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. (more…)

Novak Djokovic has done it again – it’s his fourth ATP Masters final in a row against Rafael Nadal and also a fourth win.

So what is Djokovic doing right now that consistently allows him to beat everyone including Rafael Nadal who is currently ranked #1 in the world?

Novak Djokovic beats Rafael Nadal for the fourth consecutive time (AFP PHOTO / ANDREAS SOLARO)

While we could dig deep into statistics and try to figure out all the small differences, I believe the answer is actually quite simple.

The difference is Novak’s ability to play with pace and accuracy off both sides. That’s it.

Players who are able to consistently play with high pace off both sides have been successful in the past against Nadal. (more…)

Novak Djokovic has succeeded in winning his second Masters 1000 tournament in a row and beating Rafael Nadal for the second time in a row.

Djokovic beats Nadal in Miami 2011 final / Photo by Clive Brunskill/Getty Images

This time it was even more close than in the the Indian Wells final as Djokovic won in the tie-break in the third set.

What was very interesting when we look at the stats of the third set is how aggressive both players were on their serve.

(Note: the official stats do not record forcing shots – only clean winners. I do since they show how the point was made.

The problem with official stats which contain only clean winners and unforced errors is that if you add them up you realize that a lot of the points played were not recorded.

That’s because they are neither winners or unforced errors – but they are shots that force the opponent into errors.) (more…)

Novak Djokovic continued his unbeaten run in 2011 by defeating Rafael Nadal 4-6, 6-3, 6-2 in the final of the Indian Wells ATP Masters 1000 tournament.

Novak Djokovic wins Indian Wells 2011 (Photo by Jeff Gross/Getty Images)

I followed the match and was noting down the stats and this time I checked whether the last shot (winner or unforced error) was a down-the-line or a cross-court shot.

It’s a well known tennis strategy to play more cross-court since the court is longer, the net is lower and we’re hitting an inside ball. (in most cases)

The down-the-line is a more risky shot therefore in general players will most likely make more unforced errors when playing down the line but also more winners – since that’s usually how the neutral rally goes into offense.

Let’s see if this was the case in this match… (more…)

Novak Djokovic has beaten Roger Federer for the second consecutive time and won his third Dubai ATP title.

Novak’s run of consecutive won matches is now 15 – including his wins at the Davis Cup final, Australian Open 2011 and now Dubai.

Novak Djokovic beats Roger Federer for the 2011 Dubai Title / AFP PHOTO / KARIM SAHIB

I’ve analyzed the match and found some very interesting stats. They reveal exactly why Djokovic won so easily.

Here’s are 3 main reasons why Novak Djokovic won:

1. Better serving – Novak’s first serve percentage in the first set was 85% and he won 88% of points after the first serve. Roger’s stats were 61% and 64% respectively. (more…)

Novak Djokovic deservedly won his second Australian Open against Andy Murray by 6-4, 6-2 and 6-3.

Novak Djokovic wins Australian Open 2011 against Andy Murray / AFP PHOTO / WILLIAM WEST

Here are my thoughts on the match…

First Set – Both players started the match very strong. They made some unforced errors but those were actually shots where they aimed close to the lines and attacked.

Djokovic’s forehand was working really well in attacks while Murray’s forehand worked really well in defense and counter attacks.

Their backhands were almost unmissable as usual. In fact, they missed drive 2 backhands combined in the first 5 games. (more…)

Roger Federer beat Novak Djokovic in the Basel 2010 final 6-4, 3-6, 6-1 and surpassed Pete Sampras’ record of 64 tour titles by one.

Roger Federer wins Basel ATP 2010 against Novak Djokovic / Photo by AFP PHOTO / FABRICE COFFRINI

I’ve analyzed this match in a slightly different way – I actually noted every shot they made.

The end of each point was also noted – whether it was a untouchable winner, forcing shot that forced an error or an unforced error.

For example, this is how the stats looked like for the first game of the match when Djokovic was serving:

2 UW, 12 UE, 1 UW, 3 UE, 8 UE, 2 SW, 2 SW, 4 UE

The first point is 2 UW which means that there were 2 shots – a serve and a return and the return was an UW – untouchable winner.

(more…)

Novak Djokovic lost his second Round Robin match to Robin Soderling 6-7, 1-6.

Novak was very frustrated and angry because Robin played fantastic tennis – hitting the lines with his groundstrokes and sending serves with over 200 km /h with regularity.

The thinking that went through Novak’s mind was something like this: (more…)

The Miami 2009 tennis tournament proved to be very exciting and Victoria Azarenka, Juan Martin Del Potro, Novak Djokovic and Andy Murray did very well here.

What do these great tennis players have in common in their mental game that enabled them such success?

It’s the power of belief.

They all believed (or just started to believe) that they CAN win and beat the higher ranked opponent.

Juan Martin Del Potro Celebrating His First Win Against Nadal (Photo by Al Bello/Getty Images)

Juan Martin Del Potro really believed that he could beat Nadal this time. He played Nadal 4 times before and always lost in straight sets.

When I watched Del Potro in Indian Wells two weeks before when he lost to Nadal 4-6, 2-6, he really didn’t seem to believe he could win.

He seemed intimidated by Nadal, had too much respect for him and really didn’t attack Nadal as he should.

But Del Potro learned something very important from this loss.

He learned that when he plays his own game well, Nadal will not just blast him off the court.

He realized that Nadal is just a human, that he can be neutralized by consistently playing to his backhand, that he can be attacked to the forehand side and will often just defend and that with smart tactics, it is possible to outplay Nadal.

That’s why the Miami match was completely different: Del Potro played the ball. He didn’t play the “big name”. He focused on his game plan and didn’t even falter in the final set tie-break. (more…)

Novak Djokovic achieved an incredible feat this week in Montreal by beating Andy Roddick, ranked #3 in quarterfinals, Rafael Nadal, ranked #2 in semifinals and Roger Federer, ranked #1 in the final.

Photo by Matthew Stockman/Getty Images

The score in the final was 7-6, 2-6, 7-6.

It’s quite unusual to see Roger Federer lose in the final since we got so used to seeing him winning.

Roger lost only 7 finals since 2003 (before Montreal) and won 40.

He lost 6 of the finals to Rafael Nadal and one to David Nalbandian.

This makes Novak Djokovic only the third player in the last 4 years that was able to beat Roger Federer in the final.

How did Djokovic accomplish that?

Here’s what the players said in their interviews after the match:

(more…)