Now that’s what I call a final! Novak Djokovic took it to Rafael Nadal this morning in a well played 4 set Wimbledon Championship. Nadal did not just get out played by the Serb, Rafa got a beat down – probably the second worst beat down in his professional career (Del Potro US Open 2009 2, 2, and 2).
Novak had the right stuff today, it’s as if he was out there playing tennis with a volleyball, in other words, he was able to see the tennis ball easily. There was a moment, however; that Nadal showed the mark of a champion. Trailing two sets to love, Nadal found another gear in his arsenal and did what Djokovic did to him in the second set, 6-1 to Nadal.
The fourth set was more of the same from the first two, Djokovic simply playing better tennis than his Spanish opponent. With a bad backhand from Nadal, Novak Djokovic is crowned the 2011 Wimbledon Champion, and if that weren’t impressive enough; tomorrow July 4th, Djokovic will be the ATP world #1 player for the first time in his already exceptional tennis career.
Are we witnessing a ‘changing of the guards’? You bet your bottom dollar, with some of the past champions fading away into the shadows, the dominance of Federer is starting to look like a thing of the past. That’s not to say that Federer should be counted out, however; I doubt Roger will stand a chance against the likes of the new Novak Djokovic and Rafael Nadal. The rivalry that Federer and Nadal had for about 4 years is now looking like what Nadal and Djokovic currently have – the new era of tennis rivalry.
Now that 2011 Wimbledon is over, I can finally go back to my regular sleeping schedule!!! What a great tournament, lots of upsets, a couple of new champions, and really just an all around awesome two weeks of world class tennis.
Yeah, Federer’s dominance is a thing of the past for sure. Key word *dominance*. He can still wipe out the vast majority of the players on tour, but at the top he’s no longer the only king.
After Federer broke Djokovic’s streak, Federer said in an interview that Djokovic isn’t one of the greats yet. What landmark achievements do you think Djokovic needs to get under his belt for the greats to give him that recognition?