Wow--Djokovic could be headed for another historic year

[lacatch]

Not sure how many folks were able to watch the Djokovic-Isner match, but Novak was the most calm, focused, efficient and ruthless that I've seen in a LONG time. Scary--like 2011 level. I realize that Isner was gassed mentally and physically because he's been getting better results lately and thus playing more. Nevertheless, you can tell that Djoker was dialed in big time---this when he's described himself as feeling mentally exhausted given the tennis he's played already this year. If he can bring this focus to clay---look out. Vamos!!

 

[nehmeth]

When they played at Indian Wells, Isner was much more dialed in than he was tonight. He was regularly serving between 125 - 135mph and Novak was returning them. He even got the one that was 143mph back. It was top quality.

Tonight he ran the legs off poor John in his first two service games and kept up the pressure all night. This could be a very good year for Novak if he can pace himself well and peak for the Slams. Feeling hopeful.

 

[Kirijax]

If Djokovic is on, there is no one who can beat him right now. His opponents will just have to hope he has an off day. Which he has from time to time. A calendar GS is definitely possible this year.

 

[Denis]

Guys calm down, we've not even hit the red dirt yet. And RG is months away. That is where we will know more.

 

[shawnbm]

Gimolatab should have big john practice hitting FHs into both corners from the mid court returns he gets off of his service--when the opponent is able to do that. He misses too many of those wide and jn the net (most disturbingly). He should also follow his first service into net more and be confident with the volley. He sits back and tries to rally with a guy like Novak and this is insanity.

 

[TennisFanatic7]

Djokovic only has to play an average match to beat nearly everyone on tour.

Federer and Murray are the current exceptions, but as long as Djokovic is playing quite well, he has Andy's number. Roger is probably the only player capable of reaching a level where he can win regardless of what shape Nole is in.

We'll see what happens with Nadal on the clay. My personal belief is that his results will improve during the clay swing, but he should still be there for Djokovic's taking if they cross paths.

With the absence of Del Potro and Tsonga from serious form, it's hard to see who else is capable of reaching a level where they can give Nole serious problems. Kei probably has a shot, Raonic arguably but not in my opinion...

So yeah, I don't know about a calendar slam but Djokovic should be filling his boots this year.

 

[nehmeth]

Gimolatab should have big john practice hitting FHs into both corners from the mid court returns he gets off of his service--when the opponent is able to do that. He misses too many of those wide and jn the net (most disturbingly). He should also follow his first service into net more and be confident with the volley. He sits back and tries to rally with a guy like Novak and this is insanity.

It would be interesting to see what following his serve into the net might look like.

Shawn do you remember when Edberg moved to a more powerful stick? It threw off his serve and volley rhythm because - the faster serve made for a quicker return, and he wasn't to the net when the ball was coming back over.

My guess as to why Isner does not do that - he is so slow and his serve is so fast, he may not even be to the service line when the ball comes back over the net. And other than Djokovic, there aren't too many other guys where the ball comes back at all.

Practice hitting from mid court could help Isner, but then again, last night Novak was dropping those returns on his shoelaces, with good speed. He may improve with practice, but at 6'10", hitting balls off your sneakers is still a big ask.

 

[DarthFed]

Let him win his 2nd slam of the year before we even start talking about this. 2012 and 2013 kind of started the same way and then suddenly Nole didn't do much winning until Fall those years.

 

[Riotbeard]

When they played at Indian Wells, Isner was much more dialed in than he was tonight. He was regularly serving between 125 - 135mph and Novak was returning them. He even got the one that was 143mph back. It was top quality.

Tonight he ran the legs off poor John in his first two service games and kept up the pressure all night. This could be a very good year for Novak if he can pace himself well and peak for the Slams. Feeling hopeful.

This is how I feel. Guarded optimism. Any talk of a calender year slam is insane before having three much less two of the slams won. All novak has done slam wise this year, is win the one that he had already won four times. He has much poorer records at the slams he would still have to win so that talk is crazy.

Can I also point out that Novak fans (I am including Darth) on the board are the ones telling people to slow down, haha. I think that is our inherent fan group trait, saying "woah, slow down, we have been burned before, so let's not add any pressure." Compared to the ULTIMATE FEDAL NIGHTMARE Thread

 

[El Dude]

Clearly Novak is the best player right now and will continue to be unless at least a couple of the following happen: Rafa re-finds his peak form, Novak takes a step back and/or becomes complacent, some new young gun rises to superstardom. But he really seems almost unbeatable right now.

