Novak Djokovic advanced through his quarterfinal match the easy way when Fabio Fognini was forced to withdraw with an injury.
I’ve read some speculation on whether it is good or bad for Novak to get a freebie in the middle of the tournament. Example: “Will four days off throw off his rhythm?” I thought I’d weigh in since I experienced something similar one time in the Australian Open and lived to tell the tale. And let me say unequivocally that as far as I am concerned, there is nothing bad about this situation for Djokovic. He’s healthy, fresh and into the semis.
It was 1992 and it was a Friday. I was into the semis of the Aussie Open set to play Richard Krajicek. I showed up early in the day for my match as per normal to get a warm-up in with my coach Brad Stine, eat a bit and get myself ready for the battle ahead. I had warmed up, showered, eaten and was now in the locker room about an hour before match time when Brad and I started noticing officials going into the trainers room with unusual frequency. Something odd was happening…was Richard hurt? Sure enough, the referee walked out directly to where we were sitting and said it looked like Richard was going to be unable to play (due to a shoulder injury he sustained in a five-set win over Michael Stich in the quarters). A few minutes later Richard came out of the training room and over to shake my hand and confirm it. I shook his hand with a somber and apologetic look…and I was bummed out for him to have to default but I also was overjoyed to be in the finals. It was a weird feeling but that is the tennis landscape…you’re all fighting for the same prize and only one gets to move on, and this time it would be me.
So I faced the situation that Djokovic is now facing: how do you keep your match rhythm without a match? I had played a few days prior and won easily (over Amos Mansdorf in three quick sets) so I was not in need of rest and wanted to keep my good rhythm going without taking anything out of the tank. Should I take the rest of the day off? No, I was way too amped up for that. Like a horse that needs to run hard every now and then, I needed to go out and get a hard hit in, otherwise I would probably go crazy mentally. I needed to blow off some steam. So Brad and I decided I needed to go play at least one hard set, if not two (but not five), just to give my body what it was anticipating and keep it fine-tuned. So he went off in search of a junior for me to beat up on, since no one else was around other than Stefan Edberg and Wayne Ferreira, who were playing in the other semi. I went over to the media center to make the rounds for written and TV press to tell them how conflicted I was at winning by walkover. Yes, I played the part and said most of the right things about how sorry I was not to be able to play the semi. I lied a little…sue me.
For the rest of Jim Courier's thoughts of Djokovic's walkover win, go to ChampionsSeriesTennis.com.