Djokovic The Pyschological Brute

Novak Djokovic currently is the hottest sportsman on the planet at the moment. Dominating the world of tennis and no doubt will be the talk of the French Open when Roland Garros kicks off next week. No doubt that difference has been the mental strength and depth he has shown. The forehand is hit like the Hammer of Thor and a backhand that has the precision of a Swiss Timepiece. For me not enough is said about how much pyschologically he has toughened up and improved. From 2009-2010 he only won 1 Masters 1000 series event. The Davis Cup 2010 changed everything. Belief has increased tenfold and his demeanor on court has changed. No more do we see the racket chucking, talking to his box, arms flapping. He has become a new animal. A savage. Cold hearted and steely eyed. An animal that has the killer instinct in him. Today's final showed those qualities. I have no doubt he was tired. Rafa knew that. The crowd knew it. The gameplan? Play tight service games and any opportunity on the Nadal serve, take. That's what he did. We are so used to seeing Federer and Nadal dispatch opponents in such a ruthless manner, now there is someone even more ruthless out there. His name is Novak Djokovic.

We'll see how good Djokovic is when he finally loses.

All is good in World Novak atm.

What happens when the game starts to bite back?

I don't expect the streak to last all year. It is a question of how he does respond to defeat when it comes.

Will he dust himself off and get back on the horse?

Or have a Murray like 3 month slump?

legendkillar wrote:I don't expect the streak to last all year. It is a question of how he does respond to defeat when it comes.

Will he dust himself off and get back on the horse?

Or have a Murray like 3 month slump?

Exactly

The same happens in every sport.

Why should he be mentally crushed after he loses, every tennis player loses. If he loses tomorrow he has still won a grandslams and acquired an incredible 6750 points in a little more than a third of the season.

Hey socal,

It will be interesting because like I say mentally he has come a long way and improved dramatically. I am hoping that he continues with this new found belief and avoids the Murray attitude we have seen in the last 2 years.

It is interesting I find this new argument that the streak itself is a burden and that when he loses he will go into a tailspin. Frankly, i don't buy it. At this point, the longer the streak goes and goes the more intimidation factor his opponents face when playing him. A lot of what made Fed so unstoppable up till 08 was that he had this aura of invincibility it was almost worth a break of serve before he ever stepped on the court. And Djokovic lets remember has been on tour for 7 years now, he isn't just going to breakdown after he losses his first match of the year.

I don't think personally Djokovic will have a Murray like meltdown after a major defeat. Like you say he has now got an aura about him which is what is refreshing to see. He played a near perfect match last night and like I said his demeanour on court was brilliant because he showed no fear or any sign of panic at any time. It was saying I am in control, your going to have to beat me because I am not giving anything away.

Yes legendkillar, and he is more mature right now, the guy has got his head on right. There is no way he wins the match with Murray two years ago or 12 months ago. He had numerous opportunities to fold twice being down a break in the final set. Other players know that if they want to win they are going to have to beat him and that he isn't going to give away anything cheaply. Most guys on tour you get up a set on them and they basically go into the tank.