Given all that, it is hard imagining Novak not being the premier player at least through 2016. After that the field will be more open, with young players at higher levels and Novak starting to slip. So 2015-16 is his time to rack up some serious accomplishments.

The biggest hurdle for the calendar Slam is obviously Roland Garros. If Novak can take that, then it is a distinct possibility as he remains the favorite at Wimbledon, unless Andy Murray discovers a second serve and/or Roger Federer can find his highest level. He is also the favorite at the US Open, but I wouldn't be totally surprised if someone like Kei Nishikori, Grigor Dimitrov, or even Milos Raonic puts it all together there. It would be high drama to see Novak enter the US Open with 3 Slams under his belt, then lose to someone like Grigor. It might signal a regime change, like Roger losing to Rafa at Wimbledon in 2008. But that might be 2016.

 

[Federberg]

If Djokovic is on, there is no one who can beat him right now. His opponents will just have to hope he has an off day. Which he has from time to time. A calendar GS is definitely possible this year.

That remark brings to mind an observation from trading. The top is in... fade the bullish Djoker momentum! In all seriousness, he's playing great, but he doesn't strike me as invincible. I think RG is huge this year, and I also believe that if he were to meet Roger in another Wimbledon final, now that Roger has fully come to terms with his new style of play, I would favour Roger. But it's nuts to completely dismiss Rafa at this stage. He's a stone cold killa and could easily regain his winning mentality, then everyone is in trouble

 

[El Dude]

federberg, do you think Roger has more "fully come to terms with his new style of play" since last July? He seems to have been pretty consistent since late 2013/early 2014. 2013 seemed like a bad year for two reasons: A lingering back injury and trying to figure out that new Edbergian style with a different racket ("Racketgate"). By late 2013 or early 2014, he seemed healthier and more comfortable and his results greatly improved. It seemed to take until mid-2014 for him to be fully settled into that new style, but by Wimbledon he seemed there.

Not meaning to be a downer, but I don't expect Roger to be at a higher level in this year's Wimbledon than last. That said, he still can beat anyone there and almost beat Novak. I'd still favor Novak, but it isn't a walkover.

 

[kskate2]

Clearly Novak is the best player right now and will continue to be unless at least a couple of the following happen: Rafa re-finds his peak form, Novak takes a step back and/or becomes complacent, some new young gun rises to superstardom. But he really seems almost unbeatable right now.

Given all that, it is hard imagining Novak not being the premier player at least through 2016. After that the field will be more open, with young players at higher levels and Novak starting to slip. So 2015-16 is his time to rack up some serious accomplishments.

The biggest hurdle for the calendar Slam is obviously Roland Garros. If Novak can take that, then it is a distinct possibility as he remains the favorite at Wimbledon, unless Andy Murray discovers a second serve and/or Roger Federer can find his highest level. He is also the favorite at the US Open, but I wouldn't be totally surprised if someone like Kei Nishikori, Grigor Dimitrov, or even Milos Raonic puts it all together there. It would be high drama to see Novak enter the US Open with 3 Slams under his belt, then lose to someone like Grigor. It might signal a regime change, like Roger losing to Rafa at Wimbledon in 2008. But that might be 2016.

He lost to the old man in Dubai. Clearly not unbeatable. He's lost concentration and form in some matches dropping sets to nobodies. I'm w/ Darth and others. Let him stay focused and win a 2nd major this year before talking about a repeat of 2011.

 

[lacatch]

Clearly Novak is the best player right now and will continue to be unless at least a couple of the following happen: Rafa re-finds his peak form, Novak takes a step back and/or becomes complacent, some new young gun rises to superstardom. But he really seems almost unbeatable right now.

Given all that, it is hard imagining Novak not being the premier player at least through 2016. After that the field will be more open, with young players at higher levels and Novak starting to slip. So 2015-16 is his time to rack up some serious accomplishments.

The biggest hurdle for the calendar Slam is obviously Roland Garros. If Novak can take that, then it is a distinct possibility as he remains the favorite at Wimbledon, unless Andy Murray discovers a second serve and/or Roger Federer can find his highest level. He is also the favorite at the US Open, but I wouldn't be totally surprised if someone like Kei Nishikori, Grigor Dimitrov, or even Milos Raonic puts it all together there. It would be high drama to see Novak enter the US Open with 3 Slams under his belt, then lose to someone like Grigor. It might signal a regime change, like Roger losing to Rafa at Wimbledon in 2008. But that might be 2016.

