The 35-year-old Djokovic won another Australian Open, his first major of the season. It is the 22nd Grand Slam title.
The so-called ‘young blood’ challenged, but this time they all failed. 24-year-old Stefanos Tsitsipas (Greece), who is the representative of the next generation, dreamed of overturning in the final, but fell to his knees before taking a single set from Djokovic, who will turn 36 in May.
How long will his era last?
Coach Goran Ivanisevic, who helped Djokovic win seven major tournaments, said, “Two or three more years are certain.” “His level is unbelievable. he came from space His brain works differently.”
Djokovic has been crowned five times in the last seven majors.
Why can’t young players beat Djokovic?
The British BBC analyzed five reasons why Djokovic is still invulnerable to young players. Introducing this.
If the opponent is Djokovic, how many young players would not be intimidated by his name?
Over the past four years, Djokovic has lost just five of his 45 matches against the under-23s.
Djokovic has won six of his seven Grand Slam finals during this period against players born in the 1990s. Russia’s Daniil Medvedev suffered his only defeat at the 2021 US Open.
Tsitsipas insisted that Djokovic’s dominance of younger players is not a ‘curse’, saying, “It’s very good for tennis to have competitors like Djokovic and champions like Djokovic.”
Tsitsipas has lost all of his last 10 head-to-head encounters with Djokovic. The BBC pointed out that whether Tsitsipas sincerely thinks so is another matter, but if he does, he is regarded as an exception.
Andrei Rublev (Russia) and Tommy Paul (USA), who lost to Djokovic in the quarterfinals and semifinals of the Australian Open, respectively, spoke about the fear players feel when they are in the same group as Djokovic in the draw.
Rublev laughed after winning the round of 16, saying he wished Djokovic was on the other side of the bracket. But he was no laughing matter as he grew more and more discouraged in the course of a 0-3 rout.
“A lot of players admire Djokovic’s performance,” said Paul, who was also knocked out of the final by losing in three sets.
▽Mental strength▽
Djokovic shows his mental strength on the court when he encounters difficult situations. This is especially relevant for the big moments of the big game, and is a key reason he has won 22 of his 33 Grand Slam finals.
At the Australian Open, Djokovic saved 23 of 29 break points (including 2 of 3 in the final). Tsitsipas, who was blocked by Djokovic once again in this Australian Open final following the 2021 French Open final, and his first major championship victory in his life was frustrated, commented on Djokovic as a player who ‘pushes himself to the limit’ on the court.
He explained that there are also positive aspects. It is said that Djokovic increased his concentration more and more with each match and made him a much better player.
Tsitsipas continued, “When you play against him, you have to really immerse yourself and focus on the game.” 안전놀이터
▽Technology and tactics▽
Djokovic is evaluated as excellent at neutralizing the opponent’s game plan. To make the opponent play a ‘bad game’.
Blocked by Djokovic in the semifinals, Tommy Paul offers some insight into his tactics and how Djokovic foiled those plans.
Paul said, “I wanted to do a bit of serve and volley (a tactic where a strong serve is advanced to the net and a volley decides the game). But he couldn’t use the serve and volley even once.”
“When the first serve was successful, it seemed Djokovic returned (intentionally) to the baseline. I was automatically on the defensive.”
“I wanted to put a drop shot. But he hit it too deep and I didn’t have a chance to do that.”
“I wanted to change the pace with slices. He missed all three slices in the first half of the game. I thought, ‘Okay, I need to start hitting my backhand, it’s not slicing very well”.
“He used the things he was good at to stop me from doing everything I intended.”
▽Physical▽
Djokovic has often cited the secret of his success that he switched to a gluten-free diet 10 years ago to continue his long and successful career. Although he considers himself not ‘vegan’ (vegetarian), he does not eat meat, fish or other animal products.
A daily routine of yoga and stretching has also been a huge help in maintaining the incredible momentum she shows when chasing a ball on the court.
“I wanted to be in harmony with my body as much as possible,” he said, explaining why he had not been vaccinated against the novel coronavirus infection (Corona 19) last year. He also added, “I’ve always been a great student on the subject of health care, wellness, fitness, and nutrition.”
▽Resilience▽
Djokovic played the Australian Open with a left hamstring injury. In response, coach Ivanisevic said, “I think 97% of the other players would have given up.”
Djokovic recalled, “If I went back two and a half weeks, I didn’t think I would get a chance because my leg was not in good shape.” “At that time, it was important to survive every match to move on to the next round,” he added.
Ahead of the semifinal against Tommy Paul, bad news outside the match broke out. A photo of his father with Russian President Vladimir Putin’s supporters was released, which Djokovic called “unpleasant” and sparked controversy.
However, he left behind all these obstacles and tied Rafael Nadal (Spain)’s record for the most wins (22) in men’s singles major tournaments.
“It took a lot of mental energy to stay focused and take in each day,” Djokovic said.
The BBC said that if Nadal (who will turn 37 on June 3), who is trying to win his 15th title with next-generation leaders such as Carlos Alcalas (Spain) and Tsitsipas at the French Open in June, can not stop Djokovic, he will be the biggest ever in major tournaments. He pointed out that there would be few people who would not bet on being the winner.