Although he is no longer in his ‘prime’, Novak Djokovic continues to maintain his enormous aura towards his opponents.
Facing the best player in the history of tennis is never trivial and all the players give their best against him, as Matteo Berrettini showed in Doha yesterday.
The Serbian legend has not hidden that Grand Slam tournaments are his main goals at this stage of his career and his schedule in recent years has been exemplary in this sense.
After a fairly disappointing 2024, the former world No.1 has promised that he will play more tournaments in 2025 in order to be better prepared for the four most important events on the calendar.
The 37-year-old from Belgrade failed the first assault on the 25th Major title of his glorious career, having been unable to win the Australian Open due to a left thigh injury.
Nole had achieved a great feat against Carlos Alcaraz in the quarter-finals at Melbourne Park, but a tear prevented him from playing his chances to the end.
Tommy Paul chooses Nole
Although the Serbian continues to struggle in secondary tournaments, everyone knows that he still represents a great danger in Grand Slam tournaments.
On the latest edition of the ‘Nothing Major’ podcast, American ace Tommy Paul was asked to reveal which of the current top players has been the most difficult for him to face.
“Djokovic has got to be number one most difficult. He made me feel stupid at the Australian Open the time I played him,” he revealed. “I was playing my best tennis and he made me feel that.
“I haven’t played Zverev in a very long time but this year he obviously played some awesome tennis. Fritz probably wouldn’t think so, as Fritz was his Daddy this year.
Alcaraz at Wimbledon was playing at a level which was pretty wild when I played him. I would put him at two.”
Paul faced Nole in the semi-final of the 2023 Australian Open, having to clash with a great version of the Serbian and in his absolute favorite tournament.
Tennis World USA