When Djokovic wanted. He climbed a step and the illusion of Alejandro Davidovich Fokina vanished. The Spanish yielded to Nole 6-3 and 6-1 in the round of 16 of the Olympic tournament in Ariake, in the hot district of Tokyo where tennis players spend hellish mornings. Luckily, this clash between the Serbian and the Spanish was on the center court, more covered, and in the afternoon.
Davidovich got out on the loose. “I had nothing to lose.” But soon, in the fourth game of the match, Djokovic marked an insurmountable safe distance. 3-1 and then he let the set evolve naturally to 6-3. What was seen is the Malaga man with a good hand, giving quality right hands and without wrinkling before the almighty Serbian, the fittest tennis player in the world at the moment.
Davidovich himself confesses: “He's so good, in the second set he went up a notch and I couldn't take it anymore. ” Nole allowed a courtesy game to the promising Spaniard and then he put the direct, 6-1. In 37 minutes he dissolved the second set, 1h 23 the whole game.
Does Davidovich see Djokovic to win the Golden Slam? “Yes, I think he can do it. He's managing it very well mentally. It is at such a great level, I thought it would have a little more pressure, but nothing, “he kept the promise.
Alejandro Davidovich.
Clive Brunskill (Getty Images)
Pressure management
And it is that Djokovic is very comfortable in these Tokyo Games, where he has settled in the Olympic Village. “Many athletes have approached me to talk to me, judokas, basketball players … They asked me about managing the mind, managing pressure, and tough times. I gave him several tips, but I will not say them “, revealed between smiles the number 1 in the world.
Djokovic did not want to suffer much loss because, although the game was late, Tokyo's moisture crushes over fire. This Thursday it will already reach the quarterfinals, where the local idol, Kei Nishikori, who beat the Belarusian Ivashka (7-6 and 6-0) awaits him.