'I don’t think Novak Djokovic’s going to be celebrating...', says former star

After having won the trophies of the Australian Open, Roland Garros and Wimbledon, world number 1 Novak Djokovic is now only missing that of the US Open to achieve the Grand Slam: a feat that has not succeeded since 1969, when to bring him to term was the Australian legend Rod Laver. Surprisingly defeated in the semi-final of the Tokyo Olympic tournament at the hands of Alexander Zverev, Nole suffered another scorching setback in the play-off for third and fourth place against Spaniard Pablo Carreno Busta.

Wilander speaks about Novak Djokovic

Recently, former great Mats Wilander spoke on Novak Djokovic’s chances of winning the 21st Grand Slam title of his career. He felt that it will not be as easy as people may think. The emergence of the younger players on Tour and the fact that they’ve started winning the big tournaments will be another challenge. While speaking to Wilander, he stated, “I don’t think he’s going to be celebrating Grand Slam victories when the two of them were playing. But when we go back, Roger Federer won most of his titles when Novak and Rafa were not playing. He played against Lleyton Hewitt, Marat Safin, Andy Roddick. I guess with Novak, he is the last man standing at the end of it all.” The 7-time Major holder added, “Roger and Rafa are probably the two strongest opponents he has faced and has probably outlasted them. Winning for Novak is just a number right now and that’s going to be hard. I don’t think the 21st Slam for Novak will not be as straightforward as we might expect it.” Daniela Hantuchova believes Novak Djokovic's emotional outbursts on court prove that he genuinely cares about the sport. Hantuchova also reckons Djokovic would be extra motivated to do well at the US Open after his loss at the Tokyo Olympics, and that Daniil Medvedev is in the best position to challenge the Serb in New York. "This is his personality, he's not Rafa, he's not Roger," Hantuchova said. "It shows how much he cares and how competitive he is. I think it's good that all three are so different in so many ways and it allows us to enjoy what they have done over the last 20 years for our game. I feel losing in Tokyo could be good for him because he is always good at reacting to a setback and everything is lined up for him to do it," Hantuchova said. "But we have seen with Serena Williams that the pressure can be difficult when you are so close to something so special. He will face pressure trying to do something so special, but this is when he feels the most comfortable for me, when he has pressure."

from Tennis World USA https://ift.tt/3mB8dwJ