"He broke a lot" - The irritating year of Novak Djokovic
Novak Djokovic will not only make headlines on the court in 2020. The number one in the world also acts behind the scenes as a power player.
by Jörg Allmeroth
last edit: Nov 19, 2020, 12:27 pm
When Alexander Zverev (23) steps on the Center Court of the O2 Arena in London on Friday afternoon, he is dealing with a special rival. Novak Djokovic (33) is the man who stands face to face with him in the last group match, in the final for a semi-final place at the Tennis World Cup. With a big win, Zverev could give his so far rather mediocre appearance a completely new twist and maybe even raise hopes for the title again. But on the other hand, everything could be over very quickly for Zverev: A defeat, the end in the preliminary round - and a season would end on November 20 in which Djokovic already played an essential role for Zverev for the wrong reasons messed up Adriatic tour in spring.
Zverev, understandably, no longer has a look for it. Now, at the season finale, only one thing counts. The success against Djokovic, the stay in the tournament. “It's all or nothing. And it is the toughest task to play such a game against Novak, "says Zverev. In 2018, Zverev even won the very last game of the tournament against Djokovic and became world champion. But that is "the past", is of no use in the here and now, according to Zverev.
Djokovic infected with Corona
The fact that Zverev and Djokovic now meet in a game that will be the last game of the year for one of them is not without a certain irony. Because when it was about nothing at the exhibition series organized by Djokovic in the Balkans at the end of June, their paths crossed in a fatal way. And not for the first and last time it was Djokovic, the leading and leading player in the scene, who caused unrest and dubious headlines. Djokovic's event delivered images that caused horror to a large extent: packed spectators, a party atmosphere on the court, sprawling night out with the tennis stars, including Zverev. The damage to the image was followed by the damage to health: Several corona infections, not least from Djokovic and his wife Jelena. It didn't end well for Zverev either, even if he didn't get a corona disease. After the tournament was canceled, Zverev promised to go into a 14-day quarantine, but was then spotted at a party with friends in the Mediterranean - allegedly because his girlfriend at the time, Brenda, had persuaded him to do so.
Djokovic was, however, the biggest irritation this tennis year over long distances. It all started in Melbourne in January when he dodged angry questions about the ingestion of a mysterious powder during the final. Shortly after he came out as an opponent of vaccinations in the Corona crisis, he presented himself as a fan of a bizarre, windy theory. In a conversation with his supposed “brother” Chervin Jafariah, a former Iranian real estate agent, the world number one made the claim that people could purify the molecules of polluted water with pure thought.
Foundation of the PTPA before the US Open - in the absence of Federer and Nadal
Before the US Open, Djokovic caused a sport-political uproar when he gave up his leadership position on the players' council of the professional organization ATP and announced the establishment of an alternative interest group (PTPA) - specifically in the absence of his eternal rivals Rafael Nadal and Roger Federer. No sooner had the storm settled over the strange timing than the memorable moment in the deserted Ashe Stadium: Djokovic angrily knocked a ball away in the round of 16 against the Spaniard Carreno-Busta, hit a linesman - and was consequently disqualified. The fact that Djokovic, of all people, had previously mocked the strict hygiene regulations in New York, but later, unlike many colleagues barracked in a hotel, had rented a luxurious private property, only rounded off the disastrous appearance of the so-called Capitano. Djokovic seems to be proceeding according to the motto: I do what I like - this is how an American professional described it once this year in a WhatsApp group: "It looks like he wants to show the whole world the middle finger."
Even at the World Cup in London, Djokovic has now been constantly talking again. In a breathtaking volte, he wanted to march back to the ATP players' council, but the ATP quickly put a stop to him and in an urgent decision prohibited potential candidates from belonging to competing organizations such as Djokovic's PTPA. Djokovic had previously called for the abolition of the best-of-five rule at Grand Slams, i.e. matches over three sets of wins - and before he then very modestly lost his second group game against the Russian Medvedev on Wednesday, he had asked the Australian authorities quite insensitively to relax the quarantine regulations for the planned tournaments in January. Whereupon a shit storm broke out against the Serbs in Australia, mainly because the continent and its residents had to discipline themselves for months under iron corona regulations.
Always with a philosophical superstructure
Djokovic is known in the tennis world for always giving his actions a verbose philosophical superstructure, the banal analysis of tactics, strategy and strokes is often no longer enough for him. He can be very engaging, charming, open-hearted, humorous. Always in the mood for jokes, like in his wild early days on the circuit, when he performed stage-ready imitations of his dear comrades-in-arms. He is also a remarkable benefactor, with his foundation looking after disadvantaged children, especially at home. But in the last few months he has "broken himself a lot," even friends and acquaintances say, "his reputation has been damaged."
Djokovic's antics were reminiscent of a warning that the shrewd grand manager Ion Tiriac once gave to his teenage protégé Boris Becker. One can build up respect, respect and recognition over the years, said Tiriac, “but you can destroy everything with one mistake. In one day. ”Djokovic 2020 had more than enough of these days.