Novak Djokovic IS the greatest Tennis player of all time.
Before I start this Djokovic lovefest, I’ll touch on two other greats, Roger Federer and Rafael Nadal. Federer transformed Tennis and completely dominated through the 2000’s; playing with grace, precision and pure class, the Swiss attracted fans from across the world and took the sport to new levels. The majority of Tennis fans would call Federer the greatest player of all time, and with 20 grand slams, it’s difficult to argue against that. However, if you compare eras that Federer and Djokovic have won their Grand Slams, there’s no comparison. Federer has never beaten Djokovic in a Grand Slam final since 2007, their head to head reads 24-22 in the Serb’s favour, including eight wins in the last 10 matches against Federer in Grand Slams. Look, Federer has been sensational to watch for 20 years. He plays shots that are nigh on impossible, his nonchalant style makes the game look so easy and he returned from seven months on the injury sidelines, at the age of 35 to win the 2017 Australian Open. An absolute artist, a master. Tennis will miss Federer, it will never be the same without him.
Onto, the most entertaining Tennis player of all time. The Spanish matador – Rafael Nadal. The king of clay. Has a team or sportsman ever dominated an event, like Nadal has the French Open? Definitely not. 11-time champion. 86 wins, two losses. Just crazy numbers that will never ever be repeated. So, what makes Rafa so entertaining and gripping to watch? The water bottle perfection, the most brutal forehand our sport has ever seen, roaring reactions to involve supporters or just his attacking playing style? Take your pick. Every time Nadal is on court, you have to watch him – he just has that attraction. What actually impresses me most about Rafa, is how a Spaniard can beat some of the best players ever, on grass. There are virtually no grass courts in Spain, and playing Tennis on grass and clay, is like playing a different sport. How he has adapted his game between surfaces over the years, is remarkable and very underrated.
Roll back 10 years, 6th July 2008. Roger Federer vs Rafael Nadal. Wimbledon final. The best match in the history of Tennis. A tarzan look-a-like, blooding forehands at 90+ mph for nearly five hours, against ‘unstoppable’ Federer who had won the last five
Wimbledon titles. With four hours and 48 minutes on the clock, both players dead on their feet after the most extraordinary match you will ever see, Nadal claimed his first Wimbledon title – centre court erupted.
A mention to Andy Murray, Stan Wawrinka, Juan Martin Del Potro and everyone else who has contributed to the greatest era in Tennis. There have been many matches that will stay in my memory forever, and it’s been a privilege to watch players of such quality.
Now, I get to talk about my favourite ever sportsman, the man with the perfect balance between passion and quality. I’ve run out of superlatives to describe Novak Djokovic, but I’ll do my best to explain to you why he’s the best to ever play the sport.
The first Grand Slam win came in 2008, aged 20, Djokovic beat Jo-Wilfried Tsonga in the Australian Open final. It was 2011 when he emerged on the scene as a real champion. The Serb was playing at a ridiculous standard, that nobody could compete with, on any surface, which resulted in him winning 43 matches in a row. Djokovic won the Australian Open for a second time, beating Murray in the final in straight sets; before winning his first Wimbledon and US Open titles. At that time, he was simply jaw-dropping to watch, nobody had ever seen this standard of tennis. Nadal, who lost to Djokovic in six finals on three different surfaces, described Djokovic’s performances as “probably the highest level of tennis I’ve seen.” Pete Sampras declared the Serb’s 2011 season as the best he has ever seen in his lifetime, calling it “one of the best achievements in all of sports.”
The form didn’t drop in 2012. Players were getting closer to beating him, but Djokovic is a born champion – he ALWAYS finds a way to win. Nadal was the victim again in the final at Melbourne, with the 14 time Grand Slam champion, coming from a break down in the
final set to win 7–5. At five hours and 53 minutes, the match was the longest final in Open Era Grand Slam history.
