USA TODAY International Edition
Djokovic not worried about lack of match-
“He’s ( been) super confident for years. I think he doesn’t need many matches to feel his best tennis.” Gael Monfils, on semifinal opponent and defending champion Novak Djokovic
World No. 1 Novak NEW YORK Djokovic has had the easiest path in history to the U. S. Open semifinals over the last 10 days.
Of the 186 different semifinalists in 195 majors played in the Open era, none has finished just two matches en route, as Djokovic has, the ATP confirmed.
After a second- round walkover against Jiri Vesely, Djokovic saw retirements from Mikhail Youzhny in the first set of his thirdround match, then Jo- Wilfried Tsonga in the third set of their quarterfinal Tuesday.
“I can only wish all of my opponents a speedy recovery. That’s all I can do on my end,” Djokovic said in all seriousness after the Tsonga match, though it came off more as a joke.
Here is the best male player in the world — by far — with the tennis gods smiling down on him match after match.
But does the lack of play worry the Serb?
“Not really,” he told reporters. “I mean, I have played so many times. I was so many times in a particular situation where I had long matches on the road to the semis of a Grand Slam. I’ve also had some Grand Slams where I didn’t spend too much time on the court.
“It really just depends on how you feel, how your season has been, how many matches you have played throughout the year,” the 29- year- old added. “This scenario with easy ( matches) was ideal at this stage.”
Ideal for Djokovic, he feels, because of the long and arduous season he has had up to this point. If this were the Australian Open at the beginning of the year or at Wimbledon during the short grass spell, perhaps not.
But Djokovic won in Melbourne and in the French Open in Paris before being derailed in London. He was shocked in the first round of the Rio Olympics by Juan Martin del Potro, then pulled out of the Masters 1000 event in Cincinnati because of a bad left wrist. It was an injury he was still concerned about coming into New York.
Tuesday against Tsonga, a 2008 Australian Open runner- up and the No. 9 seed, Djokovic was in overwhelming form for the two sets they played. His bendy body scurried around the court with ease, his fluid groundstrokes pin- ning his French foe to the baseline.
The less than nine sets Djokovic has played over 11 days in the Open, however? No concern, he said.
“At this stage of the tournament and season, I think one of the most important things for a player is this freshness of the mind, of the body, and just having that right supply of substance in your body and the enduring strength that you need, the speed, the alertness,” Djokovic said.
Friday he will face dynamic and explosive Gael Monfils, another French player who has seen major success, though he has not reached this stage of a Grand Slam tournament since Roland Garros in 2008.
While Monfils, the No. 10 seed, has not dropped a set in his five matches, he has played 15 sets to the nine and change that Djokovic has been a part of, spending more than three hours longer on court.
Monfils doesn’t think the lack of match play will affect the world No. 1 much, either. “He’s ( been) super confident for years,” he said. “I think he doesn’t need many matches to feel his best tennis.”
For Djokovic, nothing changes in the time that he now has “off.”
“I’m not going to practice for three or four hours just to feel that kind of potential for the fifth- set scenario,” he said. “I’m just keeping the routine as it is.”