Mats Wilander reveals Novak Djokovic's extra weapon on clay
On Eurosport, the seven-time Grand Slam winner Mats Wilander spoke highly of Novak Djokovic's straight-set win over Hubert Hurkacz. "The first set was pretty close, Obviously, Novak came out as best players usually do. First time for Hurkacz on the Philippe Chartrier, Novak broke straight away and the serve had to be a big weapon for Hurkacz. Suddenly it was 6-4 for Novak and one set down against Djokovic, you are unlikely to turn it around. Novak played great, he looked very focused, he moved briallintly. The first serve, he hits the spot so well, but to me, it's the backhand, that last year on clay was not that good. He hits some beautiful backhands and he puts them down the line. Now he also spins them a little bit more and that's a weapon for him on clay."
On Kiki Bertens's chances to win the title, Wilander said: "She is ready because she beat Simona Halep in the Madrid finals. That's for me huge, that's the best clay-court player in the last three or four years and you beat her in two sets as well. She has a huge game, the best forehand in the women's game, mentally very strong. And then she comes up with some huge drop shots. There has been a lot going on with Bertens and her coach Raimon Schalken deserves a lot of credit. She is one of the favorites to win."
On Caroline Wozniacki's opening-round loss, Wilander added: "We know that she is struggling with her illness and I believe she has not been able to practice as much as she would like to. With the baseline game, it's very difficult to find that consistency. This is a good time for her maybe to turn a bit more aggressive, take the ball earlier, going to the net but I would not put too much emphasis on her loss today. Clay is definitely her worst surface. But the summer is gonna be good for Wozniacki, hopefully, Wimbledon and US Open she will play at her best."
from Tennis World USA http://bit.ly/2EGHKXK
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