An Earthquake Named Novak Djokovic

Who could have predicted Rafael Nadal would not be the overwhelming favorite to win on clay at the start of the season?

As the European clay court season is looming, the king of clay will have to overcome the biggest challenge of his career. To beat Novak Djokovic.
Even if we are 7 days away from the first Masters 1000 on clay, Rafael Nadal will no longer be alone on clay.

After following the first act of the American hard court season, it is now obvious we have  a three-men race at the top of the standings.
Rafael Nadal, Novak Djokovic, Roger Federer and the others.
These three players have not lost against players who are ranked lower than them in 2011.

Clearly Roger Federer is  the World number 3 for the moment after having lost thee times to Djokovic and once to Nadal so far this year.

However the margin of points  is shrinking between the top two players in the world.

Remember that Rafa is the title holder of Monte-Carlo, Rome, Madrid, Roland Garros, Wimbledon and the US Open.

And then there's the final of the Davis Cup between Serbia and France.
Djokovic had to overcome the weight of a whole nation, who was waiting for their man to bring it's first ever Davis Cup.
Nole did not disappoint his country and managed to find his best tennis to win the most prestigious World team tennis nations cup in the world.

The Davis Cup victory helped Djokovic boost his confidence and since then he has been a different player.

Djokovic is undefeated on hard court this season with victories at the Australian Open,  Dubai, Indian Wells and Miami. It makes many tennis specialists speechless.

Only Pete Sampras, Andre Agassi and Roger Federer have managed to do have the same feat in the past.

But maybe the most stunning figure of all is the one which prove that Djokovic has beaten Nadal twice over the past two weeks.

Rafa was not yet at his best in Indian Wells, but Miami was a different story.

The Mallorcan managed to work hard on his serve and was almost close to his best in Key Biscayne.
It sure was very close. Both players have admitted it could have gone either way.

To finish the final of a Masters 1000 in a third set tie-break just illustrate how slim the margin between the top  two players is.

Consequently, to beat the World number one physically and mentally once more highlight the level Djokovic is having at this moment.

Following this amazing achievement, three main questions will remain on everyone's  mind for the next couple of months :
Will Djokovic continue his domination on clay?

Will the clay court king be upset at the French Open?

Will Djokovic take Nadal's top spot by the end of Wimbledon?

I would not be surprised if Djokovic win Monte-Carlo, Madrid, or Rome, which are as important as were Indian Wells and Miami.

Following both defeats on hard court, Nadal will not have the same confidence he had last year.

More over, the World number one has all the pressure to defend the points of Monte-Carlo, Rome , Madrid and Roland Garros, while the Serbe did not have a good clay court season last year.

Obviously Nadal has been in this postion before.
Consequently, the Mallorcan knows what it takes to overcome the pressure.

Nonetheless it will be fascinating to see if the 5-time Roland Garros champion can overcome his frustration from the last two weeks and to beat Djokovic on his favorite surface.

I think Djokovic will win one of the three Masters 1000 on clay.

Despite Nole's victory in Monte-Carlo, Rome, or Madrid,  Nadal will still be better in a best-of-five set format.

Besides, Djokovic will have to deal with mental fatigue at some point over the next couple of months.

I can't picture the World number 2  going on with an undefeated record  for another two months.

If"Djoker" manage to win Monte-Carlo, Rome and Madrid, he will burn out his chances for the summer.
The 23-year-old from Belgrade will want to remain fresh and healthy going on to Wimbledon and the US Open.

Furthermore, Novak knows already he will be the favorite at Flushing Meadows,
therefore he will want to save his best for the summer, unless he is god, which would make him win Roland Garros, Wimbledon, the US Open and do the the Grand Slam, which even Federer could not do on the same calendar year.