Now you can swing a racket like a US Open champion — not to mention tell time like one. On Thursday, Sept. 20, Christie’s will conduct an online-only auction of the Head racket US Open men’s singles champion Novak Djokovic used to defeat Roger Federer in the Open tune-up, Cincinnati's Western & Southern Open. That win made Djokovic the first player to complete the “Golden Masters” — a win in each of the nine Masters 1,000 tournaments. The racket will be auctioned together with Djokovic’s personal limited-edition Seiko Astron GPS Solar World Time watch. The bidding starts at $15,000, with the sale benefitting the Novak Djokovic Foundation, which supports early childhood education through collaboration with and investment in teachers in his native Serbia.
The auction will start at midnight and will begin to shut down around noon. To participate in the auction, click on https://onlineonly.christies.com/s/christies-watches-online/novak-djokovic-foundation-lot-signed-head-tennis-racket-limited-223/60578?SortBy=LotNumber&Page=1&PageSize=15&ShowAll=true&ListLayout=false.
Meanwhile, Djokovic is in Chicago, preparing for the Laver Cup, a new Roger Federer-driven team exhibition honoring Rod “The Rocket” Laver, the greatest player I ever saw, that starts Friday, Sept. 21. Federer and Djokovic — whose sometimes tense, often sparkling rivalry has been eclipsed by the fact that they each has a greater rivalry with Rafael Nadal (currently nursing a right knee injury) — will be teaming for doubles. This ought to be interesting. In the opening press conferences, Fed was all graciousness to the Djoker, noting that in playing alongside him, he doesn’t have to worry about getting beaten by him.
Fed paraphrased the old saying: “If you can’t beat ’em, join ’em.”
For more on the US Open and Novak Djokovic, click on http://www.wagmag.com/category/august-2018/.