The Atlanta Journal-Constitution
Djokovic may be on way to biggest year of Big 3
Novak Djokovic emerged from a court bubble at his riverfront tennis center last week in a puffy blue jacket and a red-white-and-blue pom beanie, smiling the smile of a player brimming with confidence and growing in strength.
The world’s No. 1 player this month claimed his 17th Grand Slam title with a comeback victory in the Australian Open final, bringing him within three of Roger Federer’s record of 20 major men’s singles titles and two back of Rafael Nadal. The win came after Djokovic and his native Serbia topped Nadal’s Spain for the inaugural ATP Cup, a roaring start to 2020 that prompted the 32-year-old to say this could be “maybe my best season.”
That triumphant mood was met with a hero’s welcome and a hint of Super Bowl media day mayhem at a news conference in Djokovic’s hometown of Belgrade, with 90 minutes of questions from Serbian Olympians and more than 60 media members that ranged from the bizarre to the adulatory. As tends to happen in Djokovic interviews, the conversation offered another opportunity to appraise the complicated relationship he has with tennis fans and his chief rivals.
Fairly or not, Djokovic doesn’t receive the near-universal, enthusiastic embrace from fans enjoyed by Federer and Nadal, who combined with Djokovic have won 13 consecutive Grand Slam finals and 56 total since 2003. That was evident in Melbourne, where many fans rooted for Austrian underdog Dominic Thiem in the final, even as Djokovic pursued his record-expanding eighth tournament title. He drew criticism for his in-match outburst at chair umpire Damien Dumusois, whom Djokovic tapped on the foot and sarcastically told, “You made yourself famous,” for calling two time violations at a critical juncture.
The incident, among other flare-ups and tabloid comments from his father, Srdjan, over the years, added ammunition for detractors.
In Belgrade, Djokovic downplayed the notion he is disliked, saying he doesn’t get that impression, “especially off the court.” He worried that feeding into that narrative might create an unwanted Serbia-againstthe-world mentality among fans in this Balkan country of 7 million people.
“Even if that was true, why would I want to add fuel to the fire?” Djokovic said through an interpreter. “I don’t want to stir up negative emotions. I have no ill feelings for people who don’t support me.”
Speculation persists about the relationships among the Big Three, particularly Djokovic’s rapport with the other two. Federer vs.
Nadal remains the sport’s biggest rivalry, but the two are friendly. Recent public interactions among the three stars suggest warmer connections, and Djokovic credited his nemeses with shaping him as a player.
“Although it was not at the beginning of my career, I can now say that it is a pleasure to play in the same era,” Djokovic said. “There are many connecting points and similarities between the three of us. One of the biggest is the championship mentality. We pull each other toward success.”
Djokovic, who is set to play in the Dubai Tennis Championships starting today, is the hot hand of late. He has claimed five Grand Slam titles since 2018 — to Nadal’s three and Federer’s one — and has won 20 of 27 meetings against them in the past five years. At the Australian Open, he beat Federer in the semifinals and along with the title took the No. 1 ranking from Nadal, who lost to Thiem in the other semifinal.
Sunday tournaments
Fourth-seeded Reilly Opelka won two matches, topping Yoshihito Nishioka of Japan 7-5, 6-7 (4), 6-2 to take the Delray Beach (Fla.) Open. Opelka won his second career ATP title. He beat second-seeded Milos Raonic of Canada 4-6, 7-6 (6), 6-3 in a rain-delayed semifinal, then returned a few hours later for the final . ...
Third-seeded Cristian Garin beat Italian qualifier Gianluca Mager 7-6 (3), 7-5 in Sunday’s rain-hit final to win the Rio Open in Brazil . ...
Stefanos Tsitsipas of Greece beat Felix Auger-Aliassime 6-3, 6-4 to retain the Open 13 title.