MELBOURNE, Australia — The most beneficial of Novak Djokovic’s many abilities may be his ability to disregard obstacles that appear to be in his path.
So disregard the potential distraction of his father’s decision to stay away from Rod Laver Arena on Friday for Novak Djokovic’s semifinal match against unseeded American Tommy Paul at the Australian Open, after he was caught up in a controversy for being seen with a group waving banned Russian flags at the tournament. Forget about Djokovic’s tightly bandaged left hamstring from the previous week. Ignore how physically demanding the points were against Paul. In the first set, Djokovic committed twice as many unforced errors (24) as he did wins (12). Ignore Paul’s losing streak of four consecutive games.
Forget the brief conversation with the chair umpire. Even if it took Djokovic a while to win that match. Djokovic was penalised for a serving time violation after he reached for a towel to wipe away sweat while leading the first set 5-1.
Djokovic argued unsuccessfully with the umpire that the clock should have started when he reached the towel.
Djokovic inquired, “The ball kids are not permitted to hand me the towel, so explain how it works.” “This is the first time I’ve touched the towel during the game, and you start the clock before I do. Well done.”
Djokovic lost nine consecutive games as the tenacious Paul battled to tie the first set at 5-5. Thereafter, Djokovic won seven consecutive matches and 14 of the remaining 17.
Remember that Djokovic has never lost a Melbourne Park semifinal or final. Does. Not. Lose. Consequently, it is unsurprising that he overcame some wobbly play early on and gained control of the match, defeating Paul 7-5, 6-1, 6-2 to move closer to a 10th Australian Open title and 22nd Grand Slam title overall.
Djokovic, a 35-year-old Serbian tennis player, expressed gratitude that he still have sufficient energy to compete at this level. “Some protracted rallies, you could feel them. We both had fatigued legs throughout the first set. I was quite fortunate to maintain composure near the finish of the first set. This was the key. After that, I began to swing more through the ball.”
His 27-match winning streak at the Australian Open is the longest in the Open era, which began in 1968.
A year ago, Djokovic was banned from Australia before competition began because he had not been vaccinated against COVID-19. This halted his winning streak. He has not yet received the vaccinations, but the rigorous border controls imposed during the pandemic have been relaxed.
“Of course, it is not comfortable for me to go through this given everything I had to deal with in Australia last year and this year. After the son’s quarterfinal victory against a Russian opponent, Djokovic defended his father, Srdjan, for standing with a group of people waving Russian flags, at least one of which included an image of Vladimir Putin. “It’s not something I want or need,” Djokovic said.
Djokovic stated, “I hope people will leave it alone so we can concentrate on tennis.”
Sunday, No. 4-seeded Djokovic will attempt to accomplish this when he faces No. 3-seeded Stefanos Tsitsipas, who defeated Karen Khachanov 7-6 (2), 6-4, 6-7 (6), 6-3 to reach his first Melbourne Park final and second Grand Slam final.
Whoever wins the championship will ascend to the top of the ATP rankings. For Djokovic, that would be a return to a position he has held longer than anybody else; for Tsitsipas, it would be a debut.
I appreciate that number. It is centered on you. It’s singular. Before Friday, Tsitsipas had a 0-3 record in Australian Open semifinals. “These are the moments for which I have labored so diligently.”
Djokovic is now 19-0 in the last two rounds in Melbourne, and his nine victories there are already a record for men. Djokovic would tie Rafael Nadal for the most Grand Slam trophies won by a player if he could add one more trophy to his seven Wimbledon wins, three U.S. Open trophies, and two French Open trophies.
“Winning Grand Slams and being No. 1 in the world are arguably the two highest peaks a professional tennis player can reach,” said Djokovic, who is 10-2 versus Tsitsipas and has won the previous nine meetings in a row. So let’s observe what transpires.
Tsitsipas’s other major final occurred at the 2021 French Open, where he won the first two sets before falling to Djokovic in five sets.
All of this was tied to a humorous occasion last week when Djokovic stated regarding Tsitsipas, “Am I wrong? He has never played in a final.” When reporters reminded Djokovic of what occurred at Roland Garros, he responded, “That’s correct. Sorry, my bad.”
When asked about the conversation, Tsitsipas replied with a blank expression and the words, “I don’t remember either.”
Prior to this week, the 35th-ranked Paul had never advanced past the fourth round in any of his 13 previous big tournament appearances.
The 25-year-old was born in New Jersey and raised in North Carolina, where he played tennis at a club covered in posters of Andy Roddick, the last American to win a Grand Slam singles title, at the 2003 U.S. Open. This drought will continue for the time being because, although Djokovic was not at his best in the first set, he was good enough to break in the final game and never gave up.
The hiccups for Djokovic appeared immediately.
The footwork was not up to his typical quality of reaching every ball. The photography was substandard. The portion was average. He began gesticulating and shouting towards coach Goran Ivanisevic and the remainder of this entourage.
In the first game, Djokovic mishandled an overhead shot, a flaw he has never overcome. He backhanded the ball into the net. He had a double fault. Nonetheless, he surmounted that obstacle to take a 5-1 lead. Then there was an abrupt change in course.
There, Djokovic was broken when serving for the set. And again at 5-3, when Paul smashed a forehand down the line and Djokovic’s backhand on a 29-stroke point went out. Paul held for a tie at 5.
Could he be trying to match it?
Not for very long longer. Paul’s wide forehand allowed Djokovic, arguably the greatest returner of his or any generation, to close out the set and win. The bleachers were adorned with Serbian flags, and the air was filled with chants of Djokovic’s two-syllable moniker, “No-le! No-le!”
After that point, there was never much of a competition.
— Using AP
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