Novak Djokovic v Tsitsipas Full Match | Australian Open 2024 Exhibition

Here he comes ladies and gentlemen, please welcome Stefanos Tsitsipas Hello, Yasu Tikhanis, did I say that right? Kalai, see? Yeah, let's go with it. Welcome back Melbourne. You love this place, don't you? Last time you were here You met the guy you're playing against tonight, Novak Djokovic. Was that the last time you played him as well? That's crazy because that's true. Yeah. My last time here has been with Novak, so... How's it this time when you come around playing him, different? Same exciting, just different setup. We have some Greek traditional dances here, which is cool I would have never expected that road labor would get so festive and so lively as now Well, we've got a big contingent of Greek people here in Melbourne. Does it feel like a home for you? Absolutely, I mean I've played here since 2014. Every single time that I come back, I've been greeted in the best possible way Australia for me is home. Well, that's it. Well, good luck tonight. Let's get ready for the big game Yes, Stefanos has got plenty of support here, the Greek sensation, back in Victoria where they love him. His opponent though Well over a decade or so, he's managed to make road labor arena his house and tonight the ten-time champ returns Ladies and gentlemen, the world number one and 24-time Grand Slam champion, Novak Djokovic Novak, what a walkout song Now ten-time champion when you're walking through that hall of champions, does it feel real? Is it ever gonna feel real? Yeah, I have to pinch myself honestly after so many years of Professional tennis coming back to road labor arena is always extra special So I don't take this evenings for granted especially tonight. It's very special evening and I want to thank Tennis Australia Obviously, this is all part of the week prior to the Australian Open Then you know all the proceeds go to Australian Open Foundation and I'm really grateful to Stefanos for joining And all you who have bought tickets to come out and support a great cause and hopefully you'll have a great time tonight It's not just tennis you're playing here tonight. We've got some gymnastics. We got some basketball cricket I didn't even know you knew what cricket was. But which one are you most looking forward to tonight? I'm looking forward to every Bit of the program that we have. I don't know how much am I supposed to talk about it or reveal what's secret? What's not but we're gonna have a lot of fun obviously tennis Being the central point but at the same time we're gonna have some special guests from champions of their respective sports people that are very well known in Australia and worldwide and We're gonna try our luck playing different sports And also, you know, I'm not supposed to say too much But anyway, we're gonna have a great evening and I want to thank everyone for coming out really made this evening special Thank you so much Now that Jockovich they love him here you ready for this Melbourne I most certainly are a special night ahead It's a night with Novak and friends But don't expect it to be too friendly when these two hit the court coming up Jockovich V sits a pass and a rocking All right, labor arena Alright, so we got Petter and we've got Felix with us. Good. Thank you Hi guys, so we'll just face this way I Did just a few reminders for us. No, let's know at scoring You guys are basically running the house Petter and Felix are going to do the point on that. No, let's We play Let you play on Let's do the coin toss first and then we'll take a photo so can you please show Stefanos both sides of the coin I Was dreaming time ago the coin toss and Peter magic was out there tonight loves his tennis Just like his brother Marco who was treated for neuroblastoma His family needing to travel to and from the United States for treatment and a reminder you can help through the Australian Tennis Foundation tonight and brighter futures is what they support through tennis also the dot-com 80f or for a great cause tonight proceeds heading that way and great to have a little Peter out here tonight Supporting it as well and his family. So let's get on with the tennis and head to the commentary box It's a very good evening Casey Delacroix and Todd Woodbridge. Thank you very much James Good evening, everybody and what a treat what a special occasion to be able to have a match like this between the world Number one and Stefanos it's a pass a final from a year ago Casey The atmosphere it's it's it's party like when the Australian Open always has that type of feel but this is even more relaxed We get to see these guys play in an environment where we can see a little bit more of their personality It's pretty special isn't it Todd? It was electric out there the pre-match LED lights going off and as you said to be Have the luxury to watch these two champions play out here Obviously in the final last year, but what a special opening week and as you said What I love about this is that we get to see a little bit more of their personalities and we get to see that in a more relaxed environment, which is Something pretty special that tennis certainly means I took when you use the word relaxed. I mean, there's no more relaxed and Our courtside commentator here tonight. Good evening. John Fitzgerald. How are you? Fitzy? He's got to get his mic up and running he's not he's not there yet I know he's talking into it. We'll switch him on in a moment But while we wait for him to get to get that working, we'll take a look at Novak Djokovic of course, he's the world number one 98 career titles to his name at the moment and Sports science Serbian scientists named a species of beetle after him. Did you know that? I did not know that