Novak Djokovic: Will the Serbian claim his second Grand Slam in 2011? Part 3
World No.2 Novak Djokovic looked extremely confident and showed infinite patience while getting the better of Swiss tennis maestro, Roger Federer in the semi-final round of the United States Open in New York.
However, that wasn’t enough as the Serbian had more important business before 2010 was out. The patriotic Djokovic had also helped Serbia in reaching the Davis Cup finals after posting victories over John Isner and Sam Querrey
earlier in the World Group rubbers. Then, after the grass court Grand Slam tournament, he overpowered Ivan Ljubicic as well as Marin Cilic to set up a final clash versus France in his home town Belgrade.
Djokovic continued his form in the Davis Cup finals and played confidently in his opening clash against Gilles Simon. In his next match versus the red hot Gael Monfils, an altogether different story was predicted.
However, Djokovic once again topped his opponent by playing a more serious, focused and contained game. The right hander neither lost control nor looked nervous and fought like a man with purpose.
Within no time he took the lead of 4-1 and maintained that lead to win the first set. His serve also looked its very best. He smashed eighty two percent of his opening serves in the first set and did not miss a single point until
the seventh game of the second set. In the end, he closed out the set at 6-2.
The following set saw the Frenchman Gaels go on the offensive. The crowd at the Belgrade area in Serbia cheered both the players for their excellent display of tennis. The composure of Djokovic was disturbed just on a single occasion,
when his opponent got a rare break. The Serbian vented his frustration by tearing his racket to pieces, and that release helped to channel his concentration and he once again took control of the match.
As Gael served, the 2008 Australian Open champion Djokovic even took control of a crowd that the umpire had lost a couple of games earlier. With a raise of Serbian’s hand, silence fell, and so did Gaels.
Afterwards, it was all Djokovic’s show who displayed the kind of player he has become with a high level of patience, consistency, intelligent thinking on the court and strong stroke hitting ability.
The actual celebrations came out a day later when his compatriot Viktor Troicki won the championship match.
Therefore, in spite of the fact that Novak Djokovic couldn’t win any Grand Slam title in 2010, he has still managed to work on a lot of areas as far as his game on the court was concerned. He is the one who led his country win
its first ever Davis Cup crown and supported all his teammates throughout the final rubber.
Moreover, the Serbian who just won two single titles in 2010 has also learned how to give 100% on the court and handle pressure situations while facing the higher ranked players. Clear evidence of this was his performance against
Roger Federer in New York where the Serb fought extremely well to reach the finals.
Therefore, considering the improvement Djokovic has made in his overall game, there is no doubt why he cannot win another Grand Slam in 2011. All he needs to do is to continue his form and stay focused on the court.
Djokovic, himself, while commenting on his current form said, “Right now, emotionally, I am confident, I am happy, and looking forward to upcoming challenges.”
It is this maturity and confidence that will definitely give him his second major title in 2011.
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