Djokovic battles into Italian Open semis
TOP men’s seed Novak Djokovic let his frustrations spill over, breaking his racket during a tough 6-3, 4-6, 6-3 quarter-final victory over qualifier Dominik Koepfer in the Italian Open on Saturday.
The world number one needed more than two hours to see off the 97th-ranked German, before advancing to the semi-finals in the last warmup tournament on clay before the French Open.
Two weeks after his US Open default for accidently hitting a line judge with a ball, the Serb struggled to contain his emotions, throwing his racket after a lost service game, with shouts of anger resounding in the silence of the empty Central Court of Foro Italico.
“Well, let me tell you that it’s not the first nor the last racquet that I’ll break in my career. I have done it before,” he warned.
“I’ll probably do it again. I don’t want to do it, but when it comes, it happens.
“That’s how I guess I release sometimes my anger.
“And it’s definitely not the best message out there, especially for the young tennis players looking at me.”
“I don’t encourage that, definitely. But, look, we’re all people. We all do our best. There were times and periods when I don’t do that, and there are sometimes periods when I do.
“It’s unpredictable really in life what can happen. I am working on my mental and emotional health as much as I’m working on my physical health.
“It’s always been part of my, I guess, training and recovery, as well, developing strong character and understanding myself on different levels, the holistic approach to life.
“That’s just me, and of course I’m not perfect. I’m doing my best.”
Djokovic was broken four times before advancing to his 11th semi-final in Rome, where he reached the final nine times and won four titles.
“Credit to (Dominik) for fighting back, but I have myself to blame for putting myself in a position to play a third set,” said Djokovic.
AMERICANS Patrick Reed and Bryson DeChambeau, two of golf’s more unusual characters, teed off in Saturday’s final US Open third-round pairing chasing major glory on a punishing Winged Foot layout.
Tenth-ranked Reed, the 2018 Masters winner, led 62 players who made the cut on four-under par 136 after 36 holes at the famed Mamaroneck, New ork course.
“I feel ready to go out and put myself in position to have a chance late on Sunday,” Reed said. “The biggest thing is I feel like the game is where it needs to be. I feel good.”
Ninth-ranked DeChambeau, whose irons and wedges are all the same length as part of his scientific approach, stood one stroke adrift after rounds of 69 and 68 in quest of his first major victory.
DeChambeau, who bulked up his frame by 20 pounds over the coronavirus layoff and moved atop US PGA Tour driving distance statistics, has been criticised for slow play, partly from calculating putt angles on greens. But he credits recent success to his longer drives and being patient.
“A lot of deep, long breaths,” said DeChambeau. “It’s sitting back, realizing the state you’re in and being able to take an eight-second breath in and then eight-second breath out. That’s just as simple as it gets for me.”
The tournament was postponed from June due to the coronavirus pandemic, which also prompted a spectator ban as part of area safety precautions.
Aside from Reed, the only other major winner under par was Justin Thomas, the 2017 PGA Championship winner who opened with a bogey to fall behind US compatriot Harris English and Spain’s Rafa Cabrera Bello, both on two-under.