2023 Australian Open R16: Novak Djokovic [4] vs Alex de Minaur [22]

[jl809]

Djokovic is treating AdM like he is the embodiment of the Aussie government

 

[NatF]

This reminds me of Djoko vs Ferrer 2013.

 

[Rafa4LifeEver]

Hamburger injury

 

[gameovais]

Djoko is slamming the ball as hard as I've seen him since 2011. Both wings being hitting with incredible pace and depth. But as a lot of people have said we need to see if he can do that against higher quality opponents because ADM is playing absolute trash today.

 

[Mivic]

On top of wanting to preserve his body, I think ADM's comments about Novak prior to last year's tournament may have been a motivating factor for him to be as ruthless as possible here.

 

[NoleFam]

Indeed. Video game stuff from Nole. His FH is absolutely on fire.

He has played amazing tonight. I don't know if it's me but the condtions seem to be getting faster. It does sometimes happen in the 2nd week when some of the top sand layer gets worn off.

 

[Krish872007]

This is one of those days where everything is working, isn't it

 

[Hypo Crisis]

Enjoyin ppl here being pressed

 

[steenkash]

On top of wanting to preserve his body, I think ADM's comments about Novak prior to last year's tournament may have been a motivating factor for him to be as ruthless as possible here.

What did he say?

 

[Mike Sams]

Djoko is slamming the ball as hard as I've seen him since 2011. Both wings being hitting with incredible pace and depth. But as a lot of people have said we need to see if he can do that against higher quality opponents because ADM is playing absolute trash today.

LOL You make it sound like Alex has a higher level. This is as good as he can play. He doesn't even belong on the same court as Djoker. He's a lightweight and he would get squashed in straights lopsidedly even if they played 20 matches on this court. All he can do is react and retrieve. He can't dictate anything at all. He's got no game for Djokovic.

 

[Terenigma]

"De Minaur his next opponent is someone that potentially - because he relies on speed, grit and making the opponent work - could be the type of guy that could cause Novak problems if he's not 100 per cent."

- McEnroe. The toiletbowl of wisdom.

 

[Service Ace]

This is one of those days where everything is working, isn't it

How can everything work when you have a devastating hamstring injury and you are facing your worst possible opponent??

 

[Mike Sams]

What did he say?

He said Novak deserves to rot in prison forever.

 

[Krish872007]

LOL You make it sound like Alex has a higher level. This is as good as he can play. He doesn't even belong on the same court as Djoker. He's a lightweight and he would get squashed in straights lopsidedly even if they played 20 matches on this court.

de Minaur is nowhere near Big 3 level unfortunately
And he seems to lack something in his game that could trouble players of that calibre consistently

 

[Mike Sams]

"De Minaur his next opponent is someone that potentially - because he relies on speed, grit and making the opponent work - could be the type of guy that could cause Novak problems if he's not 100 per cent."

- McEnroe. The toiletbowl of wisdom.

Johnny Mac has outlived his usefulness in the sport in any capacity.

 

[Wesling]

what did demon say!!!

 

[Mike Sams]

de Minaur is nowhere near Big 3 level unfortunately
And he seems to lack something in his game that could trouble players of that calibre consistently

DeMinuar is 2-18 against Top 5 players. He's got no business being on this court with Novak.

 

[canta_Brian]

"De Minaur his next opponent is someone that potentially - because he relies on speed, grit and making the opponent work - could be the type of guy that could cause Novak problems if he's not 100 per cent."

- McEnroe. The toiletbowl of wisdom.

Maybe that’s the answer

 

[Terenigma]

Johnny Mac has outlived his usefulness in the sport in any capacity.

Utterly agree, I can't stand his commentary anymore either that used to be his saving grace. The guy needs to go away for good.

 

[Krish872007]

DeMinuar is 2-18 against Top 5 players. He's got no business being on this court with Novak.

