Loneliest US Open suits Djokovic

No crowds at the US Open is a bonus for the polarising Novak Djokovic. It means he no longer has the crowd against him.

The loneliest and most intense US Open will suit the loneliest and most intense player in the world.

When Novak Djokovic angrily slammed balls against the backboard during his 6-1 6-4 6-1 opening-round demolition of Damir Dzumhur, when he condescendingly berated the umpire, when he huffed and puffed and complained about the shot clock, when he sulked about line calls, when he furiously screamed at his coach, Goran Ivanisevic, for clapping at the wrong time, when he grizzled and groaned and did all the things that would normally turn 23,000 New Yorkers against him inside a rocking and rolling Arthur Ashe Stadium, he was left to his own devices rather than being booed all the way from Flushing Meadows to Central Park. The beauty of no crowd was obvious for the polarising world No 1. He no longer had the crowd against him.

“Things got complicated. Lost my focus,” Djokovic said of the mid-match discombobulations that would normally have raised the ire of the NYC masses. Their dissenting voices, their razzing and jeering, would have frustrated him even more, which would have delayed his return to equilibrium, but without the Bronx cheers and harassment from the stands, he could right the ship more quickly than normal.

Djokovic could pretty much behave as he pleased and there was no one around to give him a hard time. In-built levels of desire and motivation will come to the fore in a tournament that has the on-court atmosphere of a municipal library. Deep inside, who wants it the most? Who’s the most consistently intense? Djokovic.

“The intensity, you care about winning a tennis match,” he said. “Obviously, you are a professional. If I didn’t care, I wouldn’t be here. This is how I play. I play with a lot of intensity and try to bring a lot of energy on the court. Sometimes it’s not super-positive but I try to bounce back from that and react well and recover. Sometimes, as I say, I lose my focus, but the thing is to come back as soon as possible.”

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His recoveries from mini-meltdowns are normally two-fold. First, he has to get over whatever incident has got the goat of the wannabe G.O.A.T. Second, he has to get over the hissing at him from the stands. That process has now been cut in half.

Night one at the loneliest and most intense Open: Djokovic walked into the 23,000-seat Arthur Ashe Stadium in a mask. There was the sort of canned applause favoured by Jerry Seinfeld and Steve Crawley. He removed his mask, but he’d forgotten to do his pre-match interview, so he put it back on, doing a bit of a Greg Hunt by fiddling with it and managing to place it upside down. He walked to a microphone that was set up on the court like he was being invited to sing the national anthem.

He said: “It’s definitely very unusual to experience something like this. But the bottom line is we’re here … this is what we want to do. This is what we were missing for six months and finally we are in the biggest stadium in sports.” Dzumhur, said: “This is gonna be weird. It’s gonna be strange.”

Novak Djokovic plays in front of empty stands at the US Open in New York City

Weird and strange it was. A better match than the scoreline suggested. Thrilling 20-shot rallies? Silence. Miracle on-the-run passing shots? Silence. Marathon games with half-a-dozen deuces? Silence. Aces to save break point? Silence.

For someone accustomed to stadiums screaming their support for the other bloke, the absolute quiet was deafening but importantly for Djokovic, it was also neutral. Music to the ears of someone who’s rarely the fan favourite anyway.

Dissenting crowds have always frustrated Djokovic. He thinks he deserves the respect and support thrown behind Roger Federer, Rafael Nadal and just about every other Tom, Dick and Harry he plays. He would prefer an audience, of course, but he’s best suited to handle, and even benefit, from the absence of a crowd. Man-on-man, when it’s purely about the tennis and intensity, he’s the man.

He’s spent half his career trying to take the crowd out of the equation, and now COVID-19 has done it for him. There’s no Federer in the draw, no Nadal. Quick courts and balls are to his liking. He could not have a more agreeable US Open if he organised it himself. As John McEnroe said in the ESPN commentary, “At least no one boos now.”

It’s a head down and bum up sort of tournament. There’s fewer fist pumps and roars of triumph and general carry-on because players look and feel absurd out there on their own. Imagine Jimmy Connors trying his “This Is What They Want” antics without anyone in the bleachers. You cannot ride the crowd when there is no crowd, a problem for some.

Novak Djokovic celebrates his win

The effect on Serena Williams is to be revealed. She may suffer for the lack of the traditionally hysterical all-American backing; then again, she may be freed by the lack of palpable expectation. Head down, bum up, might be her most formidable mode of operation, as it was for Djokovic while taking his record this year to 24-0.

Post-match, he still did that thing where he stands on the court and sends his love to all corners in the arena. It seemed kinda comical, but all those empty seats might have constituted his perfect crowd.

He was agitated by his courtside entourage, which has basically been Goran Ivanisevic, bellowing at him. Asked why, Djokovic said: “Your team and your box is always cheering you on. Regardless of an empty or full stadium, you always turn to them, right? You look up to them and expect them to be with you and to support you on the journey through the match. It’s a bit strange – sometimes you don’t want your box to clap when your opponent makes a mistake. Damir is a very good friend, so it was a little bit awkward, but at the same time it’s a grand slam.”