“It’s hard to have time to do anything against him”. Djokovic is as strong as an ox, as supple as a gymnast and there is not an identifiable weakness in his game.
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We had waited 12 months for this match. “So that’s what I’ll do”. “This season could not have been better”. Novak was the better player overall, and certainly the better player at the the big moments.
“He was better in the group stage so I had to change something”, he added.
Sunday’s final not only reinforced Djokovic’s master class, it also highlighted Federer’s tendency to stumble at the last hurdle.
It, however, remains to be seen if Djokovic subsists with his godly form next season or will Federer’s experience be accentuated.
Novak put Roger under pressure right from the start.
Federer couldn’t escape Djokovic forever. Why did he play that way? I know I have to be on top in order to win against him. “I can’t say I expected it, not at all…” Usually the guy who walks out first decides which side he wants to sit on. Maybe to you a towel matters more. “To me a towel is to take a shower with”. Down a break to Djokovic, Federer needed to make the most of every opportunity he could against the top seed which were few and far between. Tried my best this week. It’s just handsome tennis. That’s what I going to try to keep doing. “It allows me to have the longevity”. Clearly he’s going into next year with massive confidence. I am going to go on holiday and enjoy this season.
Djokovic, on saying two days earlier that he “handed the win” to Federer: “We can look at the transcript”. Had he taken a page from Wawrinka’s first match, Nadal could have gone to the locker room with fresher legs for his already-confirmed semifinal meeting against Djokovic.
Federer went into the Wawrinka match with a 17-3 lead in career clashes between the two, including all their matches on a hard court. “I don’t deserve vacation this year”.
With Britain’s Davis Cup final edging closer, there had been suggestions that Murray would not push his body to the limit in London.
Federer was in cruise control for the rest of the match as he only offered up two more games in the contest as Berdych was left dumbfounded by the Swiss player’s smart use of the drop shot which he used to devastating effect. But aside from Nadal, Federer competed primarily against himself. “But I don’t want to do it”. Congratulations on a ridiculous year. He was incredible and impossible to play against in the decisive moments of matches. “He’s playing great”, Federer was quoted as saying by Emirates 24/7. I’m not tough enough mentally with myself. “I’m not completely there”.
Has been ranked No. 1 by the ATP since July, 2014.
It was a re-match of the Wimbledon and US Open finals – and a repeat of the result. Federer just about managed to raise a smile. But the performance (against Nadal) definitely gives me reason to believe that I’ll do that.
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With Nadal’s golden age most likely coming to an end as his body slows with the ravages of his physical approach, the elastic Djokovic, whose movement around a tennis court quite frequently defies belief, has emerged as the pre-eminent performer of this generation. “With Novak, it’s more straightforward”.
