Novak Djokovic, who won the season-ending Masters Cup in Shanghai, has set his sights on Federer’s World No. 2 spot, writes Steve Bierley.
Novak Djokovic was the focus of the tennis world at the beginning of this year when, at the age of 20, he won the Australian Open, defeating Roger Federer, then the No. 1, in the semifinals.
The young Serb’s progress has slowed a shade since, although he finished the year as he began by winning the season-ending Tennis Masters Cup with a 6-1, 7-5 victory over Nikolay Davydenko, the Russian who knocked out Andy Murray in the semifinals.
Djokovic came close to claiming the World No. 2 spot during the French Open from Spain’s Rafael Nadal. After the Masters Cup in Shanghai, he was much closer to capturing that position from Federer, and will begin next season just 10 points behind the Swiss.
Indeed had Djokovic won his final round-robin match against France’s Jo-Wilfried Tsonga, then Federer would already have been relegated to World No. 3, which when the year began would have been inconceivable.
This year’s TMC was inevitably tarnished when Nadal, the world’s leading player, had to pull out with tendonitis in his right knee, an injury that also forced him out of the Davis Cup final, starting on November 21 in Mar del Plata, between Argentina, who have never won the trophy, and Spain. The reduction of the TMC final from five sets to three also took the gloss off the season’s ATP finale, although it was doubtless a merciful relief to Djokovic.
Last year he was so mentally and physically exhausted that he lost all his round-robin matches on his TMC debut. This time he also appeared physically frayed at times, but greater mental fortitude, combined with a year’s experience, saw him through after a tough semifinal against France’s Gilles Simon. Davydenko, who made a horrible start to the final, would have wished for a five-setter.
Davydenko first qualified for the TMC in 2005 when he reached the semifinals, although since then he had failed to get beyond the round-robin stage. He is hardly charismatic, gaining most publicity when his name was linked with an alleged betting scam from which he has since been cleared. However, he has been a top five player for the last four years, and has a total of 14 career titles, including three this year.
Djokovic knew he could not afford to get involved in a prolonged battle and took complete command of the opening set, helped considerably by the Russian’s waywardness. He served for the match at 5-4, only to be broken, but any thoughts Davydenko might have had of taking the final into a third set were immediately crushed.
© Guardian Newspapers Limited 2008
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