Right just for a change I thought I would do a post of a different ilk than the usual review of the grand slams or Davis cup. And this post will be about the dominance of the men's game by the current World No.1, Novak Djokovic.
So the question begs to be asked???? Is Djokovic ruining the men's game??? We'll let's take a look at some of the facts and results and find out....
Well to start off its no mistake or delusion that Novak Djokovic is the world's best player and since last year he has become a truly dominant force in the sport. Last year saw Djokovic have the best season of his career so far, topping even his incredible run in 2011 as he won 11 titles last year, as opposed to 10 in 2011.
In 2015, Djokovic amassed three out of the four grand slams, and he reached all four slam finals only missing out at the French open where he was hotly tipped to win it after he defeated Rafa in the quarter finals but he ended up second best to Stan Wawrinka in the final. Djokovic also a record six out of the nine 1000 Masters series titles in one season too, which was unheard of throughout one season and he also nabbed his 5th year end ATP World Tour Finals championship title. Djokovic himself declared his best ever season especially he had become a father and was happily married also, life couldn't have been more complete for one player.
And 2016 looks to be shaping up in the same way as Novak started off strong by demolishing Rafa in the final of Doha before going on to claim his 6th Australian open title in Melbourne, defeating Andy Murray in straight sets (who was a record 5th time runner up at the event). Novak also went on to pull off the back to back Masters title wins at Indian Wells and Miami, like he did the previous two years before. And with his win in Miami this year, Djokovic has surpassed Rafa's record of 27 Masters titles and he now holds 28, which puts him right at the top of the record board. And at this rate with the clay court season coming up, Novak will most likely continue his formidable form on the red dirt too.
Soooo with all this in mind it really does make you wonder if Novak's incredible dominant form is good for the current men's game???? Well yes and no. Yes in that its great to see one player raise his game to new heights and raise the bar and set new standards that could ultimately see Novak even surpass Roger Federer's record of 17 grand slam titles. And if he does that then Novak will undboutedly become the world's greatest player of all time.
But on the other hand in keeping up this form, Novak is also killing off alot of the competition in the men's game at the top. His form has proven just too good for everyone else to handle with only the odd rare defeat at the hands of Roger, Andy or even Stan Wawrinka being the only blips in his season, but everyone else just can't cope with his game. And this could really threaten to turn off alot of fans from the sport as every big tournament now where Novak competes, just seems to be a formality, which inevitably ends with him lifting the trophy.
And any tournament Novak enters, it just appears to be a one horse race with no other players in the mix to keep him from claiming yet another title. So from that perspective it does suck the excitment out of the game as the men's game has just become too predictable and one-sided. And from this perspective that certainly isn't good for the sport as tennis, or any sport for that matter, needs rivalries, it needs challengers to rise to the occassion against the best player(s) in the world and without that challenge it seems pointless to follow.
However even if Novak's 2016 turns out to be just as dominant as last year, you can hardly blame him for playing great tennis and its not his fault that he stands head and shoulders over everyone else, he's worked hard to get the top spot and to keep it, so he does deserve his success. But in a way as Tim Henman once said his success at times seems to be at odds with his popularity as in the public eye, Novak was never given as much love and support as Roger or Rafa received and in a way he has become the victim of his own success.
And in 2016 Novak has two specific challenges he wants to conquer, namely the French open and also the Olympic gold medal both of which elude him. However it is a fairly safe bet that Novak can clinch both of these titles also not to mention that Serbia will take on the defending champions of the Davis cup, Great Britain, with the Serbian team playing from home and with Djokovic in their team, they are sure favourites to win that too. And if he caps all three then surely this will be his best ever season.
Sooooo to answer the question again??? Is Novak ruining the men's game??? As it stands currently, no he isn't, but if one dominant player who plays ominpotently keeps dominating through and through then it could definitely hurt the appeal of the sport and it will turn alot of fans off it which would be a great pity given how exciting and competitive a sport tennis is. And the only answer to this issue would be to see the new or current top players rise to the challenge of competing with Djokovic. Its a mighty big ask but let's hope that in the future, tennis will continue to be exciting and competitive and see the world's best be given a challenge.
Right well that's it for now and I will be back on here sometime in the near future, maybe to do a French open preview of the top contenders for the men's title (guess who will be at the top of that list! ;-)).
So until the next one its bye fer now!
