When the Australian Open draw came out last week, the tennis world eagerly anticipated a fourth-round showdown between Novak Djokovic and a top up-and-coming “NextGen” player.
It’s happening…just not against that NextGen player.
Djokovic and Hyeon Chung will be going head-to-head for the second time in their careers–and for the second time at the Australian Open–when they battle for a spot in the quarterfinals on Monday. In round one of the 2016 event in Melbourne, Djokovic coasted 6-3, 6-2, 6-4.
Chung was only 19 years old at that point. Now 21, the South Korean has climbed to No. 58 in the world and he is the reigning champion of the inaugural NextGen ATP Finals in Milan. He was already off to a solid start to this 2018 campaign even before arriving at Melbourne Park, with a second-round showing in Brisbane (lost to Kyle Edmund in three sets) and a quarterfinal performance in Auckland–where he ousted Tennys Sandgren and John Isner before succumbing to David Ferrer. Chung has advanced this fortnight with defeats of Mischa Zverev (via retirement), Daniil Medvedev, and Alexander Zverev. The latter scalp was especially impressive, as Zverev is No. 4 in the world and skipped last fall’s Milan proceedings because he played in the real year-end championship–the Nitto ATP Finals.
“(He is) someone that is very disciplined; one of the NextGens,” Djokovic said. “He won in [Milan] last year. He’s playing great. He’s fit. He doesn’t have too many holes in his game. He’s very nice guy. You can see he’s a hard worker. It pays off. Into second week, it’s going to be a game of small margins.”
No opponent has been any match for Djokovic so far in Melbourne. Only various physical issues and some searing heat in round two have made things somewhat complicated for the former world No. 1, who is participating in his first event since Wimbledon last summer following six months off due to an elbow injury. It is his hip that has apparently bothered him at the Australian Open, although he may have favored his elbow a little bit, as well, during his heat-marred match against Gael Monfils. Djokovic limped around in between points on Saturday but still easily disposed of Albert Ramos-Vinolas 6-2, 6-3, 6-3.
Chung has a number of factors working against him heading into this one. He has never played on this kind of stage against this kind of opponent this late in a slam, and he has also played a ton of tennis already in this tournament (he’s also in the doubles third round after upsetting defending champions Henri Kontinen and John Peers with partner Radu Albot). The biggest factor of all, though, is the man on the other side of the net. As much fuss as Djokovic is making in between points, during the actual competition he has looked nothing less than 100 percent.
Assuming the case remains the same, the six-time Aussie Open champion should roll into another quarterfinal.
Pick: Djokovic in 3
[polldaddy poll=9922017]
Is this seriously not the biggest missed opportunity not to have this song blared on court after every single Chung victory?
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=BoXu6QmxpJE
Excerpts translated into English by the author of the article (see the links below):
Djoko:
“Surgery wasn‘t an option as I was convinced by the doctors that it hadn‘t been the best option at the time. Will it now appear as a possibility, I don‘t know.”
“Perhaps I could be looking at a longer break again, I don‘t know, I have to take an X-ray, consult with specialists.”
“It‘s like having a bug inside yout head that keeps reminding you of the pain – if I‘m not relaxed while serving, I won‘t be with the rest of my game either.”
“If one shot is compromised, then the whole game is compromised. It‘s hard to fully understand that if you‘re not an athlete at this level.”
“Mentally wise, I don‘t feel spent, I‘ve still got motivation. Tennis is my love and passion, a platform my development as a person. If only that is the question, I will surely keep on playing.”
“It‘s obvious I‘m not nearly 100% when it comes to healing this injury. I don‘t want to be put in the situation to look for short-term solutions again, that is not right.”
https://twitter.com/ozmo_sasa/status/955459880403390464
http://sportklub.rs/Tenis/Grand-Slam/Australian-Open/a227842-Novak-Rekli-da-ne-operisem-mozda-sledi-duza-pauza.html
I do hope Djoko takes his time to heal and not rush things. Watching Chung yesterday reminded me of how good a top form Djoko was; Chung modeled his game after Djoko’s and the younger original version was just so much more awesome than the Chung version. I mean to be able to beat Fedal consistently during 2011, we got a glimpse of how good Djoko could be and the 2015 version was a more complete one with more varieties in his game.
I would say a peak form Djoko was > Fed’s or Rafa’s peak; it’s just that he wasn’t able to sustain his peak for long. He’s the only one imo to be able to dominate on three surfaces at the same time.
Rafa’s peak on clay was definitely > anyone else’ but problem with Rafa was that he peaked on different surfaces at different time (grass 2008; HC 2009/2010), his 2010 was his best year in terms of slam wins, but he wasn’t really dominating on the HCs. Imo he missed his golden chances in 2009 when he had his knee injury, I strongly feel that he would dominate on all surfaces in 2009 if not for his knee injury.
Fed was always dominant on grass and HCs during his peak years from 2004-2007; he was second best on clay from 2005 onwards until Djoko took over from 2011 onwards. Fed has/had never dominated on three surfaces, unlike Djoko.
As long as Djoko has the motivation, I think he will come back to play good tennis again, but, I doubt he will ever get back to his 2015 or early 2016 level again. He may be like Delpo, still great after coming back from injuries; but Djoko won’t dominate anymore imo.
@augusta008
“Mentally wise, I don‘t feel spent, I‘ve still got motivation. Tennis is my love and passion, a platform my development as a person. If only that is the question, I will surely keep on playing.”
Mixed messages. Last year he declared that tennis was no longer his priority:
Novak Djokovic’s former coach says tennis is no longer Djokovic’s top priority, and there’s a key ingredient missing from his game
Scott Davis
Jan. 23, 2017, 8:40 PM
http://uk.businessinsider.com/boris-becker-novak-djokovic-tennis-not-top-priority-2017-1
ATP Tour
Djokovic: Tennis is no longer my top priority
2017-03-06 16:30
Cape Town – World No 2 Novak Djokovic says that tennis is no longer his top priority and his focus has shifted to his family.
The 29-year-old Serb, who became a father in October 2014 when his wife Jelena gave birth to his son Stefan, has admitted that, prior to having a family, his total focus was on tennis and it showed with him winning 12 Grand Slam singles titles.
https://www.sport24.co.za/Tennis/ATPTour/djokovic-tennis-is-no-longer-my-top-priority-20170306
Nadline, the Djoker might’ve shifted his perspective again a bit after his prolonged absence. His passion for the game might’ve returned.
I feel sorry for him right now, and hope he will find acceptable solutions, but I fear that his days as a top dog might be over.Then again, he had a better career than most players. He did incredible things, and other players have had to face a fairly early decline, too. Such is life. I also admire Rafa even more because he managed to come back repeatedly and played on a high level again. His curiously and uniquely interrupted history as No1 is a testament to that. He has been No1 at various times over a span of almost 10 years now! Only Fed has a chance to beat this if he manages to become No1 again this season. Rafa’s comeback quality is the absolutely underrated part of his career. After 2009 he always made it back to the top spot after lengthy injury lay offs. That’s fairly mindboggling if you think it through. And his knees have been as much an integrate part of his game as the Djoker’s elbow. I also wonder about one thing. It’s pure speculation. But is it possible that Rafa – besides being able to adapt his game – has a strong ability to deal with pain, and maybe Novak is less able to ignore it? When he was younger it was a running joke that he was a bit of a hypochonder and always affected by various maladies. We all remember Andy Roddick’s teasing. Novak retired routinely, before he suddenly morphed into Mr. Indestructable.