Novak Djokovic seems to love working on Sundays. If last Sunday was tentative, the second Sunday at the Australian Open saw the supremo in full cry. Forget the pain, forget the hesitancy, Djokovic was all power as he blew away Frenchman Adrian Mannarino 6-0, 6-0, 6-3 to barge his way into the quarterfinals.
If ever one needed to know that Djokovic is in command and in Arnold Schwarzenegger-like Terminator mode, this was it. Ruthless and fired up to enter a Grand Slam quarter-final for the 58th time, now level with Roger Federer. Federer is tennis history, and Djokovic is its present. And he says he will look at destroying more records in the future as well.
If he continues to hammer opponents like this, there is every reason to believe that he will do whatever it takes to add to his Grand Slam collection. All of a sudden, pulling clear of Margaret Court’s tally of 24 singles Grand Slam titles seems just a matter of three more matches.
At 36, pushing 37, Djokovic is fast as well in terms of time spent on court. Tonight, at the Rod Laver Arena, he spent only an hour and 44 minutes, one of the shortest matches this year.
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Sunil Chhetri and his team displayed a heartwarming gesture towards the passionate Manjappada Fans ahead of the training session.
After the fans’ unwavering support in India’s games against Australia and Uzbekistan, Igor Stimac and his squad paid back with a touching moment… pic.twitter.com/rEbzsY9xM3
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Some fans were predicting a total rout, so when Mannarino won three games in the decider, there was cheering for him. “I really wanted to lose that game in the third set because the tension was building up so much in the stadium,” said Djokovic afterwards. “I just needed to get that one out of the way so I can refocus on what I need to do to close out the match.” Despite the show of strength, smashing the opponent and then walking back to the locker room in quick time, Djokovic wanted fans to believe he had a slightly tough match.
“It’s never easy to play Adrian, who is a very unorthodox player, uses the angles really well and has gotten one of the flattest and most consistent backhands in the game,” he said, after a first meeting against Mannarino since 2018.
Sometimes, the scoreline can be a bit misleading. There were a few rallies as well in the contest, though Djokovic won most points. It was kind of cat and mouse – the physical, long rallies. Stats threw up an interesting bit of info, that Djokovic won 17 out of 25 rallies that extended to more than nine shots.
For Mannarino, even that may have been a bonus, as he knew taking on Djokovic was going to stretch the boundaries of his ability.
Another impressive winner on Sunday was Coco Gauff, with the American needing just over an hour to crush Poland’s Magdalena Frech 6-1, 6-2. Winner of the US Open in 2023, Gauff has been a quiet performer Down Under.
She is aware the women’s draw has been ravaged by several upsets, but her own game has stood out for consistency and precision play. There is a mild similarity between Gauff and Serena Williams, the former queen of women’s tennis. Serena, too, began from public courts in Compton and then became a big star. Gauff started her tennis on public courts in Pompey Park, Delray Beach, Florida.
If Serena had a problematic Dad to deal with — Richard Williams — Gauff has been more fortunate. She respects her father Corey and uses her shoes to scribble a few things to express herself. Of course, not during a match!
Gauff spoke of her younger brother, Cameron, being an MVP (Most Valuable Player) for his American Football team in the US. Even his name, she has scribbled on her shoes. These are interesting nuggets about Gauff, the young champion who is happy by nature. “Everything I do and get is a bonus,” she said on Sunday. Certainly, her philosophy makes sense, but as a tennis pro, nothing has come easy.
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