Novak Djokovic: Why His Loss in Basel Is No Big Deal

It is expected, unfortunately, that after Novak Djokovic’s loss to Kei Nishikori in the semifinal of Basel, a bunch of speculations and dramatic reviews will start coming up regarding the future of the Serbian.

It will not be surprising if people even start questioning absurd things like whether or not he is good enough to be the No. 1 player in the world.

“Couch Potato” analysts and fans should know that what happened is completely normal. It might even be expected.

Tennis is a tough sport and the single elimination system is brutal. Tournaments are set up for people to lose! Every week only one player does not lose, everybody else does.

It is very hard to keep the level of play that the Serbian is showing in 2011. The game is physically brutal and demanding on the body. Even the great ones feel it.

The result is probably the best for Nishikori so far in his career and the Japanese player has all the right to celebrate. It is only fair.

But the fact of the matter is that this match has little or no importance to Novak Djokovic. Nothing changes for the Serbian: he is still the best player in the world and will be at year-end.

This defeat shouldn’t affect his upcoming tournaments either. He will probably bounce back and perform well in Paris and London.

It is important that people and fans understand how tennis works. As mentioned above, players do lose.

It is tough to play week in, week out at the highest level. This defeat, although unexpected and to a lower ranked player is to be considered normal. “Not normal” is all the success the Serbian had this year so far!

One of the greatest lessons professional players need to learn is how to deal with losses, because they do happen. One of the signs of greatness is how well a player can deal with them.

As the historic sign at Wimbledon center court says, on the players’ way from the locker rooms to the sacred grass: “If you can meet with triumph and disaster and treat those two imposters just the same…”