Dubai: Of late, the Djoker doesn’t seem to be evoking much laughter among his peers. Gone are the days when his fooling around and imitating fellow players drew as many laughs as sneers in the closed world of professional tennis. These days, Novak Djokovic’s awestruck rivals fail to see the funny side of it all and would rather avoid him on the court than be at the receiving end of what Rafael Nadal termed frighteningly perfect tennis after being decimated 6-1, 6-2 in Doha earlier this month.
“I played against a player who did everything perfectly. I don’t know anybody who’s ever played tennis like this. Since I know this sport I’ve never seen somebody playing at this level,” the 14-time Grand Slam champion said of the world No. 1.
If that sounds scary, then Djokovic’s response wouldn’t inspire much confidence among those looking to unseat the Serb at the Australian Open beginning today. “It did feel as close to perfection as it can get. There are those days when you see a tennis ball as a watermelon, and I guess this was that kind of day,” the five-time winner at Melbourne said.
Point is, ‘those days’ are becoming far too frequent for his rivals’ liking. Nowadays, he just turns up on the court and irrespective of who the opponent is, the result is a foregone conclusion, a far cry from the days when Djokovic was criticised for not trying enough when he was behind!
Last season, he almost won all four Grand Slams, only losing out on the French Open to an inspired Stan Wawrinka. He won 11 titles overall, reached 15 consecutive finals and ripped top-10 opponents to shreds, compiling a 31-5 record against them and a win-loss record of 82-6.
So, inspired is the word if his rivals are dreaming of unseating him at Melbourne, although promising Aussie Bernard Tomic still thinks it is a joke.
“Yeah, Novak, it’s just a joke now,” Tomic said.
“It’s amazing what he’s doing. That’s the reason why he’s the best player in the world. I think even Roger [Federer] and Rafa ... when you step on the court against Novak now it’s like, ‘how can you beat him?’ Even Rafa playing that final in Doha, it was amazing tennis to watch, but so comfortable, and on the score it just shows how much Novak is dominating the sport.”
To make matters worse for his wary opponents, his path to the quarter-finals at the Australian Open is precisely what the 28-year-old would have been looking for, a light hit-out against players who just want to escape the humiliation of bagels. His first top-10 confrontation is in the last-eight when he comes up against Kei Nishikori, who beat him in the US Open semi-final in 2014, before a semi-final matchup against Federer, assuming that is, the Swiss makes it that far.
The defending champion starts off with a first-round match against South Korean young gun Chung Hyeon. “That’s not going to be an easy match,” American coach Paul Annacone told reporters during the draw ceremony on Friday.
“Novak’s going to be tested right from the start.”
Good soundbytes, but far from reality as anyone who has watched the 10-time Grand Slam champion over the past one year will tell you. His association with the legendary Boris Becker had a bit of a rocky start, but once things fell into place, the duo has been unstoppable. Other legendary players-turned-coaches have come and gone, Ivan Lendl for Andy Murray and Stefan Edberg for Federer, but this partnership has only gotten better with time.
So, with Nadal struggling to get back to anywhere close to his best, Federer having to work overtime to prove he still has it in him and Murray still trying to fix his mental frailties, it is left to Wawrinka, who also beat the Serb in the quarter-finals of the 2014 Australian Open, to believe that he can do it again.
But then, the Swiss two-time Grand Slam champion, who won in Chennai at the start of the year, against much lower-ranked opponents to be honest, still has to get past Brisbane winner Milos Raonic, Nadal and Murray just to get a shot at the gluten-free Serb.
So, seems pretty straightforward for Djokovic, who even played up his chances of winning all four Grand Slams this year. “I think anything is achievable. If you believe in it, if you, you know, dedicate yourself to it, why not? It’s still very early for me to talk about the Grand Slam in a year. You know, that would be something very extraordinary, but it is possible.
“I definitely have that kind of mindset,” he added.
And given that kind of mindset, few would bet against him having the last laugh in the first Grand Slam of the year.
