Tomas Martin Etcheverry believes Novak Djokovic is “much superior” to the rest of the field mentally and feels the great Serb is “hungrier than anyone.”
ATP #35 also stated that “it’s like he doesn’t do anything wrong” while admitting that the 24-time GS champion “overwhelms you” with his complete game. Djokovic downed world No. 3 Daniil Medvedev for a straight sets victory in the final of 2023 US Open earlier in September.
Thanks to a victory in Melbourne Park and Flushing Meadows, the hardcourt maestro now holds 10 Australian Open titles and 4 US Open crowns. With the exception of Wimbledon where he lost the final in five sets to Alcaraz, Djokovic added three more slams to extend his big trophy haul to 24. Setting a men’s record, this is the fourth season of his career where he has clinched three GS’s in the year.
Etcheverry in his only meeting with the Serbian legend at the Italian Open R2 saw a routine Djokovic as the latter served a straight sets easy victory over the former. In an interview with La Nacion, the 24-year-old talked about the latest heroics of Djokovic in the New York and revealed what makes him the ultimate man to beat on the tour.
“I saw the entire second set and the third. Djokovic overwhelms you. It’s like he doesn’t do anything wrong. He is complete, everything is perfect, he makes you feel it when you play against him. You don’t see gaps. You say, ‘Where the hell do I play?’ And you can’t find it,” explained Etcheverry.
“He returns well, he does it well with his backhand, it goes deep. With his forehand – if it is comfortable – he hits you the winner. The physical movement is incredible, the range is great, it can play you slow, it can play you fast, it has many variants.
“But above all on a mental level, it is much superior. What surprises me is how hungry he still is at 36 years old. After having achieved everything, he is hungrier than anyone and that is impressive.
“This year I fulfilled a dream I had as a child playing against him and I was able to do quite well. In a few months I did a lot, so I realize that I am prepared to be there and continue growing. I have a lot of motivation for what is coming.”
Etcheverry, is enjoying a breakthrough season on the ATP circuit and spoke about his passion for and dedication to the sport.
“Yes, I realised that I love everything that tennis entails, which is perhaps the difficult part. Four hours a day playing, the gym, everything that is not seen from the outside. I enjoy it. And that makes everyday life easier,” said the 24-year-old.
“I also enjoy traveling. That’s where I end the day, I go home and instead of disconnecting I start watching tennis, any tournament. And I do it because I like it, because I want to continue learning and see what I can get from others.
“I look at any tournament, it doesn’t necessarily have to be the US Open, which just ended. Maybe I’ll play an old game, from [Pete] Sampras or [Andre] Agassi, I’ll start analyzing how those guys volleyed.”
The young Argentine reached the quarter-finals of the Roland Garros in June and was also a runner-up at ATP 250 events in Chile and Houston earlier in the year. He also analyzed his renewed form in 2023 that allowed him to take a leap.
“In being much more aggressive and changing bad thoughts that I had, that were not taking me anywhere. I didn’t think it would be so fast, that’s the reality. The good thing is that I gave myself to the way that my new coach proposed and everything happened very quickly,” revealed Etcheverry.
“Wally told me that he should give him six months to play in a certain way and that in that time he would notice the change in the ranking, and that was the case. After six months I found myself 30th in the world.
“Now the goals are changing. It was an excellent year and, on top of that, these are the first eight or nine months that I compete at the highest level, which has to help me not get frustrated when the results don’t happen.”