Will Djokovic Reign Supreme?

The beginning of this year witnessed Novak Djokovic stepping up the gear to collect his second Grand Slam title in Australia. His victory came as a surprise though, as in the last seasons, the Serb was kind of overlooked when predicting Glam Slam champions. He was always a tough contestant, but so far he never looked poised to threaten the dominance of Roger Federer and Rafael Nadal. At least not seriously or not on a consistent basis. Moreover, he even lost his ‘fiercest challenger’ status, after being overshadowed by Britain’s Andy Murray and Argentinean Juan Martin del Potro, both faring better than him when it mattered most. The Briton reached two Grand Slam finals recently, while Del Potro became only the second player except for Nadal and Federer (and after Djokovic) to win a Major title in the last 19^th tries.

After his fulminating rise climaxing with his first Melbourne trophy in 2008, Novak seemed to have sunk. He was always there, a constant top 4 presence, and his results were impressive, but Nadal and Federer were in a league of their own. His game was good, but still he always came short in decisive matches. He signaled an alarm last year after fighting off match points to beat Federer to advance to the US Open final. He put on a decent battle, but ended up being overcome by Nadal. However, after ensuring Serbia’s first Davis Cup title, something appears to have changed for the Serb, as he is yet to lose a match since. During this streak he destroyed Federer and Murray to capture the Australian Open for a second time. Moreover he backed up his success by once again silencing Federer in Dubai where now he’s a three times defending champion.

Even though his results are exceptional, it’s his form that strikes as magnificent. Winning 5 consecutive sets against Federer is quite a feat, especially since he never looked troubled during those two victories. I still think the Serb is not as good as Murray or Del Potro. Plus, I feel that Nadal is probably the most consistent of them all. If the Spaniard stays healthy he should hold on to the top spot for the next couple of months. Federer on the other side can and must improve. He was far beyond his best in his two defeats to Novak. I am yet to determine whether the Serb was so good or Roger so poor. Comparing his performances to other matches, the Swiss was obviously not at his utmost best. Even so, not being able to win a single set raises alarm signs.  Still, his resurgence last summer proved that his tank is not emptied yet. Furthermore, did Murray choked under pressure in the final or again, was Djokovic too strong? In the end it doesn't even matter so much. The most important thing is that Djokovic is undefeated in 2011 and that he's looking very solid at the moment. Consequently, now, the Belgrade native is clearly the man to beat and if he is able to carry the momentum he is definitely going to challenge the number 1 spot.

photo: GETTY IMAGES