Miami -After 20 years of skilled tennis, 99 profession -singles and 24 Grand Slam -TriumPhe, Novak Djokovic has grow to be a puzzle -for tennis fans and themselves. Both parties try to reply the identical query, from Match to match and tournament to the tournament, while his profession moves towards a good unknown end.
Who is the largest player of contemporary times at that moment?
Is he the player who faded two weeks ago against Botic van de Zandschulp in his opening game on the BNP Paribas Open in Indian Wells, California? Or is he the player who has undergone his first three opponents within the Miami Open within the last five days, including Lorenzo Musetti, the world No. 16 from Italy?
Is he the player, whose return of Serve, one in every of the most important within the history of sport, was a shadow of his usual self? Or is he the player who broke Musetti five times on the solution to a 6-2 win with 6-2 on Tuesday evening?
Is he the player who increases his schedule when he approaches his thirty eighth birthday since it is his last shoot in tennis globe? Or is he the player he described in Miami when he told them: “You will see me for a few more years.”
When it involves Novak Djokovic's topic, Djokovic is like everyone else: Always searching for the signal within the noise, searching for the info about himself and his tennis that enable him to separate what doesn’t matter. At this moment there is just too much and never enough data to search out out who and what the Djokovic from 2025 is. All of those years later, but only 14 games this season, he has definitely grow to be the international mystery man of sport – definitely not what he was once and after the reply of what he will likely be.
“I hope and wish Novak that you saw this evening, and at the same time I worked hard to not have the Novak, which played in Indian fountain,” said Djokovic within the mixed zone with reporters when his match was over with Musetti. “The continuity or consistency of today's tennis level for me is harder for me than years ago or 10 years ago, and I do know that.
“This is definitely not due to a lack of hours, which are spent on the exercise court and the gym because I still keep the commitment. It is there, but it makes it only a bit more difficult for me to maintain the level.”
Djokovic lives a typical misunderstanding about what happens to elite athletes that remove from her peaks. The apexes remain sharp and accessible in fleeting moments, even in the event that they need them most urgently: Djokovic found him on the Gold Medal on the last 12 months's Olympic Games. It is the soundness that eroded, the repetitions which are obligatory for the upkeep of your excellence.
Djokovic's best triumph this 12 months got here on the Australian Open, where he defeated Carlos Alcaraz within the quarter -finals after a series of victories that included serious burglaries into his level where young and inexperienced opponents found ways to harm him but couldn’t end him.
The victory was so breathtaking and was also remembered one in every of the strangest tennis games. Djokovic suffered a muscle tear in the primary set, but someway managed to win 4, because of an intoxicating cocktail of painkillers, adrenaline and an inexplicable Alcaraz collapse. The Spaniard succumbed to the stress of playing Djokovic, desirous about his opponent's tennis and his physical condition when he considered his own.
Three days later, Djokovic needed to withdraw from his semi -finals against Alexander Zverev at the top of the primary set due to his muscle injury. When he arrived in Florida, he hadn't won a game since his defeating Alcaraz this January evening in Melbourne.
In Miami he wins against Rinky Hijikata, a 24-year-old Australian who played 13 Grand Slam games, just a little greater than half of the Grand Slam titles that Djokovic won. Then he beat Camilo Ugo Carabelli, a 25-year-old Argentinian who has never won a Grand Slam match.
Both games were opened with a blowout set and ended with Djokovic won a tie -break. It is among the finest -known patterns in Djokovic games through the years, just inverted: the tight sentence to loosen every part before the acceleration against victory is exchanged for a fast start after which an ebbing end.
Djokovic has enforced his opening games within the Miami Open. (Geoff Burke / Imagn Images)
Then got here Musetti. He looked like a legitimate threat on paper. Djokovic picked up his head on the square and saw Serena Williams sitting within the stands. He checked out his box and saw Andy Murray and Juan Martin del Potro, the retired Grand Slam Champions. One of his trainers; the opposite his good friend. All of those big names made it a small star and nervous when he plays well, especially in front of Williams, the best female player ever.
Musettis Elegant All-Court game suits grass, sound and slow hard spaces, but it surely stays sensibly lost for fast. He broke open against the perfect hard court player within the history of sport in the primary game and rose to the illusion of a 2-0 lead that was built on the physical game. Djokovic decided that he wouldn’t play such a match and won the subsequent nine games to take control. Musetti showed about as much resistance as a swang door.
On Wednesday evening, Djokovic meets Sebastian Korda, the young and talented Americans of a thousand Renaissances, apparently all the time shortly before the announcement. The 24 -year -old Korda still tries to search out her wrist injuries after a number of years; He received treatment on the wrist on Tuesday during his 16 victory against Gael Monfils.
Djokovic won her only earlier meeting in Adelaide, Australia two years ago. He could get further data about her matchup and about himself, but it surely shouldn’t be clear how Fit Korda will likely be to offer him what he needs. Djokovic has at the least little question about his needs: all the time playing at the very best level in a time when even the youngest players at a level of professionalism when he began approaching the sport.
“Fitness and recovery and only general approach to work, both from the physical and the mental side, has improved so much,” he said in Miami.
“Nowadays, pretty much every player in the top 30 in the world has a full team of three and four people around them who take care of them, their body and everything, so that this is reflected on the square. That is why the careers are now being extended.”
When he began his skilled profession, the players counted their days once they reached 30, he said. Now it's more 35, perhaps more.
“Of course I'm in this group. I don't get younger, but I still feel good with my body and tennis.”
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