regarding entry bans, those protocol issues of the pandemic. Djokovic is in New York once again determined to illuminate the city that does not rest, the city that does not sleep.
Foto: Clive Brunskill/Getty Images/AFP
On the other hand, the defending champion, the Polish Every Swiatek, has a very encouraging outlook to try to repeat and be crowned again in New York, in a women’s circuit that is very interesting, very entertaining. And it is precisely because it is uncertain.
But talking about uncertainties while talking about a very high level makes it much more attractive. That mystery of knowing who is going to surprise -because we have already seen many times and lately that new names, young faces have access to Grand Slam finals and titles-, makes the show super interesting.
The cards are cast and, as I always say, in Grand Slam tournaments there are always. Illusions in the previous, many achieve their goals, others will chew anger and frustration. That’s part of being alive.
Tennis today, led by Novak Djokovic, continues to beat in this frenetic New York that welcomes him and will also demand the great show. Because that’s how the US Open is, there has to be drama, there has to be emotion… and there has to be a show.
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2023-08-27 15:35:08
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