Tennis legend slams 'absurd' Djokovic claim

3 years ago 425

Australian tennis fable Todd Woodbridge has slammed suggestions that Novak Djokovic choked during his US Open nonaccomplishment to Daniil Medvedev.

Djokovic was beaten successful consecutive sets successful the final, with past beckoning. A triumph would person been his 21st large title, an all-time record, and the archetypal clip since 1969 a antheral had won the calendar twelvemonth Grand Slam.

Writing successful The Australian, Will Swanton said Djokovic "totally and utterly unravelled."

"Djoker. Choker," helium wrote.

"Everyone was up for the juncture - but him. He started level and stayed there.

"Poor footwork is the tell-tale motion of nerves and Djokovic couldn't get moving. It was the worst lucifer of his career."

The Australian Financial Review (also owned by Nine) ran its study of the last time of the US Open nether the header "Alcott chugs brew portion Djokovic chokes" successful a notation to Dylan Alcott completing the Golden Slam.

"Djokovic was near successful tears arsenic helium was overwhelmed by nerves," wrote the Associated Press' Brian Mahoney.

Woodbridge, who won 22 Grand Slam doubles titles during his career, said specified a instrumentality wholly missed the mark.

"It's conscionable absurd to adjacent suggest that, it's perfectly ridiculous," helium told Wide World of Sports.

"Are you kidding me? This was an epic achievement. Did helium play his champion successful the final? No, helium didn't. But there's reasons for that that spell beyond choking.

"He had to spell back-to-back-to-back against the 3 adjacent champion players successful the world, Matteo Berrenttini, Alexander Zverev and past Medvedev."

To enactment Djokovic's achievements into perspective, nary antheral had adjacent won the archetypal 3 large titles successful a twelvemonth since Laver successful 1969.

"The enormity of the task made it specified a hard proposition," Woodbridge said.

"It riles maine to deliberation that a writer would suggest helium choked. If that's what they think, they person nary thought of what is required by the athlete.

"You person to triumph 28 matches successful a enactment to triumph the Grand Slam, and helium didn't autumn abbreviated due to the fact that helium choked, helium fell abbreviated due to the fact that of the hurdles that were placed successful beforehand of him to execute thing truthful incredible."

Regardless of the information Djokovic is the fig 1 subordinate successful the world, Woodbridge pointed to the difficulties helium faced successful the 2nd week of the US Open.

"The gully really delivered him the 3 toughest opponents helium could person faced," helium explained.

"Berrettini successful the quarters, who has been playing good and made a Wimbledon last this year; Zverev, who had beaten him astatine the Olympics, truthful determination was that constituent of belief, and that went a pugnacious 5 sets successful the semi-final.

"Then aft that helium faces Medvedev, who has been successful 2 Grand Slam finals and knows what it's about, and Medvedev had played 5 and a fractional hours little to get to the final. That's 2 marathons other that Djokovic had to retrieve from, to play a feline who was caller and arsenic assured arsenic he'd ever been.

"The accumulation of the gully and the infinitesimal was conscionable excessively hard to overcome. That's wherefore it's hard to spot anybody ever winning the calendar twelvemonth Grand Slam connected the men's side."

After his semi-final triumph implicit Zverev, Djokovic said he'd hole for the last arsenic though it was the past lucifer of his career, fixed the enormity of what a triumph would mean.

According to Woodbridge, specified a mindset was a mistake.

"I cognize from idiosyncratic experience, Mark (Woodforde) and I, astatine the Sydney Olympics, our past match, the vigor expended earlier we adjacent got to the commencement of the lucifer was capable to instrumentality the borderline disconnected america connected that day.

"But you can't beryllium excessively captious of a feline who won 27 matches retired of 28."

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