Anything you can do, I can do better.
After six-time Australian Open winner Novak Djokovic watched second seed Rafael Nadal dismantle reigning Next Gen ATP Finals champion Stefanos Tsitsipas in one hour and 46 minutes on Thursday evening, dropping just six games, that is the message the top seed sent to the Spaniard. Djokovic dismissed in-form 28th seed Lucas Pouille 6-0, 6-2, 6-2 in just one hour and 23 minutes on Friday to set what promises to be a classic final against Nadal
“Yes,” said a smiling Djokovic, admitting to trying to lose fewer games than Nadal did in the second seed's semi-final. “It was hard to do that, but somehow I managed. [Rafa] has played impressively well throughout the entire tournament. He hasn't dropped a set. He looked as good as ever on the hard court throughout these few weeks. I haven't played bad myself last couple matches. I think that this finals comes at the right time for both of us. I'm sure we're going to have a blast on the court. We can promise one thing, and that's knowing both of us that we're going to give absolutely everything out on the court.“
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Djokovic committed just two unforced errors through the first two sets against Pouille, ultimately cracking 24 winners to just five unforced errors into the match. In 33 previous Grand Slam semi-finals, the Serbian lost fewer games just once: at the 2015 US Open against Marin Cilic (6-0, 6-1, 6-2). To say the top seed was ‘feeling it’ is an understatement.
“Obviously today was a perfect match for me from the first to the last point,” Djokovic said. “I executed everything that I intended to and even more than I have expected.”
It's not that Djokovic has not played well throughout the fortnight. The Serbian has only dropped two sets, and never been in serious difficulty. But dropping just eight service points in three sets of a major semi-final was special, and a performance he won't soon forget.
“I hope that they can become more frequent... in the past I've played some tournaments, specifically here in Australia, I've had some terrific matches, couple matches in a row where I would win comfortably in straight sets. Considering the occasion and circumstances and playing [in the] semi-finals here, this is definitely one of the best matches I've played on Rod Laver Arena in my career,” Djokovic said. “You just happen to be in that zone that we all strive for. Every professional athlete wants to be in the zone, where everything flows so effortlessly and you are executing automatically everything you are intending to execute.
"You don't need to think too much. I guess you're driven by some force that takes over you and you feel divine, you feel like in a different dimension. It's quite an awesome feeling that we all try to reach and stay in.”
In the championship match in Melbourne seven years ago, both Djokovic and Nadal were in that zone. In what remains the longest match of both of their careers — as well as the longest major final in history — Djokovic emerged victorious in five hours and 53 minutes.
The question is, can Djokovic produce the same level of tennis in the final against Nadal again?
“It's probably the biggest challenge, I think, is how to repeat that, how to stay there for as long as you possibly can. Again, it depends on how you feel that day, who is across the net, various things,” Djokovic said. “Sometimes you feel more anxious, nervous because who is across the net, occasion, or maybe something tenses up in your body and you're not striking the ball as smoothly. It really takes a long time to get to that stage or phase where you have so much confidence and everything flows, but it takes such little time to lose it. That's why we all are very committed and very aware that professionalism really gets you to that state of mind and play where everything flows.”
One year ago, Djokovic was upset in the fourth round of the Australian Open by Hyeon Chung, and he would undergo a procedure on his right elbow. That injury led him to an uninspiring 6-6 start to 2018. But ironically, the Serbian made his first big breakthrough in the semi-finals at Wimbledon against Nadal, battling past the Spaniard in five hours and 15 minutes.
“That was the match that has mentally turned things around for me the most," Djokovic said. "Winning against Nadal 10-8 in the fifth set, that has catapulted me I think mentally to a different, more confident self. It has allowed me to then excel in the months to come after that.”
Djokovic went on to lift the Wimbledon trophy, complete his Career Golden Masters in Cincinnati and triumph at the US Open. The question before him now: can he beat an in-form Nadal again to lift a record seventh Australian Open trophy?
from Tennis - ATP World Tour http://bit.ly/2RSOjiF
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