NEW YORK — He moped around the court for most of the 4 hours, 36 minutes he spent at Arthur Ashe Stadium, applied ice bags to his head every few minutes as he grimaced in agony and in certain moments looked like he was barely interested in making his stay at the US Open a long one.
Here was arguably the greatest men's tennis player of all time, drained and dizzy just a handful of games into his first-round match Monday against Mariano Navone. As the night went on, here was the most physically fit athlete in the history of the sport visibly struggling to endure long points without looking like a staggering boxer who needs the ropes to keep him from falling down.
And finally, here was one of the great competitors in all of sports giving in, his body screaming at him that enough is enough.
Will Novak Djokovic finally listen?
For so long, Djokovic has done things that 39-year old tennis players were not meant to do. On Monday night, that battle finally turned in the direction of time and mortality.
#long
Here was arguably the greatest men's tennis player of all time, drained and dizzy just a handful of games into his first-round match Monday against Mariano Navone. As the night went on, here was the most physically fit athlete in the history of the sport visibly struggling to endure long points without looking like a staggering boxer who needs the ropes to keep him from falling down.
And finally, here was one of the great competitors in all of sports giving in, his body screaming at him that enough is enough.
Will Novak Djokovic finally listen?
For so long, Djokovic has done things that 39-year old tennis players were not meant to do. On Monday night, that battle finally turned in the direction of time and mortality.
#long
16 hours ago
