Djokovic’s Most Powerful Message to The World
How Djokovic defies nature and did the unthinkable at AO 2023
“Show me the incentive and I will show you the outcome.”
— Charlie Munger
This is exactly what we are going to do for the two finalists of the Australian Open 2023.
For Stefanos Tsitsipas, his incentive is clear and simple: it’s a fight for his first-ever grand slam title and world number 1 ranking.
For Novak Djokovic, it’s a little more complex.
Given what he went through in recent memory, it’s not unreasonable to believe that he saw it as his chance to not only get back what was robbed of him but also send a strong message to the world loud and clear.
So here’s what’s on the line for Djokovic:
History-making 10th Australian Open title and history-equalling 22nd major title;
Return to men’s world number 1 ranking as the player who occupies the top spot for the longest time in history;
Dignity and justice, considering not only the circumstances surrounding his deportation from Australia on the eve of the Australian Open 2022 but also the level of demonization and hatred he endured more broadly throughout the covid pandemic due to his unvaccinated status;
To respond to those who worked hard to attack, demonize or silence him;
To thank those who supported him throughout the dark days of the pandemic.
Overall, Tsitsipas is fighting for his tennis career whereas Djokovic is fighting for not only his tennis legacy but also dignity, justice, and principles in life.
Clearly, Djokovic’s incentives to win the match are far stronger than that of Tsitsipas, and this is the basis of my prediction below twitted about 90mins before the match.
Mr. Munger was right and I got lucky.
Madness
I got lucky with the prediction because, though incentives do to a considerable degree drive the outcome, there are many other known or unknown variables that could impact and change the direction of a tennis match, particularly in as high-stake a match as a grand slam final.
One of those powerful variables that can abruptly change the outcome of a match is injury.
For example, Sebastian Korda, who was one of the favorites this year after knocking out former world number one Daniil Medvedev and the in-form 10th seed Hubert Hurkacz in previous rounds, was forced to retire during his quarterfinal clash with Karen Khachanov due to a wrist injury.
While Djokovic’s strapped-up left leg had attracted much of the media’s attention throughout this year’s Australian Open, very few people aside from his team were aware of the severity of his injury.
It was only revealed by Australian Open boss Craig Tiley days after his historic win that Djokovic had a three-centimeter tear in his left hamstring throughout the tournament.
Ouch!
Had I known the extent of his injury before the match, I definitely would have put my money on Tsitsipas.
How can someone with such an injury continue to compete at the highest level and ultimately bring home the title?
When asked later how close Novak Djokovic was to pulling out of the 2023 Australian Open, coach Goran Ivanisevic said 97% of players with an MRI result like that would have gone straight to the referee’s office and pulled out from the tournament, but not Novak.
“He’s from out of space. His brain is working different...” stuttered Ivanisevic, struggling to find the right words to explain the rationale behind this decision.
Clearly, there is no rationale behind it because the decision is not rational to an average person.
True, Djokovic had every incentive to stay in the tournament, put in his best effort and win it under normal circumstances.
But a three-centimeter tear in the hamstring is an extraordinary condition for players of any sport. Even if the tear is not as bad as it sounds, it could get worse with one instance of wrong footing or an overstretched stroke where he pushes his body just a bit too far.
This requires mental toughness on a whole different level.
It’s one thing to stay focused on each point without worrying about the score line or what a win/loss means for you, but it’s quite another to compete unfazed at the highest level with a severe physical injury that you know it’s there and could impact how you move and get seriously worse.
Honestly, what Djokovic did seems to defy both biology and psychology.
Obviously, only he knew exactly how he managed to pull it off. Though his post-match emotional breakdown which I understand is the most intense one he ever had after winning a major does give some clue as to what he had just gone through.
He ran to his box, embraced his team, then collapsed on the floor and cried uncontrollably like a baby; it’s clear he had been under enormous pressure for quite a while.
With the benefits of hindsight, I believe these three things might be behind his incredible run at this year’s tournament:
First, driven by those super strong incentives, he took a massive gamble on his tennis career and got really lucky.
Second, he had the mind of the Buddha in those crucial moments of the tournament and was able to play his best tennis unperturbed by his injury, dramas around his dad, and everything else.
Third, he has such a strong antifragile mindset that all odds against him are transformed into extra motivation and energy for him to play better and win cleaner.
In fact, not only is this win the biggest victory of his life according to himself, but it’s also the most dominating and efficient AO win in recent years as shown in the table below.
The message
Here’s what an emotional Djokovic had to say right after lifting his record-equalling 22nd grand slam trophy. The message couldn’t be any louder, clearer, and more fitting:
“Dream big!”
“Dare to dream! Everything is possible!”
“Don’t let anyone take away the dream!”
“The more difficulties and challenges you have, the stronger you become!”
The underpinning message is really this: have courage and be antifragile.
As is often said, courage is the first of human qualities because it is the quality that guarantees the others. In a sense, courage is the “One” and the other qualities are “Zeros” behind it.
No doubt Djokovic’s decision not to withdraw from the tournament in spite of the extent of his injury was a massive gamble but also a truly courageous act at the same time. Without it, none of the mind-boggling and history-making events would have unfolded.
Antifragility, a term coined by Nassim Nicholas Taleb, is another important quality that goes beyond resiliency, robustness, or toughness.
The resilient resists shocks and stays the same; the antifragile gets better.
Seemingly all the adversity and negativity thrown at Djokovic in recent years didn’t weaken him one bit but only made him stronger than ever.
To me, he is the living definition of courage and antifragility.
Well done, Novak.
What a win, what a message, and what an inspiration!
