Djokovic and the praise of discipline

Novak Djokovic after the trophy ceremony in Melbourne (credit : www.australianopen.com ; Jason Lockett ; Tennis Australie)

In Melbourne I asked Stanislas Wawrinka if, today, one could be fanciful and hope for on court greatness. He started by saying "Yes, a bit, but to what extent ?" Then he paused, hesitated and said : "No. All the players who are at the top right now are working hard, it's all becoming more and more professional. Roger, Rafa, Novak, Nishikori, Raonic : they all have a whole team around them. To succeed now you have to start by working, you can't just come out with a desire." Those two weeks of Novak Djokovic on his way to triumph in Melbourne and the final he won - a 5th here, which is an Open Era record - have perfectly proved this point. He leaves nothing to chance, on and off the court, he inflicts a total control to himself and to his team. Perfectionism pays in this era. A lot.

            "I’m very proud of what my team and I have achieved here, said Djokovic the day after,
and hopefully if I stay healthy and keep the discipline, professionalism and commitment, I have a fair chance to get myself in an other position to win more Grand Slam titles. But I'm already happy of where I am in my life and to join the elite group of players who won 8 Grand Slams." 

It was the face of a man satisified with his accomplishment, when we got to catch up with him after he had a sleepless night post success. Not because he had some epic party, the husband and father was prompt to explain, but because the adrenaline rush took long to get down. The mission was fulfilled after two weeks of hardwork and stress. There was no euphoria. He's past this already and it feels like for him to get goosebumps and get teary again after a win it's going to take a title at the French Open, the only Major that still refuses to fall in his resume. Winning the other ones is now more about ensuring the density of his legacy and his domination. He loves it, don't get me wrong. It's just an other kind of love.

"Novak always comes back", Rafael Nadal

In Australia, it was most of the time some vintage "Nole" out there. Against Andy Murray, totally back to his best level, the first two sets were simply outstanding. The high pace, the striking quality, the out of this world defences, and the talent of their eyes in full display : a splendid kinda freak show. Let's use this moment to say "bravo" for the work done to Amélie Mauresmo with Murray and Boris Becker with Djokovic. The first one has found his way again towards becoming an aggressive player, and the latter has now finally a serve as great as the rest of his game.Then we saw the difference for now between a great champion and one who is now among the giants of the game. Frustrated by the loss of the second set despite the chances he had, having suddenly his legs close to push the stop button, Djokovic looked on the brink of breakdown. We know the guy since a decade now, so it's not the first time he looked close to collapse before pulling through. But still, Murray lost his focus and proved unable to take this opportunity to win games and set(s). A terrible mistake for which he paid a heavy price against a rival who succeeded to calm the panic that was about to burst for good, and also to find a new gear somewhere inside of this will of his. At this point I won't even enter the polemic around this moment of the match. As I've said, we're watching the Djoker on court since a decade : he's as able to hide everything he feels as to expose it in full force to the world, depending on his level of anger, stress, fatigue. And yes it can take some huge proportions. Trying to read his body language is a loss of time for the guy on the other side of the net. Look at Becker's face in the box at this moment : he has no more clue than us all. Only the apparent calm of Djokovic physio Miljan Amanovic should have been telling. He knows his boss, he went through the roller coaster enough : it wasn't a good time but it wasn't disaster time either. The Djoker found a way, as so often, but still it took some talent and cold blood to switch game plan in the middle of a Grand Slam final : going from the baseline long battle to the "let's rip it as soon as I can" kinda vibe.

The resilience of Novak Djokovic is, I feel, something not enough noted. And it pushes me to get really surprised at how much Murray got blindsided here. By someone he knows since he's what, 12 years old or something ? How many desperate situations had Djokovic turned ? How many moments of suffering followed by patches of greatness ? It's not only for his flexibility that the Serbian is compared to a cat, but also for the several lives he seems to have on a tennis court ! And Nadal sums this up perfectly : "Novak always comes back. You don't know when, but you know he's never going to give up and he's going to find a way back". And he knows his Djokovic book better than most of the other guys on Tour. So it's also how ahead the Djoker is in the mental strength department that makes a part of the difference between those two tennis twins. As much as the control that Djokovic insists on applying to his game, his body and his mind weeks after weeks : the "genius control freak" had the last word on the tortured artist.

