Don't Overlook The West Coast Of College Basketball

The struggles of the Pac-12 have been very well documented this year and the conference has been historically bad. Currently, no Pac-12 team is ranked and no Pac-12 team has even received a vote in the AP poll since week 11 when Stanford was 15-3 before the Cardinals lost 5 of their next 6 conference games. In fact, California was the last ranked team inside the top 25 for the Pac-12 all the way back in week 4 of the polls and no Pac-12 team has been ranked inside the top 15 all season. Even when it appeared that the Washington Huskies, the most talented team in the Pac-12, had turned the corner after their disappointing 5-5 start to the season, they went to Eugene and lost to the Oregon Ducks by 25 points and were 2 of 16 from three point land.

The Pac-12 is in serious danger of just receiving two bids to the NCAA tournament, which they also did in 2010 when just California and Washington made it into the big dance.

With the Pac-12 way down this year, the perception around the country is that the entire west coast is struggling. However, just because the major conference out west is not playing high level basketball, doesn't mean that the west is struggling as a whole and the west coast shouldn't be overlooked, as numerous teams are having very impressive seasons from the Mountain West and the West Coast Conference.

The Mountain West, just like it has been for the past few years, is incredibly strong this season, as the conference will definitely get at least 3 teams into the tournament and could very possibly receive 5 invitations to the big dance. The conference has received multiple bids to the tourney every year since 2001 and they are looking for their most teams in the big dance since they got 4 teams into the NCAA's in 2010. UNLV and San Diego St. are also representing the Mountain West in the AP top 25 poll and the MWC has two teams in the top 14 of the polls, which is just as many as the ACC, Big East, Big Ten, and SEC. Only the Big 12 has more teams in the top 14 of the AP poll than the MWC.

While UCLA is having a horribly disappointing season, as the Bruins are 14-10 including just 7-5 in the weak Pac-12 after being ranked inside the top 20 of both preseason polls, two UCLA transfers, Mike Moser and Chace Stanback, have led UNLV to an incredibly impressive 21-4 start. Under first year head coach, Dave Rice, after Lon Kruger left the Rebels to take the job at Oklahoma during the summer, UNLV has returned to the days of Jerry Tarkanian with a high flying offense. The Rebels are averaging 80 points a game, which is 9th in the country, and they are 3rd in the nation at 18.3 assists per game. 

Mike Moser is a double-double machine down in the blocks for the Rebels, as he has 13 in 25 games. The forward is averaging 14.5 points and 11.5 rebounds per game, as the big man is dominate on the glass, despite being undersized at just 6-8. Chace Stanback is also so difficult to defend for the Rebels because of the threat that he poses from beyond the arc. The senior compliments Moser very nicely from the perimeter, as he is averaging slightly less than 14 points per game and is able to knock down the three ball, as he is shooting it at a 45 percent clip from deep. 

The Rebels are sitting in line for a 3 or 4 seed, as they have built a very impressive resume with victories over North Carolina at the Las Vegas Classic, Illinois on the road by 16, Pac-12 leader Cal at home by 17, WAC leader Nevada, as well as home conference wins over New Mexico and Colorado St. UNLV is looking for their highest seed since they were a 1 seed back in 1991 when they made it all the way to the Final Four for the second straight year before losing their undefeated season in the National Semifinals to eventual champion Duke by 2 points.

San Diego St. is keeping the Mountain West extremely interesting, as they have been way better than expected and are challenging the Rebels for the regular season conference crown. Steve Fischer should get some serious National Coach of the Year consideration for the job he has done with the Aztecs. After San Diego St. went 34-3 last season and made it to their first sweet 16 in school history, little was expected from the team this year. The Aztecs were losing a majority of their core including star forward and second-team All-American Kawhi Leonard, first-team All-Mountain West guard D.J. Gay, second-team All-Mountain West forward Malcolm Thomas, and honorable mention All-Mountain West forward Billy White. Those four guys were the team's leading scorers and combined for 67 percent of the team's points.

