Frenchman Adrián Mannarino has his quirks, like playing with one racket and trying not to know who his next opponent is until moments before facing him. This last superstition was not fulfilled at the Australian Open, he only avoided finding out the identity of his opponent hours after he ousted American Ben Shelton in the third round.
He ran like fire at Melbourne Park where he will face the giant in this first Grand Slam of the year, the ten-time champion and world number one Novak Djokovic, with whom the Frenchman, 35 years old and 19th in the ranking , lost four times..
Not even in his imagination did he imagine what would happen at Rod Laver Arena at this point in his career. How can we imagine that at the end of the second set he will be looking at his technical box, laughing and drawing zeros with his hands as a mirror on his face.
Even the 4h.46′ of defeating Shelton, who engaged in two other five-set marathons in the two previous rounds, for 11h.46′ of total time on court, could not give clues as to what would happen next. Yes, he lacked spark, but he always had plenty of left hands. He is an artist with a certain aroma of retro in his tennis.
He took a beating, ridiculous in a double sense. Because it’s hard not to have a sense of derision when you’re overwhelmed by one of the temples of tennis and Novak Djokovic’s level is also ridiculous. No matter how much it accumulates, it never ceases to amaze. He was devastated, which did not stop him from fighting in public after being warned for overstaying his service hours.
It’s all surprising. Djokovic won 13 consecutive games against a top-20 team in a Grand Slam round of 16. He admitted that he played two of the best sets in recent times. Mannarino did not avoid the bicycle (6-0, 6-0), but the tricycle. When he took the first game, at 1-1 in the third set, there was applause and soft laughter.
Djokovic finished 6-0, 6-0 and 6-3, in 1h.44′. It is not a record, not even a personal one, because he has done the tasks in similar conditions leaving only two rounds. It is a record he played in his 58th Grand Slam quarterfinal, on Tuesday against the survivor of the cross between the American Taylor Fritz and the Greek Stefanos Tsitsipas. He is the Swiss equivalent of Roger Federer.
In Australia, Djokovic’s fourteenth appearance in the Melbourne quarterfinals, putting him on par with Rafa Nadal and John Newcombe, one behind Federer. The Serbian has won 32 consecutive games in the tournament, extending another sky-high record.
Djokovic’s career was huge, in style in which he martyred Mannarino in one hour and 44 minutes. And because he didn’t go with the triple 6-0. “I really wanted to lose that game in the third set because there was a lot of tension building up in the stadium. I had to get rid of it,” the Serbian said in an on-court interview, referring to the prospect of signing three donuts in a row.
Mannarino’s serve point with 0-6, 0-6, 0-1, 40-30, released the heroes and the public. Ovation to the Frenchman, who took it with resignation and good humor. I had no other choice, it was a monologue from Djokovic, who was about to arrive at the moment of truth.
Source: La Verdad
I’m Robert Maynard, and I am a passionate journalist with experience in sports writing. For the last few years, I have been writing for Today Times Live. My main focus has been on sports-related stories and features. With my strong background in journalism and extensive knowledge of the industry, I am able to provide readers with well-crafted pieces that are both informative and engaging.
