Mats Wilander: "Novak Djokovic is the biggest loser in the interruption"
In an interview with the French medium L'Equipe,Mats Wilander speaks about the winners and losers of the interruption of the ATP tour.
by Michael Rothschädl
last edit: Apr 03, 2020, 07:22 pm
What do Dominic Thiem, Gael Monfils, Daniil Medvedev and Denis Shapovalov have in common? They are the only four athletes who forced Novak Djokovic to take a decision in 2020 - but they also have in common that they all lost it. To date, Novak Djokovic has been the measure of all things in this calendar year, and the Serb won the title at all tournaments in which he started. It all started with winning the title with his Serbs when the ATP Cup was first played, followed by the eighth Australian Open title and finally the 17-time Grand Slam champion followed up the title win at the ATP 500 event in Dubai.
After his final victory in Dubai over Stefanos Tsitsipas, the world number one got a lot of attention when he thought he wanted to end the year unbeaten. Djokovic could now do this feat, albeit differently than the 32-year-old had imagined. As is known, the season was interrupted, and there is still a big question mark over the planned resumption in early July. The former number one in the world, Mats Wilander, now talks to L´Équipe that Djokovic is the biggest loser in the interruption: "The Serbian had not lost a single game this season and only the corona virus was able to swing brake, "said the Swede.
In addition to Djokovic, the young players in particular would have a major disadvantage due to the interruption: "They faced the great chance of getting closer to the big three and being able to fight them in a Grand Slam," said Wilander. "Tennis players like Shapovalov, Tsitsipas or Aliassime will grow with the maximum number of games. When they are young, they are not particularly interested in training. All they want is to spend almost four hours on a tennis court and against better tennis players than they fight for victories themselves, "said the Eurosport expert.
"Impossible to know when to go on"
"Winners", if you will, are those athletes who injured themselves after the Australian Open. "When all of this returns to normal, everyone will start from scratch, but at the moment it is impossible to know when it will be. Many boys are physically preparing at home not to lose their physical shape, but they know that it is very difficult for them to play again this season, "Wilander estimates the current situation. In large parts of the world there are strict exit restrictions , even seasoned top 10 players like Dominic Thiem or Roger Federer currently have to do without training on the tennis court.
It is Roger Federer who, according to Wilander, can be seen as another loser together with Serena Williams. "For them, time is not their friend because they know that they are almost at the end of their careers," explains the seven-time Grand Slam winner. In this sense, the Swiss gave the all-clear at least. Almost simultaneously with the cancellation of the lawn season - especially the tournaments in Wimbledon and Halle - Federer announced that he would still start in Halle in 2021. Roger Federer's exceptional career will at least continue for twelve months - it remains to be seen how many months of which tennis can also be played.