Novak Djokovic was in fine form, easing past Italian qualifier Francesco Maestrelli 6-3 6-2 6-2. He dropped only seven games, setting up a third-round showdown against Botic van de Zandschulp. Commenting on Djokovic’s win after the match, tennis legend John McEnroe claimed that the Serbian ‘looked a little irritable’ during the match.
Speaking to TNT Sports, he said, “I’ve watched him probably play about a thousand times, so that would be on the lower echelon of impressed, but I don’t think it mattered. He did what he had to do, and he’s done that a couple hundred times. He’s fine. He looked a little irritable for some reason. I’m not quite sure why, because it was never close… I was always so upbeat and positive.”
He further added, “He looked amazing for 38, I’ll tell you that. Winning early is the most important factor. We say that now but remember the US Open, he did exactly that, and then he had two days off before he played the semis, and he looked spent. So, I don’t know if it matters that much. If you’re one of the top guys, you don’t want to play a couple of best-of-five-set matches in the first week, and your energy’s gone the second week. He is legit No. 3 in the world, so can he handle that going forward? If he can do it this year, would he keep playing next year?”
‘Everything is going perfectly for him’
Meanwhile, Boris Becker pointed out that Djokovic didn’t look physically exhausted like last year, which proved to be costly during Grand Slams. “Everything is going perfectly for him. His problem at previous Grand Slams was always that he was already physically exhausted before the semi-finals,” he said.
“That doesn’t seem to be the case at the moment. He is obviously very relaxed after his victory in the second round,” he added.
It was also Djokovic’s 399th Grand Slam singles win. He is one shy of becoming the first player ever to get to 400 wins.