That doesn't contradict anything I said

 

[ojo rojo]

De Minaur in 5

 

[Nadal_King]

Djokovic’s luck!!, when Rafa was in semis last year it featured 4 Slam finalists whereas Djokovic’s Sf opponent will be a guy which should be there in 2nd rd

 

[mahatma]

The match hits 2h mark, sadly.

 

[Mivic]

What did he say?

He made some really snarky comments about Djokovic's medical exemption, basically implying that there was foul play involved and that he was the beneficiary of special treatment from the Australian government (which turned out to be the furthest thing from the truth; a good deal of players were able to enter the country with the exact same exemption and it only became an issue when a high profile athlete in Novak chose to be honest and go public with it).

 

[steenkash]

What happened to the days when Novak would gift everyone the first set.

 

[Krish872007]

What happened to the days when Novak would gift everyone the first set.

That's his Wimbledon strategy.

 

[The_Order]

What did he say?

what did demon say!!!

“Australians have gone through a lot,” he said. “There’s no secret about that. They’ve had it very tough. They’ve done a lot of work to protect themselves and their borders. When you’re coming in, as well as every other tennis player, if you wanted to come into the country, you had to be double vaccinated. It was up to him, his choices, his judgment.”

 

[D_m_a]

Why is Goran looking so worried ?

 

[Silverbullet96]

The match hits 2h mark, sadly.

That's dangerous for his hamstring, it could snap at any second and ball boy will have to pick it up I hope Rublev goes easy on him

 

[Hitman]

Good showing from The Earth's Mightiest Warrior today.

Onto the next challenge. One match at a time.

 

[Terenigma]

Well at least the torture is over for the Australians. Watching one of your home players get beaten by a 36 year old with an artificial hip and another get utterly destroyed winning just 5 games. Strong era!

 

[Krish872007]

He made some really snarky comments about Djokovic's medical exemption, basically implying that there was foul play involved and that he was the beneficiary of special treatment from the Australian government (which turned out to be the furthest thing from the truth).

I don't think Novak would remember those specific comments from him surely? But as someone else said, ADM as a local hero might effectively be an embodiment of the opponent that he had to face last year in the form of the Australian Govt.

 

[MichaelNadal]

Credit to Novak he is just too good in Melbourne

 

[canta_Brian]

Why is Goran looking so worried ?

He bought the spread at 3 hours

 

[Chanwan]

Alright Djoko fans, forgive me trolling this thread. But seriously, can you blame me and the others?

All we've heard for the past 2+ weeks have been worry about the hamstring. That Djoko perhaps should just retire and rest up for the next slams. That 'there's no way he's winning this tournament'. And so on and so forth.

And now this masterclass. Serve is perfect, forehand is perfect, BH is perfect, movement is damn near perfect, volleys are perfect. Sure, de Minaur is the best (sorry, worst) possible opponent for Djoko, but still. This is slam winning form and there's nobody in the draw who has a chance against Djoko in this kind of form.

So congrats

 

[HFK]

Never in doubt. IDEMO!!!

 

[Djokovic2011]

What a rout lol. That's what you get Alex for being so unsympathetic towards somebody's bodily autonomy - Novak doesn't forget these things.

 

[Chanwan]

A good opponent who can serve well and hang with Novak from the baseline to make every rally 19-20+ shots can test his hamstring and beat him, just because de minaur cannot do it doesn't mean Novak is not injured.

You mean peak Wawrinka or Rafa/Fed/Murray from 10 years ago?

 

[HFK]

"De Minaur his next opponent is someone that potentially - because he relies on speed, grit and making the opponent work - could be the type of guy that could cause Novak problems if he's not 100 per cent."

- McEnroe. The toiletbowl of wisdom.

Looks like Johnny Mac got the click from you.

 

[The_Order]

Alright Djoko fans, forgive me trolling this thread. But seriously, can you blame me and the others?

All we've heard for the past 2+ weeks have been worry about the hamstring. That Djoko perhaps should just retire and rest up for the next slams. That 'there's no way he's winning this tournament'. And so on and so forth.

