Djokovic works the crowd to his advantage
After a spectacular volley to take the lead in the fourth set on Sunday night, Novak Djokovic gave a whirling fist pump, then cocked his finger behind an ear to encourage a roar from the 22,000 fans in Arthur Ashe Stadium. He looked like classic Hulk Hogan, but with more hair and fewer steroids.
Djokovic would say later, after a four-set victory over a plucky Roberto Bautista Agut, that he just wanted the crowd into the moment. (They had largely been rooting for the underdog to that point.)
And while it’s true that the topranked Serbian was just feeding off the unique setting of the night session at Ashe, his plea for appreciation also applies in a broader sense. In a year in which so much of the tennis world’s focus has been on the Serena Williams pursuit of a calendar Grand Slam, Djokovic has also put together a remarkable season in a career that now has several of them.
With the win over Bautista Agut, Djokovic has now made the quarters in every Slam since the French Open in 2009. But for a loss to Stan Wawrinka in the final of the French this year, he too would be pursuing the calendar Slam. He has nine Slams in an era in which the men’s draw is loaded with major talents, having beat Andy Murray and Roger Federer in finals to win two of them this year alone.
He’s also pretty funny. Interviewed on court after his Sunday win, Djokovic was asked about having broken a racket with a stomp during a changeover. “I don’t see a broken racket, there was no broken racket,” he said, like a Jedi mind trick, but in front of a lot of witnesses. The interviewer, flummoxed, moved on.
There have been almost as many thinkpieces written about the lack of American stars in men’s tennis as there are seats in Ashe stadium. And, after Donald Young fell to Stan Wawrinka in the round of 16 on Sunday afternoon, the task of trying to get an American flag into the quarters fell to beanpole John Isner, who had the daunting task of facing two-seed Roger Federer in the late-night anchor match at Ashe.
Young gave Wawrinka a fight, but lost in four sets to an opponent that simply had too many shots for the American to overcome.
The Swiss five-seed hit 52 winners to only 14 for Young, and he was frequently able to close off the court and win points on sharp volleys, while Young sat back and hoped Wawrinka would make mistakes in rallies.
Wawrinka was diplomatic about facing a hostile crowd, saying that it was “a great atmosphere.”
He was asked on court about breaking a racket mid-match, which was subsequently scooped up by a couple of kids, and he said “I’m sorry, I don’t think you will be able to use it anymore.”
Then he told the little scamps to come see him after the match and he would give them something that wasn’t broken.
The crowd, cheering loudly, was on his side now.