On November 27, 2010, Novak Djokovic lost to Roger Federer 1-6, 4-6 and was knocked out of the Barclays ATP World Tour Finals in the semifinals. Djokovic hasn't lost a match since then and has a 39 match win streak dating back to last season. Novak has started his 2011 season with a 37 match win streak. In 1984, John McEnroe began his season with 42 straight wins. The record for most victories in a row was set by Guillermo Vilas in 1977 when he when 46 matches in a row. Djokovic would surpass McEnroe and tie Guillermo's record for consecutive victories if he wins all seven of his matches at Roland Garros.
Nobody has been able to stop Novak this season. He has won all seven of the tournaments he has entered. His previous high for titles in one season was 5 in 2007 and 2009. He began his season with a victory at the Australian Open including a win over Roger Federer in the semifinals in straight sets. He beat Federer once again in the Dubai final in two sets a month later. At Indian Wells, he knocked off Federer for the third straight time and then beat Nadal in the finals. At Miami, Djokovic beat Nadal in a second straight final. A month later, Novak won the Serbia Open in his home country without dropping a set in the tournament. His most impressive displays have been at the last two tournaments. At Madrid, Djokovic beat Nadal in the final 7-5, 6-4 on clay. At Rome the next week, he once again beat Nadal in a final on clay in straight sets 6-4, 6-4. Before those two matches, Novak had been 0-9 against Nadal on clay and had only won 3 sets in 9 matches against him. However, it looks like Djokovic has cracked the code on how to beat Nadal on clay. He has been taking a lot of chances and has been very aggressive against Nadal in the previous two finals on clay. He is the only player to ever to beat Nadal multiple times on a clay court in one season. Djokovic is a combined 7-0 against Nadal and Federer and is 13-0 against players ranked in the top 10 this year. As Rafael Nadal said after he loss to Novak at Rome, "He is doing amazing things. He is playing fantastic, doing a lot of things very well and has a lot of confidence. The most important thing for me is to be confident and be happy with what I am doing. I have done everything I can, I cannot ask more of myself but one player is doing better then me."
Djokovic has shown unreal confidence during his 39 match win streak. After his victory over Nadal at Rome, Novak said, "I'm just most happy about the game I have this year on clay. The way I'm striking the ball and the way I'm so self-confident. I always knew I could beat the top players, but now I have the confidence to do it... I have won against him [Nadal] twice in the last eight days, which I think is incredible, an incredible achievement for me, and has given me a lot of confidence for the French Open."
John McEnroe said, "Nadal doesn't seem to know what to do against him, and quite honestly, if Nadal is baffled by playing him, then that just shows you how great he's playing on clay. You're looking at a guy [Djokovic] who's the best player in the world right now." Pete Sampras added, "I've seen him play a number of times over the years, and he was at the level with Roger and Rafa, but you never felt like his temperament could withstand a four-hour match. It always felt like he was a little bit up and down, a little bit emotional... It took him a few years to find his way.... And this year, something clicked in him, where he just sort of became a little bit more positive... And now he has that aura now where he's really, really tough to beat."
Djokovic also has a great chance to get to number 1 in the world for the first time in his career. No matter how he fares at the French Open, if Nadal doesn't win at Roland Garros, then Novak will rise to number 1.
Djokovic beat Nadal 7-5, 6-4 at Madrid for his first victory over Nadal on a clay court.
Ya Djokovic is screwing up Nadal on clay.
ReplyDeleteI would never count out the King of Clay.
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