Novak Djokovic: Now He's Mr. Tennis

It was the moment Novak Djokovic turned Ghandi-like.

Down 3-5 and two match points in the fifth set of the just-concluded semifinals of the 2011 US Open, Djokovic coolly raised his arms for support from the center court audience, a crowd which had previously been chilly toward him and warm toward his opponent, Roger Federer.

Djokovic got their support, and then, majestically, took the match.

There you go. Novak Djokovic, Mr. Tennis. God-like. Tennis' version of Kurt Cobain. If you're the No.1 player in the world, and you can turn a crowd that smoothly, you must be Mr. Tennis.

Further, anyone who saw Djokovic's incredible comeback and his “instant classic” semifinal match with Federer, understands his magnetism, charisma, and value to the sport of tennis. No one else is near him in this regard.

On every level, Djokovic gets it. He knows tennis needs theater from its best players—especially subtle, sublime, and snazzy theater—and he knows it needs someone who can seize a moment.

Just like he did.

Djokovic rightly assumes that someone achieving at his potentially record-setting 2011 pace, ought to be entitled to seize a moment and make tennis' grand slam tournaments memorable.

In the process, Djokovic is making himself world renowned.

Novak Djokovic will beat Rafael Nadal tomorrow in the US Open final. Bank on it. He has beaten Nadal five straight times. Not only that, he's made Nadal wonder. He's shaken Nadal's belief system.

If Nadal gets down in the match, he's done; if Djokovic gets down, he's not done.

The only thing Nadal is counting on is that Djokovic can't keep doing these things to him. That's flimsy hope. But it's all Nadal has.

When it counted against Federer, who has 16 grand slam titles, Djokovic showed the world sensational backhand gets, seminal forehand power, and an iron confidence in the face of the gravest danger. At crunch time, all of his shots had this mystical authority behind them.

It was simply too much for Federer to deal with. Nadal won't be able to deal with it either.

The kind of performance Djokovic displayed against Federer cannot be equaled by anyone else swinging an ATP tour racket.

That's why he's 63-2.

He's Mr. Tennis. He will win the 2011 US Open title, on his way to perhaps tennis' greatest year.