However, Jamaal Franklin and Chase Tapley have stepped up big time for the Aztecs and have carried the team to a very surprising 20-3 start. Franklin, who is also averaging 7.2 rebounds per game, is a big 6-5 guard-forward, who causes a lot of matchup problems because of his size and is averaging 18 points in the team's 7 conference games. He leads the conference in scoring. Tapley is a lethal three-point shooter and is hitting 43 percent of his jumpers from behind the arc. Tapley was 8 for 10 from three in a very close loss to the Baylor Bears on the road earlier in the season.

Like the Rebels, San Diego St. is in line to receive a 3 or 4 seed for the tournament. The Aztecs beat Arizona on the road, New Mexico on the road in the pit, Cal at home, as well as UNLV at home after Jamaal Franklin beat the buzzer with a game winning layup. The Aztecs square up with the Rebels once again on Saturday at the Thomas and Mack Center in Las Vegas in a rematch of two of the best teams not just on the west coast, but in the entire country.

The Mountain West should also gain a lot of respect because they are much more than a two team league.

New Mexico is one of the most overlooked teams in college basketball and, as of now, they are firmly in the tournament as anywhere from an 8 seed to a 10 seed. The Lobos are 19-4 and have solid wins over Arizona St., Washington St., Boston College, USC, Oklahoma St., St. Louis, Wyoming, and Colorado St.

Also, Wyoming and Colorado St. are both on the bubble and they are each at 4-3 in the conference.

The Wyoming Cowboys are 18-5 and have victories over Colorado, Colorado St., and got the signature win they so desperately needed when they shocked the UNLV Rebels by 2 points at home last week.

The Colorado St. Rams are 15-7 and need to notch some more victories in conference play to get one of those last four spots in the tourney. The Rams do have some quality wins under their belt however, as they have victories over Colorado, Denver, and like Wyoming, got a signature win, when they beat San Diego St. by 17 points at home. 

The West Coat Conference is also having an incredibly strong year. The WCC has been dominated by Gonzaga since Mark Few took over the program in 1999. The Zags have been the regular season conference champion 11 straight years dating back to 2001 and have won the conference tournament 10 times in 13 tries since 1999.

However, the WCC is much more than a one conference league this season, as Saint Mary's and BYU are two very solid teams, especially the Gaels, who have more than enough talent to make a run into the second week of the tourney. The WCC is looking to get 3 teams into the NCAA's for the first time since 2008 when the Zags, Saint Mary's, and San Diego all made the big dance from the conference.

Despite losing their leading scorer, Mickey McConnell, the Gaels are currently ranked inside the top 15 and have just three losses all season with an overall record of 22-3 including an 11-1 mark in conference play. Saint Mary's will likely receive a 4 or 5 seed, as they swept their season series with BYU, beat Gonzaga at home, and still have an opportunity to get a quality victory over 23-1 Murray St. on the road in Kentucky in BracketBusters later this month. The Gaels are going to get their best seed since they were an 8 seed in the 1989 NCAA tournament.

The Gaels are led by the two-headed monster of point guard Matthew Dellavedoa as well as forward Rob Jones. Dellavedoa is averaging just under 16 points per game and more than 6 assists per game, while shooting 46 percent from the field, 84 percent from the free-throw line, and nearly 40 percent from three. Dellavedoa is an all-around star and can do it all for the Gaels. He dished out the dimes in the Gaels' 98-82 victory over BYU, as he had 12 assists, but he can also score the basketball when he needs to, like he did against Gonzaga, when he was 5 of 10 from three and had 26 points in the team's 83-62 victory at the McKeon Pavilion.

Jones, much like Mike Moser, is an undersized forward, as he is just 6-6, but he is relentless on the boards and is an absolute beast on the glass. Jones is averaging 14.6 points to go along with his 10.6 rebounds per game. Jones has had at least 10 rebounds in 18 of the Gaels 25 games and has had 14 double-doubles including a 24 point, 15 rebound performance against BYU earlier in the season.

