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Novak Djokovic confirms the defeat of his team in the Dubai League
Novak Djokovic confirms the defeat of his team in the Dubai League.
The match between Novak Djokovic and Alexander Zverev in the World Tennis League was meant to be a formality for the Serbian considering Sascha’s downtime and the image he left behind in the Diriyah Tennis Cup, which was not bad, but showed that he still had a long way to go to return to his best level. For his part, Nole arrived in Dubai as one of the fittest players on the circuit and with a golden opportunity to gain rhythm for the new season. On the other hand, tennis always surprises, and Zverev, whom practically no one trusted at the start of the match, won 6-3, 6-4.
Despite how the final result was, it would not take long for Djokovic to confirm his favoritism, since as soon as the game began he managed to break ‘Sascha’s’ serve and then confirm the break and get 2-0. Everything indicated at this moment that the duel would go on the fast track since Zverev was trapped with his service, committing double faults and not feeling comfortable in the long-range exchanges.
Novak Djokovic confirms the defeat of his team in the Dubai League.
However, the German did not lose face in the set and would manage to recover service in the fourth game to later achieve a new break in the eighth and score the set 6-3. What at first, were mistakes were now winners and his service began to work and gave him free points.
The second set would start the same as it had ended, with the German being aggressive and finding the break at the first change, at this time Zverev was flying over the court, and Nole was somewhat lost. However, showing the kind of winner that he is, Djokovic would re-engage in the match by returning the break in the next game. 1-1 but with the feeling that the owner of the duel at this moment was still ‘Sascha’. Despite this, in the first break of the sleeve, Nole would go 2-1 in favor, although the advantage would not last long.
HIT ON ZVEREV’S TABLE
Zverev put one more gear and showed that despite not having competed for a long time, he is more driven than Djokovic at the moment since Alexander has been preparing for 2023 for some time and Nole has just started. With 2-2 in the set, the man born in Hamburg signed a magnificent game achieving two passings to the line that placed him with a breakup. He suffered to confirm his serve since he had to raise a 0-30, but later with great serves, he managed to maintain an advantage that he was not going to let go.
From this moment on, the services continued without there being any opportunity to break and Zverev’s pulse did not tremble, so supported by his serve and his great backhand shots, he won a game that will be vital for his confidence. In this way, Sascha is already presenting his candidacy to return through the front door and it seems that these pre-season games have been the best way to get back into a competitive rhythm.
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For his part, Djokovic leaves some doubts, although they are not too worrying either. It was his first game after more than a month and the Serbian knows very well what he has to do to reach his main goal at the start of the season in top form, to reign supreme in Australia again after not being able to be there for the season passed for well-known reasons.
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A former Ferrari engineer has criticised the decision to bring in Lewis Hamilton and thinks the Brit’s presence will mean “a lot of potential for drama”.
At the age of 40, seven-time Formula 1 champion Hamilton will form a formidable driver partnership with Charles Leclerc. His big switch comes at the expense of Carlos Sainz, who has performed well for the Italian squad but who was axed so they had room for their blockbuster new signing.
But not everyone of a Ferrari persuasion is convinced that it will go well. Ernest Knoors, who spent many years as an engineer at Maranello, specialising in power units, worries that Hamilton’s presence could do more harm than good for a team that is finding its groove under Frederic Vasseur.
“A big name like Hamilton also brings a lot of politics and if politics within Ferrari are not managed well, then there is a lot of potential for drama,” he told Formule1.nl. “Hamilton has the tendency that if things do not work out, he turns his whole car upside down and starts experimenting.
“Ferrari believes very much in the big personalities and will follow him. But Hamilton is just someone you have to guide a little bit and not give the freedom to rebuild the whole car, because then it will go completely wrong. So I do not know if it is such a smart move, but of course it is nice for the sport.”
