It would be an understatement to contend that Novak Djokovic will be the overwhelming favorite against Tommy Paul in the semifinals of the Australian Open. It isn鈥檛 simply that the latter has already been around a lot and yet will be making the Round of Four for the first time in 14 major tournament appearances. It鈥檚 that the 2021 champion of the first event in the Grand Slam rota appears close to invincible once more.
Not that Djokovic is in unfamiliar territory. In fact, it can be reasonably argued that the World Number Five is most at home Down Under. It鈥檚 where he has claimed a whopping nine of his 21 major titles, and where his uncanny capacity for constructing points 鈥 unparalleled in any case 鈥 is even more evident. The GreenSet acrylic surface of the courts at Melbourne Park are a perfect complement to his predilection for aggressive counterpunching.
In other words, the title is Djokovic鈥檚 to lose. Never mind that he was deported last year for his refusal to be vaccinated in compliance with then-prevailing COVID-19 border protocols. Forget that he鈥檚 nursing a left hamstring injury that appeared to hamper him in the first two rounds. Since then, he has played near-flawless tennis; Alex de Minaur and Andrey Rublev, his last two opponents seeded 22nd and fifth, respectively, could muster only token opposition.
Interestingly, resistance to Djokovic鈥檚 smooth sailing seems to be more pronounced off the court. Precisely because he has been dominant, not a few quarters have questioned if he鈥檚 really less than 100% physically as he claims. The criticism is misplaced, to be sure; after all, his performance with a racket in hand is all that matters. And when he goes up against unseeded Paul today, he鈥檒l be at nothing less than his best.
Anthony L. Cuaycong has been writing Courtside since 大象传媒 introduced a Sports section in 1994. He is a consultant on strategic planning, operations and human resources management, corporate communications, and business development.
