Novak Djokovic has had a stellar season so far. Until today he had only lost one match, against Feliciano Lopez in Dubai where he retired due to an eye-infection. Otherwise he’s been pretty much unbeatable. He won both Indian Wells and Miami and my prediction was he would keep on not losing for a good while more.
But 22-year-old Jiri Vesely thought differently and played the match of his life in a jaw-dropping upset with the scoreline 6-4 2-6 6-4. Pretty impressive stuff to say the least.
Djokovic said in the press conference:
“Last four, five months have been tough,” Djokovic said. “In the last week I didn’t feel that freshness for the entire time … I need time to recharge.”
But he also commented on Vesely’s fantastic and composed play, which was accented by magnificent drop shots that pulled Djokovic out of his normal rock-steady rhythm.
What does this mean for Vesely? Well, it’s up to him. He can either build on this amazing win and use the confidence as fuel. Or he can do what most upsets become in the end – one win wonders, where the players is often too drained to back up his win in the next round. The guy is young and talented, but as we all know in tennis, talent isn’t enough to really, really make it.
On the other side of the coin, what does this mean for Djokovic? I don’t think that much for him personally. He needs some rest and can get some extra time off before Rome. On the other hand, the signal is now out that Djokovic is in fact human and beatable and a few players will definitely feel that helps their confidence against him.
It could be a big deal for his chances of winning the French Open for the first time. It might also not.
Time will tell. For now, we applaud Jiri Vesely and look forward to another day of amazing tennis.
