Novak Djokovic and Andy Murray: Still Looking for Number One

Remember when everyone was debating “when” Andy Murray or Novak Djokovic would surpass Roger Federer or Rafael Nadal to become the No. 1 player in the world?

Strange that of late, no one seems to be revisiting that topic. In fact, during this clay court season, these top-ranked players seem to be treading water, dog paddling in the midst of low tides. They wait, slowly progressing past the sirens lining the dangerous clay shoals—hoping to skip over the dirt and land safely on the grassy knolls.

The feeling is that Djokovic and Murray have acceded the clay season to Nadal and his compatriots. The King of Clay needed to reestablish domination over his anointed kingdom to stay on target for remaining in the Top Four—eventually climbing back into the Top Two.

In the interim, Andy Murray slipped out of the Top Four, ranked briefly behind Juan Martin del Potro who has not played since the Australian Open when the Argentine suffered a severe wrist injury.

Murray should edge out del Potro for the No. 4 spot when this week’s rankings come out on Monday—by a mere 20 points, however. We have yet to see the Argentine emerge from his self-imposed cocoon since he left the Australian Open losing to Marin Cilic in the round of 16. Del Potro plans to emerge in Madrid if he is able.

So what happened to the fun-loving Djoker and the dour Scot Murray whose assured fame sat waiting to be proclaimed from on high?

Djokovic whose ascension was guaranteed after winning the Australian Open in 2008 has suffered a series of reversals. For the remainder of 2008, Djokovic lost to Rafael Nadal in the semifinals of the French Open. At Wimbledon he lost to Marat Safin in the round of 64; then at the U.S. Open he lost to Roger Federer in the semifinals. He did, however, win the Tennis Master’s Cup at the end of the season.

In 2009 Djokovic lost in the quarterfinals of the Australian Open to Andy Roddick. He lost in the round of 32 to Phillip Kohlschreiber at the French Open. Then the Serb lost to Tommy Haas in the quarterfinals of Wimbledon and once again to Roger Federer in the semifinals of the U.S. Open.

In 2010 Djokovic lost in the quarterfinals to Jo-Wilfried Tsonga at the Australian Open—the same man he defeated in the finals of this event in 2008 to win his first slam. He has not played in the finals of a major since he won his title back in 2008.

Of late, the Serb's rise to the top has been slowed by a change in rackets, coaches, and service motion.

Suspecting that his serve would eventually lead to shoulder injury, Djokovic employed Todd Martin to fix his service motion. They agreed to decrease his extension on his serve, making it a more compact, traditional motion, saving wear and tear on his shoulder.

But, after attempting the change and losing matches in the process, Djokovic decided that Martin’s attempts to salvage his shoulder by retooling the Serb’s service toss and subsequent follow through, was ill-advised. Martin was sent packing.

Now Djokovic’s team is left with the task of rebuilding what the Serb used to do well automatically. Djokovic will be attempting to simplify his game. Because his serve is integral to his success, the Serb could remain sub-par for the rest of the clay season, even though he proclaims clay to be his favorite surface.

Currently in second place, Djokovic will stay a scant 490 points ahead of Nadal for the No. 2 ranking, if Nadal wins the Rome title on Sunday. Nadal has a chance to overtake Djokovic for the No. 2 spot by winning in Madrid.

That said, we move onto the Scot. What has contributed to Murray’s current funk?

The press has suggested that Murray is still staggered by the blow dealt him by Federer in losing the 2010 Australian Open.

Balderdash! It was the girlfriend, no doubt about it.

Seriously, it was hard for Murray to accept his defeat at the Aussie Open—not so much the fact of it, as the details of the loss because Murray did not even win a set against Federer after playing a brilliant tournament leading up to that final match.

Murray felt that the Australian Open should have been his but he failed to deliver because the moment overwhelmed him. He fell into predictable defensive patterns and Federer was all over him. That galled the Scot—nothing more or less because Murray knew what to do to win. Yet, he was unable to do it.

The current clay season should be “open” season for Murray because it presented a perfect opportunity for the Scot to advance on the rest of the field by riding the rail and moving up on the inside. Nadal, after all, could not make any headway until Madrid because he was defending championship points in Monte Carlo, Barcelona and Rome.

Then, too, Djokovic is also defending a lot of points. In 2009 the Serb was in the finals in Monte Carlo and Rome and the winner of the Serbian Open as well as a semifinalist in Madrid.

Whereas last year Murray was a semifinalist in Monte Carlo; fell out in the round of 32 in Rome and was a quarterfinalist in Madrid.

Murray could be making up some serious ground on the clay in 2010, but the Scot seems to be disinterested in doing so.

So what is the status of Murray? After David Ferrer embarrassed him in the third round at the Rome Masters 1000, Murray confessed that he needed to work on his serve and his return of serve.

Poppycock. Murray simply needs to put his head together and get back in the game.

Murray could have a Lendl moment. Meaning that once the Scot wins that first Major, there will be no stopping him. It took Lendl seven years until the French Open final in 1984 to finally break through. Murray is riding similar rails. He has appeared in two grand slam finals thus far, losing both to Federer—the U.S. Open in 2008 and the Australian Open in 2010.

Murray has a talent equal to those fighting with him for spots one through five. The Scot has all the tools he needs to succeed, he simply needs to employ them at the proper moments. Once he does that he will win because he has the talent to do so.

The same could be said of all of the top players. Federer and Nadal have proven themselves consistently under fire. But Djokovic and Murray are, in essence, still waiting in the wings to take their place on center stage with del Potro soon to be included in the mix.

The media and fans have been waiting over two years for Djokovic and Murray to secure that No. 1 spot at the top of the game. If they succeed or not remains a matter of speculation.

For Djokovic, the question is can he come back and win again. He won that first major, now the burden is to win again or forever be labeled a one-slam wonder.

Who will make the break-through first or will del Potro beat them both to the top spot? Stay tuned...