Coming into his match against Roger Federer in the semifinals of the French Open, Novak Djokovic had a 41-match win streak to begin 2011, and a 43 match-win streak in a row dating back to last year. Djokovic needed 1 more win to tie John McEnroe's record of 42 straight wins to begin a season, which McEnroe did in 1984. He also needed just 1 more win to tie Ivan Lendl's 44-match winning streak, which Lendl did in 1982. Novak was also just two matches away from being one win short of Gullermo Vilas's record for 46 straight match wins, which Vilas did in 1977.
Djokovic said about the incredible win streak, "It [has] to end somewhere. I [know] it’s coming." Although it appeared at times that Djokovic would never lose, his streak came to an end in the semifinals of the French Open against Roger Federer. Federer beat Djokovic in four grueling sets 7-6 (7-5), 6-3, 3-6, 7-6 (7-5). The match could have gone either way. To honor one of the greatest streaks that tennis has ever seen, here are some highlights.
Winning the Australian Open: One of the most impressive things about the Joker's streak was that he won a major during it. When John McEnroe won 42 matches in a row in 1984, he also didn't win a major during the streak. McEnroe lost in the final of the 1984 French Open to Ivan Lendl. When Ivan Lendl won 44 straight matches in 1982, he didn't win a major during the streak either. In fact, he didn't win his fist major until the French Open in 1984. However, Novak was able to play well under the pressure of a grand slam and was able to win his second major. In the semifinals, Djokovic beat Roger Federer in straight sets 7-6 (7-3), 7-5, 6-4. He had previously been 2-4 against Fed in majors. Djokovic joined Rafael Nadal as the only player to beat Federer in consecutive majors, as Djokovic beat Federer at the US Open last year in the semifinals. It was also his third win over Federer in the semifinals of a major, while no other player has more than one win over Fed in the semifinals of a grand slam. In the final, Novak beat Andy Murray 6-4, 6-2, 6-3 to take the title and his first grand slam since the Australian Open in 2008. He lost just 1 set the entire tournament.
Victories Over Rafael Nadal In Four Finals: Coming into 2011, Novak Djokovic was just 7-16 against Rafael Nadal including 0-5 against him in finals. That all changed during the streak as he beat Nadal four times in finals. The first victory came at Indian Wells in March on a hard court. He beat Rafa in three sets after dropping the first 4-6, 6-3, 6-2. The Joker's next victory over Nadal came at Miami a week later. He once again dropped the first set but came back to win in a 3 hour and 21 minute match 4-6, 6-3, 7-6 (7-4). No only did he prove to himself, Nadal, and the world that he couls beat Rafa but he also showed he could do it coming from behind. Djokovic became the first player to win the Austrlian Open, Indian Wells, and Miami in one season since Roger Federer in 2006. He became the seventh player in history to win both Indian Wells and Miami in the same year. Djokovic entered the clay court season undefeated joining Pete Sampras and Andre Agassi as the only players to do so. However, questions still remained on whether Djokovic could beat Nadal on clay, as he was 0-9 against him on the dirt and has only won 3 sets in nine matches. He proved the doubters won in his next two tournaments. At Madrid, Djokovic beat Nadal in the final 7-5, 6-4 on clay. He proved that it wasn't a one time thing when he beat Nadal at Rome the next week once again in straight sets 6-4, 6-4 on clay. He became the only player to ever to beat Nadal multiple times on a clay court in one season. As Rafael Nadal said after he loss to Novak at Rome, "He is doing amazing things. He is playing fantastic, doing a lot of things very well and has a lot of confidence. The most important thing for me is to be confident and be happy with what I am doing. I have done everything I can, I cannot ask more of myself but one player is doing better then me."
Victories Over Roger Federer: This season, Djokovic joined David Nalbandian, Andy Murray, and Rafael Nadal, as the only players to beat Federer 3 times in one calenday year. After the Joker beat Fed at the Auzzie Open, he beat him at Dubai in a final. He joined Rafael Nadal as the only player to beat Federer in the semifinals or later of a major and then beat Federer in the next tournament he played in. During their match at Dubai, the Joker won an impressive 81 percent of his first service points. At Indian Wells in March, he beat Federer for a third straight time in the semifinals in three sets 6-3, 3-6, 6-2. With his victory over Nadal in the final of that tournament, he joined David Nalbandian and Nikolay Davydenko as the only players to beat Federer and Nadal in the same tournament.
After Djokovic lost to Roger Federer in the semifinals of the French Open in a great match 7-6 (5-7), 3-6, 6-3, 7-6 (7-5) snapping his win streak, Djokovic said, "It had to end somewhere. Best five months of my life, my tennis career. I cannot complain. It was definitely an incredible peroid."
Tidak ada komentar:
Posting Komentar