Opinion Not a Djoke
Who will be Federers successor? The Serb is snapping at Nadals heels
Who will be Federers successor? The Serb is snapping at Nadals heels
A minute after the first break of serve in the third set at the French Open final,the match clock struck two hours. At that point,Novak Djokovic,tortured physically and washed over emotionally,had spent a little over 18 and a half hours on the pulverised brick surface of Roland Garros this year. Across the net,Rafael Nadal,who was a service hold away from making it 3-0 and recording the most one-sided Grand Slam final against the No. 1 in the world,had spent 255 minutes less than Djokovic had on the courts in Paris during the fortnight.
Four hours something that was the cumulative time taken for Nadal to get through his quarters and semis (defeating fellow Spaniards Nicolas Almagro and David Ferrer respectively) in his quest for a seventh title at the French Open. Four hours something that was the time taken for Djokovic to go past each of his opponents in the fourth and fifth rounds ,the relatively unknown Andreas Seppi and Jo-Wilfried Tsonga (a man who wouldnt bet on himself before his home Slam began) en route to his first ever final in Paris.
So,to put things in perspective,on one side stood a daisy-fresh Nadal,the greatest exponent of clay court tennis ever,leading two sets to love and 2-0 in the third. He had not dropped a set in 20 attempts until then. Hell,he had almost not lost any service game leading up to the final,winning 74 of 75 66 of them in a row. On the other side shrugged a fatigued man,one who only dreamed of playing on this stage and also worn out with two five-setters in the lead-up,with the odds of the universe stacked against him. Who then in that very wide universe would bet on him? Djokovic. Apparently,he just believes in himself.
Had the match been completed on Sunday itself,this Parisian romance would have in all probability ended in the Serbs favour. Within 40 minutes,Djokovic not only brought the fight to Nadal,but he had also drained the fight out of the favourite. Winning eight straight games in a row,including four consecutive breaks of Nadals serve,the man from Belgrade spat on traditional wisdom and used stat sheets to wipe his sweat. By the time rain interrupted play again,this time ending play on Sunday,the sweet-talking Mallorcan had been reduced to a pile of nerves,down a break in the fourth and uncharacteristically frothing at the chair umpire. But thats just what Djokovic does to the best. His weapon of choice is a most favourite word.
Belief is the most common word to me,even more than hope, reads his quote on his official website. Its the same belief that helped him save four match points against Tsonga in the quarters. Its the very same belief that saw him turn around a two-set deficit against Seppi in the fourth round. Its the same belief that saw him flattening out an all-or-nothing cross-court return winner on Roger Federers serve on match point at Flushing Meadows last year. While anyone else would have seen the moment as being a point away from crashing out of the US Open in the semifinals against the greatest player on New Yorks rebound ace surface,Djokovic,a man who trusts himself more than he analyses others,saw it as a point away from winning his fourth Slam. He saved it,and cantered to a win against Nadal in the final. It got him three Grand Slam titles in a row and took him to the verge of a fourth.
Its no secret that the peloton has caught up with ageing Federer,the man who single-handedly lifted the level of the sport by many notches. But the transition to a worthy successor is now under way,with Nadal pounding it out sweat drop by sweat drop with the Serb. Between 2005 and 2011,Federer and Nadal met in eight Slam finals. In two and a half years,Djokovic has clashed swords with Nadal five times a record four in a row. The Serbs three-match winning streak ended on Monday.
However,it was Djokovics last win at the Australian Open that many believe to be arguably the greatest Grand Slam final to have ever unfolded. Unarguably,it was the longest ever.
If you ever wanted to see a solid,personified version of belief,then the Rod Laver Arena was the place to be,earlier this year in January. The title defence wasnt going according to plan at the Australian Open for Djokovic. He barely managed to fight off Andy Murray in a shade under five hours. At that point,Djokovic called it the greatest match he had ever played. Clearly,he had no idea what awaited him in the final.
Over 360 points,many over 40 rallies each,Djokovic prevailed in a five-hour,53-minute epic a classic for the ages. He was a break down in the fifth and on the verge of a complete body collapse for having played over 10 hours in the past two days with zero recovery time. Yet,at about 4 am the next day,sometime between the yawn of night and break of dawn in Melbourne,Djokovic found himself in the winners press conference. You know you are in pain,you know you are suffering,you know your toes are bleeding, he whispered. But my mind pushes me to one more point,just one more point. Then,just one more game. Thats just the way I am. He believes.
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