Photo courtesy of Shinya Suzuki's Flick page - Andre Agassi: https://www.flickr.com/photos/shinyasuzuki/6183297352/in/photolist-aqp1T3-aqmsS6-aqmm3F-47MyJH-aqp9iQ-aqmmu2-aqmk8z-aqmmkt-aqp2Zd-oWYnQT-6UEFoH-6UEFkg-6UJKxf-4KkPJ-4KkRX-4KkME-4KkJ4-4KkNb-4KkLy-4KkMQ-4KkSA-4KkQV-4KkKt-4KkQK-4KkMq-6EeA6P-gvQEnM-s4iRgc-s69VdY-4KkR3-4KkLg-4KkKE-4KkJV-4KkRK-4KkKy-4KkNS-4KkPq-4KkLa-4KkRt-4KkP7-4KkNJ-4KkL2-4KkQu-4KkM4-4KkKd-4KkLM-4KkQ9-4KkKj-4KkQg-4KkNs
Photo courtesy of Yann Caradec's Flickr Page - Novak Djokovic: https://www.flickr.com/photos/la_bretagne_a_paris/5763317762
Creative Commons License: https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/2.0/
After Nadal won his third U.S. Open title and 16th overall Grand Slam championship on Sunday, I began speculating about the possibility that he might be the greatest tennis player of all time, and felt that his recent success might have re-opened that particular debate.
However, I made sure to add a caveat - that Noak Djokovic might be in that discussion, as well.
Why? After all, Djokovic has won 12 Grand Slam titles, and while that is a lot, it is behind not only both Federer and Nadal, as well as Pete Sampras. Plus, he is tied with Rod Laver, and that might at first seem to suggest that he does not belong in that discussion as the greatest.
Still, Djokovic did some things that some of those other guys did not do. He became the eighth man in history to have achieved the career Grand Slam, and the third among the so-called "Big Four." Maybe this alone might not qualify him for being better than either Federer or Nadal, but there are certain specifics to how he achieved this that indeed might warrant consideration. For example, while he and Federer have both won one (and only one, in both cases) French Open titles, Djokovic actually beat Nadal, the King of Clay Court, on the terre battue of Roland-Garros. Plus, he held all four Grand Slam titles at once, after capturing the French Open title in 2016, which is something that neither Nadal nor Federer managed to do. Plus, he did it on three different surfaces, which is something that Rod Laver cannot claim.
Also, there was a stretch when Djokovic qualified for at least the semifinal in 23 out of 24 consecutive Grand Slam tournaments, with the sole exception being a quarterfinal exit. During that stretch, he qualified for 18 Grand Slam finals, and he went 11-7 in those. Those numbers are, frankly, staggeringly good!
In that article about Nadal possibly being the greatest, I mentioned that the one opponent among the "Big Four" that Nadal does not have a winning record against was Djokovic, who owns a narrow 26-24 advantage in the rivalry. But Djokovic also has a winning record (again, a narrow one) against Federer as well, having won 23 out of the 45 matches that they played together. And Djokovic holds a solid lead in his rivalry against Andy Murray, with a 25-11 mark overall there. Against Wawrinka, the man who some feel kind of joined the "Big Four" as one of the true elites in tennis, Djokovic currently owns a 19-5 record, although the one albatross there was that Djokovic won both of the biggest meetings between the two, in the 2015 French Open Final and the 2016 U.S. Open Final.
Djokovic has qualified for 21 Grand Slam finals overall, which means that he has been to the third most, behind Federer and Nadal. And again, he held the number one ranking for 223 weeks total so far, and captured the year end number one ranking in 2011, 2012, 2014, and 2015. He narrowly missed capturing it for a fifth time last year.
That, however, is the thing. Because everyone has noticed how both Federer and Nadal enjoyed a resurgence with their careers this year, but that came at the expense of Murray and especially Djokovic. In fact, right now, you might be forgiven if you were to assume that Djokovic's day of being number one, or perhaps even winning Grand Slams, are over. After all, if people not so long ago assumed that both Federer and Nadal were done winning, so why would they assume that Djokovic will bounce back so easily?
