Djokovic: 'That backhand down the line passing shot vs. Roger Federer'

2020 was a great season for Novak Djokovic, who won the Australian Open and remained undefeated for a long time until his resounding disqualification at the US Open. The Serbian phenomenon has written another page of history in recent days, making sure of the mathematical certainty of ending the year at the top of the ATP ranking for the sixth time in his career. In doing so, the Belgrade veteran surpassed Roger Federer and Jimmy Connors to equal the record of his idol Pete Sampras. The 17-time Grand Slam champion, thanks also to the new ranking system induced by the pandemic, has a very good chance of becoming the player to have spent the most weeks at the number 1 of each era. To celebrate his extraordinary achievement, the ATP organized a video conversation between Djokovic himself and Pete Sampras. During the chat, hosted by British Tim Henman, the two legends expressed their mutual respect and exchanged some funny jokes.

Sampras: 'I would take Novak Djokovic's return and speed'

During the chat, which was hosted by former British No. 1 Tim Henman, Pete Sampras expressed his awe for Novak Djokovic's return of serve - which is widely considered to be the best in history. "I want that return of serve. Give me that return of serve!" exclaimed Sampras. "Everyone asks me who would give me a hard time today, it would be Novak because of his return of serve. You know with Andre (Agassi), I would always get by him, but with Novak it would be tough to get anything by him because of his stretch. So I would take Novak's return and some of his speed," said the 14-time Grand Slam champion. "I wouldn't mind exchanging my return and speed for his (Sampras') serve and volley game. I would take his serve and volley against my return and speed, would be lovely to experience that kind of matchup," said Novak Djokovic. When asked about his most memorable matches at the event, Djokovic claimed there was one particular encounter that stood out. "Winning against Roger Federer in two very close sets in 2012," said the World No. 1 . "With a backhand down the line passing shot to end the point as well. Definitely one of the best shots for me to hit on such an occasion. That match is probably the one I remember the most. You know I have been fortunate enough to win all my finals in straight sets (laughs)," said the Serb. "I've been trying to pick one but the one against Roger in 2012 probably stands out."

from Tennis World USA https://ift.tt/2Ivt6aJ