Bill Simons
The great man still amazes.
The 37-year-old warrior, who has done everything in our sport, still hits all the right spots when necessary. Then again, Willie Mays hit homers at 42.
The aging Novak Djokovic still bends low. He stretches wide – just like he’s always done. This man can’t stop fighting – he knows how to withstand the blows of sporting battles. After all, he is the GOAT.
But now something is different. Not once, but twice in Melbourne, a “nobody,” a pretender, a kid with a triple-digit ranking who’s never played in the big leagues, has come out and poked the lion.
Six weeks ago, Nishesh Basavareddy was a kid on Stanford’s leafy campus who had a picture of his idol on his social media and a penchant for collecting challenger trophies. But he’d never upset Stefanos Tsitsipas, or, for that matter, any ATP A-lister with a puffy resume. Goodness, he’d never walked out onto a Grand Slam court – or even been in a main draw event.
But, on Monday, the No. 107 player in the world calmly emerged onto the most important tennis court in the Southern Hemisphere and socked the sport’s mighty champ in the nose. Thanks to his fine backhand, clever drop shots and steady nerves, he won the first set 6-4 – before the master put him in his place.
Wednesday, it was rinse and repeat. Mighty Nole faced yet another anonymous puncher from the tennis outback. Few fans (including Novak) had ever heard of Jaime Faria. Like Basavarredy, the 21-year-old hadn’t played in a single Slam before Melbourne. His ranking was north of 100, his resume couldn’t boast a win over any big player and he certainly didn’t have a celebrity coach (Andy Murray) whispering courtside tips.
But, Djokovician aura be damned, Nole was again given a rude awakening. After the Serb took the first set and was up a break in the second, Faria flexed his Portuguese muscles and grabbed the second set.
Novak offered a bemused smile, but then howled and threw his hands up. John McEnroe observed, “Djokovic is like, ‘Who the hell is this guy?’…That aura is starting to crack.”
Yes, Nole’s beard is now fuller. We see deepening lines on his face. In his fierce eyes we occasionally spot a hint of weariness. This is a middle-aged family man in tennis shorts who speaks of the pain of leaving his Serbian nest.
But he’s also the man who just told GQ magazine that he had “beaten tennis” (we think we know what that means). He’s the man who can’t stop breaking records. After he’d again dealt with the annoyance of losing a set to a nobody, he proceeded to a 6-1, 6-7(4), 6-3, 6-2 victory. Nice serving, Nole – another day at the office.
Novak was promptly informed that he’d broken Federer’s record of 429 Slam match wins. Here was another moment to spread the gospel of Nole: “I try to give my best every single time. It’s been over 20 years that I’ve been competing at the highest level. Whether I win or lose, I will always leave my heart out on the court. I’m just blessed to be making another record.”
Now tennis is engaging in yet another Djokovic debate: how will his late career pan out? Do all these bumps in the road signal trouble for the elder, whose draw sheet tells us he’s seeded No. 7?
He next plays tougher foes – No. 26 seed Tomas Machac, possibly followed by No. 24 seed Jiri Lehecka and maybe Carlos Alcaraz. Will he manage to battle his way to his eleventh Aussie Open, win his 100th tourney and do what neither Serena nor anyone else has done: surpass Margaret Court’s long-standing record of 24 singles Slams?
Beyond all this, what will his legacy be? When he finally hangs up his sneakers, will he be considered the best sportsman of all time? His new coach, Andy Murray said, “He maybe already has a legitimate claim to be the best athlete of all time. But if he can go out as a 38, 39-year-old, and win more Slams, and beat Alcaraz and Sinner in big matches, he’s got a claim to be the best athlete of all time – and I think that’s exciting.”
AN AMERICAN SURGE: After four days of play, American men have a remarkable 12-5 record. As we write, Tommy Paul, Taylor Fritz, Frances Tiafoe, Ben Shelton, Mitchell Kreuger, Alex Michelsen, Marcos Giron, Tristan Boyer and Learner Tien remain in the draw.
Unfortunately, Reilly Opelka, who beat Djokovic early in January, tired in his match against Tomas Machac, and lost the fourth and fifth sets. And Seb Korda’s Down Under run was also upended.
ANDREY RUBLEV DIDN’T SEE A REASON FOR LIVING LIFE: Andrey Rublev is hard to figure out. He’s quite well known, but not famous. Some still confuse the thin, athletic man who sports happy, chaotic red hair with Jannik Sinner.
