On Monday night at Arthur Ashe Stadium, 20-year-old American Jenson Brooksby swung for the lines and hit them, swung for outright winners and hit those too, swung with the kind of fearless abandon that makes a New York crowd fall in love with you, and they did. The stadium was rocking as Brooksby surged to a 6-1 romp in the first set of his round of 16 matchup, the biggest crowd of this year’s US Open roaring him on to bigger and better, or more of the same. It was fun while it lasted. It was never going to continue, because when it’s Novak Djokovic on the other side of the net, typically, it never does. “Leading up to it, I 100% believed I could win,” Brooksby told reporters. “Unfortunately, yeah, it got a little tougher.” Brooksby was spirited and tenacious and has a ton of talent. For a while he had his moment. Problem is, this year in particular, Djokovic has every moment. Once things turned, with a break of serve early in the second set, they had already turned for good and the world No. 1 strolled to a 1-6, 6-3, 6-2, 6-2 victory that secured his place in the quarterfinals. When it comes to the biggest matches on the biggest stages, little moments are all anyone is getting against Djokovic. Truthfully, Brooksby’s lasted longer than most. Djokovic stands on the cusp now of not just making tennis history, but owning it, as long as something totally unexpected doesn’t happen between now and Sunday. It is virtually impossible to think of a scenario where an athlete is in a position to accomplish something so timelessly difficult yet it seems so implausible that they’ll fail to get there. For if Djokovic wins the tournament, he will become the first male since 1969 to clinch the Grand Slam, collecting all four majors in a calendar year. On the women’s side, Steffi Graf did it in 1988, while also adding an Olympic title the same year. Rod Laver was the last man to accomplish the feat and since then a litany of greats have been unable to replicate it, from Bjorn Borg to Pete Sampras and, of course, present day icons Roger Federer and Rafael Nadal. Djokovic is moving into truly unique air now. Three more matches and he’ll be the all-time Slams record holder with 21. He’s currently tied at 20 with Federer and Nadal, neither of whom are in New York due to injuries that have an indeterminate resolution date. Getting to 21 would represent a near-farcical number. Sampras was the previous Slams leader with 14 before the modern trio took hold. The great John McEnroe won seven major singles titles in a five-year span from 1979-84. Meanwhile, Jimmy Connors and Ivan Lendl each had eight major singles titles, most coming in the mid 80s. This is sports and obviously anything can happen, but this one has the feel of being in the books already. FOX Bet has Djokovic at -150 to win at Flushing Meadows for the fourth time, with second seed Daniil Medvedev the nearest contender at +187. On paper, at least, some challenges await. Wimbledon finalist Matteo Berrettini is up next in the quarters, then a possible semifinal showdown with world No. 4 Alexander Zverev, followed, maybe, by Medvedev. The sense is though, that the longer an event goes on, the stronger Djokovic gets, his impenetrability from the baseline sapping the strength of his rivals, sooner or later. “First he takes your legs,” tweeted former world No. 1 Andy Roddick. “Then he takes your soul.” Djokovic even seemed to develop a mental edge over Federer and Nadal in recent years, and most certainly has one on the upcoming crop of youngsters. “Most of the opponents that you get to play if you’re at the top of the game, you know that already before coming into the match, you have a mental advantage,” he told ESPN. He hasn’t always been a fan favorite in New York but it’s starting to happen now, the US Open crowd warming up to him, appreciative of what he’s shooting to achieve and its rarity. Aware perhaps, that as loved as Federer and Nadal have always been, this is the guy who will likely be considered by future generations as the greatest to have ever played the game. In an entertaining twist, he’s adopted the wolf as his spirit animal, channeling his inner fight. His wife Jelena has been sporting an “I run with the wolf” T-shirt on the sidelines and Djokovic has spoken about how the concept brings him peace and reminds him of his childhood in the Serbian mountains. It might be something that is actually helping or it might just be for public benefit, for Djokovic likes to put on a show to break up the boredom of collecting all these titles, and you never know quite what to take at face value and what not to. The on-court performances though, they are nothing but real, good enough to withstand whatever obstacle poses itself in the moment, be it an upstart challenger with nothing to lose, or the pressing weight of all that history. Here’s what others have said … Peter Bodo, Tennis.com: “The fans here are a volatile, sensation-seeking lot. Djokovic and the US Open crowd hasn’t exactly been a mixture of oil-and-water, but it’s close.” James Blake, ESPN: “As he (Djokovic) gets closer, like to the quarters and semis, this will be the most pro-Djokovic crowd he has ever experienced.” D’Arcy Maine, ESPN: “Now having played in two major hardcourt finals, and looking better than ever, Medvedev could be a real threat to derail Djokovic’s quest.” |
