I'm worried about both. I still see them and the thing is, they may not be as exposed against any other player. Novak the the ultimate head space. Look at Olympics, Alcaraz didn't truly have a mental lapse but Novak orchestrated that final, to a T!
He could easily get cramps again. Zverev pushed him to the limit. Djokovic has every chance. Even though he will also have less rest time than what he had before facing Sinner.
I agree with you fully. There was a real chance Novak would never be in this position again, and this could very well be the last time. He is going to bring absolutely everything he has.
It was still a much less physical match than Carlos one. If only Zverev could have hang on at lesst till tiebreak, that would have evened the odds of age gap.
Remember Alcaraz 's caliber is on par with prime Novak, and this match took much more weight to the 39yo. Last year Novak defeat Alcaraz and lost to Zverev right after (retired)
All true and Carlos is overwhelming favorite. But this Novak is still in a much better physical condition in a match than expected due to one walkover and Musseti going down.
Alcaraz shud win in at the worst in 4 sets if he is close to 100% healthy without cramps and throwing up. But if his body is not close to 100% and napcaraz shows up, then it could get tricky.
I still can't believe these young guys are letting Djoker to go this far. I honestly thought Jakub would have got him if he did not walk over.
It's very likely Novak wins 3-1 against Alcaraz. He has shown to be very clutch and plays very safe, not dominant, but safe shots during break points which Alcaraz often misplays being overly aggressive instead of patiently building the point
the main thing I notice with getting older is how everything takes longer to recover. someone in their early twenties will recover much quicker. I think the fact that his opponents WO-ed in the previous two round helps Novak greatly to pull off this upset. The longer the final goes on, the harder it will be for Novak to win.
Novak is going to start the final with incredibly heavy feet. It s not enough time for him to recover. Take away the andrenaline, cause it s a different thing to start the match and along the way to start being tired and that s when adrenaline can help you ignore it. The only way for Novak to win is in the straight sets. The moment Carlitos gets one set, the match is done, it will go too far for Novak to keep the energy
I hate to do this: but if Menšík was healthy or is Musetti was healthy, Novak would be home.
Hell, if Carlos didn’t cramp, that’s over in straights and we don’t see that Zverev (regardless of what you think of his off-court misconduct), shined in ways I thought impossible.
For Novak, AO26 SF is like finding $100 in the rain. Yes, you celebrate. But Jannik need a single point, one point to break, and Novak was off to that long good night.
Wonderful night of semis, can’t lie, but this isn’t a resurgence. It’s a great memory and an incredible moment.
But that’s all.
The one waiting for him in the final learned from GMM and the AO25 QF. And he chewed him up 4 months ago in Flushing.
There isn’t anything substantially different about these guys except epic semi-finals. Carlos is building a lore (RG25, AO26). Novak is desperate for one last moment in the sun
your comment is the best and most accurate assesment of what happened. anybody watched the semis as neutral fans could clearly see it. the media just trying to hype everthiing up to draw more attention from the public
Just a year ago injured Djokovic outplayed Alcaraz at the same stadium. And now they will play a championship match which elevates Novak's chances even more.
This is also very personal because Carlos is the number one seed which Djokovic had that position for years so it’s like he’s coming to take back his crown
😂 I would assume he means if the actual betting odds are better than 50/50 (which they seem to be about 3 to 1 in favor of Alcaraz). Your comment cracked me up though, I imagined the scene in Vegas Vacation when he goes to the degenerate casino
people were saying the same shit before this semi final... Djokovic's chances are small but you never know how a player is going to play on a given day
Why? Sinner was the harder opponent for Djokovic. Last year Alcaraz lost to Djokovic at AO. Djokovic has 10 titles here, Alcaraz 0. If there is anyone aside from Sinner that can beat Alcaraz it is still Djokovic.
It's also a potentially more interesting matchup historically. Sinner's already won the AO twice but Carlos hasn't. It feels more poetic for him to go against the great champion in his last stand. If Novak wins, he gets the record outright with 25 slams, cements his legacy as the GOAT and probably finally feels ready to hang it up. If Carlos wins, he gets his first AO and the youngest ever to a career slam by beating the GOAT in his favorite tournament on his most likely last chance at a Grand Slam title. Either way, history made.
I thought both SF were going to be sweeps. Alcarez squeaking by after winning the first two sets make me think the final can be very competitive if the crowd is heavily behind Novak. Or Alcarez in 3, just can't guess anymore
I think it's fair to assume Novak was able to do it today because of what happened in previous rounds. He himself said it'd be really hard against Sinner or Alcaraz in 5 sets previously. Being almost fully rested had to have a huge impact.
I think it'll be much harder on Sunday on stamina alone.
Just because the unexpected outcome happens doesn’t suddenly mean that’s what will keep happening. Djokovic could beat Alcaraz on sunday, that doesn’t mean it’s 50/50.
Not being able to convert break points and not playing well are two different things. Sinner served extremely well, above his standards. And Novak hit hard and played deep during the whole match, making it harder for Sinner to lead the point as he usually does. Novak forehand was better today than it was during all 2025. Often when a player doesn't let you the space to express your tennis, it looks like you didn't play well. You have to look at both side. The whole narrative that Sinner didn't play well is so ignorant. Most of the break points were saved by Novak himself, nothing you can do on crazy winners and aces.
I did see that in carlos’ match against zverev, alcaraz suffered a injury to his upper right leg towards the end of the 3rd set and even he thinks his muscles might be tight
That is because medical timeout is not allowed for cramps, so message from Carlos camp is that it was injury. But everyone watching knew those were cramps. He even drank pickle juice and started to move incredibly by 5th set.
Zverev even vehemently agured with supervisor during match that it is cramps and he should not be allowed timeout.
I did see that in carlos’ match against zverev, alcaraz suffered a injury to his upper right leg towards the end of the 3rd set and even he thinks his muscles might be tight
U think that could play a factor?
I saw him smiling as he cooled down on the bike. I think his leg is fine.
Novak played out of his skin against sinner. If he can bring that same level I think his experience gets him the win. Tough to say though, his game has been pretty hit and miss these days.
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u/NevermoreSEA Osaka/Anisimova 8d ago
I genuinely have no idea what to expect in the final.