A joke is always particularly funny when the punch line conveys a truth. “I’ll watch the game in the hotel,” said Alexander Zverev after his relaxed quarter-finals against South African Lloyd Harris (7: 6, 6: 3, 6: 4): “They should give themselves four and a half hours, the winner I’m supposed to crawl onto the pitch with me, completely exhausted, and I’ll get to the final. ” It didn’t last that long, this game between Novak Djokovic (Serbia) and Matteo Berrettini (Italy), but at least three and a half.
Novak Djokovic tried again later that evening in his match against Matteo Berrettini to earn the respect of the New York audience. And yes, he played really well.
(Photo: ELSA / AFP)
It was a thrilling, high-class match, but in the end this was the result on the scoreboard: 5: 7, 6: 2, 6: 2, 6: 3 for Djokovic, and that leads to the question: Can you put this guy in one Best of 5-Beat the game? Nobody has made it this year, so Djokovic can complete the Grand Slam at the US Open. So far, nobody has been able to put him in danger at this tournament, not even wound him. Yes, he lost a set in four out of five games, but that’s kind of like losing 4: 1, 5: 1 and 7: 1 wins by Bayern because of the goal you conceded (and maybe even Suspect a weakness.
Djokovic increases again after initial problems
“I wobbled a little at the end of the first sentence, but then I was, as the saying goes: In the zone – and then I played my best tennis at this tournament, “he said afterwards. He was, as one would say in German, in his element, and because he was chatting so nicely, he gave Zverev a blueprint for how that might be could work in the duel after sunset on Friday evening (Eurosport, not before 9 p.m. CEST): “It is difficult to reach this element, this tunnel, and it is even more difficult to linger in it. It’s the hardest place to get to. “
He certainly indulges himself in moments outside of his element; the great art is to recognize them in the first place. Many believe that Djokovic is vulnerable if he sends ranting tirades in the direction of his companions – but that’s not true, on the contrary, he is in the zone. He has problems, for example, when he looks grim, takes a lot of time and taps the ball more than 18 times before the first serve; in the decisive break against himself in the first set against Berrettini there were even 21 tipsters. You have to use these moments, transport yourself into your own element; Timing is everything in a duel with the barely vulnerable – of course, that’s easier said than done.
Zverev has proven that he can do that; a few weeks ago at the Olympics in Tokyo, and he rates this semi-final win against Djokovic as the greatest achievement of his career. “I was completely out of the game, a set and a break behind,” he says. Djokovic was in the zone, but Zverev got him out by suddenly playing with the risk of desperation – and it worked. A small crisis from Djokovic followed, which Zverev spied and forced the opponent to make mistakes with a little less risk, but still with an aggressive style of play. Djokovic now says: “I doubted myself a little, he read my serve and served fantastic himself – and the game was over.”
Best of 5, that also means: Zverev will hardly be able to win without Djokovic’s weakness
If you look at the Olympic game again, you will find that it has as much in common with a Grand Slam match as that Arthur Ashe Stadium with Court 5 – and that should really not be a diminution of Zverev’s gold medal. “You have to win one more set,” said Zverev with a grin when asked what the difference is between a best-of-three match like in Tokyo and a Grand Slam duel that may last five sets – and that too is funny because it’s true. It takes several phases of weakness from Djokovic in these games, and it takes the mental strength that Zone– To survive phases of the opponent without anger or even resignation. Again: easier said than done; Zverev says: “There is a reason why he has not yet lost a game in the Grand Slams this year.”
The reason: Djokovic draws additional strength from those moments when things don’t go well for him, and he revealed why that is so after the game against Berrettini: “The bigger the stage, the better the opponent, and the more difficult a game is the greater the challenge, the greater the fame. ” When he has done that, he yells to his companions, he taps his forehead as a sign of mental strength or puts his finger to his ear, as he did again and again against Berrettini as a message to the audience and opponents: And now? Even if he doesn’t want to answer any more questions about the historical dimension: He seems tense, but not uptight – and that too is a misconception to suspect weakness in him due to the tension. He wants exactly that, he interprets it as a privilege.
Djokovic’s promise is a threat: “The longer a game lasts, the fewer problems I have”
He failed at the Olympics because Zverev played masterfully. It’s true when he says: “I’m the only one so far who has defeated him in a huge event this year.” And it is absolutely correct that he draws strength from this success: “It does something to you. It was different from any other match, it was completely different emotions.” But it is also true that when the game was decided in Tokyo, it would only really begin in New York. “It is now Best of 5, now it’s a Grand Slam, “says Djokovic:” I like to go the full distance. The longer a game lasts, the fewer problems I have. Five sentences, five hours – whatever it takes. “
A moment that at least one of the two will remember fondly: Novak Djokovic (left) congratulates Alexander Zverev on his victory in the Olympic semifinals.
(Photo: Jan Woitas / dpa)
Andy Roddick, 2003 US Open winner, wrote Twitter: “First it takes your legs, and then it steals your soul.” That is of course an exaggeration, but then it’s true: Djokovic is the fittest player in men’s tennis, both physically and mentally, and this is particularly evident in games over three winning sets, which demand a lot from you both physically and mentally. Who can do that: do their work with high concentration for five hours?
What Zverev should make hopeful, maybe even more than the Olympic victory: He has not lost in 16 games, and so far nobody has been able to endanger him in New York. Yes, he too had to survive a few mini crises; he gave a set against Jack Sock (USA) and had to fend off a total of six set balls against Jannik Sinner (Italy) and Harris. Like Djokovic, he has not yet been in serious danger. They will now meet for a duel after sunset, and the big difference to games before the Olympics should be: Zverev no longer only believes that he will get Djokovic out of the Zone and defeat them on the big stage. He knows it.