Former doubles Australian Open champion slams Novak Djokovic

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Competing for the first time, Novak Djokovic retired against Rafael Nadal at Roland Garros in 2006 after the second set. Having won two ATP titles at the end of the season, the Serb was ready for an even stronger assault in 2007, setting high goals and showing his desire to improve his game. Novak got off to a remarkable start, winning the third ATP title in Adelaide and getting a chance to compete against Roger Federer at the Australian Open. With more good results just around the corner, Djokovic reached his first Masters 1000 final in Indian Wells, losing to Rafael Nadal in straight sets. Novak was the player to beat in Miami two weeks later, earning his first win over Rafa and defeating Andy Murray and Guillermo Canas to claim his first notable ATP title at age 19. Djokovic didn't have much time to celebrate as he returned to Serbia for the Davis Cup. The Serb led his country against Georgia on an indoor hard court, dropping a game against an unranked opponent and turning his attention to the clay tour in Monte Carlo. In his opening match of the season on clay, Djokovic outclassed former Roland Garros champion Gaston Gaudio 6-1 3-6 6-1 in one hour and 42 minutes. Novak won 55% of the return points and had the upper hand, dominating the sets he won to record the 13th victory in the last 14 matches.

Chanda Rubin takes a shot at Djokovic

Former doubles Australian Open champion Chanda Rubin recently came out in criticism of Novak Djokovic for his last-minute withdrawal from the 2022 Indian Wells Masters. The American hoped that, for future tournaments at least, Djokovic would announce such decisions ahead of time and save himself from becoming a "negative story." "I just hope that going forward, [Novak Djokovic's last-minute withdrawal] isn't the continuing story at the beginning of every tournament where we kind of already know the regulations and requirements that are already in place," Rubin said. "With him so far being unvaccinated, that has been the big issue. Hopefully, he can at least make the decisions that he needs to make without becoming a negative story at the start of these events. It's one thing if you are a bit injured and you are on site, you are hoping to play, you kind of wait till the last moment. But in a case like this - you haven't traveled, you're not even on site, you're not in the place where you need to be like training or getting ready for the tournament," Rubin said. "It just seemed unlikely [that he was going to play]. To wait till a day or two before the tournament with the draw already made, that kind of changes everything across the board."

from Tennis World USA https://ift.tt/V3OeSRo

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