but I've learnt something new about Novak Djokovic The commentaries relaxed just like the environment Well, one thing we know about him is that he's got his own foundation He gives a lot he likes to be out and about in public and he certainly got a personality. There's no doubt about that He's not he's not short of personalities And that's why we love him not only because he's won 24 Grand Slam titles 10 Australian Open It's but the fact that he does give so much back to the sport He's going to have a huge legacy and and how fortunate we are to have been witnessed to his career What he's actually achieved is just phenomenal and the type of athlete uses extraordinary He's taking on the world number three tonight Stefano Of course the runner-up here last year, he's got 1080p titles to his name. That's good. That's good But when you play someone with 98, it's heading towards a hundred. It's just got the most extraordinary record It's it's a tough ass, but you know what when you're in the position like Steph is this is relaxed But you get a good feel about where your game is and actually you might be able to try a few things and tactically You might be less likely to in a full-on match situation. I wonder whether we'll see you do that tonight Because they're head-to-head Casey. It's a little bit rough for Stefanos it's 11-2 in favor of Novak and Steph won two out of the first three encounters back in 2018 he won the first one and then it went one all then Steph won the next one in 2019 in Shanghai and then it's been one way traffic ever since Yeah, and the closest I think they had a five setter back in 2021 Fine, I had a five they had a five setter in rolling garros in the final when which is back in 2021 You're right with that. It's definitely two sets to love on that occasion and know that Maybe one of these very famous recoveries that he's been able to do on so many occasions coming back from two sets to love In five sets, he's the hardest man to beat ever over a five set competition As you said other than that, it's pretty much been one-way traffic for Novak against it's a pass And yeah I think this is what a what a great chance to play in front of this many people on the court surface on the court Labour arena prior to the event and yeah, it'd be good to see Steps of volley come forward maybe mix in a few different things. So see what we're in for Oh What a way to start Maybe a few aces This will be a one-set competition. No ad scoring. So if it gets to juice It will be the returners Decision of what side they'd like to take that Pretty blustery conditions this afternoon in Melbourne particularly on the outside courts here at Melbourne Park. We've got The qualifying event well and truly underway good crowds around the grounds here 24 that's the number of slams that he has Obviously going for number 25 and had so much success here in Australia Just see there. He just moved so effortlessly just great footwork around the ball looking for a forehand 4050 Todd I think you can hear me now and it is a tiny bit gusty tiny bit a little bit from the northern end behind Novak's back It's a nice little easy service game for Novak just to he's on into What you call like part of the preparation for his defense of the Australian Open title, I think Casey Yeah, we saw both these players United Cup One his singles matches obviously going down to Alex Demon or Steph had a win there and also one loss as well, so Put a match like this and out on court as Steph walks around there in the crowd Australian cricket legend Steve Smith He'll be playing part Peter ball there as well There's gonna be one of the special guests with Novak later in our coverage along with Georgia Godwin and Alan Williams So first look it's Steph both these guys played the United Cup in the opening week of The season of course the season starting still in 2023 Has been a conversation a lot of us have had a where Where is the growth for Novak because I feel like there is just everything he does he does so well and It's so hard to break his game down Todd Well, yeah, there are no weaknesses But but what he continues to do is to improve them that the lesser parts of his game So as an example now He went to the US Open last year and puts on a display of serve volley in the final which he doesn't Normally uses tactics in his game and you go Where have you been hiding that because it was extraordinarily good And so let's go ten years back into his career that wasn't Something that he would have been able to implement in a final like he did and it was a bit of tactical brilliance Now in the little 1% as you talk about you think about know that all the little bits that he does What was here the Australian Open? Kind of about oh nine ten and he would struggle in the heat get him on a very hot dainty afternoon here And he'd almost keel over and so he went searching for why is this happening to me if it's not hot I'm okay, and he went deep into the diet and that's where he became Yeah, gluten-free and worked out. Okay, my body doesn't react to certain foods. I eat Particularly well, I get away with it But when I get exposure to hate that's something I can improve banging prove that doesn't struggle in those conditions anymore It absolutely is the 1% is 4050 50 Yeah, I'm a little worried and I want to put a dampener on this but I Stephanos had some issues with his back in Sydney last week. I'm I'm a tiny bit worried about it Here in the second game It's a little ginger Yeah, he looks like he's got some pain to me one Well, we'll take a look at that service action of 60 pass big wide base on serves he's gonna have to really Push up through there The one thing that he does do is he has a little awkward landing and the way he lands