Noted tennis coach Brad Gilbert, who currently works with Coco Gauff, raised some concerns ahead of Novak Djokovic's semi-final at the 2024 Wimbledon Championships.
The Serbian made it to the last four at SW19 after undergoing knee surgery just a month ago. In his quarter-final match, Djokovic was certainly happy to avoid Alex de Minaur, who had to withdraw because of an injury.
However, that withdrawal also brought another factor to play. The Serbian had three days between his fourth-round and semi-final match at Wimbledon. Generally, that should be welcomed by players because the more days off they have, the fresher they can be in their next match.
However, the important factor in tennis is rhythm. When a tennis player is in a rhythm, playing every other day, then getting an extra two days can disturb the rhythm that they've gotten used to.
It's not the first time that something like that has happened, and the players lost the match. Obviously, Djokovic is not just any player, and he is more likely to adapt well to that.
However, tennis coach Brad Gilbert wondered whether the prolonged break would impact the Serbian ahead of his semi-final clash with Lorenzo Musetti.
"Just thinking for Djoker [Novak Djokovic] will be 3 full days off for Friday semis, kinda tricky for most players to navigate practice and what to with that many days off."
Djokovic has generally had very little trouble against the Italian in the past, as he won five of the six matches they played. Musetti gave some problems to the experienced Serbian in the past, including earlier this year at Roland Garros, where he won two sets against him.
On grass, though, Musetti likely won't create too much pressure because the Serbian is too strong now. The added day off due to him not having to play the quarter-finals against de Minaur might throw him off a bit, but overall, he should be able to overcome that easily.
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