He lost to the old man in Dubai. Clearly not unbeatable. He's lost concentration and form in some matches dropping sets to nobodies. I'm w/ Darth and others. Let him stay focused and win a 2nd major this year before talking about a repeat of 2011.

Novak may have had walkabouts in his matches, but he hasn't LOST to nobodies, unlike Federer, Nadal and Murray. The path to victory always makes for good copy, but what counts is who's holding the trophy at the end.

 

[JesuslookslikeBorg]

baaah you load of slowcoaches :devil where have you been ?.

i remember stating that djokovic was the only player physically/mentally capable this year of winning all 4 majors., it wouldn't be a complete shock if he did it..even though a)he never won the French..b)grand slam was last achieved 45yrs ago.

rafa's problems have continued, murray is trying to reach the old glories but isn't there yet, Federer is still 33. and djokovic is walking off with the the YE NO1 rank already.

oh the French open will be a hoot this year. can't wait. imagine if he actually won the French open though, the frenzy will go into overdrive (Bachmann turner overdrive). then djokovic will say "you aint seen nothing yet" as he eyes up legs 3 and 4 of the grand slam.

 

[kskate2]

Clearly Novak is the best player right now and will continue to be unless at least a couple of the following happen: Rafa re-finds his peak form, Novak takes a step back and/or becomes complacent, some new young gun rises to superstardom. But he really seems almost unbeatable right now.

Given all that, it is hard imagining Novak not being the premier player at least through 2016. After that the field will be more open, with young players at higher levels and Novak starting to slip. So 2015-16 is his time to rack up some serious accomplishments.

The biggest hurdle for the calendar Slam is obviously Roland Garros. If Novak can take that, then it is a distinct possibility as he remains the favorite at Wimbledon, unless Andy Murray discovers a second serve and/or Roger Federer can find his highest level. He is also the favorite at the US Open, but I wouldn't be totally surprised if someone like Kei Nishikori, Grigor Dimitrov, or even Milos Raonic puts it all together there. It would be high drama to see Novak enter the US Open with 3 Slams under his belt, then lose to someone like Grigor. It might signal a regime change, like Roger losing to Rafa at Wimbledon in 2008. But that might be 2016.

He lost to the old man in Dubai. Clearly not unbeatable. He's lost concentration and form in some matches dropping sets to nobodies. I'm w/ Darth and others. Let him stay focused and win a 2nd major this year before talking about a repeat of 2011.

Novak may have had walkabouts in his matches, but he hasn't LOST to nobodies, unlike Federer, Nadal and Murray. The path to victory always makes for good copy, but what counts is who's holding the trophy at the end.

I didn't say he did. Don't bring up Fed, Nadal & Murray. They have nothing to do w/ this. He's had walkabouts in tour matches this year and in previous grand slams. I need to see him actually bag another slam before I jump on that bandwagon. So don't get defensive because I don't agree w/ you.

 

[nehmeth]

He lost to the old man in Dubai. Clearly not unbeatable. He's lost concentration and form in some matches dropping sets to nobodies. I'm w/ Darth and others. Let him stay focused and win a 2nd major this year before talking about a repeat of 2011.

Roger can be problematic on fast hards and grass. Rafa is always the favorite to win RG, until he doesn't. Still I think that Nole's biggest obstacle to date - is himself. If he can break through that space between his ears the way he did in 2011... he's good to go.

 

[lacatch]

I agree with you nehmeth. And kskate2, I'm afraid I can't follow your logic. All I have to say more is Happy Easter.

 

[El Dude]

nehmeth, I half agree. Clearly Novak is the best player on tour, but when he loses to Roger I don't think it is simply because he defeats himself. Roger knows how to beat Novak; he can't always do it and perhaps largely due to the age difference, the longer the match the harder it gets, but I would never count Roger out against Novak and I wouldn't say that any defeat of Novak at the hands of Roger is mainly due to "the space between Novak's ears."

When people say that one player loses because of himself it subtly--or not-so subtly--denigrates every player he loses to.

 

[El Dude]

The other thing is that when a great player like Novak is supposedly "defeating himself" it is usually because his opponent is doing something to encourage that.