Except that Djokovic is on that level. And just because those two once again cast him in their shadow this year, does not mean that he will not eclipse them right back in the relatively near future.
To that end, Djokovic hired former tennis legend Andre Agassi, who like Djokovic, is a former number one and one of the true elites in the sport who managed to achieve the career Grand Slam. And the best thing about Agassi that might prove beneficial to Djokovic is that Agassi's best tennis came relatively late in his career. At a time when many tennis greats start to wither away, and/or outright hang it up, Agassi started to exorcise the ghosts of his past, and put up the best numbers of his career. He focused on conditioning, and after a disastrous 1997, where he dropped to number 141 in ranking, he stormed back, becoming an elite once again, and then clinching the French Open title in 1999. At the time, no one had achieved the career Grand Slam in decades, and even if Agassi was well behind Sampras in terms of overall Grand Slam championships won, this was one huge distinction that he held over his greatest rival. Agassi went on to clinch another U.S. Open title and the year end number one ranking that year, and remained highly competitive for years, winning five Grand Slams overall from 1999 until his final victory in 2003. He even made it to the U.S. Open final in 2005, losing to Roger Federer.
So, Agassi knows a bit about what Djokovic is going through. He certainly knew slumps during his own career, and knew what it felt like to be overshadowed by players with higher profiles and greater accomplishments (at least at the time). Early on, Agassi would seem intimidated by some of those players, and not play his best. Players like Pete Sampras, Jim Courier, and Boris Becker, for example. He knew what it was to lose Grand Slam finals early on in his career, and to be labeled as someone who just could not win the big one. Then he won Wimbledon, but his high profile and celebrity status off the court got in the way of his play on the court, until he finally strung together some serious success beginning in 1994. He won back-to-back Grand Slam titles, winning the U.S. Open and then the Australian Open, and shortly thereafter, finally rose to number one, for the first time in his career. And he stayed there until a big showdown against Sampras at the U.S. Open, which he lost. He disappeared for years afterward, with only one significant accomplishment: winning the gold medal in the Olympics. But in 1999, at an age when most thought his best days were well behind him, he won the toughest Grand Slam tournament at Roland-Garros. This achievement jump-started another resurgence, and soon afterward, Agassi was ranked number one again. From number 141, to the top ranked man in tennis. He remained at or near the top for years after.
Surely, Djokovic could use someone like that in his corner. He could use someone who knows all too well the frustration of being overshadowed by someone who is considered the greatest men's tennis player of all-time. It as Sampras in Agassi's time, and now, Djokovic finds himself overshadowed by not one, but two players - Federer and Nadal. And the crazy thing is, Djokovic holds a winning record against both of them! He has beaten both men at the highest stages, repeatedly. He is fully capable of doing it again, fully capable of rising back to the top, to become the number one ranked man. Like with Agassi, early success was overshadowed by years where he did not win a Grand Slam, and then he reached the number one ranking in 2011 and 2012, before losing it once again in 2013. But he came back and reclaimed it in 2014, and only lost it late in 2016. But he still has talent, and although perhaps banged up, Djokovic can rise once again.
Indeed, it would likely be helpful to have someone like Agassi around and in his corner. Someone who knows what it is like to be a high-profile, elite tennis player, yest somehow still in the shadows. Someone who knows the aches and pains, quite literally, of going through a tennis season, of enduring. Of not only enduring, but growing stronger. Relying on his heart. Agassi learned late in his career the important of conditioning, both physically and mentally. He knows only too well what it is like to have people - including so-called "experts" - essentially write him off, suggest that he is finished, and then to prove them wrong. Agassi became one of the most accomplished tennis players in history, but the most impressive part of his success came after he turned 29 years of age. That as when he won the French Open, to become only the fifth man to have achieved the career Grand Slam, and the first to achieve the career Golden Slam. He would go on to win the number one ranking several times, and would go to seven more Grand Slam finals, winning four of them. And Agassi was more or less at the age where Djokovic finds himself now.
