Novak Djokovic is just one victory away from his 22nd major, which would allow him to catch up with his arch-rival Rafael Nadal at the top of the all-time rankings. The Serbian phenom, who is chasing his 10th Australian Open title, displayed some formidable tennis in the second week leaving the crumbs to his opponents.
Nole easily dismissed Alex de Minaur, Andrey Rublev and Tommy Paul, winning 11 straight sets and leaving very few away games. The former ATP number 1 will have to keep an eye on Tsitsipas in the final as the Greek is playing the best tennis of his career.
The winner of tomorrow’s final will also be the new number 1 in the world, unseating Carlos Alcaraz from the throne. The underdogs are all on the side of ‘Djoker’, who is riding a 26-fight win streak at Rod Laver Arena. In a long interview with ‘L’Equipe’ on the eve of the AO final, Jeremy Chardy explained why it is so difficult to face Djokovic.
The Frenchman has lost 14 times in as many head-to-heads with Novak.
Chardy talks about Djokovic
Jérémy Chardy has lost 14 times in as many meetings against Novak Djokovic. Speaking to L’Equipe, he spoke of the feeling of helplessness that he felt on several occasions against the Serb.
A strong and interesting story. “The really difficult thing about Novak is that he always manages to make you feel like he only has 60-70% and, in fact, he’s not taking any chances. He creates a lot of pressure, to think that he has so much under his feet.
It quickly breaks your trust, makes you feel like you don’t stand a chance. Against him, I already wanted the game to end quickly, because it soon becomes clear that it is only a matter of time. But when it happens to a strong player, like Wednesday Rublev, on a very long court, it must be extremely frustrating,» said the Frenchman.
The 35-year-old said he makes his «own space» with his own people and «focuses» on what really matters. «But one way or another today, the information gets to you. When it does, it’s there, so you have to find a way to accept it, let it go, just not allow it to consume your day or change your mood into something that you don’t want to, especially before a Grand Slam semi-final or final,» Djokovic said.
