French Open Men's Final 2012: Djokovic Needs to Go Back to Drawing Board
Novak Djokovic's 2012 French Open experience is one he needs to learn from after losing in the finals. After years of trying and failing to get to the final round, Djokovic finally hit the big stage at Roland Garros...only to lose badly to the prince of clay, Rafael Nadal.
It's time to go back to the drawing board, watch the tape and figure out a way to conquer the last untamed frontier for the world's No. 1 men's tennis player.
Djokovic is unbeatable on hard surfaces these days, but when he gets on the red clay his game tends to fall to pieces against skilled clay-surface players. If he hopes to win the French Open before his career is over, he'll have to contend with Nadal for the foreseeable future—the most highly-skilled and successful champion of all time at Roland Garros.
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Djokovic's lack of comfort on clay was on full display in his ugly loss to Nadal. He hit the ball all over the place, ending the round with 53 unforced errors. Nadal is hard enough to beat when players are on top of their game, but he's unstoppable when his opponents give him points.
Djokovic was clearly frustrated throughout the match with Nadal. He never got comfortable against his rival and there are two pictures in my mind that stand out above all the rest that most-clearly illustrate this fact.
The first was when Djokovic punched a hole in the wooden base of his bench with his racket during a timeout. The second, and more critical of the two, was Djokovic's final shot of the tournament—a missed serve and double-fault to end the match.
The Djoker and Rafa will have many more opportunities to face one another in the French Open Finals. They are both in their mid-20s and in the prime of their careers. Roger Federer seems to be fading, and there isn't any other player in the world that can compete on the same level as these two men.
Unfortunately for Djokovic, he is far from competing with Nadal on the red clay at Roland Garros. Stay tuned for the rematch next year.
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