Yes, Agassi can help Djokovic. Sure, he can point to things that he is doing in his game, to mistakes, to great hits or returns. The X's and O's. if you will. But Agassi can be a guiding presence through the mental challenges as well, and Djokovic can, and most likely will, indeed benefit from that.
Personally, I am looking forward to it, and believe it will happen.
So, Agassi knows a bit about what Djokovic is going through. He certainly knew slumps during his own career, and knew what it felt like to be overshadowed by players with higher profiles and greater accomplishments (at least at the time). Early on, Agassi would seem intimidated by some of those players, and not play his best. Players like Pete Sampras, Jim Courier, and Boris Becker, for example. He knew what it was to lose Grand Slam finals early on in his career, and to be labeled as someone who just could not win the big one. Then he won Wimbledon, but his high profile and celebrity status off the court got in the way of his play on the court, until he finally strung together some serious success beginning in 1994. He won back-to-back Grand Slam titles, winning the U.S. Open and then the Australian Open, and shortly thereafter, finally rose to number one, for the first time in his career. And he stayed there until a big showdown against Sampras at the U.S. Open, which he lost. He disappeared for years afterward, with only one significant accomplishment: winning the gold medal in the Olympics. But in 1999, at an age when most thought his best days were well behind him, he won the toughest Grand Slam tournament at Roland-Garros. This achievement jump-started another resurgence, and soon afterward, Agassi was ranked number one again. From number 141, to the top ranked man in tennis. He remained at or near the top for years after.
Surely, Djokovic could use someone like that in his corner. He could use someone who knows all too well the frustration of being overshadowed by someone who is considered the greatest men's tennis player of all-time. It as Sampras in Agassi's time, and now, Djokovic finds himself overshadowed by not one, but two players - Federer and Nadal. And the crazy thing is, Djokovic holds a winning record against both of them! He has beaten both men at the highest stages, repeatedly. He is fully capable of doing it again, fully capable of rising back to the top, to become the number one ranked man. Like with Agassi, early success was overshadowed by years where he did not win a Grand Slam, and then he reached the number one ranking in 2011 and 2012, before losing it once again in 2013. But he came back and reclaimed it in 2014, and only lost it late in 2016. But he still has talent, and although perhaps banged up, Djokovic can rise once again.
Indeed, it would likely be helpful to have someone like Agassi around and in his corner. Someone who knows what it is like to be a high-profile, elite tennis player, yest somehow still in the shadows. Someone who knows the aches and pains, quite literally, of going through a tennis season, of enduring. Of not only enduring, but growing stronger. Relying on his heart. Agassi learned late in his career the important of conditioning, both physically and mentally. He knows only too well what it is like to have people - including so-called "experts" - essentially write him off, suggest that he is finished, and then to prove them wrong. Agassi became one of the most accomplished tennis players in history, but the most impressive part of his success came after he turned 29 years of age. That as when he won the French Open, to become only the fifth man to have achieved the career Grand Slam, and the first to achieve the career Golden Slam. He would go on to win the number one ranking several times, and would go to seven more Grand Slam finals, winning four of them. And Agassi was more or less at the age where Djokovic finds himself now.
Yes, Agassi can help Djokovic. Sure, he can point to things that he is doing in his game, to mistakes, to great hits or returns. The X's and O's. if you will. But Agassi can be a guiding presence through the mental challenges as well, and Djokovic can, and most likely will, indeed benefit from that.
Personally, I am looking forward to it, and believe it will happen.
These were the articles and pages that I used in writing this particular article. One is an article and interview with Nick Bollettieri, while the other was Wikepedia, which focused more on the statistics of Djokovic's hugely impressive career:
Andre Agassi can turn Novak Djokovic into a winner again, says Nick Bollettieri by Paul Newman, 28 May 2017:
Wikipedia page on Novak Djokovic:
No comments:
Post a Comment