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While Alex de Minaur seems extra relaxed and bold at the clay with each passing fit, the nice Novak Djokovic appears to be dropping his magical powers at the purple stuff.
For whilst Australia’s No.1 kicked off his Madrid Open quest with a medical 6-2 6-3 victory over Italian Lorenzo Sonego on Saturday, all of the communicate on the Caja Magica surrounded some other dismal first-round defeat for Djokovic, whose quest for 100 titles took some other savage hit.
Australia’s No.1 de Minaur made simply 9 unforced mistakes in a medical, nearly Djokovic-like dismantling of Sonego, sooner than the mighty Serb, nearly unthinkably, then went out and misplaced his 3rd fit in a row, succumbing tamely to incredulous Italian Matteo Arnaldi 6-3 6-4.
It was once this type of disappointing defeat for the 37-year-old Djokovic that he even contemplated afterwards whether or not he could be again subsequent 12 months, a certain signal he’s involved his powers in point of fact are at the decline.
De Minaur’s clay-court prowess, even though, is obviously handiest at the up. “Como en casa” he scrawled at the digital camera lens after his 75-minute lesson to Sonego. In different phrases, the clay courts really feel similar to house to the Spanish-based Aussie nowadays.
The international No.7 reached the semi-final in Monte Carlo and the quarters in Barcelona, and admits he now feels totally other at the clay this 12 months, filled with self belief on a floor that when tormented him.
The 26-year-old is now having a look on the prospect of a large run within the Masters 1000 tournament at altitude at the quicker Madrid courts to set him on his strategy to Roland Garros.
“I was very happy with how I settled mentally, and was able to bounce back straight back after losing my serve first game and I really ended up playing some great tennis. So very happy with that.”
“The thing that’s been helping me out the most has been the serve. Today was a great serving day for me, and it made my life a lot easier,” added the Aussie, who subsequent faces Denis Shapovalov within the 3rd around after the Canadian southpaw outplayed Kei Nishikori 6-1 6-4.
Asked about his placing common clay-court development, de Minaur added: “You see less unforced errors from me, and at the same time, you see me being a little bit more aggressive, able to hurt my opponents in different ways.”
For Djokovic, even though, the outdated assuredness has – for now a minimum of – abandoned him after he adopted up his Miami Open last defeat and Monte Carlo Masters first-round loss with some other sub-par day out, plagued by 32 unforced mistakes.
“I’ve had a few of these this year where I lose in the first round, unfortunately,” sighed Djokovic.
“Still my level of tennis is not where I would like it to be.”
Asked if he’d simply performed his ultimate fit in Madrid, Djokovic mentioned: “It could be, it could be. I’m not sure if I will come back. So, I don’t know, I don’t know what to say.
“I mean, I’ll come back, maybe not as a player. I hope it’s not, but it could be.
“I was hoping I can play one more match than I played in Monte Carlo. It’s kind of a new reality for me, I have to say, trying to win a match or two, not really thinking about getting far in the tournament,” Djokovic added.
“It’s a completely different feeling from what I had in 20-plus years of professional tennis,” he mentioned. “It’s a challenge for me mentally to really face these kinds of sensations on the court, going out early now, regularly, in tournaments.”
For international No.44 Arnaldi, even though, beating his idol was once a dream outcome. His message at the digital camera lens learn merely: “OMG” – ‘Oh, my god’.
“He’s my idol, he’s always been,” Arnaldi mentioned of Djokovic. “To play him at a stage like this was already a victory for me. He’s not at his best right now, so I came on court to try to play my best tennis and win – and it happened.”
Elsewhere, Stefanos Tsitsipas fought again towards Jan-Lennard Struff 3-6 6-4 6-3 and can face 10th-seeded Loranzo Musetti, who beat Tomas Martin Etcheverry 7-6 (7-3) 6-2.
© AAP
