Djokovic Continues to Streak: Ties Federer, Moves to Third Round

Novak Djokovic defeated Romania player Victor Hanescu 6-4, 6-1, 2-3 (retired) in the second round of the French Open.  Djokovic remains undefeated this year at 39-0, and moves his winning streak to 41 wins dating back to last year.  He now ties Roger Federer’s great run back in 2006-2007.

Hanescu had to quit after receiving a thigh injury, even after holding a 3-2 edge in the third set.  Still, it looked like Djokovic was going to win this match after the second set.  Hanescu never even had a break point opportunity, and dominated on receiving points won and winning percentages on either serve.

Now we finally enter the good stuff. 

Djokovic is now looking to push his winning streak into the realm of great players and other legends of the game.  John McEnroe sits as the next guy to tie with 42, and Bjorn Borg is after that with 43.  Ivan Lendi is next at 44, who some consider the greatest tennis player to ever live.  Guillermo Vilas is the leader at 46, and also had the most titles in a single year in 1977.  If Djokovic can win the French Open, he will tie Vilas.

The competition will also heat up. 

Djokovic will likely be facing all Top 25 players from here on out, beginning with a match against Jaun Martin del Potro in the next round.  If high seeds hold up, this could be road for him should he win that match: 13th ranked Richard Gasquet, 12th ranked Mikhail Youzhny, third ranked Roger Federer and first ranked Rafael Nadal. 

Of course, a lot of things can happen from here and then, but for those of you that don’t follow tennis but are licking your chops for a Djokovic vs. Nadal match on clay, you should look at the last few games they’ve played recently.

In a span of seven days, Djokovic has demolished Nadal on the court.  Djokovic’s balance of power and finesse has taken Nadal out of his game and he simply can’t match it.  Nadal was crushed in the Mutua Madrileña Madrid Open final, and it wasn’t because of all bad play by him.  Djokovic was just at a higher level and was dropping shots in the corners that Nadal couldn’t even get to.  Djokovic has won four straight times this year against Nadal.

If you look up and down the list of players in this tournament, Djokovic has defeated them—a lot of them more than once.  This winning streak isn’t just a bunch of duds, and that’s what’s simply incredible about it. 

The only time I’ve seen him vulnerable in months is the match he played against Andy Murray in the Internazionali BNL d’Italia semifinals.  Djokovic was two points away from the streak ending and he look exhausted.  But after holding it together, Murray had an opportunity to serve for the match.  Djokovic broke him and became completely rejuvenated while Murray yelled out frustration to his racket and broke down in the tiebreaker.

Djokovic was criticized for his conditioning just a few years ago—not being able to break through the top talent in these majors and looking so tired once he hit the quarterfinals.  With Federer going back into a slight slump and Nadal not being as dominate as he used to be on clay, there’s really no end in sight. 

While many fans want the best matchup in tennis—and for years it’s been Federer and Nadal—it’s slightly refreshing to get some different talent into the later rounds.  Just like the NBA is currently seeing, we may be witnessing a changing of the guard in men’s tennis.