News of Hamilton’s planned move broke on February 1, coinciding with football’s Transfer Deadline Day. That the back pages of many newspapers were dominated by the decision of Hamilton to swap Mercedes for Ferrari was testament to the magnitude of the announcement.
Sainz was not surprised as he had been informed by his team of the plan ahead of it being made public. But the Spaniard responded well with two victories to date this season and five further appearances on the podium, on the way to what looks likely to be a fifth-placed finish in the championship – two spots and 54 points ahead of Hamilton.
Sainz has signed for Williams next year and, after several years of running at the front of the grid, will focus on his new challenge of helping restore one of the grid’s most historic teams to its former glory. But Knoors believes he should have been kept on by Ferrari instead.
The Dutchman added: “I see Lewis Hamilton’s arrival at Ferrari more as a PR move. With all due respect, Hamilton is not going to take that Ferrari from P6 to P1. He will get the most out of it, but what Ferrari has to do is make that car faster. And if you make that car faster, you can easily drive at the front with the current line-up.
“Besides, as a team you have to look further on the horizon. If Hamilton becomes champion in the coming years, he and Ferrari will become immortal. But if you want to build a team with talent for the next five years, are you going to build on Hamilton? No, because he will really be finished after two or three years. That is why I would have kept the very strong line-up that Ferrari has now.”
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Chase Elliott had a front-row seat for one of NASCAR’s most bizarre moments of the 2024 Cup Series season. At the start of Stage 2, the pace car dove onto pit road in front of Elliott; however, it was a tad too late. The pace car made contact with the sand barrels at the entry of pit road and caused a red flag for cleanup.
Initially, there was some speculation on the NBC Sports broadcast, even from the No. 9 team, that Elliott made contact with the pace car. Fortunately, the pace car didn’t slide across the No. 9 car’s nose, but it undoubtedly provided one of NASCAR’s craziest red flag moments in recent memory.
Below, you can listen to Elliott and the No. 9 team react to the pace car crashing into the sand barrels on pit road at Phoenix during Championship Weekend!
Reflecting on the recent retirement of 2017 NASCAR Cup Series champion Martin Truex Jr., Earnhardt didn’t mince words about the toll NASCAR takes on its drivers. Speaking candidly, the two-time Daytona 500 winner admitted that the pressure to perform every week left him feeling miserable for most of his racing career—a sentiment he believes is shared by many of his peers.
“Right or wrong, racing made me a miserable person 90% of the time,” Earnhardt confessed. “And him too. I mean, ask Kyle Busch, ask anybody—unless you’re winning, you’re not happy.”
For these elite drivers, the sport is a relentless grind. A podium finish might bring temporary relief, but anything short of victory is often a source of frustration. The immense effort poured into preparation and execution rarely feels like it pays off unless the checkered flag is theirs.
Earnhardt highlighted the mental toll of falling short, explaining how the relentless focus on winning can overshadow the joy of simply competing. Even a solid performance feels hollow compared to the euphoria of a win.
“Unless you’re winning, you’re not happy at all,” he said. “You’re okay with a good run, but for the most part, all the effort it takes just to run good—it doesn’t weigh out.”
For drivers, the stakes are sky-high every week. Sponsors, fans, and teams demand nothing less than excellence, leaving little room for error or personal satisfaction in anything less than a dominant performance.
Earnhardt also shared insights into his friendship with Martin Truex Jr., who recently announced his retirement. While the two often spend time hunting together during NASCAR’s off-season, Earnhardt noted that the stress of racing even creeps into their leisure activities.
“When I’m with him during hunting season, it’s always in the back of his mind,” Earnhardt said. “It’s that stressful part of the year when he’s as miserable as he’s going to be.”
Now, with Truex stepping away from the track, Earnhardt looks forward to seeing a lighter, happier version of his long-time friend. Without the weight of weekly competition hanging over him, Truex might finally be able to relax and enjoy the outdoor lifestyle he cherishes.
“It’ll be fun to see him loosen up,” Earnhardt added.
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