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‘I think Novak Djokovic is finding his form and…’, says ATP player

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World number 29 Frances Tiafoe wasn’t feeling on court during his first round match in Estoril, but was glad to finish the match and escape with a win. Tiafoe found herself in an awkward situation in her first match in Estoril, but she recovered from a set down to beat Dusan Lajovic 2-6 7-5 6-0.

After trailing by a set and a break, Tiafoe received a visit from a physical therapist and the American began to play much better in the rest of the match. “I don’t feel very good. I’m a bit low but in morale,” Tiafoe said after beating Lajovic.

“It was difficult for me to move or breathe and things like that. The physio has saved me today. He took me there, losing a set and a break, and I started to feel a little better.” In 2018, a young Portuguese fan, Pedro, followed Tiafoe throughout her run at the Estoril final.

On Monday, Pedro was in attendance, as Tiafoe made sure her biggest fan was there to see him. Tiafoe felt bad, down a set and a break, but she didn’t want to let Pedro down. “I didn’t want to give up,” Tiafoe said.

“I wanted to win so he could watch me play here all week” Tiafoe is playing in Estoril for the fourth time in her career. Tiafoe’s best race at Estoril was in 2018, when she reached the final before losing to Joao Sousa.

After the US Open heart-break in 2021, Novak Djokovic was determined to win his 21st major title at his favorite slam, the Australian Open. However, his desire to reach Melbourne and play tennis didn’t start off on a right note.

Tennis Australia and Victorian Government had issued vaccine mandates for players participating in the event.

Djokovic will play the Mutua Madrid Open

American tennis player Christopher Eubanks is of the opinion that Novak Djokovic is finding his form again and could be “really scary” in the coming weeks.

“I’m starting to see the sparks of the Novak of last year because Novak’s last year was incredible,” Eubanks said. “Novak’s year last year was one of the greatest years a tennis player has ever put together, one match short of a Calendar Slam, it’s absolutely incredible.

But, like you said, the way the year started off, with the way that year started off, he hasn’t been playing many matches, just practicing. It’s very, very tough to replicate match-play situations in practice. I think Novak is finding his form and if he contines this, he’s going to be really, really scary in the next few weeks,” Eubanks concluded.

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