Joao Sousa on playing Novak Djokovic: It feels like playing against a wall

Portuguese tennis star Joao Sousa admits it's extremely tough playing against world No. 1 Novak Djokovic and though he has never beaten the Serb, the clashes helped him to progress in certain aspects of his game. 

Sousa, ranked at No. 66 in the world, has played against Djokovic six times throughout his career and he has never even come close to beating the 17-time Grand Slam champion. 

33-year-old Djokovic and 31-year-old Sousa met for the first at the US Open in 2013, when the Serb absolutely demolished the Portuguese as he dropped just four games en route to claiming a straight-set win.

Since then, Djokovic and Sousa have met three times on the Grand Slam level and twice on the Masters level, with the Serb claiming straight-set wins on each occasions.

"Clashing Djokovic, it's like playing against a wall, it's amazing. He is the top player that I have played against the most and I have lost every time. But I want to say that each match helped me progress. Anyway, I made progress in my approach against the top ones. Today, I am no longer afraid to play against the best in the world, the goal is always to try to win," Sousa told Bola Amarela, as quoted on We Love Tennis France.

Djokovic tipped by Nikola Pilic to win the US Open 

1973 French Open runner-up Pilic thinks Djokovic should play at the US Open if he can have a proper preparation for the US Open.

"I don't know if Novak has already decided to play in New York. If he can train every day and has the opportunity to prepare for matches in the right way, then I would advise him to participate in the US Open. Although, the question is what will happen in the next month, because there is still chaos in America when it comes to the issue of the corona epidemic, which takes more than 1000 lives a day," Pilic told Glas Srpske.

Djokovic, a three-time US Open champion, claimed his last title at Flushing Meadows in 2018.

"Yes, Novak would be a big favorite, but that does not mean that he will win the tournament. You have to put on two good weeks, you must not have a 'black day.' Anything can happen, there are no guarantees for anything," Pilic added.

from Tennis World USA https://ift.tt/39BpCwE