The Gospel of Novak Djokovic

Bill Simons

QUOTEBOOK

“I am weird. It’s kind of a fact.” – Naomi Osaka

“Everybody looks a little out of sorts.” – Chris McKendry

“Why does she torture us so?” – A Los Angeles fan on Serena

“Jo Konta’s backhand is an absolute work of art.” – broadcaster Jason Goodall

“Andy Murray has a piece of metal in his hip and there aren’t a lot of people who can do that and show what it takes and the heart he has.” – Milos Raonic

“I don’t believe so, but sometimes my memory sucks.” – Victoria Azarenka on trying to recall if she has ever played Ons Jabeur

“Every moment I have on the court is a blessing.” – John Millman

THE SECOND GREATEST ANDY IN TENNIS HISTORY ON THE GREATEST ANDY IN TENNIS HISTORY: For years, Andy Roddick was the only Andy in town. He was the best  Andy in the ATP tribe. Then some skinny, pale European kid, Andy Murray, began to make his mark. The Scot whipped Roddick eight times in their eleven meetings. You’d think the macho Texan might be bitter. But, nah. From his mountain hideaway, the Texan is having too much fun romping through the high meadows of retirement.

Before Murray lost to Milos Raonic today, Roddick offered this homage to Andy, who is No. 134 and a wildcard in New York: “He takes you into a gutter with him and rolls you around for a little bit. I never in my life have thought I would see him move the way he was moving today…He doesn’t need the titles, he doesn’t need the money, he’s here alone…He’s just out here grinding, anticipating, showing his tennis IQ. I like seeing him back in full flight…I love the grittiness, I love the IQ. He never once had the biggest shot on court…yet he has had the career [three Slams and two Olympic gold medals] that he has had…taking the ball early, mixing it up…It’s really fun to see him back.”

DJOKOVIC ON THE TRANSFORMATIONAL ASPECT OF COVID: The other day Novak, reflecting on COVID, said it was a transformational phase for all of us – and saw it as perhaps as “a final wakeup call.” Monday he told Inside Tennis that no matter how many curve balls life throws at him, he “truly tries to be optimistic and live consciously.”  He added that he tried to understand what the message of  COVID is. “When you experience something new, of course your old self [and] habits are fighting and resisting a little bit…Whatever is happening in the world, you really can’t influence the supermajority of the people on this planet. But you can influence your reaction. That’s the mindset I try to nurture every day. 

“On the brighter side, this virus has brought us closer to our families. It made us tennis players slow down, because we live such fast-paced lives, constantly on the road, traveling, living out of a suitcase, and really not addressing anything else but the tennis life…It’s the longest season of all sports, 11 months…I felt that this period was very needed. It made me reflect on my life. It made me understand that [there are] some greater things than myself, like the health and well-being of not just human beings but the planet itself. The great thing about six months of people not commuting so much is that the planet is cleaning. We are polluting it so much, so that’s a great thing.

“Obviously. there are a lot of negatives, a lot of sadness. But as you mentioned, it is a transformational period– yes, absolutely. Things can never be the same, not from the point of view of tennis or tournaments or whatever. Even if we talk about the tennis season, even that has to be rearranged…like taking the calendar and understanding what can be done.”

COVID “brought everybody closer to each other, and we all try to unite and work together towards a greater goal, in tennis but also in private life. It was so nice to be able to spend quality time with my children, read bedtime stories, swim, play sports, dine, talk about life, see them grow up.

“It really touched me. I was very grateful. We live such a fast-paced life, and it’s really hard for us to slow down. I haven’t had too many times…where I could say, ‘Okay, I’m going to take some time off or decrease the amount of tournaments.

“I guess something like this needs to happen in order for all of us to just take a deep breath and see what is most important in life. If you ask people what really matters, it’s health, it’s family, right? But how many of us really live that kind of life? How many of us really prioritize that? Not many.”

TALL QUESTION: Stefanos Tsitsipas wondered whether he would be setting a record by facing three towering players in a row: 6’ 8” Kevin Anderson, 6’10” John Isner and 6’ 11” in row

HIGH PRAISE: Rising Reilly Opelka beat the No. 8 Matteo Berrettini, who reached last year’s US Open semi. The 6’ 11” 22-year-old American drew praise. Italian journalist Ubaldo Scanagatta said, “Opelka was serving like a crazy man. He destroyed Berrettini.” Andy Roddick added, “He can just uncork on the ball and take the racket out of your hand. He’s the best athlete I’ve seen at that height.”

SPEAKING OF SERVES: Jason Goodall said, “There are a lot of men who would like to have a serve as good as Serena’s.” Brad Gilbert said he’d gladly take the second serves of Kevin Anderson, John Isner or Reilly Opelka as his first serve. Gilbert added that of the big guys who are now playing he would choose Ivo Karlovic’s big first serve and John Isner’s outrageous second serve, but in the end would go for 6, 1” Pete Sampras’ serve because “he produced it in the biggest matches.” Darren Cahill said Pete’s success was linked to belief, love of the moment and the easy willingness to just hit two first serves. BTW: There have been fewer more beautiful strokes in tennis than Sampras’ serve.

CAN HE BE PERFECT? Six months ago, after playing in Dubai, the ATP Cup and the Aussie Open, Novak Djokovic joked that he might go undefeated this year. Today he beat Tennys Sandgren to go to 20-0 in 2020.

NO PRESSURE: Ons Jabeur said she was playing for Tunisia, the Muslim world and Africa.

FROM JADED TO GRATEFUL: Lindsay Davenport said, New York “has for the most part, exceeded everybody’s expectations, and it’s amazing how the players’ thought process has changed to having so much gratitude…It sounded crazy in May when people first talked about it but all the players are seeing that, for the foreseeable future, sports has to be in a bubble. But players want this opportunity… They have a chip in their credential that shows who they’ve been around and if they’ve spent with someone who may have tested positive…And it’s mandatory that you wear your credential when you are in your room.”

GREAT NEWS: In these tough times, Novak Djokovic opened the door to the possibility of re-creating the hilarious player imitations he did years ago. 

SCOTTISH PATIENCE IS A VIRTUE: Andy Murray told IT that the key thing he’s learned during his lengthy struggles with his hip and the COVID break was patience. He said, “I learned that I was quite patient. I learned it being around my kids in the house, which is very rare…I was pleased with how I was able to keep my temper. Then as soon as I stepped back on the court, I couldn’t do it…I’d love to understand exactly why.”

FOOT-FAULT FINALE: Naomi Osaka won her match today against Dayana Yastremska when the Ukrainian foot-faulted. It was not the first time a New York WTA match ended after a foot-fault. At crunch time in her 2009 semi against Kim Clijsters, Serena was called for a still-controversial foot-fault that put her down match point. As she protested angrily she was given a point penalty that in effect ended the match.

JESSIE’S GAMES: Last year Buffalo’s Jessie Pegula won the Citi Open and then reached the final in Auckland, where she lost to Serena. Ranked No. 83, she’s already won five matches in New York, including wins over Amanda Anisimova and Jen Brady. Today she beat No. 11, Aryna Sabalenka,  to reach her first WTA Premier Level quarterfinal. She’ll next face No. 15, Elise Mertens.