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Novak Djokovic is set to be world No.1 sooner rather than later

Not even Roger Federer can stop the Australian Open champion dominating men's tennis for years to come.

by Chris Goldsmith on 23 March 2008

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Djokovic: World domination (gettyimages.com)

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Novak Djokovic is the hottest star on the ATP tour. He is currently ranked No.3 in the world, with only Roger Federer and Rafael Nadal ahead of him. He is the youngest of the three and has the potential to topple both his rivals maybe even this year as long as he stays fit. Nothing seems to faze him. He has a well-equipped game and is ready to defeat anyone who comes along. He has the looks, the charm and definitely the skill to be a star in his sport. With the likes of Ana Ivanovic and Jelena Jankovic doing so well on the WTA tour, Serbian tennis is certainly in good shape looking to the future.

Having just watched the first semi-final of the prestigious Indian Wells Masters series tournament in the USA i was amazed at just how well Djokovic played against world No.2 Nadal. Having breezed through the tournament so far the young Serbian played a blinder. He started nervously against the Spaniard but after he drew level at 3-3 in the first set it was one-way traffic. Nadal didn't look too impressive, missing a host of simple shots, and only showing glimpses of just what a dangerous player he can be on the hard court surface.

Djokovic, on the other hand, gave the stunned crowd a master class in tennis. His serving was fantastic and well placed while his ground strokes where powerful and produced many outright winners. Nadal could not cope with the Serbian's game and unfortunately for the Spaniard I don't think it's likely to change any time soon. Djokovic was a level above his opponent and I think only the slow clay courts of Europe will be any sort of saviour for Nadal in his attempt to prevent Djokovic taking his world No.2 spot.

‘Djokovic was a level above his opponent and I think only the slow clay courts of Europe will be any sort of saviour for Nadal in his attempt to prevent Djokovic taking his world No.2 spot’

The Spaniard is around 800 points ahead of his rival in the rankings, but as the defending champion at Indian Wells will lose some of those points to Djokovic. If the Serb can go on and win the tournament and defend his points at Miami, where he did so well last season, he will draw even closer to Nadal. The Spaniard will also have many points to defend on the clay where he won every tournament he played on the surface last year, except for Hamburg where he lost to Federer.

I think Djokovic will be a lot more successful on the clay this year, winning at least one Masters Series event – a bold statement, I know, but I think he is truly a great player. I see Djokovic taking over as world No.2 by the time of the French Open and maybe even pushing Federer all the way in his quest for the world No.1 ranking, especially if he can break the dominance of the Swiss player at Wimbledon, where Djokovic had to retire last year against Nadal.

Federer was surprisingly overwhelmed by Mardy Fish in the other semi-final at Indian Wells, depriving us of a much anticipated showdown with Djokovic. The world No.1 is suddenly showing uncommon vulnerability. The signs are that the hungry Djokovic can take advantage with more Grand Slam victories in 2008. He is a class act and, more worryingly for his opponents, Djokovic is a danger on any kind of surface, making him a true champion.

Comments (4)

on March 23, 2008 on March 23, 2008

As I have thought after Nadal winning his first French Open, wait and see, one Slam doesnt make a champion. Federer and Nadal are leading the worlds tennis for three consecutive years now and Djokovic has still to show one thing that is the making of a World No.1 -consistency. So again, wait and see...

by RoY on March 24, 2008

This guy is certainly the man on the mission on the ATP tour at the moment. He has the talent, he has the temperament, hes got everything. Now we need to wait and see if he can stop the dominance of Nadal on clay, Federer on grass. 'Maybe' Djokovic is now the dominant hard court player who knows. He actually surprised me at the Aus Open beating Tsonga, because the way Tsonga played Nadal in the semis, i thought Tsonga was untouchable but Djokovic proved me wrong by beating Tsonga in the final. I want to wait still and see if Federer will get back to his best and still dominate the Grand Slams or maybe the other players on the ATP have worked out his game. Who knows, only time will tell. I hope Nalbandian can play like he did in Madrid last year in which he knocked Nadal, Federer and Djokovic out. If only Nalbandian can be more consistent and keep up his level of tennis throughout the big tournaments.

by Mario Logan on March 24, 2008

I`m not sure that Djokovic should prove anything right now, he did it already with four grand slam semifinals , two finals and one title, last year he had also two master series titles and he won the only one so far. He should defend his points in Miami, of course, but if he could be in both finals, Indian Wells and Miami, he could do it again. I have to agree that Djokovic is gonna be first sooner then later, actually, I`m quite sure that he is gonna be first seeded on Roland Garros (and Federer will be here as well, but like second seeded). He leads on race so far as well, so i`m sure that his ranking will match his race result very soon. Especially since Rafa is defending almost everything on clay, his chances are there. He had great performance last year in Roma, and he was stopped by stunning Nadal, but is Nadal able to do same this year... i think no. Is Novak able to do clay as Rafa last year, I think no as well, but two good performances are more then enough to put him on first place. Roma and Monte Carlo, if you ask me, and I wish him all luck on this two events, as well as on the road to defend his champion title in Miami. It maybe looks absurd, but I like the Serb :) Cheers Mario, Milan

by rafa fan on March 28, 2008

I really get surprised when people start presuming things by themselves. djokovic has been able to put on some surprise victories no doubt but it is the consistency that matters. as they say it is easy to become great but the important thing is to remain on that top spot. and rafa and roger has shown us that they deserve to be there. especially rafa for him it is surely time to be No. 1 not djokovic.