Novak Djokovic will have to postpone the appointment with the 100th title of his career. The Serbian champion’s journey at the ATP 250 Brisbane International tournament was interrupted in the quarterfinals, under the shots of Reilly Opelka, able of holding serve without too much trouble but also of finding extemporaneous solutions capable of making him dangerous from the back of the court. A lethal mix that has confused the Serbian on more than one occasion.

This is not the start of the season desired by Djokovic, whose approach to the Australian Open characterized by numerous doubts; doubts that only work can transform into certainties. Andy Murray could be decisive in this sense, because through experience on the court he aims to motivate his new player. The Scot will join the team next week and will follow his former rival to Melbourne.

Nole will try to arrive in Maelbourne in peak physical and mental form: his goal will obviously be to win the title and counter the dominance of Carlos Alcaraz and Jannik Sinner, in order to prove that he is – once again – the greatest ever.

Djokovic was very sporting and immediately complimented Opelka at the end of the match with a touching handshake.

The 37-year-old knows the hard path that the American had to follow to return to the court and, precisely to praise his strength of resilience, he published a story on Instagram writing: “Fantastic tennis, Reilly. An absolutely deserved victory. Good luck!”

Opelka wasted no time and also shared the story on his profile using the goat emoji, in English GOAT: the title Greatest of All Time.

In the interview given at the end of the challenge, Opelka praised Djokovic.

“Novak is the greatest tennis player this sport has ever seen. I watched Novak become the greatest in my two years off. I asked myself, ‘What would Novak do in my position?’