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Nobody plays against Novak Djokovic and starts as a favourite. That’s how hot he is presently. The Serbian overpowered powerful-serving Spaniard Rafael Nadal during the week,in the US Open final, to add to his trophy cabinet and make it back-to-back victories over Nadal in a Grand Slam final. Nadal was not his only casualty: he trounced favourite Roger Federer in the semi-final.?
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? ?After winning the Davis Cup with Serbia last year, he went on to win the Australian Open in January, lost the French Open semi-final to Federer, bounced back to win the Wimbledon Open and crowned a fine-form year with the US Open.Save for his semi-final defeat to Federer in the French Open, Djokovic would have had the first, true Men’s Grand Slam of the Open Era.?
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?Djokovic has also won seven other ranking tournaments, while one of only two defeats was due to an injury retirement.
?This year, Djokovic has had an unbelievable 64 victories, with just two losses. “He bewildered Nadal. I’ve never seen Nadal look as if he doesn’t know what to do. Even on clay in Rome, Djokovic made him look like that.
?“Wimbledon was where he separated himself and took to a whole new level. Djokovic is having the greatest year in the history of our sport,” said John McEnroe, after ?he watched him humble Rafael Nadal twice in a year.?
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Mc Enroe dominated male tennis in the 80’s, and in 1984 he won 82 matches and lost just three. He also won two grand slams that year, 14 tournaments (including both grand slams,the Wimbledon and the US opens, and went unbeaten in 39 matches same year).
?This year, Djokovic ?broke that record and went ?unbeaten in 43 games, before he lost out to Federer in the semi-final of the French Open.
regarded by many as the greatest tennis player of all time with 16 grand slam titles, Roger Federer is the only one who has beaten Djokovic this season, a defeat which most tennis enthusiasts attributed to complacency on the part of Djokovic.?
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Others said Federer displayed a lot of class. But one thing was evident: Djokovic showed his vulnerability in that game. With Federer presently in his 30s, it is highly unlikely he will be the force he used to be, for in Federer’s era he dominated both on clay, grass and the hard courts in a fearsome manner, but Nadal burst into the scene and changed all that. He demystified Federer. It was, however, temporal. Nadal won three grand slams in 2010 (the French,Wimbledon and US opens). After then, both players took their rivalry to the next level and between them they have ?26 grand slams, with Nadal accounting for 10. Djokovic defeated both players this year, with six wins in six finals over Nadal and four victories in five ties against Federer. Nadal has looked completely clueless against Djokovic and must have real psychological problems with his rival, and though he has often been criticised for being “just a clay court specialist,” it is true that Nadal has not successfully defended any grand slam on clay.
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Djokovic may lack the fluidity and arrogance of Federer and the power of Nadal, but he has shown both players can be beaten in a grand slam.?
“I am more aggressive and I have a different approach to the semi-finals and finals of major events.
“I am not invincible. I just think a positive attitude keeps you on top of your game when you go on court.”
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It is difficult to see Djokovic losing to either Federer or Nadal in his present form, though Nadal has declared he now knows what he has to work on and promised a better showing in 2012.
Djokovic has taken his game to another level and he still has time on his side,considering he is just 24. 2012 will be his true test, for Nadal,Federer and Murray will be looking for ways to stop him.
Djokovic is on course to become one of the greatest tennis players of all time: that can not be denied, provided course is sustained.
