Novak Djokovic And His Domination Of Federer And Nadal
Novak Djokovic’s amazing run continues with his fourth career Grand Slam title at the US Open and his 64-2 match record in 2011.
Novak Djokovic at the 2011 US Open (Photo by Chris Trotman/Getty Images)
He was lucky though – but that’s what happens often in some players’ best years.
Here are my thoughts on the semifinals and finals of the US Open 2011…
Semifinals: Novak Djokovic – Roger Federer 6-7, 4-6, 6-3, 6-2, 7-5
I think that two first two sets Federer asserted himself mentally especially in Novak’s mind.
Federer is a legend and he has beaten Novak many times in the past. In fact he ended his run at Roland Garros this year which was simply incredible when you consider Novak’s level of play at that period in the year.
So Novak has huge respect for Federer and I believe that held him back in the first two sets. He lost them in the mind when he faced a legend and saw him play his best tennis.
He didn’t feel that he was equal and that’s the small difference in the mindset that makes a big difference in the end result.
After Novak was two sets to love down Roger had a letdown. He simply wasn’t playing at the highest level anymore and Novak suddenly felt that he can gain advantage in the rallies.
That gave him the lift and he simply played at his level while Federer was unable to follow.
I think this is where the years show for Roger. At 30 he is not as hungry and ruthless as he was.
And he also doesn’t face many opponents that would fight like mad after being two sets to love down. They simply accept the fate and »allow« Roger to win.
The fifth set was another story – Federer found his level and so did Novak until 4:3 when Novak had his first major loss of concentration and simply gave away the game.
Roger cruised to 40:15 and had two match points and that’s when Novak’s approach changed for a while. He accepted his loss mentally.
Note how he is nodding before the return acknowledging Roger’s great play and how he accepts defeat as :«All right, he beat be fair and square, not much I can do about it.«
At least that’s how I interpret Novak’s expressions.
At that moment Novak didn’t care about the outcome and simply wanted to end the match on his own terms.
If you play tennis, then you surely understand that losing a match is painful – but it’s less painful if you go for the shot on the match point and miss than if your opponent can hits a winner on the last shot played.
That’s like the last KO in a boxing match and it’s emotionally very painful.
So what Djokovic did is he simply wanted to avoid the last KO and went for the shot.
He explains:
Q. On court you said that the return of the shot was lucky. Could you talk about that? And secondly, you probably hit millions of shots. Was that the best shot Novak Djokovic has ever hit?
NOVAK DJOKOVIC: Under the circumstances, maybe, yes. I mean, match points down and I read his serve. I read his serve. I anticipated well, and I hit it, so I don’t know if it was lucky or not. It was just maybe it was lucky because it was in the right moment, but I took my chances. I took my chances, and I hit it very clean.
Novak was lucky again in the next point as Federer had a good look at the ball and hit the net cord on his inside out forehand that landed wide.
But at 40:40 Djokovic played the point seriously again. He felt he has a chance again and Roger was simply too impatient and was going for too much.
At break point Roger double faulted and that was just mental error. He was too upset with himself to lose match points.
His perfectionistic mindset got the best of him. Instead of accepting his mistakes as part of being human, he was being hard on himself and that caused him lose the calm and composure needed to hit shots in under pressure situations.
This loss of composure haunted him until the end of the match as he simply made mistakes until the end.
It’s unfortunate that Federer lost from 40:15 up but it’s also his fault for not being able to control his mind. He might have lost the match anyway but then he would know that Djokovic played too good.
In this case Federer knows that it was his mental weakness that contributed greatly to this defeat.
Finals: Novak Djokovic – Rafael Nadal 6-2, 6-4, 6-7, 6-1
I think Nadal’s problem for most of the match was that he still believes in his game that has won him so much – and yet cost him now 6 finals only in this year.
Nadal’s game is based on high percentage shots and neutralizing his opponents.
It works against everyone in the long term – except against Djokovic.
Nadal’s shots are too slow and too much down the middle (on average) to hurt Djokovic. In fact, Nadal is not focused enough on hurting his opponent as he is focused on not missing.
I actually feel that Nadal’s tennis last year was how he needs to play. He was going for shots earlier in the rallies and was aiming closer to the sidelines.
But this year he played too safe again.
But playing in the final of a Grand Slam on hard court against a great baseliner is not about going for your shots when you get a perfect chance.
It’s about going for your shots when you have half a chance.
