Boris Becker: 'Novak Djokovic is more upset than Roger Federer, Rafael Nadal'

The coronavirus pandemic has paused the tennis season since the beginning of March, sending the players to their homes just before Indian Wells and keeping them off the court ever since. The greatest pandemic in the last century has canceled the majority of tournaments that were supposed to take place in March, April, May, June or July, with Wimbledon closing its gates for the first time since 1945 and Roland Garros and the US Open that still can't confirm they will go on this year. Most of the players are still far from the practice courts, trying to stay in shape while working out at home and hoping for some positive news in the next couple of weeks, with small exhibition events taking place in Germany and the USA these days. The six-time Major champion Boris Becker believes the break is hurting Novak Djokovic more than Roger Federer or Rafael Nadal, with the Serb kicking off the season with a perfect 18-0 score and three trophies in his hands.

Becker worked with Novak between 2014-16, leading him towards six Majors and 14 Masters 1000 crowns, with Djokovic catching the GOAT train and his main opponents Federer and Nadal who are still slightly above him. It would have been interesting to see Novak's performance in Indian Wells and Miami and again on clay against Nadal and other rivals, with the Belgrade native building confidence and chasing all the possible records in the upcoming seasons. At the moment, it is uncertain are we going to see any professional tennis in the rest of 2020 and the players will have to start pretty much from the beginning once the action resumes, taking momentum away from the Serb and ruining his chances of catching the greatest rivals already before 2021. Losing the year-end no. 1 battle to Rafael Nadal in the closing stages of the previous year, Djokovic returned stronger at the beginning of 2020, winning all 18 matches so far and claiming the first Major of the season at the Australian Open to move closer to Roger Federer and Rafael Nadal.

At the ATP Cup, Novak prevailed in tight encounters against Kevin Anderson, Denis Shapovalov and Daniil Medvedev, toppling world no. 1 Rafael Nadal in the final to claim the title for Serbia, adding bulky 665 points to his tally that would carry him towards the ATP throne again after Melbourne. At the Australian Open, Rafa lost in the quarter-final and that opened the door for Novak to pass the Spaniard, prevailing over Dominic Thiem in the title clash and conquering the 17th Major, the eighth at his beloved tournament. In February, Djokovic secured another title in Dubai, playing his last match of the season so far in the final against Stefanos Tsitsipas. Djokovic is spending time in Marbella in Spain with his family, speaking with other players and trying to stay positive during these hard times for the entire planet.

"Out of the big three, Novak Djokovic must be the most upset player at the moment. He hasn't lost a match yet in 2020, winning the ATP Cup for Serbia, the Australian Open and Dubai as well," Becker said.

from Tennis World USA https://ift.tt/3fbBc43