Novak Djokovic Channels Confidence
There is simply no substitute for confidence and Novak Djokovic’s recent results speak to that in a big way. Nole is definitely serving MUCH better and he didn’t “panic” after losing the second set against Roger Federer in the semis, nor did he lose his cool when
Rafael Nadal served his way to the first set in the final. Djokovic “stays the course” much better these days and it shows in his results including his second “double whammy” series of consecutive match wins over Roger Federer and Rafael Nadal to capture the BNP Paribas Open title yesterday. Djokovic achieved that rare feat back in 2007 joining Nikolay Davydenko and David Nalbandian as the only other two players who have also beaten Federer and Nadal in the same tournament twice.
Djokovic defeated Nadal in the BNP Paribas Open final 4-6, 6-3, 6-2, which was Nole’s first victory over Nadal in a final, having lost the previous five final round encounters. Clearly, Nadal didn’t serve or play his best at times during the final, but at the same time, Novak handled his own poor play so much better than he has in the past. That’s what confidence and winning a lot of matches can do for a player. The inner belief helps a player not to “press”, go for too much, get angry or frustrated and play even worse. Djokovic is still an emotional person and tennis player, but he seems to be handling his emotions in a way that they don’t negatively impact his performance. He had a lot of pressure on his shoulders in the semis against Federer and the finals against Nadal when many tennis pundits considered Djokovic the favorite and he came through – very impressive!
Djokovic’s unbeaten streak will likely come to an end soon, which is actually a good thing as he heads into the heart of the spring and summer Slam season starting in late May. Based on his results the past six months, there’s no question that Djokovic will challenge for every Grand Slam title in 2011, as well as the Number One ranking, assuming he can stay healthy. Can’t wait for the French Open!
Djokovic defeated Nadal in the BNP Paribas Open final 4-6, 6-3, 6-2, which was Nole’s first victory over Nadal in a final, having lost the previous five final round encounters. Clearly, Nadal didn’t serve or play his best at times during the final, but at the same time, Novak handled his own poor play so much better than he has in the past. That’s what confidence and winning a lot of matches can do for a player. The inner belief helps a player not to “press”, go for too much, get angry or frustrated and play even worse. Djokovic is still an emotional person and tennis player, but he seems to be handling his emotions in a way that they don’t negatively impact his performance. He had a lot of pressure on his shoulders in the semis against Federer and the finals against Nadal when many tennis pundits considered Djokovic the favorite and he came through – very impressive!
Djokovic’s unbeaten streak will likely come to an end soon, which is actually a good thing as he heads into the heart of the spring and summer Slam season starting in late May. Based on his results the past six months, there’s no question that Djokovic will challenge for every Grand Slam title in 2011, as well as the Number One ranking, assuming he can stay healthy. Can’t wait for the French Open!
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