It doesn’t mean that you go for a winner but you go for a forcing shot that’s hurting the opponent.
The player who gets in a better position earlier in the rally will win more points than his opponent. Therefore the player needs to look for the first possible chance of attack.
That’s what Djokovic has been doing the whole year and plans to do in the future:
“I have just a different approach to the semi-finals and finals of major events, especially when I’m playing two great champions, Rafa and Roger,” said Djokovic. “In the past couple of years that wasn’t the case. I was always kind of trying to wait for their mistakes or being out there and playing my best tennis but not really having the positive attitude and kind of believing that I can win. So this has changed, I guess, and the US Open 2010 was one of the turning points in my career, definitely.”
He has been going for the shots in 2011 and Rafa is still waiting for the other player to make mistakes.
He was taught to play that way and it works most of the time. But not against Djokovic.
So when Nadal says:
“I go back home knowing that I am on the way,” Nadal said in his post-match press conference. “I like to fight; I want to enjoy this battle against him. Six straight losses, for sure that’s painful. But I’m going to work every day until that changes… [Djokovic’s] season is probably impossible to repeat… His level for sure is fantastic. He’s doing very well mentally everything. So just accept that. Accept the challenge and work.”
… I disagree.
Rafa doesn’t have to work on his strokes or his movement – except maybe on his serve.
What he needs to do is to have more courage to go for the shots.
While he feels that his shots hit with high percentage are the way to success, he fails to see that a safe shot is actually a low percentage shot to win the match.
He keeps playing safe shots and keeps losing matches to Djokovic.
When will Nadal see this?
In fact, he could learn from Djokovic. Here’s what Novak said recently:
“I guess it just clicked in my head. Throughout the last couple of years I didn’t change my game in any major way. I think most of the strokes are the same that they were.
“It’s just that I’m hitting the shots that I maybe wasn’t hitting in the last two, three years now. I’m going for it. I’m more aggressive and I have a different approach to the semi-finals and finals of major events.”
The only way to beat Djokovic is to actually »beat« him. You need to dominate the rallies – and that’s what Federer does well against Djokovic. He attacks as soon as there is a half chance.
I am certain without a doubt that Nadal is talented enough and skilled enough to attack in a very similar way and able hit most of the shots in and gain advantage in the rallies against Djokovic.
Except that Nadal doesn’t believe in himself and his abilities.
But now he has nothing to lose anymore.
I sure hope he sees that in the next match he plays and stops playing any neutral shots down the middle.
Almost every baseline shot needs to be an attacking shot – and that’s how Nadal played the last two games of the third set.
He was on the verge of defeat when Djokovic was serving for the match.
That’s when Nadal felt that his style of play doesn’t work and started to go for his shots.
He proved to himself that is capable of extremely aggressive play that wins more points than it loses.
And yet in the fourth set he reverted back to his normal play and Djokovic beat him easily even without a real first serve.
If that doesn’t teach Nadal the lesson then I don’t know what will.
But great to see Novak Djokovic do so well – he is on his way of realizing his full potential – physical and mental – and it’s scary for his opponents to think what will happen in the next 5 years in Grand Slams if Djokovic remains healthy.
It’s quite possible that he will dominate tennis the same way as Federer had from 2004 to 2009.
- Related posts:
September 14th, 2011 at 5:49 am
Good thought, Tomaz. It’s great to see that three (hope soon to be four) tennis giants battling each other neck ‘n neck in every grand slam. The last time I watched a live US open final was way back in 1996 when Agassi lost four sets to Sampras, and I decided that this match is worth the live action. That’s just because it always started at the wee hour of 4 AM.
That was just worth it.
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Tomaz Reply:
September 14th, 2011 at 8:31 am
Yeah, this was a great match and a couple of rallies were just out of this world…
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September 17th, 2011 at 5:05 pm
Rafa also needs an alternative to putting topspin on his forehands. It might make his shots safer, but it gives his opponents more time to get to them (or in the case of the best like Djokovic, to attack them). Rafa’s worst beating at the US Open, 6 – 2 6 – 2 6 – 2 happened when he met Del Potro, who was hitting the ball hard and flat and was grateful for the extra time rafa’s looping top spin gave him.
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September 19th, 2011 at 9:52 am
It seems like Djokovic is walking on a tightrope. He is humble enough to accept that he can lose. At the same time, he has enough confidence to simply go for it and win. As far as I can tell, this is the mental sweetspot where losing is okay but winning is the goal. Do you think that will change when he starts to accumulate more GS trophies or a new rival emerges?
