Aussie Open, Early Observations

Djokovic out.  The big story, of course is the defeat of Novak Djokovic in the second round by Denis Istomin, currently ranked 117 in the world.  The match went 5 sets, and Istomin had to come from 2 sets to 1 down to win it.  There were several discernible weaknesses in Djokovic’ game that were uncharacteristic of him and that may provide insights into the decline of his dominance over the past six months.  Those weaknesses were:

1) He was slow to move out to the forehand side.  On several occasions Novak was late to balls that were hit wide to his forehand.  As a result, he was unable to set up securely for his shots, and the forehand either missed or failed to penetrate the court as well as is usually the case.

2) Poor decision making.  Novak’s shot selection was highly questionable on several occasions.  For example, he lost several points after attempting very difficult drop shots (for example, cross court droppers from 6 feet behind the base line).  Overall, his tactical skills were weaker than usual.

3) Emotional instability.  I believe psychological issues were the biggest reason Djokovic lost this match.  From the very start he was sarcastic about line calls and umpire decisions.  On one occasion he got into a heated argument with the umpire because she allowed Istomin to check a mark before deciding whether to challenge a call.  Such allowances are of course routinely made.  Novak also cheered wildly for himself when he made some good plays, (for example, a reflex volley at 2-2 in the second set), but his exuberance was out of proportion to the significance of the moment.  It almost seemed as if he was trying to convince himself that he was a great player.  He also made gestures suggesting that he was suffering from physical problems, a behavior much like that often seen from his countrywoman Jelena Jankovic.

Djokovic’ irascibility has been a constant theme since he began relinquishing his strangle hold on men’s tennis about six months ago.  The reason for his problems is of course unknown, but in my opinion, he will not be number one in the world again unless this issue is addressed.   He will certainly lose a lot of ranking points at this tournament, as he is the defending champ. 

Other observations. 

Krygios loses in 5.  Nick Kyrgios once again astounded the tennis world with a casual “tweener” in the 5^th set, with Seppi serving for the match at 6-5.  Kyrgios broke in that game to stay alive, but he hardly exhibited the competitive grit needed to gut out these difficult matches, and eventually was broken again to lose.  It may be time to start thinking that Nick is satisfied just to entertain fans with his world class skills rather than to become a dominant force on the tour.  Gael Monfils has been that way through much of his career as well.  Although Monfils has also appeared uninterested in several of his past matches, his behavior has never been quite as insulting to tennis fans as Kyrgios’.  My year end post in 2016 suggested that the behavior of Kyrgios and Bernie Tomic were things to watch in 2017.  So far Tomic, despite crowing childishly about himself on twitter, has behaved acceptably on the court.

Some strong play:  Milos Raonic has looked very strong in the early going.  He beat Gilles Muller in the second round.  Muller had won the Sydney warmup and played an outstanding match against Milos, but still lost in straight sets.  Raonic put a second serve in at 235 kph (!) in this tournament.  That is 146 mph.  If you want to see how much Raonic’ game has developed, watch the game he served at 5-6 in the third set with Muller.

            Andy Murray has also looked very good, and Alex Zverev prevailed in a first round 5- setter with Robin Haase.  That’s the kind of match Zverev must win to really move up in the ranks.  Also keep your eye on Jack Sock.  He’s looking good.

            On the women’s side, Serena Williams looks very good, as does Karolina Pliskova, who has surrendered only four games in her first two matches.  Johanna Konta also looked impressive in her dismissal of Naomi Osaka in the second round.

Federer has some issues.  Roger Federer won his first two matches, but he still looks rusty.  His footwork, upon which his timing depends, is still a bit sluggish.  He will have to improve to get past Thomas Berdych, his next opponent.