The Zags, for once, and the Cougars are both chasing the Gaels for the regular season conference title but they are both solidly into the NCAA tournament. Gonzaga will likely be a 5 or 6 seed, while BYU could be anywhere from a 9 seed to a 11 seed.

The Bulldogs played an incredibly tough non-conference schedule but it benefited them because they got quality victories over tournament teams such as Notre Dame, Arizona, and Xavier. The Zags also got a big conference win at home over Saint Mary's this week in a highly contested and very well played game.

The Cougars have been a very nice surprise. They have victories over WAC leader Nevada, Pac-12 teams such as Oregon and Utah and played Baylor very tough, despite eventually falling by 3 points at home. The Cougars are going to receive a nice seed because they have beaten all the teams that they should have beaten. However, they don't have any eye-popping victories as of yet, as they lost to Saint Mary's twice and Wisconsin as well. However, they still play Gonzaga once more and have the WCC conference tournament coming up in March.

Gonzaga could be the perfect model of consistency in all of college basketball. They have made the tournament every year since 1999 and have won at least one game in the big dance in 10 of their 13 trips to the tourney since then. This year is no different from the typical Gonzaga squad, as they are a hard-working team that plays very well together. Forwards Elias Harris and 7 foot Robert Sacre control the paint and both average over 6.5 rebounds per game and 11.5 points per game.

BYU is also a very intriguing team. Following the loss of National Player of the Year, Jimmer Fredette, who averaged nearly 29 points per game for the Cougars last year, very little was expected of the team. However, they have far exceeded expectations under Dave Rose, and are 20-6 including 8-3 in conference. Forward Noah Hartsock has taken a much larger role on the team this season and has increased his point total from 8.6 to 17.6. The senior is shooting just under 57 percent from the field. Hartsock and Brandon Davies, who was suspended last season for breaking the school's honor code policy, form a formidable duo down in the blocks. Davies is averaging 14.4 points and 8 rebounds per game.

Although the Pac-12 is having a horrible year, the Mountain West and the West Coast Conference have a number of teams that are going to get into the NCAA tournament and a group of teams, such as UNLV, San Diego St., Saint Mary's, and Gonzaga, who could make a deep run in the tournament. West coast basketball is not down as much as it might seem at first glance.

Dark Horse Teams That Could Make A Surprise Run In The NCAA Tournament

Looking back at recent NCAA tournaments, history has shown that being a number 1 seed is a far cry from being set to reach a Final Four and that surprise teams are always making runs to get into the National Semifinals.

In 2 of the last 6 years, all four number 1 seeds have failed to make the Final Four. In 2006, #2 UCLA knocked off #1 Memphis in the Oakland Regional, #3 Florida defeated #1 Villanova in the Minneapolis Regional, #4 LSU beat #1 Duke in the Atlanta Regional, and #11 George Mason knocked off #1 Connecticut in the Washington D.C. Regional. Just last year the four number 1 seeds (Ohio St., Duke, Kansas, and Pittsburgh) failed to make the Final Four, as 4th seeded Kentucky, 3rd seeded Connecticut, 11th seeded VCU, and 8th seeded Butler were the four teams to appear in the National Semifinals.

In fact, only once since seeding began in 1979 have all four number 1 seeds advanced to the Final Four. Lastly, only once since 2001 has a team entered the tournament as the number 1 ranked team in one of the major polls and won the National Championship, which was in 2009 when North Carolina did it.

These numbers show that despite the fact that the number 1 seeds may have been the best teams during the regular season and have had the best resumes going into the Big Dance, there are always sleeper teams that make a run to the Final Four.

In the last decade, there have been a far share of surprise teams to make a run in the tourney.

