Novak Djokovic still chasing second Grand Slam title
Novak Djokovic didn’t manage to add a second major title to his name in 2010, but nonetheless ended the Grand Slam year on somewhat of a high, as runner-up to Rafael Nadal in the US Open final.
Indeed, it was a performance that showed that, at least at the hard court majors in Melbourne and New York, Djokovic remains perhaps the biggest threat to both Nadal and Roger Federer’s dominance.
Here, we review his year at the majors one by one.
Australian Open
After winning the title in 2008 and then courting controversy when he retired from the 2009 Australian Open while playing Andy Roddick in the quarter-finals in 2009 due to heat exhaustion (not the first time the Serb had prematurely called an end to a match deep into the second week of a major), Djokovic made a relatively uneventful trip to Melbourne Park in 2010.
The 2008 champion cruised through to the quarter-finals having dropped just one set in his opening four matches. The combination of the powerful shot-making of Jo-Wilfried Tsonga and illness (Djokovic was forced to take a medical time-out mid-match and revealed afterwards that: “I went to vomit and I had diarrhoea before the match”) in the quarters eventually conspired to seal his exit from the tournament after a five-set, three hour and 52 minute marathon.
French Open
Djokovic didn’t have the ideal preparation for Roland Garros, retiring from his quarter-final match in Belgrade (where he had been defending champion) as a result of illness and allergies.
That didn’t stop the 23-year-old progressing to the final eight at the clay court major, but the dual French Open semi-finalist wasn’t to make it any further. It was Jürgen Melzer who instead progressed to the final four of a Grand Slam for the first time in his career with a come-from-behind five-set quarter-final victory over Djokovic, who at two sets and 2-0 up had looked for all the money in the world to be headed into the penultimate round.
“I think he [Melzer] played really well in the last three sets. But I made a big mistake, you know, there. I made him come back into the match with my unforced errors,” Djokovic said post-match. “I'm very disappointed, obviously, to lose the match that I was in control of totally a set and a break.”
Wimbledon
“Djokovic at Wimbledon [in the semi-finals] was too defensive and stupid on the court,” said the man himself when asked about that performance compared to his determined semi-final victory at the US Open.
It’s hard to argue with Djokovic’s assessment of his straight sets semi-final exit, to eventual runner-up Tomas Berdych, at the All England Club. In the quarter-finals, the sometime impressionist gave a performance that indicated the he was on his way to a maiden Wimbledon final with a straight sets win over Yen Hsun-Lu (who had defeated 2009 runner-up Andy Roddick in his previous match).
Djokovic had a spring in his step and steel in his eyes in that match, but the version that showed up to play Berdych was far too passive and for significant chunks of the match seemingly either disinterested in or unable to figure out how to mount a challenge against the man who’d toppled Roger Federer in the quarters.
US Open
With all the focus on Federer and Rafael Nadal, Djokovic flew under the radar for much of the US Open. He began with a five-set tussle against countryman Viktor Troicki, then notched up straight sets wins in his following four matches – including against the in-form Mardy Fish and 17th-seed Gael Monfils – to arrive in the semi-finals and a match against Federer.
The five-time US Open champion had ended Djokovic’s US Open for the past three years, beginning in the 2007 final and in the semis in 2008 and 2009, but this was to be Djokovic’s year. The third seed saved two match points with cracking forehand winners before going on to win the five-set match in three hours and 44 minutes to deny Federer a seventh consecutive US Open final berth.
“It's one of those matches that you will remember for the rest of your life,” Djokovic said afterwards. “I am very proud of myself. There are a lot of emotions involved. Of course I was too exhausted to show them in the end. But it's been a fantastic semi-final.”
Djokovic brought the same confidence and aggression into the final against Nadal, but could not muster the same result, with the world No. 1 taking the 6-4, 5-7, 6-4, 6-2 victory and with it his maiden US Open title and a career Grand Slam.
“It was very good performance from my side,” Djokovic said in summary afterwards. “But whenever it was important, he was the one who was playing just too good."
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