I was just watching highlights of his recent Davis Cup rubber over Sam Querrey of USA. In the second game, Djokovic rolled his right ankle severely to the point where it was nearly a 90 degree angle between his leg and foot. Despite excruciating pain, he managed to not only win the first [...]]]> Novak Djokovic.

I was just watching highlights of his recent Davis Cup rubber over Sam Querrey of USA. In the second game, Djokovic rolled his right ankle severely to the point where it was nearly a 90 degree angle between his leg and foot. Despite excruciating pain, he managed to not only win the first set 7-5, hold set points in the second, but actually raised his level and dominated Querrey 6-1, 6-0 in the next two sets. Such a far cry from the Djoker who’d retire as soon as the mercury hit 32 degrees.

This got me thinking. I have to say that this is the most remarkable metamorphosis I have ever seen in tennis (despite my relatively young age)  since Roger Federer himself transformed from an inconsistent, brilliantly talented contender into the leading candidate for the Greatest Of All Time (GOAT).

Federer, in my eyes, is the most gifted all-round player I have ever seen in terms of aesthetic quality, hand-eye coordination, kinaesthetic awareness, creative shot making in all departments, the marriage of traditional and modern style of play and his ease of effortless output. The results speak for themselves. But we all know of the mental price tag that is demanded in proportion to the talent inherent in the player and Federer is no exception. Whilst it would be grossly unfair to call Federer mentally weak in light of his incredible career consistency and clutch plays over the years in the biggest situations possible in tennis, there are obvious frailties that have been laid bare by Nadal and even Djokovic.

Let’s look at Djokovic and the qualities he possesses:

Extremely durable physically and ability to play punishing 5-set matches back to back

Djokovic’s incredible physicality (I do not own the rights to this photo)

? Check.

Outstanding mental fortitude? Check.

Tactically astute? Check.

Rock-solid technical fundamentals and biomechanics? Check.

Exceptional court coverage? Check.

Excels in defence and attack? Check.

Able to create and capitalise on opportunities at the net? Check.

Actively improving? Check.

Performs at the highest level on the biggest stages time and time again? Check.

Displays leadership qualities above and beyond what is required i.e. Davis Cup? Check.

He may not be the most aesthetically appealing player i.e. Federer or the most awe-inspiring player i.e. Nadal but right here, right now, he is the deadliest.

Everything you’d need in the modern prototype of today’s player, Djokovic has in spades: exceptional court coverage, astute court positioning, a strong and accurate first serve and an ever-improving second serve, sound net instincts, variety, power, touch off both groundstroke wings, the ability to play first-strike tennis buttressed by an ironclad mental fortress inside his head.

Whilst detractors may point to Federer as having the better hands and Nadal the bigger heart, I digress in two areas. Federer, for all his talent, has a major Achilles heel that has prevented him from becoming an even more complete player – volleying. He has stoned countless volleys of all kinds on crucial points over the years – low volleys, half-volleys, high volleys, sitting volleys, stretch volleys, drop volleys. Very rarely has Djokovic missed one on a crucial point due to his better net positioning, tactical understanding and willingness to treat every volley with the respect it deserves. He knows why and how to finish the point at the net and actually executes it.

Nadal may have built his career on his exceptional fighting qualities and physicality but Djokovic has matched and bested him in titanic matches on all surfaces. Nadal’s fighting qualities are often impotent in the face of Djokovic’s baseline supremacy and on the rare occasions where everything has been thrown at one another and it comes down to pure desire to win without fear, Djokovic has triumphed.

Nadal fights like a demon for fear of failure whereas Djokovic has absolute self-belief and confidence in his abilities in the most intense pressurised situations where only those who are unafraid to lose can win. He has the rare aura and ability to be both dangerous when behind in a match and be the most ruthless of champions when it comes to delivering the killer blow. Even Nadal himself says that if you give Djokovic an inch, he will take everything in a blink of an eye. The way Djokovic finished off Nadal in the 2011 US Open and 2012 Australian Open finals is evidence enough.

In rebuilding his serve into one of the most underrated weapons in the game and with his peerless service returns, he continues to actively seek improvement in his quest for destiny.

