An interesting quote from Novak Djokovic’s 6-1, 6-2 destruction of Rafael Nadal earlier today in the Doha final.
“The match is easy to analyze,” said Nadal after. “I played against a player who did everything perfectly. I don’t know anybody who’s ever played tennis like this. Since I know this sport I’ve never seen somebody playing at this level. So I just congratulate him and that’s it.
“I know I can do a few things better, but the real thing is with these conditions, playing during the night and with the feeling of the ball here, it’s so difficult to have chances against him playing like this. It is probably impossible.
“When somebody is better than you, you accept it and you work to try to improve yourself. That’s it. I am not frustrated. I look at the things very clearly and I am always honest. Today he’s better than me without a doubt.”
Of course what Rafa is saying in a way is not even the great Roger Federer played this good. Well, of course Nadal would say Djokovic is at the higher level, that’s because Djokovic, unlike Federer, causes all sorts of problems for Nadal. Problems Federer never really did and simply cannot do.
So before you break into a GOAT war, I just thought I’d mention that. It’s matchups people. And Djokovic is a horrible matchup for Rafa. Federer isn’t and never was.
That said, Djokovic is on another level compared to everyone else right now. There’s no doubt about that. And it doesn’t look like anyone’s going to stop him anytime soon.
“I’m playing the tennis of my life, and I will try to nurture and cherish those moments on the court,” Djokovic said. “As I said in the ceremony, I will use this confidence level in every tournament that I play. I know that it can’t go forever, but I’m not thinking too much ahead of myself.”
And it really looks like the Australian Open is a foregone conclusion. The only drama: who will Novak beat in the final and how many sets will he lose in total?
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