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Tomaz Reply:
September 28th, 2011 at 5:54 am
Hey Arturo,
I think it can change. I think it has changed for Nadal now. I felt he was more willing to go for the shots and for titles in the past but I feel that this year he wants to defend his position more. The same goes for Federer.
Winning in a final against someone really good cannot be done by playing safe. But by playing un-safe you risk hitting some dumb shots and that’s what Federer and Nadal seem to avoid at the moment while Djokovic doesn’t mind missing. But that’s why he is hitting in too.
So yes, it’s quite possible that the tide will turn when he stays on top for a couple of years and has to deal with all the media madness and constant pressure…
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September 28th, 2011 at 5:35 am
How much do you think that Novak’s use of ‘the pod’ has contributed to his success mentally and physically? It was documented that he specifically stayed where this facility was available during the US Open – Do you think this is cheating?
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Tomaz Reply:
September 28th, 2011 at 5:58 am
Ok, first here’s the link to the Pod story so that everyone knows what we’re talking about.
I don’t know exactly what the Pod does but I read that “World Anti-Doping Agency ruled that such oxygen tents enhance performance and violate “the spirit of sport,” but did not add them to the list of banned substances and methods”.
If this is the same as going to practice in high-altitude and getting ready for tough tournaments, then I don’t think it’s cheating. It’s just more practical to become exposed to high altitude in your home than going to a distant place to get the same results.
But if the Pod does something else, then that could be controversial.
I think that until something is prohibited, it is allowed. You need to play by the rules and the current rules don’t prohibit the Pod – so Djokovic can do whatever he can with the Pod and so can Nadal, Federer or anyone else. If the rules change, then it’s another story…
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September 28th, 2011 at 7:38 am
I don’t think Djokovic can dominate for the next 3-4 years. It’s just not going to happen.
1. His movements are better but his style is too physical and not efficient. It will catch up to him in max another year. Already this year he has shown signs of injuries.
2. He is still basically a pusher and not an attacker. He still likes to keep rolling his forehand in with topspin and likes to wait for his opponent to hit short before attacking. This has never been the mindset of the greatest ever players.
3. He still lacks an all court game and this becomes more evident when he plays Federer who tests your full array by putting the ball in different places on the court with different spins. Djokovic is still primarily a baseliner.
4. Attacking players like Dolgopov and Tsonga have shown that the Djokovic confidence / toughness is only when he’s up in a match. I have seen signs of him visibly mentally shaken when those players have dominated rallies let alone win games through their own aggressive play.
5. The serve and return are the two major improvements in Djokovic game. The rest including the mental aspect is all still the same as it was 3 years ago and just appears better right now because the wins are going his way. Normalcy will return next year when Nadal starts hitting deep and catching lines like he has done for years in the past. It’s only a matter of time.
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Paul Drayton Reply:
September 28th, 2011 at 8:02 am
Wow, that’s what I was thinking but didn’t know it. I agree with you, great analysis.
However, don’t under estimate Djokers ability to change and adapt to what is needed. He is doing what is needed to win now. If that changes, I think he will change his style and develop his skills – become more attacking and all court.
What about his style is inefficient and taxing on his body in terms of ground strokes? His ground strokes look efficient and effective to me. The sliding is obviously tough on the body, but what else?
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Sean Reply:
September 28th, 2011 at 4:28 pm
Paul – I agree with you that Djokovic can certainly adapt to the game in the future as need be and i think small changes are possible like a change in service motion or better returns and movement (which he already has achieved in this past year) but i think changing a mindset and game plan from primarily defensive to attacking takes a change in many areas of thinking/ strategy, execution and skill and for a 20 year old who’s up and coming its not such a big deal but for a 24 year old who has already tasted success it might be much harder to do it consistently. Ill attempt to explain what i think i see in his style that makes it inefficient to me. Its an easier visual but ill see if i can describe it.
I noticed on slow motion video how extreme Djokovic’s forehand ends up in the windshield wiper swing motion. I think this puts too much emphasis on the shoulder. He hits with a little bit of an open stance and although that is how they teach it today (because of the game being faster), the old school style is more efficient for generating spin and speed without taxing the smaller muscles of the body. Using Federer as an example (old school) generates speed primarily from hip/ torso rotation and so the smaller muscles of the arm/ shoulder aren’t taxed. Fed uses more traditional low to high to generate spin and taking the ball early to generate speed.
