ATP Adelaide: Djokovic wants to make it ugly against beautiful player Korda
Novak Djokovic (ATP No. 5) wants to crown his wonderful start to the season in Adelaide on Sunday with the title. Even without a beauty prize.
by Florian Goosmann
last edit: Jan 07, 2023, 06:04 pm
The short moment of shock in the semifinals against Daniil Medvedev : That should have been exactly that - briefly. After Novak Djokovic had injured his left thigh in the first set, had to leave the seat for a short time, and had not let Medvedev's quite unfair gesture (who aped a limping Djokovic shortly before the end of the match) disturb him, he gave the all-clear: everything - hopefully - not so bad with the leg, "thankfully it wasn't too bad". Because he would not have risked anything in the run-up to the Australian Open.
Djokovic currently has 33 wins in a row in Australia, he won the Australian Open from 2019 to 2021 (he did not take part in 2022 because of the corona vaccination and entry problems), and the tenth title in Melbourne can be in three weeks .
And just as happy: on Sunday, tournament victory number 92 overall on the tour.
Djokovic against Sebastian Korda for the first time
The final will be against Sebastian Korda for the first time, the two have not yet met on the tour. Sebastian Korda, son of Major winner Petr Korda (Australian Open winner 1998), has also presented himself in brilliant form these days, including victories against Andy Murray, Roberto Bautista Agut and Jannik Sinner; like Djokovic, he has not yet given a set in the entire course of the tournament.
And that's not the only reason why he attracted the attention of the Djoker. Korda, as Djokovic praised after reaching the final, had the “cleanest technique on the tour” and was “so talented”, the 21-time major champion stated. "The way he plays; the way he moves - it's just wonderful tennis to watch."
But Djokovic wouldn't be Djokovic if he didn't already have a plan to put Korda in his place - namely: not to get involved in beautiful tennis. "I'll try to be ugly tomorrow."