Novak Djokovic: 10 Reasons He's Better Than Nadal Right Now
It seems today as if three tennis gods are reigning and everyone else is just human. Novak Djokovic, Roger Federer, and Rafael Nadal have dominated tennis and no other players are considered a threat. Since 2004, Grand Slams have not been won by Federer, Nadal and Djokovic only three times., Gason Gaudio won the French in 2004; Juan Martin Del Potro was the US Open champion in 2009, and Marat Safin topped the Australian Open in 2005. The last Wimbledon winner who was not Federer, Djokovic, or Nadal was Lleyton Hewitt in 2002. With the end of Federer’s career looming, he is clearly on the downside. Nadal and Djokovic, however, are on the rise and are vying for being best player in the world. The power shift from Federer to Nadal has already happened. Now, the torch has been passed from Nadal to Djokovic. Here follows a list, in no particular order, of why Djokovic is No. 1 in the world.
* Movement
1 of 10
Although Nadal may be faster in terms of speed, he is not as nimble as Djokovic in court coverage. Djokovic’s court sense is unbelievable.
It’s as if he knows where the ball will land before the player hits it. His flexibility also makes him the toughest to ace.
* Momentum
2 of 10
As we know, Djokovic is on a tear right now and is threatening to break the record for most consecutive wins in a season held by Guillermo Vilas in 1977, at 46.
Djokovic’s streak is even more impressive because of the opponents he faces are far tougher than any Vilas confronted. Djokovic has beat Federer three times this year, dropping only one set in the process. \
He has beat Nadal in three finals this year, two on Nadal’s favorite surface, clay, and once on hard. Also, during his streak, Djokovic has beaten 12 ranked opponents in the top 31 at the time he played them.
Momentum not only instills confidence but it also intimidates opponents who even before the start of a match become nervous.
* Confidence
3 of 10
With winning comes confidence. Djokovic seemed like a completely new player after finally beating the clay-court king, Nadal in the finals of Madrid this year.
In past years, Djokovic has beat himself up over missing easy points, but this year he takes his mistakes in stride.
He has come back from being down a set five times against the likes of Nadal, Tomas Berdych, Tomaz Bellucci, and Roger Federer.
He believes that the only person who can beat him is himself, and he is correct.
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* Better All Around Player
4 of 10
In building up his winning streak, Djokovic not only had to beat quality players but he also had to win on different court surfaces He has had to adjust his game according to the surface.
In addition, he has improved his serve, making it even harder for opponents to grab easy points. Nadal,” unlike Djokovic can be pushed to net because he plays too far back.
This gives Nadal’s opponents an opening to use a drop shot, a short angle winner or a short shot to just pull him into net.
* Better Serve
5 of 10
With work in the offseason on his throwing motion, Djokovic is one of the best servers in the game right now.
Yes, Nadal has a lot of spin on his serve and he too improved his serve, but Nadal relies on his groundstrokes, not his serve.
* Better Backhand
6 of 10
Djokovic has always had the one of the best backhands in tennis, and with his improved serve and forehand, he had become formidable.
Nadal gets himself into trouble sometimes because he runs around his backhand to hit his huge forehand.
That can lead to problems because as fast as Nadal is, his positioning when he hits the ball is not good.
* Can Handle Tall Players
7 of 10
As we have seen in the first round of this year’s French Open, height is a factor with Nadal. John Isner, at 6’9" pushed Nadal to five sets. Isner is not even good on clay, posting a 15-10 record on clay this year and only beating one top 25 player, Mardy Fish, on the surface.
Other examples of tall players giving Nadal trouble are Robin Soderling, 6’4", who beat Nadal on clay and Juan Martin Del Potro, 6’6", who crushed Nadal 6-2,6-2,6-2 in the 2009 US Open Finals. The big guys are not bothered by Nadal’s huge topspin.
Also, the big men have so much power that they push Nadal to play deep and then exploit the short angle shots.
Djokovic, on the other hand has only lost to Soderling once out of the seven times they have played, never lost to Isner, and completely outplayed Del Potro in the this year’s French Open.
* Adjustment/Intelligence
8 of 10
Nadal has one strategy: Hit the ball with a lot of spin and rely on groundstrokes. He has improved his net game a little but doesn’t like to come to net.
With players that aren’t bothered by his spin, like tall guys, he doesn’t adjust. He lives and dies by his spin and if it doesn’t work, he doesn’t change his game plan.
When Djokovic is being out hit, he changes the way he plays, making the match close.
He will try coming to net; he will use a slice and he will change his return of service stance to unnerve the server.
* Injuries/Endurance
9 of 10
Djokovic has pretty much been injury-free his entire career, but Nadal has not. Ever since having knee surgery in 2007, Nadal has been battling injuries.
Because he treats every point as if it is his last and gives it his all, Nadal will not have a long tennis career.
In 2010, he retired in the Australian Open to Andy Murray in the semi-finals. Djokovic has made it a point to bulk up and get into shape.
With breathing problems and the always-hot weather in the Australian Open, no one thought he had a chance this year. He only dropped one set the entire tournament and never appeared to be flagging.
* Maturity
10 of 10
At the beginning of his career, Djokovic fooled around on court. That’s why he got the name “The Joker.”
Djokovic’s demeanor on court has changed. He is a serious craftsman, intent on winning. Djokovic’s immaturity manifested itself in his history of retiring from matches. That seems to have ended. Djokovic has not retired since May 7, 2010 in the Serbian Open.
Surprisingly, Djokovic has retired only two more times than Nadal. Nadal has never been immature, and his youth has never gotten in the way of his victories.
Growing up for Djokovic, however, has meant more success and more straight-forward triumphs.
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