fit See, I don't think puts it would actually put a bit a bit extra stress on the back. I believe yeah, and he was looking at his His bench to with a with a really worried look on his face after the first game Let's hope it's just warming up There is team it's it's a pass They're a fun team United Cup last week team Greece Always full of laughter Always having a good time visit Toronto visited Taronga Zoo Wonderful pictures from their dad And you're left of screen there post a loss An early athlete we talked about the one percenters with Novak and getting every inch out of His body his mind and everything that he does Staying fit is so crucial, isn't it in becoming? Becoming not only a successful player but having longevity on the tour if it fit and flexible and one of the things that we know so much about Djokovic is that when he's pushed out into the Extreme corners of the court. He has this ridiculous flexibility that sees him able to get down so low and then Rebound back into the center of the court get himself into that neutral position. Nobody's style of movement that he has Now to get it in range the way he does we see it so often and then to also recover and get back into the the middle part of the court Is something that Novak does? better than most We're on serve in this friendly here on Rod Laverina It's a night with Novak and he's got the lead 2-1 in the opening Nice little start back looking nice relax it what we see here is a very different intensity to what you would see From him when he's in in that match scenario, and it's kind of nice to Kind of break in there, I guess We might hear from him in a moment or two But yeah, he's Pondering a little isn't he he may not be in pain a little bit stiff working his way through To see him even working the stomach muscles in the lower back. They're just trying to work things out Todd the word it This is a night with Novak and friends and what a night We are having here already a great buzz around Rod Laverina tonight now host is the world number one and 24 time Grand Slam Champion Novak the arm there's been a lot of talk about it mates. How is it holding up tonight? So far good. Thank you. Thanks for asking Always got to check in on your health particularly when you're chasing an 11th Australian Open title now over the other side of the court There's a little dugout over there with all the sports stars. You're going to be going up against later tonight They're from sports stars from right around Australia. There's one called Steve Smith He's front and center over there with his beautiful wife Danny and I'm Steve is known for a bit of shadow batting He's a cricketer that he does he practices. I saw him because he knows he's gonna play tennis before Practicing his swing. I think he's ready for a bit of a challenge from you later on mate Well, it's great pleasure to have Mr. Smith and everyone else who is out here with us tonight. I'm really looking forward to try their respective sports I did play cricket in Perth the last week on the beach so, I don't know if you can count that really as a real cricket, but I hit a couple of sixers, you know a couple of fours So and I had many missed balls as well. So I guess You know heading heading heading up against him will be tough. You got the lingo down Pat We'll let you get back out there and do what you do best. No, that's Jockovich Ladies and gentlemen our host tonight look out for it Steve Smith. No, that's Jockovich. That's not too far away But right now Stefanos Tsitsipas is his main target Stefanos Tsitsipas coming out fits he did look a little bit ginger was having a chat there to one of the officials, but he just needs to Cruise along here doesn't need to do too much. There's no need to push himself But still needs to feel what it's like out on court. Yeah plenty of time ahead before the draw starts Yeah, Todd. I agree. He doesn't need to push himself 100% It's it's a little light-hearted and they put they'll play well if they can but he is ginger. Let me tell you Well, the back's been I think a bit of an issue for a while now and he did play a little bit of tennis at the United Cup, but We took a bit of pace off that serve there 170 Came around the outside of the ball tried to get a little bit more spin and movement Great court coverage here from both players This one trying to get it down at the toes. So it's it's pass has to heat up Tried a little bit of tried to put him off a little bit with no luck popped it right over the head Little rear air off for him. Don't say miss it too many Just catches that one early in the top of the frame Look at that early evening just on seven o'clock now here in Melbourne and a full house for a night with Novak Usually is a few nights with Novak here at the Australian Open, but this one a little more relaxed and extra special That brings up break point, but you're right Todd the atmosphere coming in tonight was It was pretty special actually felt like a night with Novak Exciting They remind them they can get loud. They can be a little Follow the full tennis etiquette tonight You're assuming it's a pass because in his bio He said his favorite surface is grass. His shot is forehand and tournament is Wimbledon Which as I think that would have been put in the bio number of years ago and as his career has progressed that's been his least best surface and worst performing tournament He's been better on clay and hardcourt With the shots like that that forehand on song And Fitzy for it looks good. Yeah finds always looking good. One of the best in the game. He told me today I had a chat with him today. He told me that it was Hardcourt and clay. Mm-hmm. It's like I'm reading his ATP bio and Yeah Learned a lot of his tennis on clay as a