And now this masterclass. Serve is perfect, forehand is perfect, BH is perfect, movement is damn near perfect, volleys are perfect. Sure, de Minaur is the best (sorry, worst) possible opponent for Djoko, but still. This is slam winning form and there's nobody in the draw who has a chance against Djoko in this kind of form.

So congrats

Yep. The theatrics and nonsense about him ruining his season by continuing is def something we could and should have all done without...

Anyone fooled by this "injury" needs to see a shrink...

 

[Bubcay]

Amazing match by Novak. Quick, clinical.... Well done..

 

[bnjkn]

I feel like those goalposts are moving every match after he destroys the latest "test to his hamstring" at first Nolefam were talking how Dimitrov will trouble him.
After he wins the tournament in dominant fashion y'all are going to be like "A good opponent like peak Federer or peak Rafa who will make him run would have tested his hamstring and beat him, it doesn't mean that Novak wasn't in critical condition"

Exactly. The opponent is always a mug, never does enough to challenge Djokovic. Nobody gives credit to this beast of a player with no holes whatsoever in his game that makes everyone look like a junior player.

 

[NoleFam]

Scary level from Djokovic tonight. Kind of had a slow start to find his timing but when he did....

 

[HFK]

Yep. The theatrics and nonsense about him ruining his season by continuing is def something we could and should have all done without...

Anyone fooled by this "injury" needs to see a shrink...

I think the "injury" will be a big part of the script for his match with Rublev.

 

[-snake-]

Alright Djoko fans, forgive me trolling this thread. But seriously, can you blame me and the others?

All we've heard for the past 2+ weeks have been worry about the hamstring. That Djoko perhaps should just retire and rest up for the next slams. That 'there's no way he's winning this tournament'. And so on and so forth.

And now this masterclass. Serve is perfect, forehand is perfect, BH is perfect, movement is damn near perfect, volleys are perfect. Sure, de Minaur is the best (sorry, worst) possible opponent for Djoko, but still. This is slam winning form and there's nobody in the draw who has a chance against Djoko in this kind of form.

So congrats

Most of the melodramatic stuff was posted and reposted by butthurt Nedbots. Nolefam was taking it one step at a time, being cautious. Haven't seen anything cocky or disrespectful.

 

[jm1980]

Alright Djoko fans, forgive me trolling this thread. But seriously, can you blame me and the others?

All we've heard for the past 2+ weeks have been worry about the hamstring. That Djoko perhaps should just retire and rest up for the next slams. That 'there's no way he's winning this tournament'. And so on and so forth.

And now this masterclass. Serve is perfect, forehand is perfect, BH is perfect, movement is damn near perfect, volleys are perfect. Sure, de Minaur is the best (sorry, worst) possible opponent for Djoko, but still. This is slam winning form and there's nobody in the draw who has a chance against Djoko in this kind of form.

So congrats

Some very encouraging signs in this match. Minimal signs of him struggling with the leg. He started the match still protecting it, but as it went on he seemed to start gaining confidence. Even started to go more for the sliding open stance BH halfway through, which he wasn't really doing in the previous rounds

The caveat is that it was against de Minaur, who didn't really have the weapons to move Djokovic around

 

[Chanwan]

Djokovic’s luck!!, when Rafa was in semis last year it featured 4 Slam finalists whereas Djokovic’s Sf opponent will be a guy which should be there in 2nd rd

Djoko doesn't need luck at the AO - just like Rafa doesn't need luck at the FO. Speaking of luck - Rafa did get very lucky last year at the AO, congrats man

 

[D_m_a]

Djok just told Jim he felt nothing today ... so he's ****ed ..!!

 

[chjtennis]

De Minaur is just what he is. He'll be awesome against other players but sagainst someone like Nole and Rafa, you need some kind of killer weapon to cause upsets. De Minaur is a fundamentally sound player who can do almost everything well but lacks any real weapon.

 

[maratha_warrior]

What a rout lol. That's what you get Alex for being so unsympathetic towards somebody's bodily autonomy - Novak doesn't forget these things.

Never hurt or mock someone when he is down . If he survives he is going to destroy you