Not Djoking

It's now apparent that Djokovic has elevated his game to a level only a few in the history of the sport, Federer and Nadal among them, have reached. Asked about his transformation from being a very good tennis player into one of the greats of the game, the 24-year-old said a change in attitude was key. He said he didn't believe he could consistently defeat Federer and Nadal in the past. But the loss in last year's U.S. Open final to Nadal and Serbia's subsequent triumph in the Davis Cup liberated him from the cares of failure. He also realised that a more aggressive style was needed to scale these heights. He made significant advancements in technique and fitness; the early success confirmed that the enhancements were working: the physical and mental aspects of his game drew from each other, creating the perfect storm. He knew he could stay with Nadal in the long rally: not only could he cover court as well, he could also hit with similar intensity in the later stages of the point. This protected him against the pressure to do too much too soon — a pressure every opponent of Nadal feels severely. Djokovic's relatively flat strokes, when compared with the topspin prevalent on courts around the world, have furthered his cause: they are not so much a unique challenge as a different one, but in a game of wafer-thin margins, change is often a determinant. Djokovic might have first come to attention as a prankster and a joker, but he has shown this year that his commitment to the business of winning is dead serious.The stunning feat of winning at least three of the four Grand Slam titles in a calendar year has now been accomplished five times in eight years; it was achieved only thrice in men's tennis during the first 36 years of the Open Era. It was fitting that Novak Djokovic, who won his maiden U.S. Open title on Monday to complete the deed, defeated, in succession, the men who had preceded him: Roger Federer (2004, 2006, and 2007) and Rafael Nadal (2010). Djokovic's magical 2011, in which he has lost only two of 66 matches, has seen him rise to the top of men's tennis and set up a three-way dynamic. Federer, who was widely considered the best ever, has a clear problem against Nadal; and just as Nadal began to fashion a case for his being considered for the honour instead of the Swiss master, along came Djokovic. In the course of six straight victories over Rafa this year, the Serb has found his way into the Spaniard's head. Sport evolves in iteration. But perhaps never before in men's tennis have three of the finest, most dominant champions succeeded each other with such rapidity.