youngster and has evolved on the hardcore. It likes them both Because we did have a juice point There is a champion of the game now Goran even is rich working as coach now as for Novak Djokovic Not a bad idea Tough to hit a topspin lob with a one-handed backhand like that You struggle to get enough racket head speed from that wing much easier to flip one over with a two-handed backhand He plays the back spinner look at that that's where you impart the spin Cups the racket behind the ball watch the ball bounce here. It'll stop go backwards Now there's a serve volley that we talked about it's a classic move and Djokovic's got all the classics hasn't he He's gone straight to here in this first step on sir And he's certainly got plenty here tonight a packed house at Rod Laver and arena He's having a bit of fun courtside at the moment. The news to hand is definitely passes headed off For a bit of physio work now, we do know that throughout his United Cup campaign He had a stiff backer to withdraw from a match. It was giving him some grief there and clearly He's looking a little tight tonight. So the Greek superstars just headed off court For a bit of work and we're standing by to see just how fit he is to continue this matchup tonight Against Novak Djokovic a bit of fun being a courtside here the crowd This is what happens when things slow down and a player leaves the court and the contest has to stop for just a moment Impersonators next thing, you know, we'll have clowns out here doing a bit of juggling and why not But we're courtside right now. Ladies and gentlemen Rod Laver arena for those Wondering where Stefanos has gone. He's just getting a bit of physio work behind the scenes He's back has been giving a bit of grief of late great to have everyone's company joining us right around the world tonight as well Georgie and I are gonna head over To where the stars are sitting that'll be out on court a little later tonight Steve Could you come on out mate great to see you ladies and gentlemen Steve Smith Good to see you mate Congratulations the promotion of the top of the order ready against the West Indies next week. Well done mate. Thank you, man It should be good fun. Did I actually see you? Shadow racket swinging before was I right you might have So you're gonna challenge him to go show Novak how to do cricket later on tonight But there's also going to be a bit of tennis against the man himself Intimidated of course. Yeah, he's the best isn't he? So now looking forward to hitting a few balls. It should be good fun What's it like sitting in courtside an arena like this? I mean, you've walked out in front of huge crowds at a G right around the world But this place it's something special, isn't it? Yeah, it is. I've been lucky to come down here on a few occasions and I've actually seen Novak play here You know, he's great to watch they move so gracefully around the court and you see the ball flying at good pace So it's um, yeah, it's great fun to watch They do sport pretty well, and they do a crowd well in this part of the world Don't they what about Melbourne turning out tonight? The Australian Open hasn't even started yet. Yeah, it's impressive, isn't it? You know, it's a great precinct down here. Like I said, I've been down a few times It's I love coming down here and watching some tennis and watching the stars go about their business West Indies two tests great form against Pakistan for the entire Australian team you guys feeling well-placed Yeah, we've been playing well the last couple of years. So yeah two more tests for the summer West Indies I don't know a lot of the players that brought out so a few new ones But I'm sure they'll be competitive and yeah looking forward to it I'm looking forward to seeing you get amongst the runs and not a couple of victories for Australia again. Well done Ladies and gentlemen Steve Smith joining us courtside here. He's gonna be out on the court a little later on Georgie you're with another special guest tonight Superstars galore here and what a view this is. How could being at Melbourne here for the tenant? Oh, man, it's unreal It's one of my favorite probably event in Australia So it's good to be here and good to see the crowd turn up You've been a big jock effect fan for a while. Yeah massive fan and I have to go against him later So that's a bit tough. Yeah, the other day was 200 days to the Paris Olympics It's been a big three years really since the last Olympics the last six months. What's gonna look like for you? a lot of running a lot of training and just just trying to be mentally there and getting through each day consistency ski leading up To Olympics and I mean we're fourth last Olympics and we're just gonna try to do better. No worries Well, thank you. Good luck against Novak later on. Thank you very much Great to see Peter Bowen out that superstar here tonight another one of our big Aussie athletes It'll be out on court very soon sideline courtside with with Novak down You're working up a sweat out here and Stefanos is back out in the court. Ladies and gentlemen, good to see Yeah, come on in come on in by the other half of this show tonight How are you feeling man? I know you got a little bit of work done behind the scenes. Are you feeling okay? I'm feeling okay. I just decided to take a little break. All right, you want to go back out play some tennis I'm kind of popular for that. So I decided All right, you two get back out there. Let's get it on. Ladies and gentlemen, give him a round of applause No, that's different. I was ready to go again little tongue-in-cheek there from Stefanos it's a bounce. He says I'm known for a little bit of a toilet break I think he might have been having a little bit of physiotherapy just