Sports Then and Now

Novak Djokovic will need to harness his emotions if he hopes to stay at number two in the world.

It is a new high for Serbian Novak Djokovic who finds himself ranked No. 2 in the world as well as being the No. 1 seed at Rotterdam this week. Finally after years of chasing that No. 2 spot, it seemed to fall into his lap as former No. 2 ranked Rafael Nadal’s knees folded once again during the quarterfinals of the 2010 Australian Open.

For all but a few weeks starting in August of 2009 when Rafael Nadal gave up his No. 2 ranking to Andy Murray just before the U.S. Open, Roger Federer and Rafael Nadal have held steadfast to the No. 1 and No. 2 spots in the ATP rankings since 2005.

Nadal is absent from the Netherlands this week because of his recent knee injury.  It is difficult to imagine Nadal a factor in the rankings race until the clay season gets underway.  Frankly the Mallorcan would be well advised to skip the hard courts altogether because it is not worth further injury.  His best chance at regaining one of the two top spots is by exerting his usual clay dominance and winning again at Stade Roland Garros.

This week, however, the new number two ranked player in the world, Novak Djokovic is playing tennis at the ABN AMRO World Tennis Tournament in Rotterdam, sitting 510 points ahead of No. 3 ranked Andy Murray and 640 points ahead of No. 4 ranked Rafael Nadal with Roger Federer safely over 3,000 points ahead of the pack. Read the rest of this entry →

Novak Djokovic will look to return to the form that helped him win the 2008 Australian Open.

If winning isn’t everything, why do they keep score? ~Vince Lombardi

If you pay attention to the rhetoric emanating from the tennis world and note all the speculation about the upcoming “season”, you will hear endless debates about which player will survive the ATP or WTA 2010 scheduled obstacle course to wear the No. 1 mantle.

The irony is, of course, that even after a whole year of competition in 2009, when Roger Federer emerging with the No. 1 ranking, there is no consensus that he is the worthy recipient of that well-earned entitlement.

Consider Dinara Safina’s reign at No. 1, for example.  Regardless of the stats pronouncing the unequivocal bottom line, the debate continues to rage about who is “the best”.  Is it safe to assume that “No. 1” and “best” even equivalent terms?

Who should be No. 1 appears to be quite subjective. Is it a mark of greatness that you can hold the No. 1 ranking even if you have never won a “major”—like Dinara Safina, on the women’s side?  Winning isn’t enough apparently—you have to win majors.

On the men’s side, there are few besides Federer and Rafael Nadal who have accomplished that.  Then how many majors are enough to appease the perfectionists amongst us?  What criteria should be examined to determine the designation of No. 1?

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Novak Djokovic will need to toss away his recent disappointments if he wants to move to the top of the tennis world in 2010.

2007

Remember two years ago at the U.S. Open?  Remember how happy Novak Djokovic was and how happy he made the New York crowds with his impersonations of Maria Sharapova, Andy Roddick, Roger Federer, and even Rafael Nadal?

While the guys growled, seemingly a little scratchy about his antics, Sharapova loved it and even sat in the Serb’s box with his parents!  Life was good then, Nole.  Wasn’t it?

Djokovic made it all the way to the finals of the 2007 U.S. Open, where he faced Federer down.  The Serb lost, of course.  Nerves.  Actually, he lost in straight sets to Federer, but the match was closer than it looked on paper.  That’s what everybody said, anyway.

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Novak Djokovic celebrates match point in the Final match against Gael Monfils.

How will Novak Djokovic look back on 2009?

As things stand now, it would seem a letdown from the prior year, when he captured his first major title at the 2008 Australian Open, then threw in a couple of Master’s Shields and the year-ending Master’s Cup for good measure.

In contrast with last year – and even with 2007, when he was clearly on the rise – Djokovic’s 2009 campaign bore the marks of a highly gifted young man unsure of where he belonged in the world of tennis. The Serbian, who turned 22 in May, has endured varying degrees of disappointment at this year’s majors.

His title defense in Melbourne was derailed when he withdrew due to heat exhaustion. A heartbreaking loss to Rafael Nadal in Madrid contributed to a flat third-round exit from Paris. While regaining his form at Wimbledon he was surprised by the resurgence of Tommy Haas, and even when his play (and fun-loving demeanor) had returned, it wasn’t quite enough against Roger Federer in New York.

What’s more, the solid play of fellow 22-year-old Andy Murray and the stunning rise of now 21-year-old Juan Martin del Potro made it clear that the Serb was no longer the youngest of the young guns in tennis.

But as Djokovic’s winning ways began being spoken of in past tense, the fall indoor season shows that he has not stopped believing in his own talent. While he is not the cerebral tactician that Murray is, and while he may no single shot as brutally effective as del Potro’s forehand, Djokovic is still arguably a better athlete than either. And this year he’s doing what some of us advised him last year: take advantage of the fall, when your competition has been beaten down by the rigors of the tour.

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Kim Clijsters has made a surprising run to the U.S. Open Finals.

Start spreading the news.  For the second year in a row the script for the finals at the U.S. Open in Flushing Meadows, New York has to be re-written.  Oh, for the money to put a roof over our heads…it would seem reasonable insurance against pesky and obstinate mother nature.

Think of all the confusion and lost revenue caused by this year’s two-day rain delay.  It must drive the tournament organizers to abstraction.

Regardless – Sunday in New York promises to present some eye-popping, riveting men’s semifinal contests with number one Roger Federer vs. number four Novak Djokovic in one and Rafael, soon to be number 2 again, Nadal vs. number 5 Juan Martin del Potro in the other.

Add to that the final between surprising finalist Kim Clijsters and number nine seed Caroline Wozniacki and you have a smorgasbord of potential tennis classics ready for the big stage.
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