By Chris Oddo | Sunday, January 31, 2016
Like a hungry wolf, Novak Djokovic is ready for more hunting even after his latest crowing achievement in Melbourne.
Photo Source: Mark Peterson/Corleve
Playing at the peak of his powers these last two weeks in Melbourne has not been nearly enough to satiate the unyielding appetite for destruction that world No. 1 Novak Djokovic currently possesses. Instead of pausing, reflecting and soaking in the spoils of his success, the 28-year-old Serb’s eyes remain fixed on loftier prizes.
Sixth Sense: Djokovic Defeats Murray for Sixth Australian Open Title
Paris, and the quest for the one major title that has eluded him awaits. But before that? Snack time. “Wolf needs to eat a lot of different meals to get to Paris,” Djokovic told the media on Sunday night in Melbourne. “Paris is a dessert.”
Though in fine spirits after carving through Andy Murray to win his record sixth Australian Open title, and intoxicated by the throngs of fans that lingered long after to chant his name any time he appeared as he traipsed back and forth to various media engagements, ascetic Djokovic was already planning to deprive himself of celebration.
“I can't allow myself to relax and enjoy,” Djokovic admitted to reporters after nailing down his 11th Grand Slam title, which ties him with Aussie legend Rod Laver and Sweden’s Bjorn Borg. “I mean, I can. Of course I want to enjoy, and I will, but it's not going to go more than few days. After that I am already thinking about how I can continue on playing well throughout the rest of the season, each tournament.”
Djokovic’s latest crowning achievement was similar to his others at Melbourne Park. There was the domination through sublime all-court tactics. There was his mental prowess, his ever-improving serve, his never diminished fitness--but there were different elements as well. The Serb is a man that continues to evolve, both as a tennis player and as a human, and this evolution contributes to his continued success on the grandest of stages.
“I feel like I'm playing better,” Djokovic assessed. “I always strive to improve not just the game or technically, tactically, but also mentally.”
Playing better means thinking better—more shrewdly—and there is more clarity in Djokovic’s game than ever. This clarity emerges in the form of a quicker killswitch, sharper execution and tactical decisiveness. Previously satisfied with long, drawn-out bloodlettings, Djokovic is now learning to pull the trigger earlier against top-flight opponents because he knows he can, and because he sees it as a vehicle to enhanced success.
After Djokovic finished one of the most brilliant seasons in the history of tennis in 2015, it was difficult to imagine how he could take it higher. What could he possibly do for an encore? How could he avoid being on the less desirable and therefore more dangerous side of the hunter vs. hunted dynamic?
Djokovic offered up his own explanation while breaking down his victory over Murray in Sunday’s final. “I've heard actually one nice—how do you call it—metaphor yesterday,” he said. “It's much easier for the wolf that is going uphill and running up the mountain. Not easier, but he was hungrier than the wolf standing on the hill.”
Djokovic’s psychology, much like his tactics, is evolving. He’s not running in fear from his greatness, or hoping passively that it can last—he’s assuring it. Much in the way that Serena Williams tells herself she’s got nothing to lose before a big match at a major, Djokovic is flipping the switch on the competitive narrative. It may not be true, but he sees himself as the hunter, the snarly wolf with the empty belly that will do anything to eat. It explains the new menace in his game. Formerly indecisive and happy to wait until his opponents were too weak to strike, Djokovic is now finding new ways to attack. Follow their trail, nose to the ground, even when they are not aware of your presence.
“You can observe it from different sides,” Djokovic said, “but, you know, I believe that all the guys that are out there fighting each week to get to No. 1 are very hungry to get to No. 1, and I know that.”
Evolution. Constitution. Absolution. Djokovic’s rise to power and continued domination is as much a psychological quest as it is a physical quest.
During his semifinal with Roger Federer, Djokovic played the scariest, most brutally efficient and daunting two sets of the tournament—and maybe his career. Watching, one could glean that there was something new emerging during this jaw-dropping spectacle. Djokovic has always been compared to a machine and it’s not hard to see why. He plays his tennis at autobahn speed, weaving in and out of traffic, tapping the accelerator here, tapping the brakes there as he incrementally devours his competition. But this was something different from Djokovic. In shaking down Federer, the game’s de facto GOAT, Djokovic seemed to be demonstrating a new and advanced understanding of his game and how it relates to others in the biggest moments of the biggest events.
So, what was different about this two-set episode? There was a kind of uber belief to Djokovic’s tennis. A psychospiritual godliness. A snarly, foaming-at-the-mouth Zen.
“I think the experience of playing so many matches against these guys, being on the big stage, knowing what's at stake, knowing the importance and value of these tournaments and fighting for the trophy, I think that helps,” he said. “And the fact that I want to improve as everybody else. I'm not here because I played the same tennis I played last year.”
No. And yes. And wow. Djokovic is here because he is the embodiment of his vision. His sacrifice, his willingness to probe the depths of his conscious mind in the no-holds-barred quest for his greatest self. Not just on the court, but in his soul and in his personal life. “There's something I've found out in the previous years in my career is that you can't separate yourself professionally and privately,” Djokovic said on Sunday. “You're the same person. So all these emotions that are maybe trapped, you know, that occur in your private life, the issues, the problems that we all face, you need to surface them. You need to find a solution. You need to face, encounter these particular issues privately in order to maximize your potential as a player, as well.”
As he walks the tightrope between hero and hunger, Djokovic knows it could end badly if he veered off the path. If he started to take his success for granted or if he ever lacked respect for his competition. He doesn’t want that. Not now. Not with Paris, the ultimate dessert, calling.
“You can get a big slap from karma very soon,” he says. “I don't want that.”