Sunday, July 3, 2011

Novak Djokovic Shows Why He Deserves No. 1 Ranking

Novak Djokovic defeated top-seeded Rafael Nadal in four sets to take home his first Grand Slam singles title at Wimbledon and third overall. On Monday, he will take over the top spot in the ATP world rankings, the first time it hasn't been Nadal or Federer since Andy Roddick in early 2004.

Djokovic is 48-1 with eight titles this season. His only loss was to 3rd-ranked Roger Federer in the semifinals of the French Open.

Though it was only the first time he's defeated Nadal in a major tournament, his 5-0 record (all in finals) against him in 2011 is especially impressive because he's done it on multiple surfaces, including grass today (Novak's first win on grass) and twice on clay, Rafa's forte.

Federer was on top for several years and has won 16 Grand Slam titles. Nadal was on top for the last few years and won 10.

If Djokovic stays healthy, he could easily hold the top spot for a significant amount of time because no one is playing at his level of skill, speed and consistency right now. His total is at three right now, but that number will definitely grow.

The question is, how many and how quickly? I think he'll be at 7 or more by the end of 2013. What do you think?

2 comments:

  1. Djokovic has morphed his game so much so that Nadal just can't seem to figure him out, very similar to Federer not being able to figure Nadal out in 2008.
    By 2013, I could see him at 6 or 7 but this depends on a few things:
    1) Federer would have to finally be over the hill because right now he seems to be the only one who still has a death grip on Djoker.
    2) Injuries would have to take over Nadal, because we all know Nadal will go back into the lab and figure out whatever it is that is causing him so much trouble with Djokovic.
    3) Guys like Tsonga and Del Potro, who traditionally have Djokovic's number will have to remain a level behind the top 3 players. The way tennis is, I expect someone below the top 3 to finally make an ascension into the upper echelon of players; the same way Djokovic has.

    But the fact is, the guy is playing out of his mind right now and it's crazy but good to watch.

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  2. Federer does play well against Novak, but he's been losing earlier the past couple years, so we may see him not even making semis on a regular basis.

    Nadal is great and he definitely can still win, but 5-0 this year, including 2 on clay. That's in his head and shows how far Djokovic has come. No meltdowns recently and seems to be the more skilled of the 2. Rafa wasn't serving or striking poorly, just got thoroughly outplayed.

    Tsonga has a ton of power but he really hasn't put it all together yet. He has the potential to reach the top level but not there yet.

    Djokovic is not going to be unbeatable at any point in his career but winning 4 out of the next 9 Grand Slams is certainly fathomable.

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