Tuesday, September 13, 2011

Nole Goes All the Way!

Not sure I could be much happier tenniswise. My guy Novak Djokovic capped one of the greatest seasons in the history of tennis with yet another major title last night, beating Rafael Nadal in an epic 6-2, 6-4, 6-7 (3), 6-1. battle that lasted four hours and 10 minutes to capture his first U.S. Open title. While I suppose it would be foolish to be surprised that he won, it's the way he has made the game of Rafael Nadal -- who seemed virtually unbeatable on his way to the No. 1 spot -- look so full of holes that I find so jaw-dropping, just as Nadal did to Roger Federer just a couple years ago. Is each man better than his predecessor, or does each only get a certain number of years before people catch on to their style of play, and the one who lasts the longest on top is the greatest? (I'm really not sure.) Whether or not Nole can repeat his success -- as with Nadal, injuries seem like they could be a factor, an issue Federer has largely avoided during his longer-than-anyone run at the top -- remains to be seen. (Remember when we thought Nadal would take the torch and run with it for a few years?) What I am sure of is that Novak Djokovic has made men's tennis fun again -- and it will be exciting to see how long he can keep this up before another player comes along to dethrone the new undisputed king of the court.

2 comments:

glennethph said...

I really wanted a drama-free win but if that happened, it wouldn't feel as epic a win. Because while the first two sets were basically Novak, the 3rd set just upped the drama with the breaks and the injury.

I was scared that Nole would be screwed because Rafa was getting better but I guess, he expended so much energy in the third that he didn't have anything left in the 4th.

This was just the best year to be a Novak fan.

mike said...

off-topic, a bit ...

While watching Novak come up through the ranks, I've become a huge Nole fan, both of his talent and his personality, and was really excited to see him win the Open.

But ... am I the only guy who's worried Nole is going to break our little homo hearts?

I keep reading about how he is a devout member of the Serbian Orthodox Church, received their highest awards, etc ... the same Church that thinks gays are vile and has tried to stop gay pride parades/events in Serbia?

just putting it out there, because I don't have enough real-life issues to worry about (not.)