"The toughest one for me is definitely Novak Djokovic" - Vasel Pospisil picks Serbian as his toughest opponent from the Big 3
Former Wimbledon doubles champion Vasek Pospisil revealed that Novak Djokovic has been the toughest opponent he has faced.
They have faced each other six times on the tour, with the Canadian unable to even win a set against the 21-time Grand Slam champion. On an episode of the Match Point Canada podcast, Pospisil mentioned that the Serb is the toughest opponent for him, from among the Big 3.
"The toughest one for me is definitely Novak, also if you take into consideration the game style and the match-up with him being the best returner of all time and the serve being one of my strength, you know it makes a big challenge," he said.
Pospisil explained that the former World No.1 was the hardest player for him to implement his game style against.
"He's the hardest guy to implement my game style on. He's just so incredible at neutralizing big shots and big swings and making points long. For me every time I've played Novak, he's definitely the toughest opponent for me between those," he said.
"Even the few times I've played Roger, I was actually two points awa from beating him in Basel one year and I was up a break in third. Obviously, he's an insane talent but I could do something. With Novak, he doesn't give you anything so it's pretty tough" he added.
“I’m just very grateful and blessed to be able to play this well at this stage of my life" - Novak Djokovic
Novak Djokovic recently defeated Stefanos Tsitsipas in straight sets to win his 90th ATP title at the 2022 Astana Open.
In his post-match interview with ATP, he revealed that he is grateful to be playing at a high level despite being 35 years old.
“I’m just very grateful and blessed to be able to play this well at this stage of my life. You know, 35 is not 25. But I think the experience, probably, in these kinds of matches and big occasions helps as well to approach mentally in the right way,” said Djokovic.
The Serb also mentioned that being away from the sport since Wimbledon made him hungrier to return to the tour.
“I could not ask for a better re-start of the season. I’m super-pumped and motivated to end the season as well as I have done these past couple of weeks,” he added.