Andrey goes deep into Slams, and he was the only player last year to beat both Sinner and Alcaraz. But, despite his howitzer forehand, he’s lost all ten of the quarterfinal matches he’s played. He’s intelligent, fun-loving and boyish, his smile is disarming, and he’s loved in the locker room. He’s Daniil Medvedev’s daughter’s godfather. He opposes his country’s Ukrainian war, and he left Nike to create his own clothing brand that benefits children’s charities.
Yet on court he often seems possessed. He mercilessly pounds his knees with his racket, like he did in Paris in October seven times. Ouch. Such a flurry of violence – blood flowed, fans were dumbstruck – how self-destructive. Plus, the Russian – who, despite being very sick, won the Madrid Masters – was disqualified in Dubai after he abused a linesman verbally.
Still, the guy is so likeable. A truly remarkable conversation with Donald McRae from the Guardian is drawing attention. Andrey confides, “I’m still not in a place where I would like to be but, finally, I have a base…because, half a year ago, I arrived at the worst moment of my life.” After a first-round loss to a lowly player at Wimbledon, Rublev said, “[It] was the worst moment that I faced…It was not about tennis. It was to do with myself. After that moment I don’t see the reason of living life. Like, what for? This sounds a bit too dramatic, but the thoughts inside my head were just killing me – creating a lot of anxiety – and I couldn’t handle this any more. I started to have a bit of bipolar…Now I feel better.”
He soon stopped taking anti-depression pills. And while he doesn’t really talk with his family about his problems, Russian Hall of Famer Marat Safin helped him gain insights and he began to work with a psychologist.
Andrey said, “I learned a lot about myself, and while I don’t feel in…the happy place I would like to be, I don’t feel any more that crazy anxiety and stress of not understanding what to do with my life.
“You can have everything in life, a healthy family, all the material things, the healthiest relationship, but, if there is something happening with yourself that you don’t want to see, you will never be happy. If you find it, and accept it, you will feel better and better.
“Everything comes back to being honest with yourself. When something triggers [you] and makes you emotional, aggressive or stressed, it’s something deep inside you don’t accept. Once you are honest you can start to navigate.”
ALL WE ARE SAYING IS GIVE PEACE A SHOT: Rublev spoke to the Guardian about the Ukrainian war, too, saying, “My position is very clear. I’m for peace. I don’t want to fight. I don’t want people dying. I want everyone to be healthy. I want everyone to live their lives. We still have many different wars, people dying non-stop, and it’s painful to see. I think most people feel the same as me. So it’s not a bad position for me to take.”
NAOMI’S REVENGE: Last year when she came back from giving birth, Naomi Osaka had a dicey season. A four-time Slam winner isn’t supposed to suffer devastating losses. She had Iga Swiatek on the ropes at the French Open, but blew it. In New York, her daring outfit made the greatest fashion statement of her career, and she seemed in control on Ashe Stadium against Karolina Muchova. But she again faltered.
Wednesday in Melbourne, the two-time Aussie Open Champion was relegated to an outer court. Then again, the outback plays a big role in Aussie life. Still, in yet another match against Czech Muchova, Naomi got off to a wretched start. After 21 minutes she was behind 5-0. But she gathered herself and powered her way to a 1-6, 6-1, 6-3 win.
She told the crowd, “Karolina crushed me in the US Open when I wore my best dress ever. I was so mad. Today was my little revenge.” The Aussie crowd was stunned by her candor. So she explained, “Revenge is not a bad thing. Revenge is competition, you guys.”
The fact that Naomi next plays another WTA mother, Switzerland’s Belinda Bencic, prompted a conversation on parenting, in which Osaka confided, “I love tennis…but sometimes I do wonder if the time here could be given to my daughter.”
STILL ABUZZ: Tennis continues to celebrate the arrival of the hard-hitting 18-year old Brazilian phenom, Joao Fonseca, who beat Andrey Rublev.
A fun fact for all you AO fans. You can’t spell Joao Fonseca without “ao “– or Naomi and GOAT, for that matter.
UPSET OF THE DAY: German veteran Laura Siegemund, 36, who’s ranked No. 97, shocked Qinwen Zheng, the No. 5 seed, who reached last year’s final. This could be good news for Aryna Sabalenka and Mirra Andreeva.
QUOTEBOOK
“Last year I probably lost 10 matches that I should’ve won straight, because of the brain.” – Alex Michelsen
“Here comes a tiebreaker between Monfils and [Mpetshi] Perricard – to the surprise of no one.” – Patrick McEnroe
