| By Chris Oddo |
Photo Credit: Tony Chang/Chang Photography
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(April 5, 2012)—Even though Novak Djokovic fell a few matches short in his quest to remain undefeated through the French Open in 2011, the fact that he erased a 0-9 lifetime record on clay against Rafael Nadal has injected quite a bit of intrigue into the clay-court debate for 2012.
The numbers were staggeringly in favor of the Spaniard until last year, now they have started to tilt in Djokovic’s favor. A quick glance at the best winning percentage on clay for the past 52 weeks shows Djokovic on top of Nadal— when’s the last time that happened?
Djokovic went 18-1 on the red dirt in 2011, and he did so emphatically, raising eyebrows and eliciting bedazzled gasps with his bullet-proof baseline game and newfound resilience. As he swept through Belgrade, Madrid and Rome on the road to Roland Garros last year the gluten-free guru lost only three sets and went 5-0 against top ten competition. When the dust finally settled in Roland Garros, Djokovic stood at second all-time in clay-court winning percentage among active players (tied with a dude named Federer) at .762.
Sadly though, he left Paris with the one thing that defines all clay-court competition: the French Open title.
So where does that leave him in 2012? Have we only seen the tip of the Djokovician iceberg, or is Nadal, after a humiliating run of seven consecutive losses against Djokovic in finals, ready to finally land the knockout blow that sends the Serb shuttling back to earth?
One thing’s for certain: Djokovic has a long way to go if he really wants to be the King of Clay. He’d have to win his next 132 matches and somehow shed 13 of his losses on clay if he wanted to reach Nadal’s current obscene .928 winning percentage on the dirt.
It’s not gonna happen, plain and simple. Not even Novak Djokovic has the game to do that.
But one thing that Djokovic does have going for him is momentum. He’s won four of the last five Grand Slams, and his most recent title, a convincing romp through the field at Miami, will give him confidence as he heads into Monte Carlo in mid-April. “This is going to be very encouraging for me prior to the clay court season,” said Djokovic after dispatching Andy Murray in straight sets to earn his second title of the year. “I'm gonna have more confidence coming into the Monte Carlo tournament.”
He will need that confidence. The long road that leads to Roland Garros will be longer for Djokovic, and there are some who feel that he’s risking overplaying by adding Monte Carlo to his calendar. Besides that, Monte Carlo is Rafael Nadal’s magic palace, the place that ignited his return to form in 2010, when he secured his first title in nearly a year then swiftly went 22-0 for the clay-court season.
Nadal used Monte Carlo in 2010 as a springboard to three straight Grand Slam titles to finish the season; in electing to try to end Nadal’s seven-year win streak at the serene seaside event, Djokovic is effectively running the risk of giving Nadal a chance to get his mojo back.
But that’s what you have to love about Djokovic’s approach to tennis since becoming world No. 1. You’d think he’d be content after what he’s accomplished over the last 15-months, winning 90 of 98 matches and four Grand Slams. Not even close.
“I want to go deep in the tournament,” Djokovic said of his plans for Monte Carlo. “There are a lot of tournaments coming up. Obviously Roland Garros, Olympics, Wimbledon, they are top of the priority list, but still, I want to perform well on all the others.”
Before Djokovic risks his life and limb to win every event, he might want to consider that he’ll need those limbs to win the one event that really matters this spring—the French Open.
Nadal, a six-time French Open champion, knows precisely what it takes to peak in Paris, after a long, grueling lead-up that treks all over Europe. Djokovic certainly has the best intentions of hitting the ground running, but his eagerness to rack up titles might make him susceptible to that aforementioned knockout blow from Nadal.
Still, Djokovic’s attitude is laudable, and his confidence is sky-high. “I'm coming in this year with a Grand Slam win and now a Miami win, couple of semifinals,” said Djokovic. “I think I'm playing equally well as I did 12 months ago. But again, it's different. It's a different approach. I still want to fight for every title, as everybody else, have this positive mindset, not really defending or calculating how many points I can lose and things like that. So every tournament for me is equally important.”
Important is one thing, but worth getting worn down over is another. Djokovic’s biggest challenge this spring might be knowing when to say when. Rafa’s decision to withdraw from Miami was the prudent precaution of a man that knows what it takes to be the king of clay.
Djokovic should take heed, and realize that he’ll need every ounce of vitality he has to chase the career Grand Slam in Paris. He may not ever become the king of clay, but if he plays his cards right, he could be king for a day.
And if that day happens to be the first Sunday in June, everything will be A-OK.