July 2006: Novak Djokovic beats Nicolas Massu 7-6 6-4 in Amersfoort, Netherlands, to win his first ATP title. We are in 2023 and he has won 93 titles, including 22 Grand Slams 🙌
Novak Djokovic still the man to beat despite Australian Open disappointment says Nicolas Massu: "Still the favourite to win Grand Slam titles this year"
ATPThursday, 01 February 2024 at 09:46
2-times
Gold Medalist Nicolás Massu opined that Novak Djokovic remains the favorite to
win Grand Slams in 2024. The Serbian fell in the semifinals of the 2024
Australian Open to the eventual champion Jannik Sinner 1-6, 2-6, 7-6(6), 3-6
but continues as the world No. 1 in pursuit of his 25th Grand Slam title.
Former
Dominic Thiem’s coach praised ‘Nole’ for his remarkable physical prowess at the
age of 36 and selected him as the favorite for the remaining Grand Slams of the
season. Djokovic won three Grand Slams last year and only faltered in the
Wimbledon final against Carlos Alcaraz.
Analysis by Massu:
Djokovic
reached his 11th final in his last 13 Grand Slam appearances, only failing in
the quarterfinals of the 2021 French Open against the practically invincible
Rafael Nadal at Roland Garros and now in the semifinals of the Aussie Open.
Just days
before the Davis Cup qualifiers, the captain of the Chilean team recalled his
matches against Djokovic at the end of his career. "I respect Novak a lot
and have known him for a long time. I remember that he won his first title
against me, in Amersfoort in 2006, and here he is still at the top. I'm sure he
can still win Slams," he reiterated.
"Novak
is still number one in the world; he is still the favorite to win the Grand
Slam titles this year," Nicolas Massu said in a press conference before
the Davis Cup, where Chile will face Peru. “He is extremely physically fit.
Last year he achieved something incredible," he added.
"The
other guys, you know the ones I mean, have great chances, they are among the
favorites for the Slams, but the same goes for Novak. It will be an interesting
year, I'm sure of that," he said.
Massú's coaching career
The former
Chilean tennis player reached world No. 9 in 2004 after his campaign at the
2004 Athens Olympic Games, where he won the gold medal in singles and in
doubles alongside Fernando González. After his retirement, Massu began his
coaching career by serving as the Davis Cup captain for Chile.
He later
went on to work with Dominic Thiem, with whom he collaborated when the Austrian
won the 2020 US Open against Alexander Zverev, his only Grand Slam victory. In
recent weeks, he has been coaching the Czech youngster Brenda Fruhvirtova, who,
in the last Aussie Open, secured her entry into the top 100 for the first time
in her career.
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