Australian Open – Toni Nadal pays tribute to Djokovic: “He is the most complete player”

“He is the most complete player on the circuit, and he has once again demonstrated what a great champion he is.“, notably asserted Toni Nadal. A clear statement and of great elegance when we know that his nephew is still in the fight with Djokovic to hold the greatest number of Majors by the end of their respective careers. But this who most impressed the current coach of Félix Auger-Aliassime is the character of the Serb, his ability to master events despite the immense pressure linked to the challenge.

Exceptional tension management

“He is efficient and combative, able to maintain an incredible serenity in times of great tension. And he has the will to constantly improve“, he still estimated. And for good reason, one of the big differences between Novak Djokovic and Stefanos Tsitsipas in the final of the Australian Open was the management of key points. This was the case during the set point obtained by the Greek on the Serbian’s serve at 5-4 in the second set and again a little later in the tie-break.

While the two players were very tense, Djokovic was able to tighten the game from four points everywhere, showing himself to be solid enough not to make mistakes and let Tsitsipas make some. But a lot was also determined by the start of the match in which “Nole” stifled his opponent in cadence. And from this point of view, according to Toni Nadal, the Greek made a tactical error.

“Tsitsipas made a mistake in his initial game plan, because he looked for mano a mano with Novak with very aggressive shots and changes of direction. I feel like it’s impossible to win against Novak this way unless you’re Roger Federer“, he observed. It was from this observation that he had determined the strategy to adopt against the Serb with his nephew Rafael Nadal during the final of the US Open… 2013 won by the Mallorcan.

“If you open the court with angles and if you play faster and move more, Djokovic’s response is even more relentless. It is for this reason that we decided to play in the axis“, he still revealed. Still, whatever the tactic adopted, Djokovic offers few solutions to his opponents, as the flaws in his baseline game are minimal, even non-existent. In Melbourne, he proved it again, he is almost unplayable.