On a final note, from what I have seen, neither Federer or Nadal had the same depth of desire and self-belief that they would be No.1 that Djokovic did.

Federer had ambitions and dreams of being a good player and perhaps winning a Grand Slam, and was once advised by his father to aim for the Top 100 so that he could at least cover his expenses!

Nadal is too fatalistic in his attitude to profess such an attitude, with his work ethic and the incessant deliberate use of injustice in Toni’s coaching methods would have prevented any outward burning self-desire. If Nadal had had a coach other than Toni, I believe that he would not have become the fighter he is today.

Ever since Djokovic first laid eyes on a tennis court, he has possessed an unbridled fervent desire to be World No.1 and this is what separates him from every other tennis player on the planet today.

So do I think Djokovic is a more complete player than Federer?

Yes.

The man who is considered by many to be the Greatest Of All Time, if not by virtue of his achievements, but also by the completeness of his game and sheer audacity of his talent, has now entered his final years on the professional tour.

One could forgive Roger [...]]]> Already, the twilight years have begun.

The man who is considered by many to be the Greatest Of All Time, if not by virtue of his achievements, but also by the completeness of his game and sheer audacity of his talent, has now entered his final years on the professional tour.

One could forgive Roger Federer if he chose to simply play out his final years whilst basking in the glory and the adulation showered upon him from adoring audiences wherever he went.

Instead, he is facing the greatest and most formidable challenge of his entire career. This is not a challenge wrought by any particular player, neither the Spanish nightmare or the Serbian juggernaut. This is a challenge that arises from the very core of Federer, lurking in every impossibly graceful movement and every incredulous shot he undertakes.

How can someone with the hand-eye coordination far beyond what ordinary people can comprehend, miss the most basic shots at the most inexplicable times and yet is capable of supernova-grade brilliance without blinking an eye? The answer is simple but yet so audacious that it beggars a more complex answer befitting someone of Federer’s stature and achievements in the game.

He is not as mentally strong as he should be.

At first, it appeared the jitters were only caused by one certain Spaniard and only on clay. Even the Australian Open 2009 final was deemed to be an aberration by some Federer loyalists, given its slow playing qualities at night.

Even after losses to Del Potro at the US Open 2009, Soderling at Roland Garros and Berdych at Wimbledon in 2010, and Tsonga’s stunning win from two-sets to love down at Wimbledon 2011, the general feeling was that he had been unlucky to run into extremely dangerous players who happened to be riding a wave of incredible form that day.

The one match that really laid bare Federer’s mental fragility was the semifinal of US Open 2011.

Federer surged strongly to a commanding two sets to love lead and many felt that after his loss to Tsonga at Wimbledon, he would not make that same mistake again. Especially when serving for the match at 5-4 in the 5th set against a punch-drunk Djokovic. Yet 3 games later, it was Djokovic who raised his hands in victory. In spite of that famous all-out service return winner at 40-15 by Djokovic, despite having one more match point on serve, despite still being on serve at 5-5, Federer was already a broken man. A startling sight to behold of a man considered to be the Greatest Of All Time.

How can such a statement be true now with not one, but two arch-rivals who have demonstrated much stronger mental fortitude on the biggest of stages?

This is Federer’s true challenge and the defining one of his career. His generational rivals, Lleyton Hewitt, Andy Roddick, Marat Safin, David Nalbandian all burned brightly but faded quickly and Federer was unchallenged in a display of unparalleled dominance over a period of 4 years. It is fair to say that he is the greatest of his generation and never was truly pushed to improve.

Against Nadal and Djokovic, two incredible players who are more than 5 years younger than Federer, it is only now Federer has realised he has to make tangible improvements mentally, physically and tactically in order to compete. They force him to concentrate at crucial points, to develop truer self-belief under pressure and to actually take the win from his opponents, not just to wait for them to miss – something his generational rivals could not do on a sustained and consistent basis over a lengthy period of time, let alone in matches.

Nearly 31 years old and at No.3 in the world, facing public pressure, the weighty burden of his incredible past successes, two players who have thwarted him at every turn and his own mental demons, can Federer survive this career-defining challenge?

Since the US Open final, Federer has been on fire. He has won 6 tournaments in the space of 6 months and compiled a staggering 40-3 win-loss record, including wins over Nadal both on fast indoor court and outdoor slow hard court.

