My Thoughts

Archive for the ‘Novak Djokovic’ Category

Article first published as 2011 Tennis Season Shaping Up to Be a Great Year for Fans on Technorati.

2011 promises to be a great year for tennis fans. With the emergence of Novak Djokovic, the stranglehold which Nadal and Federer had on world tennis has been lifted and to see a three way battle to supremacy is a great feeling. Even though the Serbian has had a brilliant year or so, I was skeptical if he would be able to dominate Nadal on clay, which has been his fortress for a long time now. Rafael Nadal who is still the world number 1 has been unbeatable on clay in the past and even the great Federer was unable to get past him in his prime.

With the French Open just a month away the clay court season has already begun. When Djokovic defeated Nadal in the finals of Madrid open, he proved to the world that he can be a handful on clay too. It was a big setback for Nadal as the surface has been like a fortress for the champion over the years and he is expected to do well on the same. This win has once again reiterated the fact that Djokovic is now ready to take over the mantle of the best player in the world. A win on clay has also proven that the guy can not only play on any surface but can dominate too. With this win Djokovic is just within a touching distance of the world number 1 ranking. If he can win the title in Rome (his 7th consecutive title if he does) he will dethrone Rafael Nadal at the top of the rankings.

Men’s tennis has once again become interesting, with the emergence of Djokovic, Murray and Soderling. It’s now not just a Federer and Nadal show as it was couple of years back. I congratulate Novak Djokovic on a brilliant start to the year 2011 and I hope that he gets the number 1 ranking which he very much deserves.

Roger Federer and Rafael Nadal now have to battle for Supremacy with Djokovic in a three way race to the top

Few years back world tennis was all about Nadal and Federer. Even though there were others, none of them challenged the supremacy of these two greats and they remained the undisputed world number 1 and 2. In the last year or so, with the emergence of Novak Djokovic we can see there is a shift in the tide. Djokovic who won the Australian open championship this year has a perfect record of 24-0 in 2011 and is yet to be beaten on the tour this year. He has already displaced Federer at the number 2 spot as has constantly beaten Nadal in their recent encounters.

The recent win in Miami against Nadal further confirms his rise to supremacy. The year 2011 has just begun and it is already promising to be a great year for tennis fan. With the rise of Djokovic the battle to the top is now a three way thing and I feel that the Federer Vs Nadal rivalry is now thing of the past. Nadal also has been dominating Federer in their recent meetings. So I guess the rivalry between Djokovic and Nadal has more weight in the current scenario. Djokovic is now the man to beat in tennis, both Nadal and Federer have found difficult to beat him in recent times. The Serbian in his recent interview has said that becoming the world number 1 is his ambition will want to begin the quest with the clay court season. Clay is a surface which has been a fortress of Rafael Nadal and a win there would almost confirm Djokovic as the next tennis great.

So Federer and Nadal now have a battle in their hands and with players like Andy Murray and Del Potro also close to their heels, we might have a great 2011 ahead. The French open will be interesting as Djokovic would want to extend his supremacy on clay too. It will be interesting to see who will finish as the best player in the rankings at the end of this season. And for the first time in few years it will not be a battle just between Nadal and Federer, which is a good thing for men’s tennis.