Roger Federer of Switzerland returns the ball against Novak Djokovic of Serbia during the final at the ATP World Tour Finals in London, Britain, 22 November 2015.
Advertisement
Djokovic, 28, ends the season with 11 title victories, including three grand slams – and it was decision making on court which caused the outcome at the O2 Arena, according to Federer.
Djokovic has already called this “by far” his best year, but now it is official. His main goals next year will surely be Olympic gold in Rio, the Western & Southern Open in Cincinnati to complete his set of Masters 1000 titles and, above all, the French Open. “Another one to play with him, challenge him, just try to have a good one for the last match of the season”, said Berdych.
In London, he equalised his head-to-head record against Nadal, and avenged a shock straight-sets loss in group play to six-time champion Federer, by losing just three of 19 points on his second serve and targeting the more vulnerable backhand side of an opponent with whom he has split 44 career meetings, but has beaten in eight out of their 10 finals since 2012. “It’s hard to play at this pace all the time. You are talking about narrow margins, a break point here and there can change the whole outcome”, the Swiss maestro said. Margins are very small at the top. I’ve been there, Rafa (Nadal) has been there. It allows me to have the matches and the tournaments I’ve had in the last couple years.
“It’s not the first good year for Novak”. Certainly he’s going into next year with massive confidence. But right now you would think it is somewhat possible, but you can’t just repeat a year like this.
It was a ideal 48th birthday present for Becker – Wimbledon’s youngest ever champion at the age of 17 – who can take a lot of credit for his charge’s dominance.
And the physical style he plays means he’s got way more miles on those tires than most 30-somethings. But…
Moreover, whereas you once felt that Djokovic could be a little fragile mentally, he’s become unflappable in the biggest moments. “It’s not as easy as it seems sometimes”. And Djokovic punished him time and again.
As he reflected on his incredible 2015 haul, Djokovic admitted it was close to perfection. He won the Australian Open, Wimbledon and the U.S. Open, and reached the final at the French Open. But Djokovic pulled out a near-perfect performance as he downed the resurgent Rafael Nadal 6-3, 6-3 in their semi-final clash on Saturday. How I’m able to play at net now, how I’m moving and feeling at net in particular is a great thing to have. “It inspires me even more to keep on going and hopefully playing at this level in the future”.
There was a time – and it was not so long ago – when men’s tennis was dominated by just four names.
Murray did not add to two Grand Slam titles this year, but his consistency throughout the season has seen him finish a career-high second in the world rankings, behind the men’s dominant ruler Novak Djokovic.
“I think what I managed to do better than what I’ve done in the last match we played in the group stage here was the fact that I was more solid from back of the court”, said Djokovic.
Advertisement
“Maybe at times I went for too much”, Federer said after the defeat. I don’t have a sense of urgency.
