Tennis Prose




Aug/20

29

Djokovic Shows His Greatness Vs Agut

Novak Djokovic plays the best tennis I’ve ever seen. And he keeps on going like the machine man he is.

Yesterday Djokovic looked a bit flat playing one of his most threatening rivals Roberto Bautista Agut, who had beaten him the last two times they played on hard court.

Agut won the first set and was ahead in the second. Djokovic looked tired, flat, bothered by something, but then he sparked himself and willed his way to a 46 64 76 (7-0) victory.

The 17 time major title winner could have easily subconsciously tanked the match to focus on next week’s US Open (and Roland Garros later in September. Agut seemingly wanted it more, driven to reach his second Masters 1000 final (Shanghai 2016 loss to Murray). Agut was in fine form, playing his game, the impregnable wall, bothering the world no. 1 like he has so many times. In is underrated career, Agut has won nine ATP singles titles.

But the 33 year old Djokovic pushed a finger on his greatness button and promptly got the job done yet again. Djokovic is a busy many now, he aspires to win his second Cincy title, which would give him at least two wins at each Masters 1000 event. No other player has won all nine of the 1000 events even once, not even Nadal or Federer. And of course, Djokovic wants to win the US Open in two weeks, for his 18th major title, which would place him two behind Federer and one behind Nadal on the all time list.

In the final today Djokovic will face Milos Raonic, who he has beaten all ten times they’ve played.

My defining moments of Djokovic’s all time greatness are hard to narrow down because there are so many. The first glimpse was his 2011 rampage to three majors. But the ultimate evidence was the saving of the two match points in the Wimbledon final fifth set against Roger Federer last year. The same feat he achieved in the US Open semifinal vs Federer a few years back.

Keep in mind, how desperate, urgent, obsessed and starved Federer was in that Wimbledon final last year. Federer wanted that title as much as if not more than all of his other 20 but Djokovic somehow magically defied him in the most pressure cooker, stressful moments in professional tennis – match point in a tight fifth set of a Grand Slam final.

That Wimbledon triumph last summer elevated Djokovic to a new plane, a new level of greatness. And we are seeing the fruits of those miraculous labors now.

Djokovic looks unbeatable right now, at his very best. Don’t be surprised if his very best is yet to come.

·

7 comments

  • Scoop Malinowski · August 29, 2020 at 3:20 pm

    Djokovic prevails in final, 16 63 64 vs Raonic, now 11-0 vs Raonic, who now sports the Guga Kuerten long hair headband look. Djokovic looks umbeatable right now, he could go undefeated all year and win US Open and Paris too. Perfect synchronicity onthe court by Djokovic.

  • DsnFil · August 30, 2020 at 4:28 pm

    As great as Novak is, there’s just no way that he or any player can go undefeated a whole season, even one as truncated as this. Nadal is skipping New York to concentrate on Roland Garros and will surely again be the overwhelming favorite there. On a another note, it’s odd that Novak, who’s had the Covid-19 virus and is supposedly immune now, is still forced to wear the silly mask when he is not playing. Those useless contraptions remind me of pacifiers designed to keep small kids quiet and contented. Back in April I asked a doctor friend, who is as terrified of the virus as my Chinese neighbor, to come up with a single peer-reviewed study proving their efficacy for the public at large, and needless to say I am still waiting. As viruses can penetrate the body through the eyes I also asked in jest why protective goggles are not mandatory as well, but only received a blank stare and a shrug. And this person is a professor. We should truly pity the students nowadays.

  • Krzysztof · August 30, 2020 at 5:20 pm

    I predict him to win US Open, but he will fail in Paris as there are some signs that his elbow bothers him, and Rafa will be super fresh at Roland Garros. Moreover, I expect Thiem to have hist best left for clay as well.

  • George · August 30, 2020 at 9:56 pm

    Murray versus Nishioka first round US Open should be interesting. Talk about cat and mouse play.

  • Scoop Malinowski · August 31, 2020 at 7:48 am

    DsnFil, do not underestimate the greatest tennis player of all time, the only man in tennis history to win each Masters 1000 twice and to save double match point against Federer twice in Grand Slam majors. Djokovic is capable of anything right now and he’s my pick to win US Open and RG. I construe Nadal’s move of skipping US Open to focus on Paris as a possible sign of weakness and uncertainty in his clay talent ) Why does he feel he needs an extra edge on clay? I agree this mask business is a sham. I hear the young in Wuhan China are having big pool parties. I still suspect this virus was a diabolical conspiracy creation by Democrat and Chinese communists. I have never worn a mask except the handful of times I was told in grocery stores (worse a t shirt over my head instead) and still never even got a head cold all year. Knock on wood. It’s sad to see the best tennis players in the world manipulated to wear those damned masks which as you say, prevent nothing. These crazy communist demonrats will do ANYTHING to regain power from Trump who they hate like a demon possessed human hates the exorcist. Thanks for your comments DsnFil and welcome to the site.

  • Scoop Malinowski · August 31, 2020 at 7:51 am

    Krzysztof, you could be right, US Open could bang up Djokovic but if he gets through relatively fresh, I see him as the favorite with Thiem and Nadal a close second. For some reason I think Nadal may have lost a fraction of his speed and aura (finally) and he will not get lucky no. 13 this year or ever possibly. Thiem is getting closer to him too. We shall see.

  • Scoop Malinowski · August 31, 2020 at 7:52 am

    George, that’s my first round match to watch, watch out for a big upset by Nishioka. Cressy is another guy to watch, Moutet too. I would like to see Fritz, Opelka, Paul do some damage. Another match that interests me is the Cuevas Sock rematch of a year ago, when Cuevas beat Sock in 3 tough sets in the 1R. Sock is 0-2 career vs Pablo Cuevas.

<<

>>

Find it!

Copyright 2010
Tennis-Prose.com
To top