Casper Ruud looked at Djokovic's Australian Open chances in his Eurosport podcast Ruud Talks with Barbara Schett.
Novak Djokovic is preparing for what may end up being an epic grand slam event that delivers a significant milestone. He'll be attempting to add his tenth Aussie Open overall, as Ruud mentioned in his Eurosport podcast.
It’s a big number! Let's see how he deals with it because it's something, to get to 10, I can only imagine and it's something to actually tie the record of Rafa, so there's a lot at stake. He has not been a guy known for choking, to put it this way, or letting these things get into his head, but I think it's a different situation chasing a record, and actually setting and tying a record could be different.
Like many, the Norwegian agrees that Djokovic is the overwhelming favourite but he also believes that there are other players that can defeat him. He mentioned some of his defeats last year as proof that it can be done.
He is the favourite but there are other players that have the potential to beat him, to win. He has shown himself to be somewhat not human Down Under lately in previous years. But you know, at the end of last year, he did lose a couple of matches - at the Laver Cup he lost to Felix [Auger-Aliassime] and in Bercy, he lost to Holger [Rune].
Ruud fancies him as one of the players that can take down Djokovic but the list is a long one. He concluded by pointing out that beating Djokovic down under would be a significant feat.
So let's see if the younger generation can try to push him a little bit this year because that would be motivating for the younger guys. If you can deal with Novak and play well with him at the Australian Open, it would mean that you're doing something right.
0 Comments