Novak Djokovic Stands Head and Shoulders Above Rafael Nadal

It is hard to recall a player being so utterly dominant against his closest rival as Novak Djokovic is against Nadal. This tournament merely confirmed what the year up to now had been hinting at. When Djokovic is at his best, nothing besides Federer's best can lay a finger on him. We have a peculiar situation in tennis today: The world No. 2 is simply no match for the world No. 1. 

No, this has nothing to do with surfaces. The Serb has handily beaten Rafa on all three—four times on the hard courts, twice on Nadal's beloved clay and once on grass when he outclassed the Spaniard at Wimbledon.

This has absolutely nothing to do with form either. Nadal has been red-hot every time he's faced Djokovic, only to be beaten by, quite simply, a better tennis player at the moment.

The fact of the matter is that the way Nadal plays just doesn't bother Djokovic anymore.

Rafa's vicious topspin forehand is flattened out supremely effectively by Djokovic's backhand, regardless of surface. Being the best returner of serve in the world, Rafa's rather feeble serve gives him no problems at all and his awareness around the net simply has Rafa running out of ideas—and steam.

Add to that Nadal's admission that Djokovic has taken up residence in his head and you can see why he's been beaten by the Serb in their last six meetings.

This is why Roger Federer is so crucial to tennis at the moment. He might have won only one title and reached a grand total of two finals all year, but it's time to face the facts: He's the one keeping things competitive in the tennis world these days.

The Swiss maestro doesn't seem too keen on chasing Masters Series Shields, but he's always fully pumped up for the Grand Slams. He hates it when he's being doubted, which you could see in the French Open semifinal against Novak. Federer turned in one of the best performances of his career and that's what was needed to prevent Djokovic from completing the calendar Grand Slam.

That's how good Novak is presently.

We need to understand the fact that right now, contrary to what people think, Rafael Nadal vs. Novak Djokovic is not the best rivalry. It barely even qualifies as one; Rafa needs to win some matches for that to happen. The two rivalries that still have something in them are:

1) Roger Federer vs. Rafael Nadal

2) Roger Federer vs. Novak Djokovic

Federer is key, therefore, to what is keeping men's tennis unpredictable and exciting at the moment. He can either beat Djokovic and treat us to more Federer-Nadal matches or, at worst, still give us (and Djokovic) a heck of a match against the Serb that will live long in our memories.

Hence, the greatest player of all time is the most important player in tennis right now. That's simply because Novak Djokovic is head and shoulders above Rafael Nadal.