Novak wins, but can’t win ’em over
If only we could freeze this moment, with all three tennis giants dead even at the turn, heading toward the career finish. “Twenty-twenty-twenty,” is a lovely triple-double, a perfect ending. That isn’t going to happen. Novak Djokovic will break this deadlock with Roger Federer and Rafa Nadal, sooner than later. If not here at the U.S. Open, then next year in Melbourne or Wimbledon. He will win one or five more majors, unless the young tennis pretenders finally discover the grit and durability to match Djokovic’s uncanny resolve.
On Tuesday night, Djokovic began his tournament crusade with a four-set, first-round victory over 18-year-old Holger Vitus Nodskov Rune. The Danish qualifier, ranked 145th in the world, boasted all the trappings of youth – the backward baseball cap, the concerned mother in the stands. He won a second-set tiebreaker, had a grand old time for nearly two hours. Then Rune, not accustomed to such a high-voltage match, began to cramp badly. Djokovic sailed through for his 22nd straight victory in majors, 6-1, 6-7 (5-7),
6-2, 6-1.
“It’s tough to talk about the third and fourth set, because he barely moved,” Djokovic said.
It was fun while it lasted. The raucous night crowd on Ashe cheered wildly for the kid, chanted “Ruuune!” Djokovic thought the fans were booing him. They actually applauded Djokovic’s double faults, even as the guy strives for the first Grand Slam in more than 50 years.
The spectators would never do this to Federer.
“Obviously you always wish to have crowd behind you, but it’s not always possible,” Djokovic said. “That’s all I can say. I mean, I don’t know. I’ve been focusing on myself and what I need to do. I guess I have to just see how it feels on the court and try to keep it together. That’s all I can do. It was not ideal atmosphere for me. But I’ve been in these particular atmospheres before, so I knew how to handle it.”
His next opponent is little-known Tallon Griekspoor of Netherlands, another gimme. As the tournament meanders along, however, it may offer more precarious moments. In addition to the Zverevs and Medvedevs of the world, Djokovic must avoid a positive COVID test, or face expulsion. He and his wife already caught the disease during Djokovic’s ill-conceived Adria Tour, a series of tennis exhibitions that became something of a super spreader. As one of the tour’s leaders, Djokovic has gone on the record against mandatory vaccinations for players.
Despite such missteps, Djokovic continues his march toward the title of tennis GOAT. Years younger than his two rivals, he already holds a slight statistical advantage over both Federer and Nadal.
He has been ranked No. 1 in the world for 335 weeks; Federer is at 310, and will never reach the top again; Nadal is at 209. Djokovic is 27-23 against Federer head-to-head, and 30-28 versus Nadal. Federer still holds one important edge: He owns 103 total titles, while Nadal has 88 and Djokovic 85.
When the numbers are this close, should the debate include factors such as imagination, artistry, entertainment value? Should aesthetics count?
The most entertaining player of them all, the underachieving Nick Kyrgios, predictably favors Federer.
“In my opinion I believe Roger is the greatest of all time,” Kyrgios said, earlier this year. “With his skill set, the way he plays the game, I think it’s pure. I actually think talent-wise Nadal and Djokovic aren’t even close to Roger. Just purely based on the way Federer plays, his hands, his serving, his volleys, untouchable.”
Federer’s running forehands, his serveand-volley ambushes, and his quick pace of play are eminently watchable. But ESPN commentator Cliff Drysdale doesn’t believe such aspects should enter the GOAT discussion.
“I love watching Federer. There are people out there who have watching Federer live, in person, on their bucket list,” Drysdale said. “But I don’t think that you can take artistry into consideration when you make that declaration about who is best.
“Novak isn’t like an Isner, with a giant serve,” Drysdale said. “You have to give him credit for his variety of shots.”
After Djokovic moved on to the second round Tuesday, he didn’t bother to give the antagonistic crowd his usual post-victory, arm-thrusting celebration. But he didn’t give them the Mets’ thumbs-down, either. He applauded Rude graciously and said nice things about his opponent during the on-court interview.
Djokovic’s 34-year-old body plays 10 years younger. A reporter this week asked him about his nickname, Gumby, which for years was used as a reference to the player’s remarkable flexibility. Djokovic insisted he had never heard the name.
“What is Gumby?” he asked. Djokovic googled the animated clay figure.
“I’m just seeing what is Gumby, the green stretchy. Yeah, looks fun.”
Nobody ever rooted against Gumby.