Novak Djokovic: A Complete Guide to Djoker's 2012 Wimbledon Campaign

After a straight-set victory over Juan Carlos Ferrero in the opening round of Wimbledon 2012, Novak Djokovic has gotten off to a fast start.

Djokovic, as you may remember, won Wimbledon last year, beating Rafael Nadal in four sets. He was a perfect 6-0 against Nadal in 2011, when he went on to capture the world No. 1 spot on the ATP Tour.

On the other hand, a new year brings new challenges and Djokovic—while still a premier player—hasn't been as dominant. He's 36-6 with two singles titles on the year, but he's 1-3 against Nadal. Nadal has played fantastic tennis in general, with a 41-5 record and four singles titles on the year, including his seventh French Open championship in the last eight years.

So where has Djokovic dipped this year? Where can he improve to win his second consecutive Wimbledon title?

For one, the once-unflappable Djokovic has become rather, well, flappable. Last year, he ranked seventh on Tour with 65 percent of break points saved, according to ATPWorldTour.com. This year, he ranks 31st with 62 percent of break points saved. 

Djokovic also ranked second with 48 percent of break points converted in 2011. In 2012? That number has slid to 45 (11th on Tour).

Again, Djokovic is still an elite player this year. Break points have been the biggest reason for his slip; everything else is on course. He still wins a vast amount of return games and while he doesn't rank highly in service games won, that wasn't his strong suit in 2011 either. It's not his strength. He's lost a bit of a mental edge on the competition, particularly against Nadal (see: French Open), but there's no reason why he can't get this back. He's the second-best player on Tour this year next to Nadal in my opinion, but the margin is razor-thin.

Djokovic has a good chance to advance to the semifinals to face off with Roger Federer at Wimbledon. Whether he regains his mental edge will determine if he can get past Federer and Nadal, who are likely to advance to the semifinals and final.

Follow me on Twitter. We can talk about tennis together.