In 2000, both North Carolina and Wisconsin made the Final Four as 8 seeds. In 2002, Missouri barely made the NCAA tournament after finishing 6th in the Big 12 with a 9-7 conference record and a 25-11 mark overall. However, the 12th seeded Tigers were able to make a run to the Elite Eight.

Recently, cinderella has swept across the college basketball landscape and has shown that any team that gets into the Big Dance can make a run in the tourney. In 2006, George Mason shocked the world by reaching the Final Four after knocking off the favorite to win the National Championship, the Connecticut Huskies, in a thrilling overtime game 86-84 in the regional finals. The Butler Bulldogs followed in George Mason's footsteps by reaching the National Championship game in 2009 as a 5 seed after many people picked them to loss in the first round in an upset to #12 UTEP. Perhaps even more surprising was the fact that the Bulldogs reached the National Championship Game the next year once again after being seeded 8th and losing their best player Gordon Hayward to the NBA draft. Also last year, VCU, after most people thought the Rams shouldn't even have been in the tournament in the first place, were able to shock the world and reach the Final Four as an 11 seed.

This being said, you should always be on a look out for teams that could surprise everybody and make a  run deep into the tourney. Even if it isn't an absolute stunner like George Mason of 2006 or VCU of 2011 but rather a dark horse team that nobody expects to reach the National Semifinals like the 2010 Michigan St. team that was seeded 5th, or the 2006 LSU team that was seeded on the 4 line, or the Indiana Hoosiers, who made a surprise run to the title game as a 5 seed in 2002.

Here are some dark horse teams that could make a run in this year's NCAA tournament:

Iona Gales:

The Iona Gaels are going to be a very dangerous team when March comes around and will be a threat for any higher seed who they play in the first round and beyond. The Gaels have terrific guard play and will put a lot of pressure on opposing teams backcourts.

Scott Machado is arguably the best pure point guard in the country. Machado is a terrific passer and one of the smartest players in the country, as he leads a Gaels offense that is third in the nation in points per game at 83.3 and 1st in assists at 19.5. The 6-1 point guard is averaging 10 assists per game, which also leads the nation and has had 13 double-digit assists games this season including 6 in the team's first 7 non-conference games. He can also put the ball in the basket when he needs to, as he is averaging 13.6 points per game. However, the Gaels don't relay on Machado to score, but rather to spread the ball around the offense.

Lamont "Momo" Jones is one of the Gaels go to threats on the outside. The Arizona transfer, who didn't have to sit out for a year because he was granted a hardship waiver because his grandmother was ill, is putting up huge numbers in the Gaels offensive system. He is averaging over 16 points per game and is shooting just about 46 percent from the field. Momo had an offensive expulsion against Canisius on February 2nd when he had 43 points on 16 of 23 shooting from the field and 7 of 12 shooting from three. Momo's 43 points were a school home record, as he surpassed the previous record of 40 points set by Steve Burtt, which Burtt did against Holy Cross in 1984.

Sometimes lost by the great play of Iona's backcourt is the consistency of Michael Glover. Glover could be the Gales most important player, as he provides some size for the MAAC club. Glover leads the team in scoring at 18.5 points per game and rebounding at 9 per game. Glover has 11 double-doubles this season including 5 in the team's last 7 games and he had a 34 point and 15 rebound performance against Saint Joseph's in a 104-99 victory. Glover will be a key if the Gaels face a team that has some size and depth in their frontcourt.

Wichita St. Shockers: 

If it weren't for Player of the Year candidate Doug McDermott leading the Creighton Bluejays to an unbelievable 21-3 start, the Wichita St. Shockers would be the talk of the Missouri Valley Conference. Since starting the season 2-2, the Shockers are 18-2 with an impressive 11-2 record in conference play.

