Bill Simons
Wimbledon
At first he had nothing – well, except his imagination. Novak Djokovic dreamed of winning Wimbledon. But his boyhood friends ridiculed him: “He’s got nothing.”
Now, three decades later, the sinewy Serb has everything. His toolbox of strokes is unmatched. Tactically he’s a chess master. The calendar insists he’s 36. He tells us, “36 is the new 26.” He’s mentally tough. Well, he did grow up as bombs fell.
He has more stats then your local accountant: 23 Slams, no losses on Centre Court for over a decade, and 15 consecutive tiebreaks at Slams.
And he has ‘tude. When Novak wobbled early in Wimbledon, he offered a steely smirk and said, “I keep on winning. A win is a win.” When he was reminded that there’s a new generation of hungry wannabes out there who crave Slams, Novak quipped, “It ain’t going to happen.”
And it didn’t today.
Djokovic prevailed, but his 6-3, 6-4, 7-6(4) win was hardly a rout. Rather the game’s master craftsman put on a master class. Going for the corners, his down-the-line backhand was a weapon.
Jannick Sinner is one of the great young talents in the game. Already No. 8 in the world, the 21-year-old is lean and powerful. Last year he was up by two sets against Novak, but faltered. Now he was hoping to become the second Italian to reach a Wimbledon final.
Sinner’s flat and fierce groundies are great and he took advantage of a cupcake draw. Until today, he hadn’t had to face a player in the top 75. So he sprinted to his first-ever Slam semi – against Novak. Early in the match he had a glimpse of hope. He came out swinging and soon had two break points.
But Novak did what he always does: he played big on big points, brushing aside Sinners’s surge with seamless defense and spicy tactics. His strokes landed deep, his angled offerings opened the court wide, his Gumby-like movement astonished.
Nole did what he had to do.
Then, midway through the second set, the Serb grunted loud on a backhand and was penalized with an absurd hindrance call and moments later was called for delay of game. “Horrible, horrible, horrible call,” said John McEnroe. “I guess he wants to get his name in the paper.” Nole must have felt he was playing both an Italian baseliner and a British umpire.
Sinner is a super ball-striker. He’s fast – the tall former skier is a fine athlete. But there’s a “sameness” to his game. We didn’t see slices, drop shots or net shots.
Yet Jannik has grit. Never mind that Novak ran him side to side and back and forth. The Serb scored just one break in the first two sets and Sinner stepped up his game in the third set and had two set points. But Novak refused to relent.
Similarly in the third set tiebreak, Sinner gained a lead. But the Italian felt the pressure of the moment. His level dipped, while Novak’s precision was stunning. Yes, Daniil Medvedev is said to be an octopus, Djokovic is like a boa constrictor. He squeezes the life out of his foes. With his triumph today, he broke Chris Evert’s record of reaching 34 Slam finals. And in Sunday’s final, tennis history will be at stake.
With a win on Sunday, Novak could regain the No. 1 ranking, equal Bjorn Borg and Roger Federer’s record of five straight Wimbledons, win his eighth title here, which would match Federer’s men’s record, surpass Serena Williams and equal Margaret Court’s mark of 24 singles Slams and keep alive his hope of at last winning a calendar Grand Slam.
CARLOS CRUISES: Boy wonder Carlos Alacarz, the world No. 1, demolished No. 3, Russian Daniil Medvedev 6-3, 6-3, 6-3. Sunday’s final will be a replay of the memorable Djokovic-Alcaraz French Open semifinal. Whoever wins will be No. 1.
HE’S HUNGRY, I’M HUNGRY, LET’S HAVE A FEAST: Djokovic reflected on his upcoming Alcaraz match, “This is probably the most anticipated finals…[Carlos] is so young, but he’s incredibly consistent now, also on grass.”
Novak noted that Carlos’s game was designed for clay or slow hard courts, “but he’s been incredibly successful in adapting. This is a great virtue. I see this as one of my biggest strengths…that I was able to constantly adapt.