With regards to Djokovic’s movement and sliding. His knees have already been taped up in several matches. The way he sprints and slides on a hard court, its just a matter of short time before those joints really will have had enough. Granted you have to run in tennis so nothing to debate there but again using Federer as an example (hate to use him again but he really is a model for efficiency), he appears to read play really well and shuffle in advance to where he thinks he needs to be to hit the next shot and thus appears to be gliding rather than sprinting. Djokovic and Nadal are terrific athelets and they are able to use their explosive strength to sprint on the court but if we are looking at a long distance race ie a career of domination, the joggers with the sprints thrown in periodically will go further than the sprinters alone. This is just my opinion based on what i see, but in the end we all watch sports because of its unpredictability and athletes that can defy the norm make for a very welcome viewing and study.
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Paul Drayton Reply:
September 29th, 2011 at 9:34 am
I think you’re spot on there Sean. I love watching the Fed – his efficiency is amazing. He is so loose and fluid on the court.
I guess we’ll see what happens in the next few years. Djoker just doesn’t seem like a world #1 to me.
I like your analysis of the small muscle involvement of the djokovic (and Nadal) forehand. I think that’s just the way it is now. If you want a reliable, heavy spin ball to put your opponent on the defensive and get a short return, you almost have to do that.
There’s not many people who have the timing and skill and mindset to be as attacking as Roger. Hopefully someone like Roger will come up the ranks so we don’t have to watch baseliners like Nadal and Djoker slog it out all day for the next 5 years (if they last that long!).
Dejan Reply:
September 29th, 2011 at 6:38 am
Your points 1,2 and 3 are actually more true of Nadal than Djokovic
1) Nadal’s “return every ball”/counter punching style is extremely physical. Djokovic actually hits more winners and has a better serve so he has it easier physically because he gets more free points.
2) Djokovic attacks off his backhand more so than his forehand. Nadal doesn’t really attack as much as throwing high topspin to his opponents backhand waiting for a short reply or drawing the error. This is why he beats Federer, spins the ball constantly to the back hand, to draw the error, or waits for a short ball and moves up to control the rally…Fed’s back hand can’t handle the spin…but Djokovic’s can…
3) Nadal doesn’t have an all court game. His backhand slice isn’t that biting or as difficult to hit as Federer’s. Nadal rarely volleys. He really prefers to end the point from the baseline. Also his drop shots aren’t as good as Djokovic’s or Federer’s. Fed has a true all court game. He can do everything well…
4) Confidence, Djokovic was down two sets to love against Federer and came back to win. Most players would have given up… contrast that with the final set against Nadal where Djokovic rolled over him… Nadal has also admitted that Djokovic is in his head..
5) Nadal needs to flatten his shots out… his topspin looping gives Djokovic no trouble and it buys Djokovic time to get to Nadal’s shots. As soon as Nadal flattened his shots out, things started to go his way. He had Djokovic running from side to side, but then as Tomaz said, he went back to his normal loopy topspin and got crushed. Djokovic’s flat balls don’t give you time to retrieve, which is Nadal’s style. Even if you do retrieve you’re still way out of position and Djokovic still has the upper hand. Nadal has never been one to catch lines… Nadal is a play it safe player… he goes for the percentage shot just as Tomaz said… I agree that if he starts hitting deep though… he will have more success..
You also mentioned Djokovic’s wiper motion putting too much emphasis on his shoulder…look at the effort required on Nadal shot to generate that top spin..he “whips” almost every ball violently to generate the extra RPM. Much more energy and wear and tear generated…hitting the ball flat is actually more efficient because the flatter the face of the racquet the easier it is to get court penetration…Nadal’s exaggerated top spin gets him the spin, but not the penetration, resulting in short balls etc..
Just my opinion…
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Sean Reply:
September 29th, 2011 at 11:17 am
@ Dejan
I wasnn’t comparing Nadal vs Djokovic so i do agree with most of your points that Djokovic has a better game than Nadal and also agree that Nadal’s style is even more taxing on the body than Djokovic. I think the topic in the first post was basically just comparing Djokovic’s style to a conventional old school style tennis players and i see his style as being very physical, and taxing on his body.
