Novak Djokovic could become the Michael Jordan of tennis

[Mastoor]

<h1 data-pb-field="customFields.web_headline">Novak Djokovic could become the Michael Jordan of tennis</h1>
Shortly after Novak Djokovic swept Rafael Nadal in straight sets in the Qatar Open final earlier this month, ESPN The Magazine’s Howard Bryant had seen enough to make up his mind. The way Djokovic has been dominating the competition was beginning to remind Bryant of another athlete from a few decades ago – a brash, sometimes hotheaded and supremely competitive player who ended up becoming the greatest of all time in his sport.

“Djokovic looking like 1980s-90s NBA: first there was Bird, Magic, Isiah, Jordan. Then there was just Jordan. Djokovic becoming Jordan,” Bryant tweeted to over 18,000 followers.

That would be Hall of Famer Michael Jordan, winner of six NBA championships and five Most Valuable Player awards. It is not a comparison that gets thrown around lightly, especially with Djokovic playing in the era of Roger Federer and Rafael Nadal, two of the best players in tennis history.

And while Djokovic, 28, may trail both players in Grand Slam titles, he has recorded some of the best individual seasons ever in the sport the past few years, including last season when he went 82-6 and finished with three major titles. At this rate, with Nadal’s injury-prone body, the 34-year-old Federer past his prime and no obvious contender from the next generation, it is conceivable that Djokovic, owner of 10 Grand Slam titles, can match or break Federer’s record of 17.
<p class="interstitial-link"><i> [Novak Djokovic (not Serena Williams) looks unbeatable at the Australian Open] </i></p>
“He’s got the best chance to do so,” Bryant said of Djokovic’s chance to become the all-time men’s Grand Slam title leader. “Even though Rafa’s got four more Slams than Djokovic, I think Djokovic has better a chance of getting seven than Rafa has of getting three. …The thing that really gives Djokovic the best opportunity is that nobody right now has stepped up to the stage.”

When Djokovic won his first Grand Slam title at the 2008 Australian Open, he did so as the No. 3 player in the world. He would not rise in the rankings until early 2010, as Federer and Nadal alternated their turns at the top. Djokovic would not win another major title until the 2011 Australian Open.

Bryant, a former Post sports writer who has covered tennis for ESPN for six years, sees similarities between Djokovic’s early-career struggles and Jordan’s start in the NBA.

“Federer is Magic [Johnson], [Larry] Bird is Nadal and Djokovic is Jordan,” Bryant said in an interview with The Washington Post last week. “Who was winning the championships in the ’80s? Magic and Bird were winning the championships. Who was the guy who was right on the tail but wasn’t quite winning the championships? …Djokovic seems to be rising while the other two are falling back.”

Bryant is hardly the only one that feels strongly about Djokovic’s recent dominance. In a conference call with reporters last week, ESPN tennis analyst Brad Gilbert said that Djokovic is “as complete of a tennis player” as he has ever seen.

“I think what’s catching everybody here is the way that Djokovic is dominating,” Gilbert added. “And this seems to be a deep time. This is not a weaker era by any means in men’s tennis.”

While Federer still holds several records, including reaching 36 consecutive Grand Slam quarterfinals, Djokovic is gaining on or surpassing his two main rivals in some statistics. According to FiveThirtyEight’s Carl Bialik and Benjamin Morris, “Djokovic is playing at a level virtually unseen in the sport, topping even Federer’s best years a decade ago.”

Djokovic has a 22-22 head-to-head record against Federer and a 24-23 head-to-head record against Nadal. In five seasons that Federer has finished the year at No. 1, his win-loss record is 376-36 (91.3 percent). Djokovic has gone 288-32 (90 percent) in the four seasons he has ended as world No. 1 and Nadal is 228-28 (89.1 percent) in three seasons finishing at the top. Djokovic has a slight lead in career win percentage against top 10 players at 66.7 percent compared to Federer’s 65.7 percent and Nadal’s 65.4 percent.

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Hall of Famer Chris Evert, owner of 18 Grand Slam singles titles, expects Djokovic, who defeated 19-year-old Hyeon Chung, 6-3, 6-2, 6-4, Monday in the first round of the Australian Open, to at least contend for the honor of being the greatest of all time.

“No. 1 players, there’s always improvement from the last decade,” she said. “I think Djokovic…if he has another two or three majestic years, he could very well be right up there with Federer. We keep saying the best that ever was. He’s certainly looking that way if he stays motivated.”

Even the man whose record Djokovic is chasing does not doubt the Serbian’s chances.

“Clearly he can win many of them,” Federer said after his four-set loss to Djokovic at last year’s U. S. Open. “He already has a ton, so obviously he’s got to stay healthy and all that stuff and hungry, but obviously you would think he will win more after tonight.”

A health fanatic, Djokovic is a relatively young 28. He is known for a restrictive diet and wrote in his autobiography, “Serve To Win,” that he treated himself to just one small square of chocolate after his nearly six-hour victory over Nadal at the 2012 Australian Open.

“I have always valued the care for my body, and, you know, my mind and had this holistic approach to life,” Djokovic said after last year’s U.S. Open. “Hopefully this kind of approach will give me longevity and that I can have many more years to come, and as I said, many more opportunities to fight for these trophies.”

It remains to be seen if that approach results in Djokovic becoming the Michael Jordan of tennis, but Bryant is sticking to his analogy.

“You look at Michael Jordan, 1993 to 1998, he was all by himself and nobody else really challenged him,” he said. “Right now…there’s nobody in that next generation that you fear if you’re Novak Djokovic.”

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<div class="post-body-bio has-photo">Kelyn Soong is a news aide, blogger and reporter in the sports section. He currently covers high school and local tennis and has written about a variety of sports.
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[This is from Washington Post and link is https://www.washingtonpost.com/news/early-lead/wp/2016/01/18/novak-djokovic-could-become-the-michael-jordan-of-tennis/  Cheers, Mastoor]

 

[DarthFed]

Not going to happen.  Nole would probably need like 25 to make the case.  There is only one MJ.

 

[Mastoor]

Not going to happen. Nole would probably need like 25 to make the case. There is only one MJ.

It's actually 23. If he ends up with 23 he will definitely be Jordan of tennis. B-)

 

 

 

[DarthFed]

Haha well I see your point there.  Honestly a big part of what separates MJ from any other athlete I've seen is that the guy was still by far the best player in the world at age 35.  If Nole wins an insane amount of slams and is still the top guy at 35 then we can talk.  Tennis and bball is not like golf or the QB position in football where guys in their mid 30's can excel since athleticism isn't as important.

 

[britbox]

I never knew Michael Jordan was any good at tennis.

 

[Mastoor]

Haha well I see your point there. Honestly a big part of what separates MJ from any other athlete I’ve seen is that the guy was still by far the best player in the world at age 35. If Nole wins an insane amount of slams and is still the top guy at 35 then we can talk. Tennis and bball is not like golf or the QB position in football where guys in their mid 30’s can excel since athleticism isn’t as important.

Age doesn't make any problems to Federer though. He is still the fastest of them all even though he is 34.

 

 

 

[DarthFed]

It has made plenty of difference.  He is no longer anywhere near the quickest player out there and his endurance is not too good anymore.  That's understandable of course.  Roger has aged pretty normally, he was not going to turn into a complete scrub in his 30's but he is just a good, sometimes great player at this point.  He has lost a much higher percentage off his top game than someone like Ferrer.