Backflipping Novak Djokovic will force Rafael Nadal to play US Open

Novak Djokovic’s backflip on playing the US Open will surely force Rafael Nadal’s hand as the race to catch Roger Federer.

Novak Djokovic, left, and Rafael Nadal are both in the hunt for Roger Federer’s major record of 20 grand slam titles.

Jimmy Connors, the fire, was so obsessed by his rivalry with Bjorn Borg, the ice, that he vowed to go east, west, north, south, up, down, in, out and all around in order to grab his little steel Wilson T2000 racquet, pull his socks up high like a rugby flyhalf, stick his chest out like a prize-fighting middleweight, give Borg the death stare, strut and snarl and keep punching his deliciously side-spun two-handed backhands at him.

“I will follow him to the ends of the earth,” Connors said before Borg broke his heart and shattered John McEnroe by retiring at the grand old age of 26.

When Novak Djokovic, half-fire, half-ice, performed the best backflip since Nadia Comaneci at the Montreal Olympics by declaring on Friday that he was ready to wear his face mask — part of the entry conditions — into Flushing Meadows to contest the US Open in August, it must have also guaranteed the availability of Rafael Nadal, mostly fire, a bit of Borg-esque ice. John Millman got this right a week ago. When Djokovic was suggesting he might give it a miss, Millman said the big dogs would end up competing in New York because of their pursuit of Roger Federer, one-third flair, one-third fire, one-third-ice, and his 20 major titles.

A week ago, Djokovic was aghast at playing without an entourage that would have given the old Cricket Australia a run for its money, and without access to his favourite table at his preferred Manhattan restaurant.

Millman predicted of the trinity of Federer, Nadal and Djokovic: “If the tournament is on, I think their temptation will be to play it. They’re chasing records. They’re looking at how many majors they’ve won, and how many majors the other two have won. They’re building their legacies around the majors. You’d be silly to think they don’t have that in the backs of their minds.”

And so it came to pass on Friday. Federer had ruled himself out for the rest of the year because like most men approaching 40, he had a bung knee. Two majors remained on the schedule, however — the US Open from August 31, and the French Open from September 20 — and both are set to be uneasy viewing for Federer. You might think Djokovic would win in New York. You might think Nadal would win in Paris. Those results would leave the all-time majors list at Federer 20, Nadal 20, Djokovic 18, with Federer’s status as the GOAT under siege, heading into next year’s Australian Open at Melbourne Park. If Nadal won the US and French Opens, as he did last year, he would land at Tullamarine in January as the most successful male player in history. Still no Margaret Court, but not bad. Remarkable. Possible.

Like Comaneci sprinting to a vaulting horse, planting her hands, flying through the air and landing in the opposite direction to where she had been a minute ago, Djokovic said: “I’m extremely happy and excited to see that all the tournaments, especially grand slams, are organising their events. I think that a lot of people were sceptical, especially for the US events, considering what the US went through as a country during this pandemic. So a lot of people, including myself, were quite sceptical on whether it would happen or not. Let’s hope that in the next two months some of those restrictions will loosen up a bit and that we will have a great, great tournament.”

The Mallorca bureau was yet to report on Nadal’s plans. His most recent view had been that tennis should not resume until it was “completely safe”. He’s always been as consumed by his sport as Connors used to be, with all the same fighting qualities. He was once so desperate to hit balls after a knee operation that he plonked a chair on a court to belt forehands from a seated position. It would be a shock, and then some, if Nadal skipped New York and gave Djokovic the possibility of a free hit. The all-time majors tally is set to define the legacies of Federer, Nadal and Djokovic, who have won 56 majors in 17 years. To them, these are the only tournaments that really matter, and the COVID Open will still count.

Djokovic’s concern was the availability of players from countries most severely affected by the pandemic. “Hopefully every single player who is participating, chosen by ranking and who deserves their place at the US Open, will have an equal opportunity to travel there and compete as everybody else. This is very important because this is the foundation of the ATP and the foundation of international tennis.”

Meanwhile, Djokovic told Serbian newspaper Blic that constant speculation about his marriage, which has done the rounds for about five years, was neither here nor there.

“I don’t read or follow the media. Mostly not,” he said. “So I’m not upset. I understand that it is more interesting for people to read Nole and Jelena are getting divorced than Nole and Jelena are in love. That doesn’t affect Jelena and me because we love each other. She is the most complete person I know, open and full of love. Neither Jelena nor I am burdened with such formalities.”