Eventually, Rafa got revenge. At his home in France, Roland Garros. Djokovic was bidding to become the first man since 1969 to hold all four grand slams. After beating Federer in the semi-final, up stepped Nadal to spoil the party. The king of clay reinforced his dominance, brushing him aside in four sets. That match highlighted just how good Rafa is on that surface. Djokovic was unstoppable against any opponent, on any surface, until he ran into Nadal on clay.
2013 proved to be a disappointment for Novak. He only won one Grand Slam (Australian Open, again), reached two finals (Wimbledon and US Open) and the semi-final in the other (French Open), not forgetting him winning three Masters titles. This was a genuine failure in his eyes. At the standard he was at, winning three Grand Slams was the minimum he wanted every year.
Djokovic entered 2014 looking to win his fourth Australian Open. One man stood in his way at the quarter-final stage, none of the big four, but Wawrinka. The Swiss produced one of the most complete and high-quality performances you will ever see, to down Djokovic. Despite coming back from two sets to one down, Djokovic fell 9–7 in the fifth set, ending his 25-match winning streak in Melbourne, as well as his streak of 14 consecutive Grand Slam tournament semi-finals.
That seemed to fuel the fire. Knowing a win at Wimbledon would put him back as number one in the world, Djokovic was flawless all tournament, breezing to the final, before meeting ‘old nemesis’ Federer in the final again. Locked at two sets each, Federer’s beautiful backhand in full flow, Djokovic in machine mode and the crowd rooting for
King Roger to win his 8th Wimbledon title. Djoker prevailed in a thriller. This win put him up there alongside Federer and Sampras. He was playing on Federer’s home court, in the Swiss’s favourite conditions, when in the form of his life – but even he could not stop the winning train.
In the World Tour Finals, Djokovic created a record by winning three round-robin matches with a loss of just nine games. By reaching the semi-final, he also secured the number one ranking for the third time. Novak was awarded the World Tour Finals trophy after Federer withdrew before the final. This marked the seventh title of the season for him and the fourth title at the World Tour Finals.
After a shock quarter-final exit in Melbourne at the hands of Stan Wawrinka, Djokovic came flying back to form on the hard courts in 2015. Reaching the semi-finals without dropping a set, he gained revenge over Stan by defeating him in five sets. This set up another blockbuster final against Murray, the opening two sets were high quality and shared thanks to tie-breaks. Suddenly, Djokovic kicked into beast mode and reeled off 12 of 13 games to win comfortably in four sets, making him the first ever Open Era player to win five Australian Open titles. That signified his superiority in class. Murray was challenging Djokovic in the opening couple of hours; however, when Djokovic decided to increase the tempo, Murray couldn’t cope. It’s like he flicks a switch. The shot variation, minimal errors and killer shots that nobody can return emerge.
Then, Djokovic achieved the impossible. He beat Nadal at the French Open, in the quarter-finals. Swiss rival Wawrinka stopped the dream after he beat Djokovic again in the final over four sets. It was a classic, but as we all know by now, the Swiss is very hard to beat in finals. He plays without fear or expectation, always the underdog and when he’s firing, he’s hard to beat. Even Djokovic couldn’t outclass him.
Novak resumed winning ways. Defending his Wimbledon title by defeating Federer again in the final, this time in more comfortable fashion. It was a repeat of the Australian Open, in terms of the opponent competing with him and sharing the opening two sets. Then, like he always does, the Serb turned up the heat and proved untouchable, even for Federer on centre court. He switched into robot mode – when he doesn’t make mistakes, hits the lines with pace and precision, coupled with serving of the very highest order. That combination sees Djokovic at his supreme best, and at a standard that defies belief.
