Imperious Djokovic cruises to Madrid title
Sporting comebacks are all the rage right now, and novak Djokovic has put himself in prime position to complete a colossal one of his own.
Just over a year ago he was in an existential crisis with form and motivation and lost early at the Madrid open to Britain’s Kyle Edmund.
Last night he claimed that same title for 2019 via an ominously routine 6-3, 6-4 win over Stefanos tsitsipas. now it seems entirely realistic that he can pick up a fourth consecutive grand Slam title at the French open, which begins a week on Sunday.
Everything is falling into place for him, from the technical side of his game to the lack of confidence that seems apparent in his main rival and the greatest clay courter of them all, rafael nadal.
By winning in Madrid the 31-yearold Serb equalled the Spaniard’s tally of 33 Masters trophies. He has not been reeling off the regular titles quite like he used to, but when the majors come in sight he is able to reach a crescendo.
A good barometer of the Djokovic self-belief is his backhand down the line, and that looked in fine working order against the young greek.
tsitsipas was at the end of a long week, having made the semi-finals of the doubles and then not finished his taxing victory against nadal the previous evening until midnight.
the 20-year-old struggled to keep up, but he is rapidly improving and this has been another learning week. He is proving this season what a very unusual talent he is, and he will be dangerous in paris.
With all roads leading to roland garros there are — at a stretch — five contenders for the men’s title, including Madrid’s two finalists.
roger Federer, who has made the surprise move to play in this week’s italian open, has a pedigree that demands inclusion on that list, yet it would take a remarkable confluence of circumstances for him to win.
Dominic thiem remains a serious contender, and he could easily have beaten Djokovic in straight sets in their semi-final. A brilliant shotmaker, he shows an impetuosity on big points that needs tempering.
And then there is nadal, who has been beaten in the semi-finals of the three clay court tournaments he has played this spring. there was some mitigation for his latest setback, having been stricken with a stomach virus earlier in the week.
nadal does not give much away but he must be concerned at the lack of momentum. He turns 33 during roland garros and his extraordinary dominance there cannot last for ever. Yet we have been here before with false alarms, and his muscle memory on clay is without parallel.
With the best-of-five-set format it would still be a surprise to see anyone other than nadal and Djokovic in the final in paris.
DAn EvAnS scored a career-best win on clay when he beat recent Monte Carlo open finalist Dusan Lajovic 7-5, 6-3 to qualify for the italian open. Cam norrie also qualified, beating Chile’s nicolas Jarry.
Heather Watson arrested her form slump when she took the itF title in Fukuoka with a 7-6, 7-6 win over Zarina Diyas.