A huge positive for the Shockers is that that don't lack size, as Garrett Stutz is a commanding presence inside. The 7 foot senior center is an absolute beast in the paint, as he is averaging 8 rebounds and over 1 block per game. The big man can also put the ball in the basket and he has looked much more comfortable underneath as of late. In the team's last 10 conference games, the center is averaging just under 20 points per game. Stutz is very also a very effective foul shooter and is shooting it at over 82 percent from the line, which is a huge boast for the Shockers because he gets to the line so often. The key for Stutz is his ability to stay on the floor and not get into foul trouble. The center is playing just over 25 minutes per game and in two of the team's four losses, Stutz has played less than 20 minutes.

If guards Joe Ragland and Toure' Murray, who are both averaging over 12 points per game, can provide some consistent scoring and three point shooting, the Shockers will be very dangerous because they have enough size to compete with almost every team down low in the country.

Lastly, another benefit for the Shockers will be the fact that they will get a favorable seed when March comes around if they continue to play good basketball. Wichita St. already has victories over a good Colorado team on a neutral court, a ranked UNLV team by 19 points, and they will get another crack at the Creighton Bluejays on February 11th.

Iowa St. Cyclones: 

Iowa St., also known as transfer university because they are lead by a bunch of transfers from various schools, have a very dangerous team and are beginning to show it in Big 12 play. Since the Cyclones have grown accustomed to playing with each other, they are 12-3 in their last 15 games including 7-3 in Big 12 play. Royce White, a transfer from Minnesota, Chris Allen, a transfer from Michigan St., and Chris Babb, a transfer from Penn St., are playing together for the first season and have shown significant sings of improvement since they began the season 5-3 with losses to Drake and Northern Iowa.

Royce White is an all-around superstar forward, as he leads the team in scoring at 13.5 per game, rebounding at 9.3 per game, assists at 4.6 per game, steals at 1.2 per game, and blocks at 1.2 per game. The 6-8 sophomore forward is a solid presence inside and is complimented very well by great three point shooters like Chris Allen and Chris Babb from the outside.

Despite the fact that Allen has struggled a little bit from deep and is shooting just 36 percent from three, he continues to shoot with confidence and he has begun to find his form. Allen is shooting just under 45 percent from three in Big 12 play, which is up 7 percent from non-conference games.

The Cyclones have knocked off Kansas and Kansas St. at home and have their best team since they were 25-6 and 13-3 in the Big 12 back in 2001. They will likely be in the tournament for the first time since 2005 and could make a run in the Big Dance, especially if Allen and Babb are hot from three because White is a consistent threat in the post.

Washington Huskies:

The struggles of the Pac-12 have been very well documented this year. Currently, no Pac-12 team is ranked and no Pac-12 team even received a vote in last week's AP top 25 poll. In fact, California was the last ranked team inside the top 25 all the way back in week 4 of the polls and no Pac-12 team has been ranked inside the top 15 all season. Despite the fact that the Pac-12 is down this year and may only get 2 or 3 teams into the tournament, the Washington Huskies have enough talent and athleticism to cause a lot of teams trouble when March comes around.

Since starting out the season 5-5 with losses to St. Louis, Nevada, and South Dakota St. by 19 points at home, the Huskies have regrouped and have gone 11-2 including 9-2 in conference play, which is atop the Pac-12 standings. Washington has really improved on the defense end of the floor. In their first 10 games of the season, their opponents were averaging over 76 points per game. In their last 13 games, their opponents have been averaging just over 64 points per game, which is a significant decrease of about 12 points per game. The Huskies are lead defensively by their 7 foot center Aziz N'Diaye. Despite the fact the Diaye plays just over 23 minutes per game, he is a dominant down low and averages more than a block per game. 

The Huskies are full of highly touted recruits including Tony Wroten Jr., who was the #17 overall incoming freshman for this year's class according to the ESPNU 100, Terrence Ross, who was the #30 overall recurit for the 2010 freshman class according to the ESPNU 100, and Abdual Gaddy, who was the #14 overall recruit for the 2009 freshman class according to the ESPNU 100. The Huskies' core has finally been able to piece things together and they are a dangerous team in the tournament because of their immense talent.

