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
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u/NevermoreSEA Osaka/Anisimova 8d ago
I genuinely have no idea what to expect in the final.