Apr/11
4
Balance of power shifts after Djokovic conquers Nadal in Miami
3 Comments · Posted by Scoop Malinowski in Articles, Scoop
Absolutely critical win yesterday for Novak Djokovic. It finally showed that Djokovic can win the close one vs. Rafa in a very important match. It seemed Nadal always won these close matches in the past with Djokovic. ALWAYS. But this time Djokovic showed he is the stronger player, stronger physically and mentally. He rose to the challenge and overcame a ferociously determined Rafa. Now Djokovic has the mental edge going into the clay season and he knows he will be able to win the next, inevitable close match with Nadal. Now Nadal knows it too.
Words can’t decribe how vitally important this win was today for Djokovic. You saw Uncle Toni rising out of his seat to encourage and implore Rafa to continue to fight on. How often have we seen Uncle Toni so animated and involved (and perhaps deeply concerned) in a tennis match like that? I can’t recall ever seeing Toni so emotional while Rafa battled Federer.
Nole even broke Nadal down physically at the end, as Nadal showed he was tired to the point of exhaustion, with hands on knees. We never have seen Nadal so physically defeated, not even the year he won the Australian Open by defeating Verdasco and Federer in five sets each.
I believe Djokovic’s stunningly fine play yesterday in Miami, especially in the final 15 minutes of the duel,  broke the spirit and will of Rafa. It took a long, long time to accomplish this but now it appears that Djokovic has finally overcome Rafa’s previous mental edge and it’s just a matter of time before #1 is owned by this mighty yet eccentric Serbian warrior of the court, Novak Djokovic.
Nole may not be #1 but he is the best player on the planet now
Yoda · April 4, 2011 at 5:43 pm
Great article….keep it up
These muga on tennis.com know nothing.
They don’t appreciate Djokovic at all.
They just can’t stand that someone is better than Federer
and now even better than Nadal.
Scoop Malinowski · April 4, 2011 at 6:58 pm
Thanks Yoda for the kind words and visiting our site. We’ll see how it plays out, a lot can happen, but I have a very strong sense Djokovic is taking over tennis and he is destined for a very exciting, amusing and entertaining reign of dominance. I can tell you John McEnroe is a big fan of Djokovic, remember seeing him in the hallway at US Open spending time and talking with Djokovic last year, I could sense from the body language he really liked and cared for Djokovic and wants to see him achieve success. Welcome to the site Yoda and thanks for the comment.
srdjana · April 6, 2011 at 2:20 pm
Much of the same points could have been made about the comeback win in Indian Wells, too – which apparently was considered urgent enough that Toni was called in after skipping California.