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Novak Djokovic entered the Australian Open as clearly the man to beat. He had overcome nagging issues with injuries to win the prior two Grand Slam championships, capturing Wimbledon and then the U.S. Open, which helped him to win the number one ranking by the end of 2018. He still had that, and tons of momentum, entering the Australian Open. Plus, the Australian Open has historically been Djokovic's specialty, as he was tied with rival Roger Federer and Roy Emerson, but his 7th overall title made him the most successful Australian Open champion ever.
Now, after winning the Australian Open for a record 7th time overall, some tennis experts feel that Djokovic is enjoying one of the greatest runs of any men's tennis player in history. Among those who feel this way are Eurosport commentator Pat Cash, who himself enjoyed some considerable success in men's tennis, winning the 1987 Wimbledon title and reaching the Australian Open final two years in a row. He also made it to two straight Wimbledon finals in doubles play.
In reviewing just what Djokovic's win, and his current overall run, means, Cash clearly was more than a little impressed with what Djokovic has managed to do. He stated that nobody in men's tennis right now can really compete on the level that Djokovic is playing at. Here is some more of what Cash said:
“We all wanted a five-set match or a good grind, but in my opinion that was great value for money.
“I’ve run in to a few tennis players today, and they’ve all said they’ve never seen a tennis ball hit like that in their lives.
“Novak can do that, it was just absolutely mind blowing tennis. He never let Rafa settle, he hit it harder and crisper than ever, he pretty much did what he wanted to on the court, at some points he was toying with Rafa, which is a pretty dangerous thing to do.
“There’s no doubt that Rafa was off today, whether that was forced by Novak or not, he was missing a lot of shots today.
“He will have to look at the stats after this match and face the facts, we know he will because he’s a great champion and always wants to get better.
“He did nothing on Novak’s serve, the first serve ok because he can hit a big first serve, but the second serve, he didn’t capitalise on it well at all today.
“I don’t think anybody can challenge Novak right now, the way he’s playing, he’s favourite for the French Open, I was thinking during the match, how Rafa could even beat him on clay…”
Indeed, I agree with him. As of right now, if Djokovic manages to stay healthy, and to keep on playing as strongly as he has been playing in the last seven to eight months, he should be on top in this sport for a long, long time to come! And that is a scary thought for the other elites like Federer and Nadal, as well as other top contenders in men's tennis right now.
All of the quotes from Pat Cash were taken from the following article (see link below):
Roger Federer and Rafael Nadal receive Novak Djokovic warning after Australian Open win NOBODY in tennis can live with Novak Djokovic’s ability to play “mind-blowing tennis”. By Uche Amako PUBLISHED: 13:35, Sun, Jan 27, 2019 | UPDATED: 13:36, Sun, Jan 27, 2019
https://www.express.co.uk/sport/tennis/1078492/Roger-Federer-Rafael-Nadal-Novak-Djokovic-Australian-Open-win
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