Novak Djokovic is the man of steel at Australian Open 2013.
Come to think of it, he was the man of steel at last year’s Open, too, when he overcame even bigger obstacles in his way to make it back to back titles.
Backing up a mere 48 hours after Sunday’s five-hour epic against Stanislas Wawrinka, the world No. 1 showed no lasting effects, brushing aside timid Czech Tomas Berdych 6-1 4-6 6-1 6-4 at Rod Laver Arena tonight.
Djokovic has not always had the pundits in his corner, lauding his lionhearted feats, his ability to win the mental battle over the person on the other side of the net and ability to play through the pain barrier.
Earlier in the Serb’s career, there were real question marks over his strength above the shoulders, some pondering whether his career would be plagued with failures on hot days and medical time-outs when the match entered a fifth set.
Perhaps we expect too much, too soon, from tennis players?
The younger version was undoubtedly susceptible to physical fade outs, but not any more.
With a decade under his belt as a pro, Djokovic is the one of the toughest men on the ATP tour.
He has won over the Australian public for his remarkable fighting spirit.
His opponents after envious of his skill and fitness base.
His biggest asset is his competitiveness and his desire make every point count.
Earlier in the tournament, Djokovic was playing American young gun Ryan Harrison. He had breezed through the first two sets and was well on his way to a straight sets victory. Djokovic is so merciless now that he refused to give an inch, somewhat recklessly chasing down balls that were near impossible to get and would not have made one iota of difference to the result, only to further inflict a mental edge over his younger opponent.
It is that kind of hunger, that unwillingness to cave in on even a single point, that proved the difference between Djokovic and Berdych tonight.
Berdych was ultimately disappointing. He had his moments, but Djokovic was on another level in all aspects of the game. The fifth seed was not able to get out of cruise control when his opponent was in overdrive and motoring away.
When Berdych was at his best, winning the second set, his usually reliable serve was on target, his forehand was flashing past his opponent and, above all, he was active at the net and chasing down the tough balls. The latter was lacking in the final two sets.
It was those two sets, when Berdych went into his shell, that Djokovic of 10 years ago might have rolled over, but he is made of pretty stern stuff. There was no way Djokovic would going to use Sunday night’s marathon five setter as an excuse.
Djokovic never doubted that he would be fit to take to the court. He lauded the work of his support staff for getting him into what outsiders would observe to be peak condition.
”Well, you know, I consider myself
fit,” he said. ”I have a great team of people
around me that are doing the best they can in their expertise to make me feel
ready for physically, mentally, emotionally, every match, every challenge.
”Obviously,
it’s not easy to always be at your 100% fitness. But, after a five‑hour match two days ago
against Stan, I was quite convinced I could recover for this one. The team did a great job.”
Djokovic will take on the Spanish roadrunner David Ferrer in the first of the men’s semi-finals.
Ferrer will have a battle of his own to be at full fitness after surviving a five-set scare against compatriot Nicolas Almagro under blazing sun on centre court today.
The other two quarter finals will take place on Wednesday with third seed Andy Murray battling surprise packet Jeremy Chardy in the afternoon session and Roger Federer squaring off with Jo-Wilfried Tsonga in the evening.
In the women’s singles, Maria Sharapova’s dominance over her side of the draw continued with a 6-2 6-2 mauling of Ekaterina Makarova, while Li Na took care of Agniezska Radwanska 7-5 6-3.
Sharapova and Na will meet in the semi-final on Friday.
The other two quarter finals will take place Wednesday with an all-USA affair between Serena Williams and Sloane Stephens after top seed Victoria Azarenka takes to the court against Svetlana Kuznetsova.
