BREAKING: Novak Djokovic Stinks At Pickleball
Novak Djokovic is one of the greatest to ever pick up a tennis racket. He has the record for most Grand Slam titles and finals appearances. He did so during the greatest era that men's tennis has ever seen. And the good news for him is that those records will likely never be broken, because pickleball is going to overtake tennis in a matter of years.
Just drive by any tennis court right now in America and you'll be lucky to find someone out there playing by themself. Drive past any pickleball court and every single court is full with at least another 15 people waiting to get on. By the time anyone would even have the chance to catch up to Djkovic's 24 Grand Slam titles and 37 finals appearances, tennis will be nothing more than a chapter in the history books of sport.
Now back to the video above. Don't get me wrong--I'm sure that with like...3 days of training, Novak Djokovic could become the best pickleball player on the planet. But as it stands right now, this dude SUCKS. And I'm going to enjoy every moment of these next 48 hours where I'm still a better pickleball player than Novak. The man is way too sporadic at the kitchen line, pops the ball up too high for easy putaways, and finds himself out of position way too often. I'm putting Djokovic away 11-4, 11-6 in men's doubles, and probably still getting him 11-8, 11-9 in mixed doubles. Again, this match would have to be today or tomorrow before he gets the feel for the ball and paddle dialed down to a point where he just blows everything past me. But up until August 25, 2024, I can confidently say that I would beat Novak's ass.
Alcaraz on the other hand...well he might be a bigger challenge.
Great drives to bully his way up to the kitchen line, and then a nice little backhand flick to win the point. All without even getting a single strand of hair out of place. The man has game. Still not quite up to par with my two-hand backhand, but he's close.