One Night in Sofia

The bromance between Novak Djokovic and Grigor Dimitrov was on full display Monday night in Bulgaria -- where the two of them put on quite an "exhibition.” View BELOW.

Song of the Day: ‘Gold He Said’ by Bow Wow Wow

 

I can't remember the last time I watched an important Djokovic match live. But something told me to get up this morning to take it all in -- and how glad I am that I did. A true thriller -- 14 break points with zero converted -- deserving of the occasion, which saw Novak's hands and legs literally shaking when it was over. If it were up to me, I’d have much rather he’d won a fourth Roland Garros. (Only my Steffi has a minimum of four of each major.) But this clearly is what his goal was for 2024 -- and it was very obvious what it meant to Nole -- so even a tennis Olympics skeptic has to be thrilled for him.

More history made! 

What's it all about, Selfie?

In a post-match interview, Djokovic was asked if his puzzle is complete now. 

"Yes it is. It is. I'm telling myself always that I am enough. Because I can be very self critical. I don't know. That's one of the biggest internal battles I keep on fighting with myself. That I feel like I haven't done enough or been enough in my life on and off the court. So it's a big lesson for me. I'm super grateful for the blessing to win a historic gold medal for my country. To complete the golden slam. To complete all the records." 

“Is it enough?" 

"I think so."

UPDATE:

 

😳😳😳

Serb and Volley

 

According to people on the scene, Novak Djokovic was in fine form as he defeated Daniil Medvedev 6-3, 6-4 in their exhibition match earlier today: "Every part of his game looked good. He's ready for Wimbledon."

Another person wrote: “Excellent serving by Djokovic, who was super aggressive on court. Movement still cautious, which is understandable.”

While this seems hard to believe, a doctor friend did tell me that not all meniscus tears are the same, so perhaps this won't be the career-ending injury I feared it would be. 

Whatever the case, he's got nothing to prove -- he's certainly not the favorite he usually is -- but it would be nice if he could go out on his own terms. 

I will say this, though: He's got a rather nice draw. Or is it just that nobody's particularly good besides him, Sinner and Alcaraz? 

UPDATE: From the horse's mouth:

Novak: 

I can tell you that I enjoyed myself really much today. I can tell you that pain-free tennis is the best tennis.

Interviewer: “Were you pain-free?”

Novak: 

I was pain-free…it was a great test. The test was really successful!

Interviewer: “Why did you want to speed up your return?”  

Novak: 

“It's a good question, my wife asked me too. I'm 37 years old, maybe you want to take less risks and prepare for the Olympic Games. I have the feeling of not missing a Grand Slam as long as I can play, as long as I'm active and at this level. I wouldn't call it a fear of missing out, just an incredible desire to play, to compete. Especially because it's Wimbledon, the tournament that has always been a dream for me. The simple idea of missing Wimbledon was not right, I didn't want to deal with it. I'm going through this knee injury for the first time in my life. I wanted to see how quickly I could recover and be in a position to compete in best of five on grass against the best in the world. I haven't come here to play a few rounds. I want to go for the title. The last three days have made me optimistic that I can really compete at the highest level. Maybe it's not ideal for doctors and specialists, who advise you to rest for 3 or 6 weeks, the longer the better so as not to risk it, but it's an individual thing. It's very subjective. Everyone has a different response to recovery, the rehabilitation, the exercises... I have not had any relapse. My intensity is very high now. The knee is fine, there has been no negative reaction." 

'Novak Djokovic & Friends' a Hit Down Under

In my nearly 50 years of fandom, I don't think there's ever been someone who has loved the sport of tennis as much as Novak Djokovic. I can see "disliking" him for winning so much -- it's natural if you favor another player -- but you have to be pretty cold not to appreciate his enthusiasm, which is to say nothing of his showmanship. Lots of proof BELOW.

Novak Djokovic Defeats Casper Ruud for Record 23rd Major Title

Novak Djokovic made history on Sunday, with a 7-6 (1), 6-3, 7-5 win over Casper Ruud that gave him his 23rd Grand Slam victory. After nearly two decades of chasing his Big 3 rivals, Roger Federer and Rafael Nadal, Djokovic has finally -- and almost certainly permanently -- passed them in their three-way major-title race.

The win makes Djokovic the only man to win each major at least three times

All of this is why I cut Novax some slack on his seemingly insane views: His body is a freakish temple that at 36 is “younger” than a 20-year-old -- Carlos Alcaraz was only “ailing” during the much-hyped semifinal showdown in the sense that he was beaten into submission by a man 16 years his senior who was both physically and mentally superior -- so who are we to question what he thinks is right for him when clearly he knows best?