Points i differ on are -
4. Confidence for Djoko – Yes he came back from 2 sets down to win, but what i saw is that Roger checked out of the match for two sets rather than Djoko winning it. Also at match points in the 5th we have seen an uncharacteristic Federer lately. Looking uninterested and easily rattled by the opponents on court drama/ mind games. Can’t explain why but Federer certainly seems to lose concentration much easier these days. Father time?? All he needed to do was concentrate on the 4th set in any of those matches and he would have walked away a winner instead of allowing them to get into a 5th set. After Djoko hit that lucky return (self admitted) he turns to the new york crowd waving his arms asking them to make some noise for him. He needs to create some distraction. The mental ability to just play clean and win against the quality of a Federer is just not present. Against Nadal he doesn’t need to play those side games, he has beaten Nadal enough times and knows that Nadal’s current game does not bother him at all. I believe he walks in to those matches with Nadal already a defeated man at least this year.
5. Nadal has never been one to catch lines? Whoever said this has clear not seen Nadal play in 2010 season or during his peak on clay. That was the key feature about his game. Not just that he hit loopy top spin but was able to move the ball side line to side line and baseline putting his opponents completely out of position. I remember that noone had an answer to counter this but only the big guys who were flatter hitters like Soderling, Delpo tasted sucess against Nadal because they were able to hit through the ball with pace even from being behind the baseline and were also able to step in and take everything on the rise. Nadal’s high ball was still in their strike zone. Nadal has lost confidence again and has resorted back to 2004/2005 style where he looped the ball in short. Its going to be a mental adjustment for him more than a technical one.
As far as hitting the ball flat goes, it is physically not possible to hit the ball completely flat with pace from the baseline to baseline and still keep it in the court. To observe this one has to draw a line from baseline to baseline clearing the net and account for pace. The ball would go way out unless it was struck from a trajectery of a like 2 feet above John Isners head. There is loopy top spin and flatter trajectery top spin. Nadals was measured around 6000 rpm i think and Federer’s who appears much flatter was around the 4000 rpm mark. I think i remember that the next in line was way behind like in the 2000 range. This was done in 2009/2010
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Dejan Reply:
September 29th, 2011 at 11:52 pm
I agree with you, its not possible to hit it completely flat…you’re right there is a flatter trajectory top spin that Delpo and Djokovic are good at, and you’re right Nadal is looping the ball short more often than not unfortunately, but I think that Djokovic just doesn’t have a problem with Nadal’s ball on the back hand side short or long.
Everyone else does, so Nadal is going to have to mix it up as opposed to playing to Djokovic’s strength, even if he gets better length. He’s going to have to move him around the way Fed does if he hopes to beat him.
I think I misunderstood you in terms of catching lines. Did you mean actually consistently hitting the actual sidelines and baseline as in painting the lines, or simply moving his opponents from side to side?
September 28th, 2011 at 7:58 am
Once again, you are absolutely spot on Tomaz. Great analysis, backed up with facts.
It’s surprising to me that Federer still has such mental handicaps. It’s almost as if he’s never really dealt with them because he hasn’t had a player force him to. I’m talking about his perfectionism and repression.
Hopefully he can use the experience to overcome this hurdle. He is a legend and it would be terrible for him to slide due to a mental and not physical problem.
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September 28th, 2011 at 8:36 am
Hi Tomaz
You said “Nadal’s shots are too slow and too much down the middle (on average) to hurt Djokovic. In fact, Nadal is not focused enough on hurting his opponent as he is focused on not missing”.
I have ever thought of Nadal that way. It was just a matter of time for some player to know how to handle his topspin. In fact there were time when player like Berdych could do it. Nadal shots arrive with a lot of pace but land short on the court, so for a talented player like Djokovic it is not a problem. As far as i remember, Djokovic has ever fight Nadal in the same terms. Nadal topspin to Djokovic two-handed backhand doesn’t hurt.
I do believe a pro player can do some adjustments to his game. I think Nadal has to mix flat shots (not so flat, but with less spin) with his topspin. That way he could open the court faster.
On the other hand, what happened on the first semifinal showed me (i believed it before of course) that Federer talent is unique. This year, at the age of 30, he has been the player that has played better against Djokovic (that Roland Garros performance was amazing). I like A LOT FEDERER’s attacking tennis (4 or 5 shots, then go for a volley, or a winner, or another attacking shot, or a serve and volley).
¿ What would happen if FEDERER was 24 or 25 facing DJOKOVIC? I really think of FEDERER dominance … In my country (Venezuela) we say something like this: DJOKOVIC NO VERIA LUZ ANTE FEDERER (DJOKOVIC WOULDN’T SEE THE LIGHT AGAINST FEDERER)
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September 28th, 2011 at 10:42 am
I think there is one thing missing from your analysis, and that’s that extra little change Djokovic took on the fourth set.
