“Alcaraz, Rune, myself, we are all young”- Novak Djokovic jokes being a part of the Next-Gen after reaching the 2022 Paris Masters final
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Carlos Alcaraz, Novak Djkokovic and Holger Rune
35-year-old Novak Djokovic is still going stronger than ever as he won a thriller semi-final against Greek World No.5 Stefanos Tsitsipas 6-2,3-6,7-6(7-4). With ice of veins, he is still playing at the top of his abilities when it matters the most. Despite not being able to convert 4 break points in the 3rd set and going down a mini break in the tie-breaker, the Serbian has once again proved himself as the man of steel’ by tennis fans across the globe.
He didn’t confine the happiness of beating another young guy all over again as he said, though in a joking way that he is rolling back the years and still young for the new generations. He jokingly said after the victory over the Greek, “Alcaraz, Rune, myself, we are all young“.
Even players born in the 1990s are seen outplayed by the 2000 kids like Felix Auger Aliassime, Carlos Alcaraz, Holger Rune, Jannik Sinner, and Lorenzo Musetti, but not the 1980s-born Novak Djokovic. This bunch has already been fighting for the top prizes in tennis consistently.
Novak ‘Young’ Djokovic – The battles against generations
1980s-born Novak Djokovic is battling now against the 2000s generation in addition to the 1990s generation. He and Spanish World No.2 Rafael Nadal have constantly shown the tennis world how to deal with faster young guns who are currently at their best forms. However, more interestingly, the question is how long they can continue.
Djokovic has a winning record against most of the players born in the 1990s (minimum 2 matches played against each other) except Australian Powerhouse Nick Kyrgios (1-2) and 29-year-old Czech Jiri Vesely (0-2). He leads 9-2 against 24-year-old Stefanos Tsitsipas, 3-0 against 23-year-old Casper Ruud, 7-4 against 26-year-old Daniil Medvedev, 25-year-old Alexander Zverev, and 7-5 against 29-year-old Dominic Thiem.
Coming to the record against the new generation, he has a losing record against 19-year-old Carlos Alcaraz (0-1) but tied 1-1 against 22-year-old Felix Auger Aliassime. He has defeated 21-year-old Jannik Sinner twice and 19-year-old Holger Rune once. He also has a 3-0 record against a promising 20-year-old Lorenzo Musetti.
Statistically, Djokovic has not played much against the 2000-born generation as compared to the 1990 generation. His next match-up in the 2022 Paris Masters Final is against Holger Rune, one of the best players of the 2000s generation and probably a player whom he will have to face a lot in the nearby future. To put it simply, it’s safe to say that the tennis world is all set for the ultimate head-on-head clash between tennis legend Novak Djokovic and up-and-rising Holger Rune in the 2022 Paris Masters final.
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Vipul Payattuparambil
(552 Articles Published)