Novak Djokovic - Bitter aftertaste of a sugary sweet year
Novak Djokovic won three titles in Grand Slam tournaments in 2021. However, after the defeats at the last major events, he will not slide into the holidays really satisfied.
by Jens Huiber
last edit: Dec 03, 2021, 10:49 pm
First of all, calm down: Even if Novak Djokovic did not win the Davis Cup this year, the title in the most traditional team competition will not be a blank spot in the vita of the best tennis player in the world. On the contrary: In 2010 the Serbs were allowed to play against France at home, Djokovic breaded Gilles Simon and Gael Monfils, then celebrated with Viktor Troicki, who prevailed against Michael Llodra in the fifth match.
Of course, the world number one imagined yesterday evening in Madrid differently - and that starts with the outcome of the first individual, in which Dusan Lajovic was defeated by a strong, but by no means overpowering Borna Gojo in three sentences. The next bankruptcy for a Serbian number two after Filip Krajinovic lost to Germany Dominik Koepfer, and Mimor Kecmanovic put an impossible match against Mikahil Kukushkin on Wednesday after all. Djokovic was able to iron out the dent against Kazakhstan, against Nikola Mektic and Mate Pavic it was the end of the line.
Zverev uses Djokovic's short period of weakness
How is the annual balance now? Great, of course. At least until the summer, more precisely until the second set in the semifinals of the Olympic Games against Alexander Zverev, in which the German used Djokovic's brief period of weakness to turn the course of the game on its head. The Golden Slam was perdu, Djokovic then no longer wanted to compete in the mixed bronze match.
The next blow to the neck against Djokovic was that the calendar grand slam didn't work out either. Finally he had won over the audience in New York City, Daniil Medvedev didn't care. He benefited from Djokovic's agility, which is otherwise not known from Djokovic on big occasions. At the US Open, the 34-year-old already showed this in the earlier rounds, but Medvedev is still one or two classes stronger than Jenson Brooksby, for example, who could have made the matter against Djokovic even more exciting.
Great match against Nadal
The fact that Alexander Zverev did not cooperate again in the semifinals of the ATP finals was reflected in the picture of the second half of the season. Djokovic won the title in Paris-Bercy after a long break and almost of course he didn’t lose a single match in the Davis Cup, but Nole doesn’t get really supple in the short (or longer if he doesn’t play in Australia ) Vacation slide.
Nevertheless: Novak Djokovic will rightly hibernate as the best in his class after his three Grand Slam titles, he has set incredible highlights this season, perhaps the biggest in Roland Garros against Rafael Nadal. In a match that should have its place in every review of the year in terms of class and, above all, intensity, and not only in those relating to tennis.
Will scars remain? But from where! In 2019 Djokovic's then partner Viktor Troicki had the victory against Russia on the racket, but the Serbs were still thrown out. Djokovic left Spain frustrated and then fully motivated to Australia, where he won the first major of the year. One of 20. The next one will follow in the coming season.