Australian Open: Is there something for Dominic Thiem or Alexander Zverev?
Whether Alexander Zverev or Dominic Thiem: Novak Djokovic at least in the final of the Australian Open there is a newcomer to the end game down under. After the rather poor performance of the Serb in the semi-final against Roger Federer, the two may well have justified hopes in a possible endgame.
by Michael Rothschädl
last edit: Jan 30, 2020, 06:33 pm
Seven times: Novak Djokovic has won the Australian Open seven times - more often than anyone else. It is the favorite Grand Slam of the current number two in the world. The Serb played fifteen matches in the preliminary round and final at the Australian Open. Novak Djokovic won every fifteen. On Wednesday, the 16-time Grand Slam Champion added the most recent success to this statistic when he defeated a battered Roger Federer in three sets.
The Serb has already solved his ticket for the final of the Australian Open, and his opponent will now be determined on Friday morning. With Dominic Thiem and Alexander Zverev, the last two representatives of the young generation will make up second place among themselves in the final. No matter which of them will face Novak Djokovic on Sunday, the chances have increased a bit since the Serbian appearance today.
Isn't Novak Djokovic untouchable?
Before the tournament, Novak Djokovic was considered almost untouchable. His performances at the ATP Cup were sovereign, his memories of the first Grand Slam of the year were too good. The Serb had traveled to Melbourne as defending champion and hadn't given Rafael Nadal a chance in the final last year. The question of who Djokovic could really be dangerous remained largely unanswered.
The chance of a surprise winner didn't increase when Daniil Medvedev and Rafael Nadal said goodbye to the tournament. The two were most likely to be favorites for the title. Instead, Dominic Thiem and Alexander Zverev are now in the semi-finals, fighting for their first participation in the final in Down Under. Both started with excellent performances in the back.
How the two presented themselves in the course of the tournament so far is not the main reason that should make Thiem and Zverev confident. Rather, it is Djokovic's performance (and fitness) in his semi-final against Roger Federer. Because it was actually a little surprise that the Swiss started at all - when Federer suddenly had three balls to 5: 1 in set one, one could almost speak of a sensation. Djokovic played insecure, made mistakes and left the Swiss in control of the game - very untypical for the Serbian game.
The big favorite from Serbia was able to fight back in the first set, win it and also win sets two and three - the way Novak Djokovic played, however, hardly reminded of the sometimes outstanding performances of the past weeks. So shortly before his 17th Grand Slam victory, “the Werkl” is not going quite well in second place in the world rankings.
Semifinals could give Zverev and Thiem hope
After sentence one, Roger Federer took a medical time-out, Novak Djokovic also had a pill - but was able to continue unhindered. Quite different from Federer, who obviously had to struggle with his body. So it was all the more surprising that it was only one break at a time that made the difference in favor of the big favorite in sets two and three.
No, it was not a good match from Djokovic. It was a match that could give Zverev and Thiem hope that they too would get their chances in a possible final - just as Federer had in this semi-final. It was a match that shouldn't be overestimated, Djokovic defeated Federer in three sets, mastered an extremely difficult situation - with an opponent who was counted - and is right in the final of the Australian Open. However, this semi-final might have shown that Novak Djokovic will not stroll to number eight in Melbourne.
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