Goran Ivanisevic: "Would have played 300 stops"
The biggest danger for Novak Djokovic on the way to his tenth title at the Australian Open? That would have been Grigor Dimitrov , says Goran Ivanisevic. But he had the wrong tactics.
by tennisnet.com
last edit:
Feb 01, 2023, 11:45 am
The tear in the muscles on Novak Djokovic's thigh was three centimeters long, Craig Tiley told the amazed world public in the aftermath of the Australian Open 2023. From this point of view, it is all the more astonishing that the Serbian grandmaster marched through the tournament without any problems.
The Djokovic team only anticipated problems before a task, as coach Goran Ivanisevic noted in his moody press conference. “The opponents were easier in the first two rounds, so we figured that would be okay. But then Dimitrov just played wrong," said the 2001 Wimbledon champion. "He and his coach didn't have the right plan, the right tactics."
Djokovic with only one loss against Dimitrov
What would this have looked like? “Novak couldn't move, and Grigor played maybe two or three stops. I would have played 300 stops! Dimitrov is actually a difficult opponent when you're not ready. He slices a lot, everything happens very quickly. That was the match I was most afraid of.”
This might have settled down with a look at the statistics. Because of the previous ten matches, Dimitrov had only won one against Djokovic: 2013 in Madrid on sand.