Novak Djokovic on Del Potro: “I played too much on his forehand, got crushed” – Tennis News
Reigning world number one, Novak Djokovic, was a set down against the 24-year-old Argentine superstar, Juan Martin Del Potro, in the semi-final of the Barclays Association of Tennis Professionals World Tour Finals on 11th
November but managed to find a way out and clinched the following two sets to win the battle. He won the match 4-6, 6-3, 6-2 and in the process devised a plan to tackle the forehand of the seventh ranked Argentine who is also a former US Open Champion.
Djokovic answered a question about Del Potro’s forehand in a post-match press conference. He was asked whether there is a way to handle the onslaught of the Argentine’s forehand and Djokovic quipped, “Sure, there is. You can avoid
that part of his game, you know, try to get more shots in his backhand. That was I think also a change. I’ve played a little bit more on his backhand side and got more opportunity to attack, where in the first set I played too much on his forehand, got crushed.”
He further added, “He already won a Grand Slam title, US Open. He knows how it feels to win Grand Slam. He’s definitely one of the players behind the big four that can challenge for winning a Grand Slam. Next to him it’s obviously
Ferrer that had a fantastic year, the best year of his career.” Some players find very difficult playing against tall players like Del Potro, who stands 1.98 meter. In the nine meetings between the two athletes, Del Potro has defeated the 25-year-old Serb
on two different occurrences officially. However, one of the victories was due to injury-forced withdrawal at the Davis Cup tie in 2011.
The second conquest was for the Bronze Medal at London Olympics in August. Djokovic was deprived of a medal in the Olympics by the Argentine and that must have disturbed the best player in the world who will receive his year-end
number one player trophy on December 5. Hence, it was crucial for the Serb to come up with a plan to battle past the tall Argentine and he did but not before dropping the opening set.
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