I wouldn’t bet against the great man.

The two great titans of our game, Roger Federer and Rafael Nadal have been dethroned in a manner that brooks [...]]]> Over the last six months, great battles have been fought, with crushing defeats and soaring triumphs. As the dust settles and the horizon clears, the sun rises on a new day. A new world order.

The two great titans of our game, Roger Federer and Rafael Nadal have been dethroned in a manner that brooks no argument and reconfirms the ascendancy of the game’s best player, Novak Djokovic.

After a tumultuous French Open which saw Federer exhibit the magical talent of his supremely complete game to defeat Djokovic in a tight four-set battle and nearly toppled the modern-day juggernaut, Nadal in the final, many wondered if the old world order was still intact and if Djokovic would fade once again into the shadows. Questions would be asked and answered at the holiest of all tournaments, Wimbledon.

As play began and storylines unfurled on the hallowed lawns of the most prestigious Grand Slam, some believed it would be a return to the glory days of old for Federer by taking out his most cherished title. His nemesis, Nadal would become a captive of his own body again, suffering a injury to his left foot. However, in the quarterfinals, a powerful challenger named Tsonga delivered the first shock and awe of the tournament in defeating Federer by virtue of incredible blitzkrieg grasscourt tennis not seen since the days of the immortal and legendary Pete Sampras. The possible vestiges of the old world order had been swept away.

All eyes were on the young Bernard Tomic in his quarterfinal against Djokovic to catch a glimpse of the far future. The resurrection of Australian tennis albeit in a game not inherently found in the long and respected heritage of attacking Australian players. Djokovic proved to all that it was still his time by overcoming the young upstart and then dismantling Federer’s conqueror, Tsonga in the semifinals.

Meanwhile, despite his injury, Nadal was approaching his usual whirlwind momentum in rolling over Mardy Fish in the quarterfinals and in a shocking display of psychotic aggressiveness and control, rampaged right through Andy Murray while committing merely seven unforced errors. He was determined to show the world that Djokovic’s No.1 position was just a brief blip on the map of world atennis history.

In the final, Djokovic up against Nadal, a two-time Wimbledon champion and the man he had just replaced at the pinnacle of world tennis. This match would either be a coronation of the new World No.1 or a confirmation of Nadal’s dominance in the Grand Slams.

As the first few games progressed, two things were clear – Nadal can now be beaten consistently and comprehensively in baseline battles and because of this, he is mentally shaken.

Because of Djokovic’s incredible lateral court coverage and accurate backhand, Nadal can no longer rely solely on his crosscourt forehand to break open the rallies so that he can dominate with his patented inside-in/inside out forehand combinations. This results in the tactical scales being tilted in Djokovic’s favour as he can no only attack but also consistently expose Nadal’s backhand wing without having to resort to impatient and ‘hit it and pray’ shots from well out of position. He can utilise his flat laser-like groundstrokes to work his way to the net to the point where Nadal is well and truly in a difficult position and cannot offer anything more than a standard reply that is easily dispatched into the open court with a simple drop volley. The ease in and net positioning from which Djokovic was able to carry out those drop volleys attest to the excellent tactical application of those consistently heavy and accurate groundstrokes.

Djokovic has the better first serve and his return of serve is a level above Nadal’s – both vital ingredients to prevent Nadal from settling into rallies on his own terms and gaining momentum with which Nadal can unleash his exceptional swerving forehands free of any nerves.

In the end, Djokovic dominated in such an emphatic fashion that there were no questions as to his rightful supremacy of tennis today.

The Djoker has the last laugh today but will he tomorrow?

One word – confidence. Not the fleeting, day-to-day, or even hour-to-hour flimsiness version. The tangible, [...]]]> Why is Djokovic flying so high right now? What is the one thing that is allowing him to look down upon all others from stratospheric heights? What is the magic elixir that keeps him from becoming the modern day Icarus?

One word – confidence. Not the fleeting, day-to-day, or even hour-to-hour flimsiness version. The tangible, rock hard, version that can only be achieved with a clear mind and accumulation of wisdom.  The difference between a talented player and a true champion.