At the 2015 US Open, Djokovic reached the final for the sixth time in his career, achieving the feat of reaching all four Grand Slam finals in a single calendar year. In the final of the tournament, he faced Federer once again, defeating him in four sets to win his third Grand Slam title of the year, his second title at Flushing Meadows, and his tenth career Grand Slam singles title, becoming the fifth man in the Open Era to win ten or more Grand Slam singles titles. It was becoming inevitable that if Djokovic turned up at a tournament, he won it. Everything looked so easy. He would
coast through 90% of matches playing in first gear, then when it came to big moments in career-defining matches, he had the ability to just up the gears and blow anyone in the world away. It’s like he was driving a Ford Focus in the first week of a tournament, then changed into a Ferrari in the second. He had the luxury of being able to reserve stamina, for when he needed it. Not just stamina, but class and poise too. A lethal combination.
He beat Federer in straight sets winning his fifth World Tour Finals title and he became the first player to win four consecutive end-of-year finals tournaments. A third win in a final over Federer in 2015. Who’s the greatest player ever? One man. Novak Djokovic.
Djokovic then proceeded to win his sixth Australian Open. On his road to his Open Era record sixth title in Melbourne, he defeated Roger Federer in four sets in the semi-finals, and in a rematch of the 2015 final, he defeated Andy Murray, in three straight sets.
Later that year, at Roland Garros, came the win that “completed” his career. A French Open champion. Holder of all four Grand Slams. In that era, a truly special achievement. Words can’t do him justice. Murray was also bidding for his first French Open title, but Djokovic knew this was his chance to get his hands on the coveted trophy. He was never
losing. Ruthless, mesmerising, brutal. A real champions performance, and a deserved French Open title for Djokovic. It had been a long wait, but he never gave up. His mentality has improved throughout his career, he always knew his time would come, and it did.
Unfortunately, an elbow halted the Serb for the next 18 months. A massive drop in performance levels, frustration shown on court and a split with his long-serving team. It was gutting to see. Whether you were a Djokovic fan or not, no Tennis fan could argue that we were witnessing masterclass after masterclass. It was astonishing to watch. To see it ended with injury, was horrible for all parties.
Was that the end of Novak Djokovic? A serious elbow injury, no chemistry with coaching staff? A newly born son…was the dream of surpassing Federer’s 20 Grand Slams over?
Djokovic showed a return to form in Melbourne 2018, but lost to Hyeon Chung in straight sets in the round of 16. Elbow surgery followed. Skip to Wimbledon, he couldn’t, could he? Never doubt this man. Djokovic won Wimbledon 2018, looking back to his absolute best. Apart from an enthralling battle with Rafa which took two days to complete, he eased through every round, including a straight sets win in the final against Kevin Anderson.
He didn’t stop there. Moving onto Flushing Meadows, the Serb steamrolled every opponent with minimal fuss, winning his third US Open, dropping just two sets. It gets to a point now, that whatever Djokovic does, is normal. But to return after months out with a serious elbow injury, and dominate two Grand Slams as if he’s never been away, is an achievement, even by his standards. Still, the winning trail didn’t stop. He won his fourth Shanghai Masters title, without dropping serve all week. The stats don’t do him justice.
In the famous words of Martin Tyler: “Watch it, drink it in, because you’ll never see anything like this ever again.”
I don’t think I can praise him anymore. I’ve grown up watching Djokovic, and I’ve lived every moment. The heartache, joy, passion and excitement. We’ve been through it all as fans. I truly believe he is the best to ever play this game. At times he has dominated, the best era ever in Tennis, with relative ease. Forgetting that: 99 weeks consecutive at number one, a winning head to head against every player in the world, 14 Grand Slams at the age of 31, 43 match winning run streak, returned from injury to so far win two Grand Slams and of course – have undoubtedly the greatest shot ever, in his return of serve. The list is endless. I haven’t even mentioned him being the best defensive player ever, his balance and poise, the double-handed backhand that is as reliant as water remaining wet and the flat forehands that continues to find the lines, and beat opponents racquets on a regular basis.
Stats and records don’t lie.
Novak Djokovic IS the greatest Tennis player of all time.
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