After making Rafael Nadal’s sphere his own by sailing to a third French Open title and record-breaking 23rd mates Grand Slam crown this month, he now has Roger Federer’s house, the lawn courts at Wimbledon, in his sights. Palm in London would extend the gap between him and his rivals and put him well on course for an in-time Grand Slam.
Djokovic is maybe as nailed- on a favourite at Wimbledon this time, which commences on Monday, as any player has been over the last decade. He's the four-time defending champion, and unbeaten in a completed match there since 2016. He has won 86 main draw-mates matches at SW19, and the rest of the world’s top 20 players, combined, have won only 85.
While the chasing pack scampers to get used to the quick transition from complexion to lawn, Djokovic’s medications have only included many exhibition games. He's one of only two fit top 20 players to not play a lawn tune-up, while nine of the world’s top 10 women’s players are playing in the week before Wimbledon, an oddity before any other Major.
Outside favourites away, like in Paris, the set of serious contenders is a one-man shortlist of Carlos Alcaraz, the 20- time-old WorldNo. The brace did battle at Roland Garros in a semifinal that was billed to be the tennis event of the time but trudged to an anti-climactic finish when after two hard-fought sets, at honours indeed, Alcaraz succumbed to cramp and lost the match exhaustively.
Alcaraz reset incontinently, deciding to play a tune-up event on the lawn at Queens where he won his first title on the face, played himself into form, and took the No. Despite his inexperience, with a dynamic, attack-first playing style and comfort on the big stage, he remains, at the pre-tournament stage at least, Djokovic’s topmost trouble.
All-Court Attack
One of the longest-standing tenets of tennis is the fact that if patient, dogged, protective tennis is the key to success on complexion; parlous, presto, attacking tennis excels on lawn. While still holding true to an extent, that notion has gone through an elaboration over time.
The neatly-trimmed lawn made for delicate side-to-side movement, erratic and low bounces, and didn't break the instigation of massive serves. That's why, for times, serve- and- blitz experts reigned supreme at SW19 before the face went through a change.
In 2002, organisers switched from a blend of ryegrass and creeping red fescue to pure ryegrass in order to numb the effectiveness of big serves. The courts began to play slower, the bounces came more regular, and running came less slippery. Not to say that serves and the net game came spare, but it backed a more each-court attacking style, the kind that was ultimately learned by Federer – whose all-time record of 8-mates title at SW19 can be equalled by Djokovic this time.
As players ’ conditioning bettered, and the face and outfit changed, the birth play came central to playing on the lawn( the face around the Center Court birth at the end of Wimbledon resembles a barren yard, while the face at the net remains serene). But despite protectors seeing lesser success, the introductory attacking aspects of lawn court play continued to be awarded.
A testament to Djokovic’s own life on the lawn has been the elaboration of his well-formed game. Since his first title palm at Wimbledon in 2011, he has added power and thickness to his first serve, is plaint to come to the net and indeed serve and volley, uses further variety from birth, and has developed a consummately- weighted cacography slice. Each of his opponents in the last four tests – Nick Kyrgios, Matteo Berrettini, Federer, and Kevin Anderson – have been big-serving, attack-first players.
And Alcaraz is further of that mould. Unlike players of the generation above him, he prefers to dock rallies rather than engaging in birth marathons, is comfortable with serve and volley, and at the net in general, likes to stay tight to, or outside, the birth, and despite having a ruinous forehand, his hand is a well- disguised drop shot.
Allen Fox, a former Wimbledon mates titlist who's now one of the game’s leading psychologists, told The Indian Express. The only area in which he's not better than the rest is his serve, and that’s enough OK too.
Fox is confident Alcaraz will succeed at Wimbledon one day if not this time itself. He doesn't believe the cramping Alcaraz faced during the French Open semifinal will prove to be an internal chain.
“ Confidence is everything on the lawn. The pressure is advanced on important points because openings to break serve are smaller, and sets can be tight, go to tiebreakers, ” Fox said.
His palm won’t just gesture a changing of the guard, but in the time of Federer’s withdrawal, it'll also bring back enterprising, attacking tennis to the van at Wimbledon.
TAGS: Carlos Alcaraz, Novak Djokovic, Wimbledon, Football Match, World Class Football Match
Comments
Post a Comment