I know that this is a happy day for Djokovic and his fans - and I assure you that I am thrilled with his victory - but, like Kieran, I was very disappointed with the match's quality at times, in particular with Djokovic's consistency. Many in the U.S. probably missed it, but I was one of the maniacs who was up at 3am and saw the entire thing. Before I crash, here are some thoughts on Djokovic in big matches. Djokovic should have won the French Open the last three years, and we saw today why he didn't, and why he likely won't beat Nadal if given another opportunity this year. It has nothing to do with actual tennis ability but his horrendous propensity for veering off into no-man's land any time he has a lead against the top group.
First of all - Murray outplayed Djokovic for most of the first set. What saved Djokovic in the end was his superior talent, but Djokovic's shakiness and lack of a coherent gameplan for consolidating lead positions very nearly cost him. Djokovic won the first game, Murray responded in kind, Djokovic fell down 0-40 in the third game but held, and then Djokovic raced out to a 4-1 lead in the set. I was hoping that he could win the set something like 6-2 or 6-3, but I knew the chances of that were about 10%. Of course, Djokovic's sloppiness combined with some great shots from Murray made Set 1 a slugfest in which a great defensive point by Djokovic and a very makeable volley miss by Murray at the end of the tiebreak saved Djokovic's bacon. The set never should have come to that, and Djokovic was allowed to survive. Murray had a much better gameplan than did Novak, and Murray played much more to his own potential than did Novak, whose ceiling is clearly higher than Murray's. Again, Djokovic's talent saved him in the end, but at Roland Garros against Nadal, playing those margins costs you, and Djokovic knows that better than anyone. Apparently, though, he hasn't done anything about it.
Moving on to the second set, Djokovic predictably experienced a lull at the start, before storming back to take a 4-3 lead. Blame the protesters charging the court if you wish, but Djokovic's level probably would have dropped anyway. He didn't play the 4-3 game anything like he played the 5-6 game to force a tiebreak. Djokovic again gave up the commanding position in the set. Then, at the start of set 3, Djokovic had to fall behind 2-0 before starting to play seriously. When he got the score to 4-3, Murray's energy sunk and Djokovic was still alive and kicking.
So what we can make of all this?
As I said during the match, Djokovic's level vacillates between superman and self-imploding space cadet on a game-by-game and sometimes point-by-point basis in these big matches. It appears that he must feel threatened or endangered to play his best ball, and then when he is in the lead, he does not merely let up in intensity, but his mind veers off to another galaxy. It is as if Djokovic has no plan for what he is going to do when he has given himself a commanding lead against a grinding counterpuncher like Murray or Nadal. He just contents himself with allowing them to break back and force a long, drawn-out set. He seems to just ride emotional waves to determine his strategy. When he's happy, he just allows himself to relax and be cautious. When he is ticked off, he starts being aggressive and thinking through the points more clearly.
And, finally, this is a recipe for disaster when playing Nadal at the French. Nadal always lingers and, like a leech, he just sucks the life out of you until you self-destruct. Then he starts hitting winners a little bit here and there, which causes his overzealous fan base to argue that he is the same caliber of shotmaker as Djokovic or Federer. The reality is that Djokovic has given away multiple French Open titles to Nadal because of his inability to consolidate leads, which very nearly cost him a match today against Murray that he should have won in much more straightforward fashion than he did.
First of all - Murray outplayed Djokovic for most of the first set. What saved Djokovic in the end was his superior talent, but Djokovic's shakiness and lack of a coherent gameplan for consolidating lead positions very nearly cost him. Djokovic won the first game, Murray responded in kind, Djokovic fell down 0-40 in the third game but held, and then Djokovic raced out to a 4-1 lead in the set. I was hoping that he could win the set something like 6-2 or 6-3, but I knew the chances of that were about 10%. Of course, Djokovic's sloppiness combined with some great shots from Murray made Set 1 a slugfest in which a great defensive point by Djokovic and a very makeable volley miss by Murray at the end of the tiebreak saved Djokovic's bacon. The set never should have come to that, and Djokovic was allowed to survive. Murray had a much better gameplan than did Novak, and Murray played much more to his own potential than did Novak, whose ceiling is clearly higher than Murray's. Again, Djokovic's talent saved him in the end, but at Roland Garros against Nadal, playing those margins costs you, and Djokovic knows that better than anyone. Apparently, though, he hasn't done anything about it.
Moving on to the second set, Djokovic predictably experienced a lull at the start, before storming back to take a 4-3 lead. Blame the protesters charging the court if you wish, but Djokovic's level probably would have dropped anyway. He didn't play the 4-3 game anything like he played the 5-6 game to force a tiebreak. Djokovic again gave up the commanding position in the set. Then, at the start of set 3, Djokovic had to fall behind 2-0 before starting to play seriously. When he got the score to 4-3, Murray's energy sunk and Djokovic was still alive and kicking.
So what we can make of all this?
As I said during the match, Djokovic's level vacillates between superman and self-imploding space cadet on a game-by-game and sometimes point-by-point basis in these big matches. It appears that he must feel threatened or endangered to play his best ball, and then when he is in the lead, he does not merely let up in intensity, but his mind veers off to another galaxy. It is as if Djokovic has no plan for what he is going to do when he has given himself a commanding lead against a grinding counterpuncher like Murray or Nadal. He just contents himself with allowing them to break back and force a long, drawn-out set. He seems to just ride emotional waves to determine his strategy. When he's happy, he just allows himself to relax and be cautious. When he is ticked off, he starts being aggressive and thinking through the points more clearly.
And, finally, this is a recipe for disaster when playing Nadal at the French. Nadal always lingers and, like a leech, he just sucks the life out of you until you self-destruct. Then he starts hitting winners a little bit here and there, which causes his overzealous fan base to argue that he is the same caliber of shotmaker as Djokovic or Federer. The reality is that Djokovic has given away multiple French Open titles to Nadal because of his inability to consolidate leads, which very nearly cost him a match today against Murray that he should have won in much more straightforward fashion than he did.
