Novak Djokovic remained practically unblemished, only dropping three sets all tournament, on his road to the 2016 Australian Open title. Now, he has turned his sights towards the French Open: the only Grand Slam he hasn't yet won.
Djokovic’s 2015 Season: One of the Finest in Tennis History
With a nearly flawless season behind him, Djokovic appears to be closing in on his coveted “Djoker Slam”--winning each of the four Grand Slams. He finished the season at number one for the fourth time in five years, boasted three Grand Slam titles, and became the third man (after Rod Laver and Roger Federer) to reach all four major finals. Not to mention, Djokovic leads in all of his head-to-head matchups against the “Big Four” of men’s tennis—Federer (23-22), Andy Murray (22-9), and Rafael Nadal (24-23). Last year, upon making it to his third final of the French Open, he fell to eighth-seeded Stanislas Wawrinka in a four set battle. Each year when I go back I feel like I’m a step closer, he noted in a TV interview after last year’s final. Certainly, if he can continue to build his confidence by earning consistent victories over the top ten players, he will be well positioned to capture the “Djoker Slam” at Roland Garros this year.
Novak Continues to Dominate
Djokovic’s relentlessness in winning this year’s Australian Open has proven that he is untouchable right now. This dominance was highlighted in his straight sets win, 6-1, 7-5, 7-6(3), over Andy Murray in the final. The number-two ranked Murray has played in five finals in Melbourne, four of which he lost to Djokovic. During the offseason, Murray worked with his team to establish a strategy that he hoped would help him to edge Djokovic, especially after Djokovic bageled him (6-0) in last year’s fourth set. However, Murray was unable to scrape a set off of Novak this time. While the third set tiebreaker seemed like an opportunity for Murray to put some pressure on the defending champion, Djokovic squashed all of Murray’s hopes by allowing him just three points as he stormed to yet another Australian Open title. Not to mention, this remarkable win tied Djokovic with Roy Emerson for the most singles titles in the event’s lengthy history.
What can other players do to weather the Novak Djokovic storm? Winning the first set, it seems, is crucial. In the nine times that Murray has beaten Djokovic, he has won the first set. The three times that Roger Federer defeated Djokovic last season were two set matches. Coming out of the gates firing, and immediately putting pressure on the world number one, seems to be the only way for hopeful players to extinguish Djokovic’s winning streak.