quickly They're just trying to loosen things up. But good news. He's back out on court. He's serving trailing 2-3 on serve in this set That's why we have Fitzy courtside. He doesn't miss a beat. Does he Fitzy? He knows what's going on He's serving about three-quarter pace at the moment So I can relate to that speed. Yeah, it's gonna say what what's that compared to yours Fitz? That's about your bomb 175 people living in glass houses Don't throw so many stones. Hey, listen, I always chose my mixed doubles partners They had to serve bigger than me and ask Alicia Mollick. She'll tell you that's the truth You know, it's interesting busy when you watch a match like this when you can see they're just Like for Novak in particular you actually see his level So he's hitting the ball beautifully here and he would be trying a shot like that Very rarely in a match, but you get to see him do something a little different He's so disciplined that we often don't see the creative side of it You'd see that in a practice match We like when he's warming up the week before and playing practice sets with players You'd see it more then wouldn't you and it's a bit like that tonight Really is an amazing crowd here though. Todd. Cheers. It's if there's 15,000 packed here. There must be 14 8, Oregon Site looking amazing If you are coming over the next couple of weeks, I can assure you the site is ready Well, it's amazing plenty of spaces plenty of shade and plenty of great tennis Another deciding point very We rarely see this format where it gets to juice We see this in doubles where it's a juice point deciding point wins and the receiver will get to choose which side they'd like to receive from Well, and there is the break forehand slightly miss it push wide by sits it bass and jock of it as the break When you're not moving at your absolute best that's when you see Those little bit of miss hits like that one. They're not quite adjusting the fate As well as he would I like this. It's a pass timing not as clean and crisp as You would be used to see And 50 really struggling off the slice backhand tonight Well, I think it's just what you said. He's his movement is is not a hundred percent So he's just slightly out of position a lot of the time and then it's hard to hit the ball in the middle every time Kilometers an hour out wide from Novak And you can see the difference with Novak those small adjustment steps around the ball Always in fantastic position. Both of these players are such good ball strikers, but Novak just his ability to find space You see here good pitch charges small adjustment steps before he unleashes backhand cross-court Well, no one catches the line as well Some clean hitting from jock of itch and however good signs for him and he's fans. He's got five two in this set Yeah, some slow-mo there there's a couple of balls off the Sits in pass racquet. We just season not quite centering it that well, is he? He's certainly not and it gets Amplified if you like when you're playing against Novak. Oh, absolutely. If you're not in that ideal and perfect position Someone that's going to expose your movement or your ability to hit clean off the racket. It's Novak Sharp So here we are night with Novak and This a replay if you like of the final from here last year No, that jock of itch winning that one in straight sets and he's got an early break here in this set at 5-2 against stephanos sit surpass and Of course Novak started his campaign for 2024 in the United Cup in Perth Where he had a win and a loss that lost to Australia's Alex team and all a little bit of trouble with his right wrist And forearm, but there looks like there is none of that out here tonight hasn't touched it gone near it ball strike He's been good and you know the one thing we know about him Casey is that he's Preparation and the perfection that he puts into that to be ready to go five sets over two weeks is flawless And he's looking very good here Professional and I'm not sure there's I mean over the length of five set tennis Todd There's not many that play five set tennis better than that jock of itch in terms of managing each set Well, there's a number of players out on to it. You see I think that you can play the level required to push Novak, but He can he's levels he stays at them for longer than just about anybody that's ever played the game Would that be fair that sums it up for me Todd exactly? He doesn't drop off it's a rare thing when he drops off and and that's a hard thing as a as a pro You know to maintain that level constantly particularly against his standard 40 long You see it often in matches really good players who will put everything into a first set for instance They might win that in a close one or even lose it, but then they've got to start again immediately He's the best at doing that Swing drive volley from sits it best a nice little hold to love keeps himself in it jock of its leads five games to three 50 50 no And that was beautiful up onto that short one got jock of itch at full stretch and then drops a racket whips Here look to the racket head speed bang wonderful execution from sits it past Joke of itches placement on that out wide serve on the juice core is just impeccable. He gets it short in the box one hitting the line and taking off It's been some pretty good spot serving as we like to say or accuracy and speed in the corner sets up a nice little put away like that and Here we are to match points to set points in this encounter And he starts it as he finished it no that jock of itch that's with an ace The friendly against it surpasses six games to three It we're far from done here a night with Novak and friends a 6-3 win for Novak over his good mates and last year's finalists with him Stefano