The Mutua Madrid Open champion for 2011 is...
Novak Djokovic. Undefeated in 2011. 6 titles out of 6 tournaments. 34 straight wins, beginning with 2010 Davis Cup. I'm repeating the numbers, though everybody probably knows them by heart already (or is it just me?)
I... really, I'm out of superlatives. 7-5 6-4 win over Rafael Nadal, the King of Clay. That's a third straight win over Rafa - all of those came in ATP Masters 1000 finals. Only this time, Novak hasn't even lost a set. Did I mention that the match was on clay? (Though, admittedly, a faster surface than the regular clay court, coupled with high altitude and bouncy balls). And it was in front of a crowd that was absolutely one-sided - the cheers for Rafa were ear-splittening, those for Novak were hardly heard.
The match was everything tennis fans could dream of, and more. Both players produced some of their best game. Just take a look at Rafa's tweener (the whole rally is pretty much incredible, and contains almost everything you can think of in tennis):
If you have a spare 10 minutes, look at the highlights video. The whole match was like this, more or less. Nole's cross court backhand winners are stunning.
I can't think of anything else to say, really. I'm just speechless.
(Photos: Julian Finney/Getty Images, DANI POZO/AFP/Getty Images, PIERRE-PHILIPPE MARCOU/AFP/Getty Images, via NOVAK DJOKOVIC FAN CLUB's facebook page)
Yes, what Nole did yesterday was amazing. Here is a new superlative I like- "winning machine", I also came across nice statements about him- my favorites are: "He's been playing tennis from another planet" (Robbie Koenig, ESPN commentator) and " Djokovic is not, in fact, a winning machine. He’s just a man in the form of his life. It’s a much scarier prospect." (Hannah Wilks, TENNIS.com)- Probably seems strange to you that I like this one because it looks like it contradicts with the fact that I like the superlative "winning machine", but it doesn't- I love that people call him that because it's sounds right but I like even better the idea that he's just fulfilling is potential 100% and that when the winning streak is over, he will still continue to play in this level. Now to another subject- do you know if the full match appears in YouTube, and if so can you give me the link please?
ReplyDeleteNever mind. I aleeady found the full match on YouTube by myself.
ReplyDelete