It’s beginning to look like a rerun each time Novak Djokovic takes to the court.
Just more of the same. Precision shot-making, extraordinary quickness. And plenty of power in reserve for clutch situations. The Serbian Wonder seems to be able to add power to his ground strokes and serve any time he needs it . . . and still play near-flawless tennis.
That’s a recipe that has observers already considering Djokovic as the best player ever to play the game. Forget that Roger Federer still has six more Grand Slam titles. If Djokovic can stay healthy into his early 30s — or three or four more years — the sky’s the limit.
MURRAY FELT NOVAK’S GREATNESS
Andy Murray discovered in Sunday night’s Australian Open final just how difficult it is to compete with Djokovic, even when Novak is just playing OK and Murray is at the top of his game.
That was the second and third sets of a 6-1, 7-5, 7-6 victory for Djokovic in the Australian Open final when he turned up his focus and firepower at 5-5 in the second and 5-6 in the third. Djokovic dominated the tiebreaker, winning six of the first seven points, then serving an ace down the middle to complete a 7-3 verdict and to close out another successful story Down Under.
FIRST SET A REPEAT PERFORMANCE
Murray gave it all he had this time in the last two sets. He served up a ton of aces and nailed numerous outright backhand winners cross-court. Looking just at those points, an observer might have come to the conclusion that Murray was dominating Djokovic.
That’s far from a reality that Djokovic probably felt unbeatable after overwhelming Murray in the first set, the same way Djokovic destroyed and embarrassed the great Roger Federer two nights earlier in the first two sets.
MURRAY COPIED SIMON’S STRATEGY
Murray did demonstrate, much like Gilles Simon in a rare round of 16 five-setter for Djokovic, that the only way for an opponent to have a chance of beating Djokovic might be to play his game of consistently putting balls into play with good, but not great pace . . . and wait for Djokovic to err on going for too much or to present an attackable ball.
The strategy worked to a certain extent for Murray, but not when Djokovic turned up the pressure on the Scotsman.
Murray’s only answer may be to serve bigger . . . and hope Djokovic never shifts to high gear.
At 28 years old, Djokovic has plenty of time. He may be the best athlete on the planet. Sorry, LeBron (James) fans. But it’s true. LeBron might have more brute strength, but the basketball great is no match for Djokovic in versatility and flexibility.
Certainly, tennis has never seen anyone like Novak Djokovic.
James Beck is the long-time tennis columnist for the Charleston (S.C.) Post and Courier newspaper. He can be reached at Jamesbecktennis@gmail.com.