“He’s an amazing player. Great guy…He respects the history of the sport, respects everyone…It’s going to be a great challenge, greatest challenge…from any angle really: physical, mental, emotional…He’s very motivated. He’s young. He’s hungry. I’m hungry, too, so let’s have a feast.”
THE TIMES ARE A CHANGIN’: The Los Angeles Times is cutting back on its traditional sports coverage. The New York Times is shutting down its sports department. So what’s a fellow over here covering Wimbledon going to do but check out the august London Times, the paper that has given us so many superb tennis takes. For instance, when Andy Murray gave Britain their first Wimbledon men’s crown since 1937, they contended, “It seemed as if something more than a sporting prize had been won. It was as if some…mystical quest had been achieved. It didn’t feel like a mere metaphor when Murray at last picked up that magic golden cup: it really seemed that this was the Holy Grail.”
This year, when browsing through the Times, we’ve gotten a kick out of Frances Tiafoe’s continual presence in the paper. A son of immigrants from Sierra Leone who survived a brutal civil war, Frances has been featured every day in big ads touting Britain’s bank, Barclays. But we were less happy when we turned the page and saw a daunting headline: “Has humanity’s handiwork pushed Earth into a new epoch?”
Sure, we admit that we were intrigued by a very British headline about the controversial Lord Palmer: “Although he approved of formal wear, he was known as Lord Flip-Flop.”
Still, one of the most interesting pieces in today’s paper was an article on golf and Saudi Arabia’s LIV circuit. Northern Ireland’s Rory McIlroy, the No. 3 player in the world, said, “If LIV Golf was the last place to play golf on Earth, I would retire.”
And speaking of the media, what a good tournament it’s been for the media: TV broadcaster Chris Eubanks reached the quarterfinals.
POWERFUL ARYNA: Aryna Sabalenka’s average shot speed was 74 mph – the average shot speed in the men’s singles was 71 mph.
BIG THREE FALTER: It was said that the French Open victor Iga Swiatek, Aussie Open champ Aryna Sabalenka and last year’s Wimbledon winner Elena Rybakina were the new Big 3 of women’s tennis. But only Sabalenka reached the Wimbledon semis.
QUESTION OF THE DAY: Radio Wimbledon asked, “Does Novak’s 8-year-old son Stefan have any idea how good Daddy is?”
HOW IMPORTANT ARE SPORTS RECORDS? Roger Federer was prone to downplay the role of records. He did concede it was a big deal to pass Pete Sampras’s record of 14 slams, but he isn’t worried that Rafa and Novak surpassed him in terms of Grand Slam wins. Last year he asserted, “I don’t need all the records to be happy.”
Federer said he’d achieved far more than he’d ever thought possible. With 20 Grand Slams he’s third, behind Djokovic (23) and Nadal (21), and his record of 103 ATP Tour titles stands second to only Jimmy Connors, who has 109.
“I’m definitely very proud and very happy where I sit,” Roger said. “One of my big moments, of course, was winning my 15th slam at Wimbledon when Pete Sampras, [who had 14 Grand Slams] was sitting there.
“Anything after that was a bonus.”
Roger claimed that records were just a part of success. “For me, it was about how I managed my schedule, was I happy on and off court, did I Iike my life on the tour? And I did. I think I had the best of times.”
He did note that after surpassing Sampras he was, “very happy that I was able to win another five Slams…Then I made It to over 100 titles, and all that stuff has been fantastic. Longevity is something I’m very proud of.” Two years ago Rafa Nada told CNN, “For me, the records are important, of course – I’m a competitor. But I’ve never been obsessed about trying to be the best or not. I just focused on trying to give my best in every single moment.”
Novak has a different perspective. Recently in Paris he was clear: “It’s no secret that one of the main reasons I play is to try and break more records and make more history. History being on the line is something that is very flattering and very motivating.”
