Though both the official rankings and unofficial clay court power rankings still have Rafael Nadal at the top, Novak Djokovic is now the best tennis player in the world. Including two Davis Cup wins late in 2010 to help secure the trophy for Serbia, Djokovic has won 39 straight matches. He won the year's first major in Australia and has not lost in 2011. With his most recent victory on Sunday, he has also beaten Nadal in four straight Masters Series finals -- Indian Wells, Miami, Madrid, and Rome.
Djokovic has drastically improved his serve (the only real weakness in his game) and exponentially improved his physical conditioning. The Novak Djokovic who struggled with breathing problems and retired early from tough matches no longer exists. The current Novak Djokovic seems unbeatable. His movement around the court is incredible, outrunning the fleet-footed Nadal, who is regarded as one of the most athletic men to ever play the game.
Djokovic's shotmaking and decision-making have been near perfect. And most importantly, his arrogance has turned to self-belief. With confidence oozing out of every pore in his body, one can easily read in his demeanor that his mind is strong, that his will is unshakable, and that he somehow he knows that he is going to win every match he plays. John McEnroe, who holds the longest win streak to start a calendar year (42 matches in 1984), says he thinks Djokovic's streak is already more impressive than his own. Given the deeper pool of talent and physical demands of the modern game, McEnroe believes Nole's run is unprecedented. And when John McEnroe talks tennis, everyone listens, because he may just be the game's smartest commentator and biggest advocate.
Sunday's final in Rome was a spectacular match. Though the scoreline might indicate a fairly routine 6-4, 6-4 victory for Novak Djokovic, it was anything but. From the opening serve of the match, Nole and Rafa played tennis of the highest quality. Only a few key points separated them. But almost all of those big points went to Djokovic. Rafael Nadal appeared frustrated at times, unable to come up with the goods when he needed it most and unable to put the ball past Djokovic's amazing defense. With loses in four finals in some of the biggest tournaments of the year outside the Slams, Nadal knows he is no longer king of the mountain. In interviews, he admitted that losing the number one ranking is a forgone conclusion. Djokovic will most likely take over the top spot after the French Open, regardless of who wins the title.
Personally, I feel for Rafael Nadal. He spent so much time at #2 when Roger Federer was the dominant man in the sport, and now he finds himself right back in that familiar position on the second step of the podium, only this time with Novak Djokovic standing on the top rung. All this is happening at a time when Federer's considerable talents have waned and planted him firmly in the #3 slot. Both Nadal and Djokovic have been defeating Roger with relative ease this season. This should be Nadal's time to dominate tennis. But last year may have been the closest Rafael gets in his career to a stranglehold on the men's game. He won 3 out of 4 Grand Slams, and gave it a great run in Australia to make it 4 in a row (though it would not have been a "Calendar Slam"). Despite a slight sadness for Rafa, because he is the player I root for the hardest since Andre Agassi retired, I am grateful that tennis's next great rivalry is upon us. Though Djokovic has won all four of the Masters finals they've played against each other in the past few months, each of the matches has been a hotly contested affair. I was lucky enough to attend the final in Miami, and witnessed a stupendous duel between two jawdroppingly awesome players. As has been the case in their battles, a mere two or three points decided the match, with the Serb just a little bit better than the Spaniard when it mattered most.
As I imagine Uncle Toni will do, I would tell Rafa to keep his head up if I had the chance to speak to him directly. He is a brilliant striker of the ball and a master tactician. He is a champion who has been knocked down before and gotten up to answer the bell for the next round. Djokovic has defeated him two times in a row on clay, but both of those matches were best 2 out of 3. At the French, Nole is going to have to win 3 sets to wrest the title from Nadal, who is considered one of, if not the greatest clay court player to ever swing a racquet. It is a credit to Djokovic and the level he has raised his game to that the feat even seems possible. As a fan of Nadal, I can only hope he finds a way to crack the code and exact revenge. As a fan of tennis, I eagerly anticipate the prospect of another monumental clash that will surely be etched in the annals of the sport's history. Either way, I can't lose.
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