Novak Djokovic is about to ignite his ongoing rivalry with two rising skills in males’s tennis on the Australian Open, as he goals for an eleventh title and his twenty fifth Grand Slam victory.
The sense of inevitability looms massive, even after an early loss in 2024.
The 36-year-old defied the percentages to hoist the Norman Brookes Challenge Cup final yr, overcoming a ruptured hamstring and a distracting political row involving his father.
He went on to surpass Rafa Nadal’s tally of twenty-two majors on the French Open.
Djokovic secured a 3rd Grand Slam trophy late final season on the U.S. Open however was denied the Wimbledon title by the 20-year-old Carlos Alcaraz in a blockbuster five-set closing – a consequence briefly heralded because the daybreak of a brand new period.
Jannik Sinner, 22, emerged as one other contender by defeating Djokovic thrice in 11 days on the ATP Finals and Davis Cup. The younger duo will search a chance to dethrone the world No. 1 at his fortress.
Djokovic, who missed the 2022 Australian Open resulting from deportation over his COVID-19 vaccine stance, was hampered by a proper wrist harm on the United Cup final week. His 43-match successful streak in Australia was lastly snapped by Alex de Minaur.
It was solely his second defeat within the nation since a fourth-round loss to South Korea’s Chung Hyeon within the 2018 Australian Open, the place the Serb was suffering from an elbow challenge.
With an 89-8 report on the yr’s first Grand Slam, Djokovic stays the agency favourite to say a fifth title in six years and surpass Australian Margaret Court’s haul of 24 main singles trophies.
Boris Becker, Djokovic’s former coach, believes the present crop of kids will check him extra continuously.
“I still expect Djokovic to win a Grand Slam or two. But I also believe Alcaraz and Co. will more often throw a spanner in the works,” stated Becker, now teaching younger Dane Holger Rune, who conquered Djokovic within the 2022 Paris Masters closing.
“I hope this rivalry between the most successful player of all time and the rest of the tennis world continues for a long time because we fans and amateur players benefit from it.”
While the way forward for the sport is in good palms, one among Djokovic’s fiercest rivals over time is not going to return to main tennis as deliberate in Australia, with Nadal pulling out resulting from a small muscle tear sustained throughout his defeat in Brisbane.
The Spaniard, who received his second Australian Open title in Djokovic’s absence in 2022, was on the comeback path following hip surgical procedure and now faces contemporary doubts about his capability to compete on the elite stage, having already acknowledged he expects to complete his profession in 2024.
Former U.S. Open champion Daniil Medvedev was among the many most constant hardcourt gamers final yr, and the Russian will eye one other run to the ultimate, hoping to banish recollections of back-to-back defeats by Djokovic (2021) and Nadal (2022).
Other challengers embody final yr’s runner-up, Stefanos Tsitsipas, the rejuvenated Alexander Zverev and a rising brigade of Americans led by Taylor Fritz and Frances Tiafoe.
Source: www.dailysabah.com
