First modification:
The first Grand Slam of the year, the Australian Open, is already underway and Novak Djokovic – its defending champion – has already begun to set the course for what will be the defense of the title. However, he must be attentive to the new generation of players led by Carlos Alcaraz who not only want to keep the Australian tournament trophy, but also want to snatch the first place in the ranking from the Serbian.
For Novak Djokovic, his 36 years are simply a number on his identity document. During the Serbian's first presentation against the Croatian Dino Prižmić (18 years his junior), his game showed no signs of the passage of years. Quite the opposite: he showed himself to be more versatile and with greater resources to achieve victory.
Despite achieving the victory, the current number one in the ranking acknowledged that the young Croatian put him in trouble during some moments of the match.
Likewise, he declared to the media that he has not been feeling well in recent days, a situation that he hopes to overcome given that the tournament is shaping up to be demanding.
“Novak Djokovic is the candidate for every tournament he goes to because he is number one in the world, he confirms it in every tournament, and because he is the one with the most experience. It is true that he is not at his best level, that he does not look physically complete, but the reality is that game by game he usually raises his level and when it matters most, when the opponent is more difficult, that is when he plays the best,” said Ari Szraiber. , member of 'Tiempo de Tenis', during a conversation with France 24 in Spanish.
Djokovic's way of playing in recent years, which has led him to become the most successful major tournament winner, leads fans to wonder if the Serbian will be able to achieve the 'Golden Slam': winning all the major championships and also the gold medal in the Olympic Games.
“It is the big question of the year, it is the only great achievement that Djokovic is missing because he has won everything. Furthermore, he has all the possible records, but he still does not have Olympic gold,” added the guest.
The new generation of tennis, the shadow of Djokovic
Although the Serbian continues to maintain a high level of tennis, during 2023 he suffered facing some young players who are on the rise on the circuit.
The Spanish Carlos Alcaraz managed to win the Wimbledon Open, while Jannik Sinner fought against him and won the Davis Cup final with Italy.
“Alcaraz last year was Djokovic's great rival, Sinner at the end of the year too, but there are many tennis players within this new breed. What I consider these players lack, unlike Djokovic, is consistency.”
#Sports #Australian #Open #Djokovic #seeks #defend #title #young #people #challenge
