October 27, 2024

Open Court

MORE TENNIS THAN YOU'LL EVER NEED

MELBOURNE, Australia – Novak Djokovic needed a lefty to practice with ahead of his first-round matchup Tuesday against American southpaw Donald Young.

Who better than Feliciano Lopez, really?

Djokovic’s mentor Andre Agassi has played Lopez, who is 36 and has been around a loooong time.

At one point during a very lighthearted practice Monday at the Australian Open, Agassi started firing balls as hard as he could for Lopez to try to defend. Which cracked everyone up.

And when it began to mist pretty heavily, Agassi yelled out “Just like Hamburg!”, explaining to Djokovic and Stepanek that he and Lopez had played a match there.

In fact, it was the third and final time they met – and the only time Lopez managed to pull out a win.

Smiles, smiles and more smiles

Everyone is in a good mood at a Grand Slam before the thing actually starts. Obviously – no one has lost yet.

But this practice was particularly smiley.

Lopez can look like the world is about to come to an end when he’s playing a match. But in recent years he’s been in much better spirits on the practice court. The previous day, hitting with American Jared Donaldson, there was a lot of spirited NFL football talk.

It turns out Lopez is a huge Tom Brady fan.

On the Djokovic side, there wasn’t a single grimace or awkward-looking stroke that might cause concern for his ailing elbow during the time tennis.life was on hand.

These aren’t match conditions, though. The test comes Tuesday against Young.

That match will be Djokovic’s first official match since last year’s Wimbledon.

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