Modest louse

Relief

A few years ago when Federer hit 20 majors, Damian and I half-jokingly said "Wouldn't it be funny if Fed ended up being third in the Big Three"? At least my brother Bill didn't live to see this! 

Andy knows best

Tennis Tuesday

I turned on the little TV in the bedroom to check the action from Monte Carlo and got quite an eyeful in THE WEIGHT ROOM.

Meme Spirited

Now that was something! 

P.S.

Did you get a load of Calamity Juanita out there earlier?  

My abdominal side is hurting now too from laughing so hard at Taylor Fritz's complete inability to shut down this bootleg Serena show! 

UPDATE: Nadal has withdrawn from Wimbledon, making Taylor's loss even more cringeworthy. 

Australian Court Rejects Djokovic's Case

Novak Djokovic has lost his deportation appeal so will not be allowed to defend his Australian Open title -- opening the door for Rafael Nadal to break the 20-majors record. Based on CDC guidelines, Djokovic also will not be able to play the U.S. Open if he continues to refuse to get vaccinated, further jeopardizing his legacy. I still have just one question: WHY did they grant him an exemption in the first place, wasting everyone's time for nearly two weeks? 

 

UPDATE:

Forget Paris?

UPDATE 2:

I do find it interesting that, even in a “What about all the women Bill Cosby didn’t drug and rape?” kind of way, soooo many lower-tier players are defending Novak and singing his praises for being kind to them and for all he’s done for the game.

Grandstanding With Aussie PM Minister Scott Morrison

Trying to cover their hypocrisy, Australia has now going back and detained another player they’ve let in A MONTH AGO with the same visa as Djokovic. Pathetic attempt at covering their tracks. https://t.co/TBd0UQ98XO

— Right on! (@soothsayher) January 7, 2022

Everybody knows Novak Djokovic is an anti-vax nightmare. But this is why people -- who are often completely against everything he stands for -- are "defending" him: The Australian government can't pawn off deciding who gets vaccine exemptions then try to be in control when they don't like how the state government went about it. (Now Prime Minister Scott Morrison is taking it out on Renata Voracova and some random official???!!) 

I have no idea how Australia's courts will decide on Djokovic's appeal. But the country is clearly responsible for the mess it created -- why didn't they just say NO VACCINE, NO TOURNAMENT? -- and its leader has been exposed as someone who has no problem abusing his power to score votes. Remind you of anyone?

Novak Djokovic Heads Down Under, Dubious Medical Exemption in Hand

Although my fiancé has been predicting this from the get-go, I was still somewhat surprised to see that the Australian Open capitulated to nine-time champion Novak Djokovic’s anti-vaccination stance, granting him a medical exemption that is clearly not in good faith. That said, part of me did wonder if forcing him to miss a Grand Slam event at which he could make history was the right thing to do, either. Ideally now that the “will he or won’t he play” question has been answered, the focus will shift to the tennis, where fellow 20-time major winner Rafael Nadal is also on hand looking to break the all-time record. But sadly, something tells me all anyone is going to want to talk about is the vaccine, which could very well be the kind of distraction that causes the Serbian superstar to stumble like he did last year when all eyes were on him during his pursuit of the Golden Slam — and he’ll have no one to blame but his unvaccinated self. 

And here’s why the topic isn’t likely to go away: What “acute major medical condition,” as listed here by Australian authorities, could the greatest player of all time possibly have? 

The only thing on this list that I could see working as a "legitimate" excuse is if he tested positive within the past six months, in which case people are just going to have to accept that this is a way in, even knowing that he probably won't get vaccinated when the allotted time passes anyway. But that he never announced that he had doesn't bode well for this explanation, although I guess he would argue he doesn't owe anyone information about his health status.

Weekend Tennis Diary

After two weeks of quarantine for a large number of players, professional tennis is suddenly off the races in the run-up to the Australian Open, which begins Feb. 8. This week there are two WTA events in Melbourne -- the Yarra Valley Classic and Gippsland Trophy -- featuring all of the top players. And there are two ATP tournaments -- the Great Ocean Road Open and the Murray River Open -- featuring all of the players who aren't entangled in this idiotic ATP Cup, which begins tomorrow. (Have I mentioned how dumb I think the ATP Cup is?) Keep reading HERE.