Djokovic will face either six-time champion Roger Federer or Stan Wawrinka in Sunday’s final.
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Achievements will always be bettered and records broken, but when Roger Federer was dominating the sport in the noughties and racking up the majority of his record 17 Major trophies, it couldn’t possibly be imagined that a player from the same generation could even come within touching distance of the great Swiss’ haul, but Rafa Nadal, and now Djokovic, are threatening to not only reach parity, but surpass him.
Had the Serbian won the French Open, there would surely be no argument about it being the best season in tennis history.
Nadal, who earned his first win against a top-three opponent by beating Andy Murray 6-4 6-1 in London, hopes to have a better 2016 season.
The world number one was unstoppable on the way to a 6-3 6-4 victory over Roger Federer in Sunday’s final in London as he avenged the defeat he suffered to his rival in the group stage.
“Usually I go into a season with two or three really big goals, then maybe four or five other ones that are really important to you”. Instead of tormenting his mind trying to come up with different strategies or approaches to beat the world’s top-ranked tennis players, he focuses on further honing his skills to become better at the game.
He was quoted as saying by several national newspapers: “I was going to go, but I am not going any more”. He’ll be less familiar with the surroundings in Rio, although he remembers fondly his trip to Brazil to play exhibition matches in 2012.
When Federer isn’t gaining traction in the ground game, he must win free points on serve to truly trouble Djokovic. Not in 2015. That’s the difference between his two great years.
Including, obviously, Djokovic, although Federer knows from experience how small the margins are at the top of men’s tennis and how hard such dominance is to sustain. “Got to keep practicing hard, being serious about all the things I do”.
This was the eighth meeting of the year between Djokovic and Federer, who played off for both the Wimbledon and US Open titles, both won by Djokovic. Without their support and my family, I wouldn’t be where I am.
“Then once Australia’s over, that’s when I look more towards the future”.
While he was unable to repeat that performance in the final, and also lost the Wimbledon and US Open finals to Djokovic, the 34-year-old is adamant he doesn’t need to change much in his game to wrestle the major trophies away from the world number one.
But Djokovic set the record straight in the final, completing a ruthless 6-3 6-4 win of his own to administer one last rap on the knuckles to his long-term foe. “I just try to be in the moment and see where it takes me”.
And in the critical category of break points, Djokovic, who has won 18 of his past 19 matches at the year-end championships, converted three of nine; Federer was 0-for-2. “I had my chances to at least be even. Still high-quality match, I thought”. I think I am doing well.
So this victory produced the ideal end to a near-perfect year for the stand-out player of the season, as Djokovic was quick to admit: “Absolutely”. This year he is serving great.
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As a result British team captain Leon Smith held up their departure and let the team spend yesterday practising at London’s Queen’s Club for the final, which is due to start on Friday in Ghent, around 30 miles from Brussels.
