‘Novak Djokovic is not taking any risks’, says ATP ace

Novak Djokovic is only one victory away from his 22nd Slam, which would allow him to catch his eternal rival Rafael Nadal at the top of the all-time rankings. The Serbian phenomenon, who is chasing his tenth title at the Australian Open, showed formidable tennis in the second week leaving the crumbs to his rivals. Nole easily dismissed Alex de Minaur, Andrey Rublev and Tommy Paul, winning 11 straight sets and leaving very few games on the road. The former ATP number 1 will have to pay close attention to 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 world number 1, ousting Carlos Alcaraz from the throne. The underdogs are all on the side of ‘Djoker’, who boasts a streak of 26 consecutive wins at the Rod Laver Arena. In a long interview with ‘L’Equipe’ on the eve of the AO final, Jeremy Chardy explained what makes facing Djokovic so difficult. The Frenchman has lost 14 times in as many direct clashes with Novak.

Chardy talks about Djokovic

Jérémy Chardy has lost 14 times in as many confrontations against Novak Djokovic. In remarks given to L’Equipe, he spoke of the feeling of helplessness he felt several times in front of the Serb. A strong and interesting story. “The really difficult thing about Novak is that he always manages to make you feel that he is only 60-70%, and in fact he is not taking any risks. He creates a lot of pressure, to think that he has so much left under his feet. He quickly breaks your confidence, makes you feel like you don’t have a chance. Against him, I already wanted the game to end quickly, because it becomes clear soon enough that it’s 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 in one way or another today, information comes to you. When it does, it’s there, so then you have to find a way just to kind of accept, let it go, just not allow it to consume your day or turn your state of mind into something that you don’t want, especially before semifinals or finals of a Grand Slam,” Djokovic said.