Despite his inherent natural ability and formidable athleticism honed through years of backbreaking, mind-numbing practice and hundreds of mental battles fought in matchplay, there was always a seamlessness missing from Djokovic’s tennis despite a game that professed exactly that. From the ever-present familial influence in his players’ box, his frequent gasping for air after long rallies, his slumped shoulders and bowed head and to his sometimes violent verbal outbursts, Djokovic appeared to be a man who played for something or someone outside of himself and was drowning under that burden. He was playing not for himself but for Serbia.

Djokovic is a proud and patriotic citizen of his beloved Serbia to the point where he felt compelled to address a rally in Belgrade commenting on Kosovo’s declaration of independence. It was no secret that last year following the US Open and during the Masters Cup, his real focus was on the Davis Cup final against France as the implications of a triumph would be the makings of history.

In that fateful final, he stood tall. He swept aside Gilles Simon to level the tie for Serbia at 1-1. Then, facing a 2-1 deficit on the final day of singles, he rose to the occasion again dismantling Monfils in straight sets to set the stage for Troicki to seal the historic triumph. Not only had Djokovic spearheaded his country to their first ever Davis Cup win but in doing so, he cast off the Atlas-sized pressure of carrying his country and consolidated his confidence that he could perform under immense pressure in one go.

In short, he became a man who plays free of any mental or physical shackles. A man of true confidence.

We saw it with Roger Federer from the Tennis Masters Cup of 2003 to the Tennis Masters Cup of 2007 before his wings began to smoulder from the sun’s fierce heat and he was forced to retreat to a lower, less perilous height where he steadily circles today.

We saw it with Rafael Nadal in 2010 when he emerged reborn after his triumph at Monte Carlo which sparked his superhuman rampage through the history books to the point where he went supernova.

And so we see it today with Djokovic. It is apt that the latest Head commercial features Novak playing tennis on an old world biplane in the skies and his results show that he is still playing such audacious tennis in reality.

Win or lose against Nadal in the final of Miami, this time his confidence won’t desert him so easily.

Novak Djokovic with his stellar play, sparked by his pivotal role in securing a Davis Cup triumph for his beloved Serbia, has continued that rich form in 2011 by winning the Australian Open, Dubai, and the BNP [...]]]> There is no longer a new world order on the horizon. For it is right here, right now!

Novak Djokovic with his stellar play, sparked by his pivotal role in securing a Davis Cup triumph for his beloved Serbia, has continued that rich form in 2011 by winning the Australian Open, Dubai, and the BNP Paribas Open in Indian Wells with a stunning 19-0 record in ATP play (soon to be 20-0, by the looks of his ongoing match against James Blake)

Compare that with Rafael Nadal whose record this year is 15-3 with losses to Djokovic, Ferrer and Davydenko. Against the latter two, he was physically incapacitated. Roger Federer on the other hand is a highly credible 19-3 with all 3 losses coming to the scorching-hot Djokovic.

Many people have been proclaiming the demise of the ‘R’ ruling class – Roger and Rafa with the Djoker’s dominating presence in 2011. I believe that whilst Djokovic is successful in staking his claim to the title of the world’s best player right now, he still has a mighty battle to truly force his way into the number one spot and the history books. With the legacies that Federer and Nadal possess, the mountain is truly steep but there is no question that he is capable of writing his own legacy of excellence.

Nadal will be looking to reassert his natural confidence in his world of clay starting with Monte Carlo Masters and Federer will be looking to regain his most cherished trophy of all, Wimbledon, translating onto the fast hardcourt season of North America. Where Djokovic will perform is anyone’s guess but if he continues to play with such unshakeable confidence, Federer and Nadal will be forced to play at their highest level in order to stop him.

The key question in my mind is: When Djokovic starts to return to normal, will his play be enough to still dominate the rest of his Top 10 peers and keep him as equals amongst Nadal and Federer? Federer and Nadal have shown that whilst not at their absolute best, they still remain a world away from the rest of their counterparts. It is Djokovic’s turn to prove the same.

Welcome to my website! I hope you enjoy reading my blog posts and they are interesting enough to draw you back many times in the future.

My next post will contain my thoughts on the Federer-Nadal-Djokovic revolving circle of power so stay tuned!

Cheers,
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