Djokovic vs. Federer: Where Wimbledon 2015 Win Ranks Among Djoker's Greatest
In years to come, we’ll look back at tennis’ era of the big four and feel blessed to have been there and seen it all.
Roger Federer, Rafael Nadal, Andy Murray and Novak Djokovic have dominated the game for many years, with no sign of there being a changing of the guard anytime soon.
But one man has been threatening to pull away from this incredibly talented pack over the last 24 months—Djokovic.
TOP NEWS
Kyle Busch's Cause of Death Released
Report: MLB Vet Unretires After 1 Day
Saturday Night Main Event Live Grades 🔠
The Serbian has won just about everything he’s looked at since the turn of 2014, which is no mean feat in such remarkable company.
And when he swept Federer aside in the 2015 Wimbledon final, he firmly cemented his title as one of the best players to ever pick up a racquet.
Not that the world didn’t realise that before, of course, but it took him above some of the biggest names in the game for Grand Slam victories, as BBC Tennis revealed:
But just how good was Djokovic in SW19 and how good was the win? Well, in truth, he wasn’t actually up to his normal high standards.
In the opening rounds, the Serbian was playing on autopilot—doing just enough to progress and reserving his best tennis for when it mattered.
Even when Djokovic went two sets down against Kevin Anderson in the fourth round, you knew the South African was then going to get hit with both barrels.
And so it proved, as the 28-year-old won the three closing sets, barely breaking a sweat.
From then on, it always looked like the Wimbledon title was going home with Djoker, but his tournament could well have been over long before he got his hands on the trophy.
In football, they say the sign of a champion is playing badly and winning; but in such an unforgivable game like tennis, that rarely happens.
Djokovic, though, proved that class triumphs above all. Still, when it came to the final, he was absolutely flawless.
Former player Marion Bartoli reflected on as much, saying that the standard in Sunday’s match was stunning:
However, Federer couldn’t quite resurrect the breathtaking form that saw him dispose of home favourite Andy Murray in the semi-finals, but it’s safe to say Djokovic didn’t put a foot wrong.
The Swiss star’s service game has been his strongest suit at Wimbledon this year, but he looked nothing but vulnerable with the ball in hand due to Djoker’s fantastic returns.
Even when Djokovic lost the second set—despite having endless chances to move into a 2-0 lead—he kept his head amazingly.
The set that followed was tennis at its best, as an early break gave Djoker the perfect platform from which to build.
Years ago, he may well have crumbled in such a situation, but losing the second set with the crowd cheering on Federer just seemed to spur him on.
Plus, Djoker is a better tactician than ever now. That could possibly be due to Boris Becker's input, but it's clear that he feels his way into matches wonderfully.
Even the 17-time Grand Slam winner had to hold his hands up after his defeat, as he said that Djokovic is quite simply the better player, according to Sky Sports:
"Novak played not only good today but the whole two weeks, the whole year, last year and the year before that," said Federer. I had my chances in the first set. I got lucky to win the second, had chances in the third. But he was better on the bigger points. He was rock solid, I didn't play badly myself. That's how it goes.
"
We’ve watched in awe as the superb Serbian has won nine Grand Slam titles, but never has he looked so out of sorts in the early stages as he did at Wimbledon. Out of sorts for him, I might add.
That means two things: this victory may well be the best of the bunch; and Djokovic’s full potential is positively frightening.
He’s not done there. He told BBC Sport that he wants to continue to fight for majors for many years to come: “I'm going to keep going. I feel good. I don't feel old. I have hopefully many more years in front of me. I'm going to try to push my own limits and see how far I can go really with titles and with myself playing on this high level.”
Time will tell as to how many more Grand Slams Djokovic can chalk up, but based on the past fortnight, he’ll be pushing Federer’s haul sooner rather than later.
The French Open title still manages to elude him, but you get the sense that it’s only a matter of time before that goes under his talented belt.
Did we witness the greatest Grand Slam performance of Djokovic’s career Sunday? Hard to say. But are we witnessing one of the greatest performers? Undoubtedly.
.png?w=600 "New NBA Mock Draft 📝")
.jpg?w=600 "Offseason Moves for Every Team 👉")
