He’s a known choker who wilted in both slam finals he played. His USO final in 2017 was one of the worst slam performances I’ve seen. Just blatant nerves even deep into the third set.
His chances of ever winning a major are minuscule and he’s already 32.
Yep, similar to Berdych, they, like many tour players, most, cannot handle the big occasion, and do not really know what to do with the sudden mounting tension inside. Fed's had it on occasion as well, but only vs Nadal and Djoko recently. But in most players, like Raonic and also Cilic, the tension directly floods the motory apparatus and they miss the easiest of shots, or want to hit too hard all of a sudden, and the ball can go anywhere. Ferrer had that all the time when he went up against the big guys and got to a point where he could win a set; inexplicably bad shots that barely a few minutes earlier were automatic. Some other guys seem to paralyze, and can blank out even.
It is all very visible in the faces and bodylanguage
Djoker, like many great players before him, channels the tension into anger, and goes from there, he feels the indignation when the tension influences his movement and fights it hard, simply doesn't accept the condition he is in, and disallows it to continue. Lendl had it, Mac, you name them, and Connors had it in spades, Borg the same. And they all had to dig VERY deep in order to lay it all on the line, which only a handful can do in any sport, across any era.
Good to see De Minaur, Coric, Shapo and Tsitsipas showing iron will and determination, and ability to handle stress and tension, and they will contest Slam semis and finals in due time.