The Huskies cause matchup problems with many of their opponents because their backcourt of Tony Wroten Jr., Terrence Ross, and C.J. Wilcox, has extreme size and quickness, as all three of the guards are at least 6-5. Despite the fact that Tony Wroten Jr. is more of a scoring point guard than a distributor, he has played very well at the point position. Wroten is averaging just under 17 points per game but he isn't forcing any bad shots, as he is shooting about 48 percent from the field. Although Wroten isn't a great three point shooter, he is furious when he is attacking the basket and gets to the foul line more than 7 times per game. Terrence Ross is also a very reliable scoring threat. The sophomore is averaging more than 15 points per game and provides the Huskies with a three point shooting option, as he hits about 2 per game.

Novak Djokovic Will One Day Be In The Discussion Of The Greatest Tennis Players Ever

Following 5 hours and 53 minutes of unbelievably high level tennis, Novak Djokovic was finally able to knock off his rival Rafael Nadal in the finals of the Australian Open 5-7, 6-4, 6-2, 6-7 (5-7), 7-5.

In an epic final in Melbourne, Djokovic and Nadal fought it out in the longest Grand Slam final of all-time surpassing the previous longest match in major final history of 4 hours and 27 minutes when Mats Wilander beat Pat Cash in the 1988 Australian Open championship. It was also the longest match ever in Australian Open history breaking the previous longest match in the tournament's history when Rafael Nadal knocked off Fernando Verdasco in the 2009 semifinals in a 5 hour and 14 minute match. Only John Isner and Nicolas Mahut's 11 hour and 5 minute match in the first round of the 2010 Wimbledon Championships and Arnaud Clements and Fabrice Santoro's 6 hour and 33 minute match in the first round of the 2004 French Open were longer Grand Slam matches than Djokovic and Nadal's final.

The top two ranked players in the world put on an incredible display of tennis for nearly 6 hours. Just when you thought that one of them was down and out, they would fight back and keep the match alive.

In the fourth set, it appeared that Djokovic would run away with the match. The world number 1 had gone up on Nadal 2 sets to 1 after dominating the Spaniard in the third set 6-2. Although Djokovic was all over Nadal's serve in the fourth set, he was unable to convert a break point, as he was 0 for 3 in the set. Despite not having a sniff of a break point on Djokvoic's serve, Nadal was able to scrap and fight and win the set in a tiebreak 7-5.

After pulling out the fourth set much to the dismay of Djokvoic, Nadal looked like he was going to take the decisive fifth set. At 3-2, Nadal broke Djokovic for the first time on his first break point opportunity since the second set and was up 4-2. However, much like how Nadal refused to quit in the fourth set, Djokovic was able to fight back and break Nadal in the next game to bring the match back on serve. With the Djokovic and Nadal tied at 5 in the fifth, Djokovic was able to convert his second break point opportunity of the game and served out the match to win the Australian Open title.

The Djokovic and Nadal final is now in the discussion with the Nadal and Federer 2008 Wimbledon final and the Borg and McEnroe 1980 Wimbledon final as the greatest Grand Slam final matches of all-time.

Novak Djokovic also proved that he will be at the top of the men's game for a very long time and his incredible season last year wasn't a one year fluke. Djokovic looks like he will one day be in the discussion of the greatest tennis players of all-time. Djokovic's 2011 season is up there with

Nole's 2011 year will go down in history as one of the greatest single seasons in men's tennis history.
His overall record was an astounding 70-6 and before Djokovic lost some matches at the end of the year because he was slowed down by injuries, his record was an unprecedented 64-1. Djokovic's 2011 season is up there with Rod Laver's 1969 year when he won all four grand slams, Roger Federer's 2006 season when he was 92-5, and John McEnroe's 1984 year when he was 82-3 as the greaest single seasons of all-time.

