There were slips of the tongue, humble brags, moments of seriousness, and plenty of sarcasm. But on the evidence of the months gone by, Novak Djokovic isn’t one to be daunted at the prospect. Few players garner the scale of support afforded Federer-but Djokovic had handled a partisan Federer crowd many times before.
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The score line may suggest it was an easy win for Djokovic.
Djokovic’s imperious display was inspired by his loss against Federer in the group stages of this year’s event.
Of course, the glaring hole in Djokovic’s season is the missed opportunity at Roland Garros. That’s all we can do.
But the world’s top tennis player has been warned by Roger Federer that he will find it hard to repeat his incredible 2015 campaign. “So that’s what I’ll do”.
Two match points soon followed. He won three majors, stopped only in Paris by Stan Wawrinka who, for one glorious afternoon, was residing on another planet. “Hopefully a better one for me”. “You’re here to watch Roger and Novak”.
Roger Federer of Switzerland looks dejected after losing a point toNovak Djokovic of Serbia during t … But Djokovic challenged the call, and won.
You could say that. Why did he play that way? “All of South America was fantastic, to be honest”, Federer said. I am going to go on holiday and enjoy this season. That’s the rules to me, not a towel, to be quite honest.
The takeaway: Djokovic was able to muster what he most needed when it most mattered. “To me a towel is to take a shower with”.
Djokovic said clashes between the pair were always nervy affairs as he prepared to face his rival for a second time at London’s O2 Arena this week – Federer having got the better of the Serb in the group stage. “Still high-quality match, I thought”, he added. “Tomorrow, I don’t know where I going to be”. Tried my best this week. It’s just attractive tennis.
“This is a sport I love truly with all my heart. It allows me to have the longevity”. “It’s going to be tough for him to finish second”. “I’d like to defend my titles, but right now my mind somehow doesn’t go further than the Australian Open”. But I’d still argue that Djokovic’s level of competition is greater than Connors in 1974, McEnroe in 1984 and Federer in 2006 (I’d give Connors’ 1974 second place). He likes things to happen fast.
These are arduous mountains to climb in the new year. “I don’t deserve vacation this year”.
The Great Britain team were preparing to travel to Belgium on Monday ahead of the Davis Cup final despite the terror threat in Brussels remaining at its highest level. No, I am joking. But aside from Nadal, Federer competed primarily against himself. “But I don’t want to do it”. Thank you everyone for making this year so special.
“Well done on a insane good year”. “See you next year”. The match was no classic but, even so, there were moments of genius interspersed with the errors, both forced and unforced.
“It’s not my No. 1 priority”. Two of these came at Wimbledon and US Open, both in a manner that upset several of his fans, mainly due to the lack of fight he displayed. If I can, I would pick obviously grand slam wins, especially Wimbledon and the US Open. With Federer serving and coming to the net, Djokovic broke for 2-1 with a lovely backhand and that advantage was never threatened as the match wore on. For me, Rafa is the unique player in the field.
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“I did. I was returning more shots”.
