MELBOURNE: Jim Courier and Mark Petchey said Novak Djokovic reminded them of Andre Agassi in his pomp after the Serbian superstar unleashed a devastating new style against Carlos Alcaraz.
Apparently restricted by injury following a medical timeout, and having dropped the first set 6-4, Djokovic needed to reach into his deep bag of tricks in Tuesday night's blockbuster quarter-final.
We shouldn't be surprised by anything by now but the results were scary as the 37-year-old bounced the shell-shocked 21-year-old out of the Australian Open in four sets.
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"The injury that Novak sustained midway through the opening set, we were wondering what that was going to do," Petchey – the former coach of Andy Murray – said on Stan Sport's Grand Slam Daily.
"But all it did was flick a switch in him, that allowed him to play the sort of tennis that we never really see. He was so ultra aggressive on returns, a bit like Andre Agassi.
"I mean, he literally just stepped in and lasered returns. And what it said to all of us, it's like this guy's won 24 majors and he's played within himself. He's played within himself!
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"There was another gear last night that nobody else has seen before from Novak, and he's good enough to be able to produce it and not miss. His return was so dominant against Carlos's second serve…
"He just went nuclear off returns and Carlos wasn't able to live with them."
Nine commentator Courier – who enjoyed a 7-5 head to head record against fellow American Agassi – was similarly wowed by the mid-match metamorphosis.
"We have just seen what Novak could have played like for his entire career," Courier said on Eurosport.
"If he decided that he wanted to return like Andre Agassi, I guess he could have! That's what it looked like tonight. It was born out of necessity. This was a guy who had limited options once the injury took place."
Agassi, an eight time major champion, coached Djokovic in 2017-18.
Novak Djokovic and his coach Andre Agassi in 2017. Getty
Djokovic is now coached by Murray and will take on world No.2 Alexander Zverev in the semi-finals on Friday as he continues his relentless pursuit of a record 25th grand slam title.
Alcaraz seemingly mocked Djokovic's injury struggles as he hobbled around the court but Petchey was taking it at face value.
"There's lots of us that have looked at it, with the tear in the ab (in 2021), the hamstring (in 2023), how has he managed to do this?
"He is so spiritual when it comes to these things," Petchey said.
"He is so much about the cells in the body re-healing, he's got the power of the mind in these moments. Novak is the best that's ever been and it's worked for him. I don't know the extent of the injury but if you're sitting in Zverev's camp, you have to expect him to go out there and be 100 per cent fit when it comes to Friday."
Grand Slam Daily host Chris Stubbs then shared a story about overhearing a conversation between Djokovic and Italy's Lorenzo Musetti at an event in Melbourne last week.
Novak Djokovic of Serbia reacts during a break against Jiri Lehecka of the Czech Republic. Getty
"It was hard not to hear because they were talking so loud, but he (Djokovic) was explaining that he's discovered the benefits of putting his hand in an ice bucket and what that can do to him physically," Stubbs said.
"And the levels and depth that he was going to in the explanation – to an opponent – about the physical benefits, it was phenomenal.
"And it just gave that slight opening of a door into the world that he lives in and why he is the greatest that we've ever seen, at least statistically."
