“So I went through it all. It was a great theatre”.
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But at the 2012 Australian Open, nobody was questioning his courage anymore when he beat Nadal in the longest Grand Slam final of all time, a draining 5hr 53min masterpiece.
Although Djokovic holds a 19-4 record over Wawrinka, including two victories since the Swiss player shocked him the French Open final past year, Wawrinka welcomed the chance to take him on again.
And he was the stable one on court.
There was also a mysterious moment when, at the end of the third set, Djokovic ripped open his shirt in frustration and played the last point bare-chested. Monfils resorted to the radical approach of trying to drag Djokovic’s level down pushing no-pace balls short in the court aiming to gunk up the gears in his opponent’s well-oiled baseline game.
Stan Wawrinka outslugged Japanese sixth seed Kei Nishikori 4-6 7-5 6-4 6-2 in energy-sapping humidity at Flushing Meadows to set up a US Open final against world number one Novak Djokovic.
Monfils’ response to that criticism, and to questions about his weird tactics during the match, were honest, refreshing and at times, even sad. It’s tough, because when he calls me unprofessional, he calls my coach unprofessional, calls my physio unprofessional – all my team, actually, unprofessional.
“Fuck yes, I’m competing”.
“I’m just embracing the fact the guy is too good for me and I tried to switch strategy”. “And after years (when) Serena was there, I think it’s a nice change”. I hoped and believed that as I progressed in the tournament that things would get better, which they did. “I think I’m failing, for sure, a lot, but I try to stand up”. “The change is guts, you know, against the world No. 1”.
“The 6’4” Frenchman’s astounding athleticism can make him a magical player, but his tendency to push and run rather than assert his gifts offensively can make him a maddening player as well.
Djokovic was quickly 4-1 to the good in the second as Monfils’s interest again appeared to wane.
A jittery Monfils poked successive double faults to donate the break and a 2-0 lead. Monfils finished with 11 double-faults and 52 unforced errors. He is a former WTA Writer of the Year and the author of numerous books, including the classic “The Courts of Babylon” and the New York Times bestseller (with Pete Sampras), “A Champion’s Mind”.
Having reached the second round in just three of 13 tournaments, 2011 was the low point of Kerber’s career. Nope. In a blink, Monfils suddenly came to life, playing his athletic best. That tank tactic helped him save three more set points then dragged Djokovic into the malaise as he double-faulted away the break. He lost five games in a row and 20 of 24 points in one stretch, and came up limping after the set’s final point.
Monfils said he was “sad” McEnroe described his performance as “unprofessional”.
He was even forced to save break points at 5-3.
Although he looked nowhere near his best, Djokovic raced to a 5-0 lead in the opening set as Monfils looked in disgusting form.
So, with nothing to lose at that point, Monfils made a decision to change tactics.
But this was Kerber’s turn to show some mettle, breaking back to 3-all and again to end it. Yes, he’s had struggles at times, but betting against a rested Djokovic with a title on the line simply isn’t wise. The top seed snatched a two-set lead after only one hour of play. “It felt nice because my body could breathe a little bit more”.
“It’s part of the sport”.
“I think that’s all we were thinking about and feeling in the last couple of sets. And the only reason I say bordering is because it’s working”.
“It was very quick to 5-0”.
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“I’m honoured to be a part of the legends of our sport and to manage to win this many Grand Slam trophies”, said Djokovic, who started playing tennis when he was four before leaving for Germany when he was 12 to escape North Atlantic Treaty Organisation bombs blasting Belgrade.
