The showdown the tennis world was clamoring to see, lived up to expectations and beyond.
After Djokovic prevailed 46 64 63 64 he even admitted at 37 he performed one of the defining matches of his career.
“One of the most epic matches I’ve played on this court, any court really,” said the man who has won 24 Grand Slam titles and is now two wins away from capturing the elusive 25th.
It was the Carlos show in the first set as the 21 year old was at the height of his powers and firing away like a man on the verge of breaking a record his combatant does not own – If Carlos would have won this AO title he would have completed the career slam two years faster than any man in history.
But Carlos was defied by Djokovic who managed to find his A game in the second set despite a hip injury that hampered his mobility, or at least it seemed to. Some insiders, like John McEnroe, implied he faked the injury to rope a dope young Carlos.
But playing possum and bluffing the opponent is all part of the tennis business and the old adage holds true still, the player should only be concerned with the business on his side of the net.
Carlos mocked Djokovic’s supposed injury at one point after he had lost control of the duel and that frustration venting did not help his cause. Djokovic found his opening and exploited it to the wire, proving a little better, smarter and sharper than Carlos who failed to try a plan B or C. He kept playing the same famous Carlos full throttle, highlight reel tennis, which has managed to beat Djokovic three times already and at one point two years ago, some court observers eve wondered if Djokovic would ever beat this Spanish dynamo ever again.
Now Djokovic has beaten Carlos five times overall including the Olympic final last year.
After the win, Djokovic roared and made a big balls gesture to his new coach Andy Murray. After the handshake, Novak then walked over and acknowledged Andy again with a loving embrace. Interestingly Novak did not hug the other three team members in his coach box. This shows the respect and value Djokovic bestowns on Murray’s presence. Only Murray knows what this kind of tennis war feels like. Remember, last year Novak was alone without any grand slam presence on his team as Goran was dismissed.
Murray really does seem to care about Novak and it’s not about the fame or money. And Djokovic is feeding off this unique chemistry. Hiring Murray was a brilliant move by Djokovic and it may result in another Grand Slam if he can defeat Zverev and probably Sinner in the final.
How Djokovic managed to manhandle the very best from Carlos, in four sets rather than an exhausting, draining five, suggests Djokovic has more than enough in his tank and the two days rest before Zverev certainly seems that the tennis gods are lining up a perfect grand finale for the greatest player of all time to win Grand Slam no. 25.
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Jayita · January 21, 2025 at 8:37 pm
Nice piece.
Novak oncourt chimed “I just wish this match was the finals, honestly”. Definitely felt like it, the atmosphere was epic, with fans staying til the end.
I think Carlos took the foot of the pedals, admitting he was “distracted” with Novak’s injury. Post match Carlos said “I felt like I was controlling the match but I let him get into the match and that was the biggest mistake that i made”… “When you’re seeing someone struggling a little bit, you’re kinda not playing the same level”.
Tactics or not, it paid off for Novak.
Scoop Malinowski · January 21, 2025 at 8:44 pm
Thanks Jayita, “focus” is an overlooked but key tennis talent, some even train it, like I heard Cash coached Philippoussis and in one practice he made sure Scud never took his eyes off the ball, to work on his focus. You would think a pro would not need to concentrate on training his own focus but it does happen. Carlos lost his focus on Djokovic’s injury or hoax injury. It’s his own fault. Feigning injury or exhaustion or any kind of bluff is a valuable weapon in the highest levels of tennis and boxing. Predict that Carlos will learn from this and develop his fake injury game for the future.
Krzysztof · January 22, 2025 at 2:12 pm
It is really tiresome to see Novak doing the same trick so often – to play a poor first set (or two), then to fake some injury, and after medical timeout having a wonderful wakeup. The question is – does he do it with some extra medical booster? This is good for junior tennis but not for the professionals. This has been the kind of match that Carlos lost and not that Novak won.
Scoop Malinowski · January 22, 2025 at 4:41 pm
krzysztof it’s the last resort mind game trick, everyone knows it’s coming, but still somehow it succeeds time and time again. perhaps it’s the execution of the performance. whatever it is I appreciate. sport is beauty, drama, blood, war and deception too )
Sam · January 27, 2025 at 3:32 pm
It’s looking like Djokovic really does have some sort of injury.
Scoop Malinowski · January 27, 2025 at 3:42 pm
He sure does and the brawl with Carlos was devastating on his body. Remember he said after that he wished that was the final. He knew he didn’t have enough to win two more matches. it will get tougher as each month goes by and more mileage is added. 24 is incredible, 25 doesn’t prove anything more. There’s nothing left to prove. 7 matches with the establishment draws and scheduling will be a big challenge.
Sam · February 6, 2025 at 11:51 am
Yes, it will be a big challenge, but you never know with Djokovic.
Scoop Malinowski · February 6, 2025 at 3:22 pm
Never ever write off Djokovic…
Sam · February 15, 2025 at 10:57 pm
Yeah, you might end up eating some serious crow. 🐦