On the third set, Rafa changed his game and became more aggressive. This took a large and physical toll on Djokovic. Coming back for the fourth set, Rafa assumed he had his work done on the third set and went back to his old style of play.
But the extra little thing that happened to Djokovic on the fourth set is that he realised he would not be able to keep up with Rafa if the fourth set would be anything similar to the third. He realised he does not have the physical capabilities and therefore CHOSE to become even more aggressive. It was either do or die for him.
The combination of Rafa going back to his old [and safe] game and Djokovic just going for broke, made the fourth set look like one way traffic. Rafa didn’t even begin to realise what was going and the match was over already, it was so obvious on his face at the ceremony.
Rafa is surrounded by smart and talented team, and I am pretty sure they know what Rafa needs to do to win matches against Djokovic (and I do believe technically he can). And like you I wonder if Rafa has the mental capabilities to change his game and make it less safe and more aggressive. The other question is how long can Djokovic keep his aggressive ”suicidal” style. At some point he may hit a rough patch and that will probably create some cracks in his mental believe.
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September 29th, 2011 at 2:15 pm
Wow! I stopped looking at this blog for a few days and suddenly there are ton of responses. What an interesting analysis! I still think that there are definite advantages to Fed’s old school that are not necessarily due only to his genius. If you look back to McEnroe and Borg, you see the same types of tradeoffs. Borg had essentially a Nadal like game. He was very safe and ran everything down. He reigned supreme for many years but eventually he ran out of gas. The fact that it took so long is what is amazing. Jim Courier tried a similar approach but lasted much less time. Nadal is on the extreme physical side of things. I have personally experimented with the reverse forehand. It is an extremely safe shot that generates lots of spin. In my case, I hit it with an eastern forehand grip so it was not as hard on my body. But it was very hard on my shoulder. Lately, I have reserved it for special occasions and not for every shot. It seems to me that Fed uses an all court game (see previous post) but he may not have a successor. It’s interesting that so many pros choose to use new strokes which are difficult on the body. Djokovic uses a western grip and so does Nadal. The problem is that conditions are so slow and the strings add so much spin that they do not lose much by using this style. I suspect that Nadal’s career may have a similar arc to Borg’s. His movement is so heavy that he will not be able to compensate for the laboriousness of his strokes. Djokovic, on the other hand, has no problem with any surface and manages to hit a penetrating stroke from either side. He can also handle hitting on the rise better than Nadal. My guess is that Nadal may win 1-2 more GS titles. I give Djokovic 5-6 more at least if he maintains his current level for 4-5 mos of the year through 2014. But I agree with the posts that basically state that Fed’s style is much less difficult on his body. Everyone seems to think that only Fed could do it. But I disagree. I think others could do it and hope that some 18 year old is busy imitating the old school style with a few new school flairs and in a few years will be the rightful successor to TMF. They can teach new school at the academies but some crazy kid has to decide they want to play like Sampras and/or Fed.
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September 30th, 2011 at 2:58 am
Tomaz,thanks for the information you’re sharing with me.
About Nadal’s problem against Nola you’re right on.I have been analyzing some matches with my junior players i coach ,and i mentioned to them that nadal needs to improve on his server if he wants to make the difference anymore.
Now that you also made this comment I am glad that we share the same thoughts.
Thanks again.
dimitrios valiotis
Tennis pro
nikea tennis club.
greece.
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September 30th, 2011 at 1:53 pm
Hey Tomaz, good work with the analysis.
The problem for Rafa is of course in his mind. I heard one commentator describe this problem as Rafa not being the “Alpha male” in his team. Unfortunately, this position of the leader is always reserved for his uncle Tony.
This is why Rafa does not believe in himself. And this is why Novak on the other side can shout at his box, send his own father out of the box and out of the stands if he likes. This is the key of self confidence, among other things.
Federer is just amazing at 30 years old, always playing with special motivation against Djokovic. The match points lost and double fault for the break were caused by Novak’s attitude and courage on the court. It was a little bit desperado style, but still played bravely and believing in himself.
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Tomaz Reply:
October 1st, 2011 at 8:22 am
Hi Milan,
I totally agree with your thoughts about confidence. If you want to be #1 tennis player in the world, you cannot be #2 in your group, whatever that group may be…
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