I was curios whether anybody on his side of the draw had ever even beaten him. It was a fast and sloppy check, but I came up with two guys, Karatsev (1) and Vesely who curiously enough is 2-0 against Nole. None of the Americans have a win against him, with Fritz faring the worst at 0-7, having not taken a set in six of those matches.Djokovic's half doesn't have a player left I think could come close to outplaying him. Only guy that could beat him best on best in this draw is Alcaraz, but there are still some players out there in the game that if Djokovic is a little off I don't think it's preposterous to believe they could beat him (Sinner, Medvedev, Zverev, Rune). All those players are either out or on Alcaraz' half of the draw.
Only way I see him not getting to the final now is if somehow he gets injured, he gets DQ'ed again, or he plays so bad in a match that he beats himself.
Selfishly as an American, I hope he somehow goes out somewhere before the finals because the three next best players left in his half of the draw are American (Fritz, Paul, and Tiafoe) and this is going to be the best shot in 20 years to end the drought.
Djokovic's draw was a joke going into the tournament and even moreso now with the overrated Rune, Ruud and Tsitsipas gone as if they had much of a shot anyway. All the strength is on the Alcaraz side. Medvedev, Sinner and Zverev are arguably the 3 most dangerous opponents for the Big 2 and are all in Alcaraz's way.Djokovic's half doesn't have a player left I think could come close to outplaying him. Only guy that could beat him best on best in this draw is Alcaraz, but there are still some players out there in the game that if Djokovic is a little off I don't think it's preposterous to believe they could beat him (Sinner, Medvedev, Zverev, Rune). All those players are either out or on Alcaraz' half of the draw.
Only way I see him not getting to the final now is if somehow he gets injured, he gets DQ'ed again, or he plays so bad in a match that he beats himself.
Selfishly as an American, I hope he somehow goes out somewhere before the finals because the three next best players left in his half of the draw are American (Fritz, Paul, and Tiafoe) and this is going to be the best shot in 20 years to end the drought.
I'll address your point, but let me start with that I think Rune is getting an unfair reputation. I mean, I don't think he's anywhere near where Alcaraz is. He's unlucky that he's born the same year as the next star in the sport. He's not going to be Alcaraz. Have to start with that, and work from there.Djokovic's draw was a joke going into the tournament and even moreso now with the overrated Rune, Ruud and Tsitsipas gone as if they had much of a shot anyway. All the strength is on the Alcaraz side. Medvedev, Sinner and Zverev are arguably the 3 most dangerous opponents for the Big 2 and are all in Alcaraz's way.
The American men are now the biggest obstacle for Djokovic and as much as I like Tiafoe and now Paul (really impressed with him lately), I just don't think they'll be enough to bother Novak much especially with him displaying peak form since Cincinnati.
Seriously, what a freak of nature that this 36 year old is that he looks as good as ever. He's like the Lebron of tennis but even better than Lebron currently is, you just have to marvel at what we're witnessing with him.
I'm just not a fan of Rune's mentality. Granted that he's really young but he seems emotionally unstable and tends to pout when things don't go his way.I'll address your point, but let me start with that I think Rune is getting an unfair reputation. I mean, I don't think he's anywhere near where Alcaraz is. He's unlucky that he's born the same year as the next star in the sport. He's not going to be Alcaraz. Have to start with that, and work from there.
Rune at the same age was more accomplished than Sinner. I think Sinner had 1 more total title, but they were weaker tournaments with few of the best players. Rune had better results in the slams and had won a 1000, which Sinner hadn't done until very recently. Up until the US Open (where I stress that Rune was injured), Rune had equaled or bettered his best result in all the slams this year. So maybe he's overrated in the sense that he's ranked too high for what he is currently. But that's not his fault. It's the fault of Tsitsipas, Ruud, Rublev, Fritz, FAA, and that generation for not reaching their potential (yet). Within the next few years, I think Rune will fairly earn the ranking he has now and be a viable 3rd or 4th best player in the world. There just aren't very many players through history who contend to win slams at 19, 20, 21 years old. They usually end up being Alcaraz, Djokovic, Nadal, Federer. Rune's not that, but he can have a pretty decent career.
Sorry, now to your point, I completely agree. I think everyone was expecting the big two to get to the final, and looking past the others. It's easier said than done though, although I think in this tournament it was very much warranted. There are just so few true threats to them currently. Tsitspas and Ruud are total pretenders. Total non-threats to the best players, and then Rune is out too, as already mentioned. I remember watching Fritz vs. Djokovic a few weeks ago, as elaborated on by Kihei above. Total domination. Fritz had no shot. None of these Americans (or anyone else left in his half) can truly beat him. I'll give Paul the best shot, but I don't see it happening. I think it's completely in Djokovic's hands now to get to the final. Alcaraz will have it much more difficult, although I still expect he gets there. We'll see. It usually doesn't end up being as simple as we all think it will be. There may be a turn we didn't see coming.
We’ll see about Rune’s mentality. He could certainly go the way of someone like Zverev where he has a good resume at a young age but can’t get it done in the big events over the years and at age 26 still has no slams. Look though at Alcaraz. He was hot-headed and still is, to an extent, but I was listening to him say a few days ago that the biggest difference between what he was a year ago and now is that he’s more mature and calm on the court. Sometimes it takes time. Sinner might have a calm demeanor, but that doesn’t necessarily mean it’s better. Ultimately, the players with the killer instinct to win the key points are the ones who get over that hump in the biggest matches. I definitely agree with you that Sinner is closer, but I think adjusting for age, Rune was ahead at the same ages.I'm just not a fan of Rune's mentality. Granted that he's really young but he seems emotionally unstable and tends to pout when things don't go his way.
Sinner is much more even kheel and plays a bigger game with more consistency.
As far as accomplishments in Slams, Sinner has already reached the quarters in every slam and semis at Wimbledon while Rune has only reached the quarters in two. He is a year and a half younger but Sinner is more accomplished. Both guys have the game to win Slams but I'd bet on Sinner before Rune.
I'm as big an Alcaraz fan as anybody but I don't think he makes it to the finals this year. He's due to lose a big match (only injury at the Aussie, the Cincy finals in an epic and crampgate at the French has stopped him since Wimbledon 2022). I think Sinner beats him this time around.