Novak Djokovic struggled more than expected in his match against Enzo Couacaud at the 2023 Australian Open. Also due to a left hamstring injury, the Serb did not have an easy life against the Frenchman at Rod Laver Arena.
After a one-sided first set, the transalpine took advantage of the fact that he had nothing to lose to play an excellent second set and force Nole into overtime. Enzo lined up 80% of the cousins in the second split, forcing Djokovic to fight back and punishing him with valuable accelerations.
After the effort made in the second set, Couacaud’s level physiologically dropped and Novak had it easy in the next two sets. The 21-time Grand Slam champion is seeking his 10th seal at Melbourne Park, which would allow him to catch up with his archrival Rafael Nadal in 22 Grand Slams.
We’ll see if the ‘Djoker’ is able to overcome this knee problem and play all his cards in the second week. Before the ‘L’Equipe’ microphones, Couacaud commented on his performance against Djokovic.
Djokovic defeat. Couacaud
After his defeat against Novak Djokovic where he achieved a second round of great beauty, the Habs spoke with our teammates and in particular about the mythical exchange he had with his coach during the duel.
“I had a lot of fun getting back on the court. I even went to talk to my coach, he gave me tactical instructions and after a while we looked at each other, we both laughed and said «It’s still amazing, we’re going through something special», so it was really a lot of fun”, explained the French.
Let’s hope that this match allows Enzo to pass a little course. At 27, the tricolor’s best ranking was 155. On Monday, she shouldn’t be far from this spot, around 166th place. Former World No. 1 Mats Wilander recently expressed concern about the injury to his Novak Djokovic’s hamstring at the ongoing 2023 Australian Open.
«That’s not reassuring, because I don’t remember him saying anything like that about his body. I really don’t remember,» Wilander said. Raph [Nadal] obviously he is always very honest and gets asked questions all the time. You never really see Novak hurt, and if he is, he’s always very quiet about it.
So that’s a concern,» Wilander said. «The good thing for Novak, when he’s a little injured, he can do a lot with a tennis ball these days, he can flatten the forehand and his serve. He served brilliantly,» Wilander said.
