Time does not pass for Novak Djokovic, a 36-year-old tennis player who only lives off winning. Otherwise, it’s impossible to understand that this season he has been present in the finals of the Australian Open, Roland Garros, Wimbledon and US Open. On his return to New York, two years after losing the 2021 final to Daniil Medvedev, the Serbian once again knocks on the door of the title. His latest victim this Friday was Ben Shelton, with a score of 6-3, 6-2 and 7-6 (4), in 2 hours and 41 minutes.
It’s now 10 finals in the last Grand Slam, tying Bill Tilden’s all-time record, with three titles in the 2011, 2015 and 2018 editions. In the debate about who is the best in history, “Nole” wins by a landslide. Up to 36 Grand Slam finals shine in his repertoire, another record that will be almost impossible to beat.
Djokovic is a practically perfect machine. Of his last 23 semifinals in the four big stages of the sport, he has won 22 of them. The overall record is 36-11. His only blip in that sequence came against Dominic Thiem, at Roland Garros in 2019. A match marked by the wind that affected both the game and the result.
Shelton is very good and will be good for a while, but he paid dearly as a novice against a superior being. You don’t beat a legend with brute force. On an Arthur Ashe court closed due to the threat of rain, something that the players were grateful for to avoid the heat, Djokovic dominated to his heart’s content from start to finish.
His rival ‘broke’ himself in the seventh game with a series of unforced errors. If you gift the 23-time grand champion, the chances of beating him are reduced to zero.
If Djokovic was given the choice of nationality for an opponent, he would always say an American. He has beaten American opponents in each of his last 31 matches.
Novak had a moment of tension in the ninth game of the opening set. After wasting four set points, he saved a break opportunity from young Ben. His naive approach to the volley ended with a shot into the net.
Shelton needed serves at 230 kilometers per hour to get out in front of games. The American surrended sonner than people would have liked. A double fault gave Djokovic tje second break in the fifth round of the continuation. Djokovic wanted to finish quickly and went for another break.
Very far from Alcaraz
At this moment in time, the only similarity between Shelton and Carlos Alcaraz is their age and using a sleeveless shirt on the court. Shelton only offers potential and arm strength.
In the noisiest stadium in the world of tennis, there was a silence when Djokovic added another break at the beginning of the third set. He saw everything so in the bag that he relaxed a bit too much. That caused him to go from 4-2 to 4-5, with a set point for Shelton.
The Serbian did not close the match wth the serve at 6-5, and the outcome went to a tiebreak. The dream of a final with an American representative was over. The organization’s dream of having a duel in the sun between Djokovic and Alcaraz on Sunday remains intact.
Read More: World News | Entertainment News | Celeb News
Marca
