Djokovic |
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A record breaking winning start to 2011 catapulted Djokovic to within touching distance of the world number one spot as Rafael Nadal scratched around for form while Roger Federer went in search of the type of tennis that made him great in the first place.
His backhand was his weapon of choice as he marched past John McEnroe’s 42 match winning streak. Djokovic himself admitted he could put it “pretty much anywhere” he fancied as he blasted his way past Andy Murray in the final of the Australian Open in January to get his run underway in earnest.
Wins over Nadal in Monte Carlo and in Rome (both on clay, no less) ahead of the French Open last month meant the Serb had won the pair’s previous four meetings – his coronation as the king of men’s tennis looked imminent.
But then came along Federer to produce a quite breath-taking performance at Roland Garros. Although Federer would go on to lose in the final against Nadal, the tournament will be remembered for the Swiss star’s elegant destruction of a man who looked unstoppable in the semi-finals.
Since then Djokovic has looked somewhat frail as he looks to show he belongs in the company of Nadal and Federer. His world ranking may say number 2 but he is a number three on the grass courts of Wimbledon as the “big-two” charge on relentlessly to the final.
Against Marco Baghdatis his frustration finally got the better of him as he strained to show he remained as on-fire as he had done in previous months- and when he couldn’t it was his racket that paid the price of his anger.
Granted Baghdatis was able to roll back the years to put in a performance which piled the pressure on Djokovic – but the cracks in his game have started to show where once there was nothing but a smooth and calm surface.
Often what separates the good from the great lies not in the physical but the mental.
Nadal and Federer have the knowledge of how to win the big games grooved into their minds, and now it is up to Djokovic to show he can barge his way into their elite club.
He is a major winner, but both have come when Nadal and Federer have failed to make the final; only when he overcomes either one in a major final will the pressure be released. Of his four finals he has won two, any guesses as to who he lost the other two to?
History still waits to embrace Djokovic; his talent is not in doubt. And should he emerge victorious over Nadal or Federer at Wimbledon there is no saying how far he might go, the shackles will be off.
But playing in the same era as two of the greatest players of all time will inevitably bring with it a pressure. It’s just smashing a racket isn’t the best way to deal with it.
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