Sunday, March 20, 2011

Can Anyone Stop Djokovic?

2011 Indian Wells is history and we had the following finals:

Novak Djokovic def. Rafael Nadal 4-6, 6-3, 6-2

Caroline Wozniacki def. Marion Bartoli 6-1, 2-6, 6-3

Djokovic wins his 20th consecutive match, he is 18-0 this year plus his two Davis Cup final wins.  He has moved up officially to #2 in the world but he currently playing the best tennis of anyone having beaten Federer and Nadal in this tournament (more on Fed later).  It is his third title of the year and 21st of his career.  It is his 6th career Masters title (last was 2009 Paris) and his 2nd win at Indian Wells (2008).  He defeated Golubev, 31) Gulbis, 16) Troicki, 18) Gasquet, 2) Federer, and 1) Nadal in the tournament.  I think he has a good chance to push for world no. 1 later this year.

Wozniacki continues her hot streak at Premier events, particularly "Tier 1" events, the mandatory and 5 tournaments.  By my count it was her 5th consecutive Tier 1 championship (Rogers Cup, Tokyo, Beijing, Dubai, and now Indian Wells).  It is her 14th career title and 2nd of this year.  She is now winning the big tour events (outside the slams) with regularity and only seems to be a matter of time before she breaks through there.  She defeated Stephens, 28) Martinez Sanchez, 22) Kleybanova, 8) Azarenka, 16) Sharapova, and 15) Bartoli to win this title.  Also, my hat is off to Bartoli for taking advantage of Clijsters injury to march all the way to the final.

About Federer.  We keep hearing things from the media and have been been since 2008 about the "decline" and wanted to get my thoughts out there.  By listening to some people, you might think that Federer is washed up, will never win a tournament again, and should just retire.  That viewpoint is a total joke.  Federer in the 3rd best player on the planet, and you could even make the argument that he is 2nd best seeing that he beat Nadal the last time they met in a real match, but given Nadal's 2010 I say Federer is a clear #3.  At the moment, Djokovic and Nadal have surpassed him, but no one else, and he's still miles ahead of anyone else (except Murray only in Masters finals).  A while it is possible for him to get back to no. 1 or #2 in the future, I think he'll be at #3 for awhile.  And he's not going anywhere.  He's just past his peak, but he is still a very good tennis player.  He'll beat the players below him 95% of the time, he's still a major contender at the majors especially on fast surfaces and he still has a chance a beating a Nadal or a Djokovic every now and then.  I mean, he beat the Djoker at the Rogers Cup, Basel, and London last year before Novak raised his level at the AO and thereafter.  I think Federer will win another slam or more, and he will be a threat at every tournament he enters, but he's just no longer the prohibitive favorite.  Feel free to chime in on this in this comments.

Now, onto sunny Florida.  Can the Djoker pull off the double?  Can Caro make it 6 in a row?

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