Serena’s Next Opponent May Channel Novak Djokovic And Pretend U.S. Open Fans Are Cheering for Her

Ajla Tomljanovic may take a page out of Novak Djokovic’s book when she faces Serena Williams on Friday night in what has become the “Serena Williams Open.”

During the 2019 Wimbledon final, with the fans cheering for his opponent, Roger Federer, Djokovic played a Jedi mind trick on himself: he convinced himself they were calling his name instead of Federer’s.

“You try to ignore the crowd, which is quite hard,” Djokovic said after fending off two match points and beating Federer in five sets that year. “When the crowd is chanting ‘Roger’ I hear ‘Novak,’ it’s quite similar, Roger and Novak.

“It sounds silly, but it is like that. I try to convince myself that it is like that.”

Three years later, Tomljanovic is set to play Serena for the first — and last — time in the third round of what is Serena’s final event before retirement. Williams advanced after a stunning three-set upset of world No. 2 Anett Kontaveit on Wednesday. More than 29,000 fans attended the night session at the USTA Billie Jean King National Tennis Center and the match peaked in the last quarter hour with five million viewers on ESPN.

Serena and her older sister Venus then returned to Arthur Ashe Stadium Thursday night and lost in a prime-time doubles match to the Czech duo of Linda Nosková and Lucie Hradecká, 7-6(5), 6-4.

On Friday, Serena will be back in Ashe for the third straight night, and the fans will once again be fervently rooting for her. That will mean cheering when Tomljanovic double faults or makes an error.

“I think maybe the closest thing to it was when I played Emma [Raducanu] Court 1 in Wimby,” said Tomljanovic, an Australian who was born in Croatia. “I remember coming off that match and thinking, Wow, that was intense. I mean, it got to me a little bit, the volume of the crowd.

“But I remember Novak saying one time when they asked him a lot about this, when the crowd was against him, he just pretends it’s for him. When they chant, I don’t know, Rafa, Roger, whoever, he hears Novak, Novak. I kind of liked that response. I might use that on Friday night.”

Like so many others, Tomljanovic, 29, has been a fan of Serena’s historic career in she has amassed 23 Grand Slam singles titles and more than $94 million in on-court earnings.

“I’ve been a Serena fan since I was a kid,” she said. “I just remember watching her in Wimby finals with my sister in front of the TV after my practices.”

Asked what Serena has meant to the sport, Tomljanovic, a two-time Wimbledon quarterfinalist, said:

“I think she’s changed the sport, tennis, but also what she’s done worldwide for women in sports is incredible,” she said.

“She’s paved the way for so many, inspired me to go for my dreams. Even, like, her longevity. Like, I’m kind of in the part of my career now where they call you on the older side. She’s made that kind of nonexistent. ‘Old’ is not even a word in her vocabulary. Very grateful to her like that. I don’t think there’s anyone like her, obviously.”

She said she actually had a premonition before the Open that she might end up playing Serena on the big stage in Ashe.

“Before the tournament started, I was in my bed and just thought about playing her here on Arthur Ashe before the draw came out,” she said. “I’m glad that it’s now in a third round.”

The way Serena has improved with her speed and movement despite playing just six matches in the last year, there are some who think she could make a deep run in her final tournament.

“She’s looking very good,” Tommy Haas, the one-time No. 2-ranked men’s tennis player in the world, told TMZ Sports. “I think now it’s a matter of if she’s feeling good physically. I mean, obviously, she’s feeling great mentally.”

“It’s going to be tough to beat her.”

But Tomljanovic will try her best to channel Djokovic and pull off the win.