The Joker began the 2011 season sizzling hot, as he won his first seven tournaments including the year's first major at the Australian Open. Djokovic's first loss didn't come until the semifinals of the French Open when he fell to Roger Federer in a very tight match 6-7 (5-7), 3-6, 6-3, 6-7 (5-7).

His 41-match win streak to begin 2011 was just one win shy of John McEnroe's record of 42 straight victories to begin a season, which he did in 1984 before losing to Ivan Lendl in the 1984 French Open finals. Djokovic's 43 straight match victories dating back to 2010 were just 3 shy of Guillermo Villas's record of 46 straight victories, which he did in 1977 before losing to Ilie Nastase in the final of the Aix-en-Provence final. Djokovic also was just one tournament victory shy of joining Ivan Lendl and John McEnroe as the only players to ever win 8 singles titles in a row. Nole's loss to Federer was his first loss against a top 10 player since he lost to Federer in the 2010 ATP World Tour semifinals. His 13 match win streak against top 10 players was the third longest in ATP history only trailing Federer's 17 match win streak against top ten players from 2006 to 2007 and Federer's 26 match win streak against top ten players from 2003 to 2005.

Djokovic's 5 ATP Masters series titles were the most ever in a single season and he had a 35-match hard court win streak before he fell to Andy Murray in the finals of Cincinnati. His 35 straight victories on a hard court were the third most of all-time only trailing Federer's 36 hard court match streak from 2006 to 2007 and Federer's 56 match win streak from 2005 to 2006.

The most impressive part of Djokovic's season was his performances at the Grand Slams, where he had an incredible record of 25-1 and won the Australian Open, Wimbledon, and U.S. Open. Djokovic joined Rod Laver (1969), Jimmy Connors (1974), Mats Wilander (1988), Roger Federer (2004, 2006, 2007) and Rafael Nadal (2010) as the only players to win at least three Grand Slams in a single season since the open era began in 1968. Djokovic also joined Ivan Lendl (1987), Roger Federer (2005, 2006, 2007, 2008, 2009), Rafael Nadal (2008), and Andy Murray (2011) as the only players to reach all four Grand Slam semifinals in a single season since 1972.

Djokovic's overall prize money for the 2011 season was over 12 million dollars, which is the most by a player in one season.

With his victory at the Australian Open this year, Djokovic is already amongst the all-time greats. He has won 5 Grand Slams thus far, which to put that in perspective, is just one shy of greats like Stefan Edberg and Boris Becker and two behind John McEnroe and Mats Wilander.

Djokovic now has won three Australian Opens, which is tied with Mats Wilander for the third most all-time in the open era and is only behind Roger Federer and Andre Agassi's 4 Australian Open titles.

Nole has also won a Wimbledon title and a U.S. Open title, and just needs to win the French Open to complete the career Grand Slam. If he is able to win the French Open, he would join Fred Perry, Don Budge, Rod Laver, Roy Emerson, Andre Agassi, Roger Federer, and Rafael Nadal as the only players to win the career Grand Slam.

The future is encouraging as well for the Serbian, as he has a lot of years of tennis left to play. Djokovic is just 24 years old and is just in his 8th year on the ATP tour.

Also, Nole is very solid and can play on every surface. Although he has never won the French Open, he has made the semifinals of the major three times and he also had two quarterfinal appearances since 2006.

Also, Djokovic's rivals can't figure out how to beat him. Dating back to last year in their last 7 matches, Nadal is 0-7 against Djokovic and all of their match-ups have been in finals including at three major finals. Although Federer has been on the brink of cracking the Joker, he is just 1-4 against him in their last 5 matches including losses at the Australian Open last year as well as the U.S. Open when he had 2 match points in the fifth set but failed to convert either one. Djokovic is also 3-1 against Andy Murray.

The future is very bright for the Serbian star and Djokovic may one day be atop the list of the men's all-time great tennis players.