       "In the off season, I don't step away too much of the kind of regime that I have during the season. In terms of a holistic approach to myself, to my body, the mental side, my regime, my recovery, my trainings, I'm very much dedicated to that discipline because I know that it brings me success. Over the last couple of years, people were trying to make me reveal my “secrets” but there’s no one special thing that I can say has contributed the most to my success : it’s a combination of things, everything has to fit together : it's really a holistic approach as I've said before. Your mindset, your life philosophy, the way you work with yourself from this psychological point of you, the way you grow physically, the way you train and recover, the food regime. At the end of the day all these things play an important part in order to play at the highest level for a whole year. It’s a very demanding sport on every aspect of your life. I’m not the only one that takes care of my life on and off court to that extent. I’m sure Andy, Roger and Rafa do the same in their own way. Self discipline, private life, handling your emotions : the way your private life is arranged reflects directly on the tennis because I don't believe those who say you can separate the two. You’re the same person so if you go into tough mental times it reflects on your results and your feeling on the court."

  "Yes, you think of what your place in history is", Djokovic

Difference in this final was also maybe in this innate confidence owned by Djokovic but a constant work in progress for Murray, who didn't shy away from how he was seeing himself compared to Nole and the two other members of the Big 4 when asked before the final what a win would mean. 

"It'd be a huge achievement/exploit. But even if I win it's still won't be a lot compared to what Novak, Rafa and Roger have done so far"

Because while we're debating over the GOAT status of Roger Federer and the fact that yes or no Rafael Nadal can enter the contest, it's the Serbian who has taken over the throne, ending on the top of the world in 2011, 2012 and 2014. And you can count on the Djoker to be fully aware of the place in history he conquered since his first Grand Slam title in 2008. In this Big 4 era, there he is at 27 years old with 8 Majors under his belt, equal of Agassi, Connors, Lendl, Perry and Rosewall. Nadal / Sampras (14) and Federer (17) are still way far ahead but not Tilden (10), Borg / Laver (11) nor Emerson (12).

      So when I asked him if he thinks and cares of this legacy, he didn't hesitate long : "Most of the players, especially from the top, will tell you that it’s important to have the kind of mindset that keeps you in the present moment and once something is done you move on and you try to focus on the next one. Not thinking too much in advance nor too much in the past. Because that allows you to work and to kind of reset your ambitions and your goals. But I think you have to be honest and frank and say that you think about the amount of Grand Slams that you’ve won, about the amount of tournaments you’ve won and what your place in history is. I definitely have that in the back of my mind."

 And now finally Paris ?

Let's not talk to him about Roland-Garros too soon. About this career Grand Slam that is still waiting, after two finals in Paris. He got his share of heartbreak there and had a tendency to think so much about it that it didn't help his nerves quite a few times. But it'll be tough to escape for too long.

"There's a big gap bteween the Australian Open and Roland-Garros but everybody is already talking about the French Open. Which isn't fair for the other tournaments in between, that I also value very much. It is obviously very important for me to win there, but if I don’t succeed it wouldn’t be the end of the world. I’m gonna keep on trying, pushing. I’ve been very very close a few times so that allows me believe that I can make that final step. But there's Rafael Nadal there, on matches that can last five sets, on the slowest surface we have and that's really demanding physically. Rafa lost only once in Paris and he will again be the big favorite this year. Behind, it's unpredictable."

 

So Djokovic gave the first punch in Melbourne, but Nadal if he can stay healthy should be working his way back, and Federer should have found back his mental and physical energy, without forgetting how sharp Murray and Wawrinka looked in Oz, and also how the young wolves are willing to get their teeth on their famous rivals. No really, this nerves battle and this whole 2015 season are very well launched !

PS : you can access the french version here on the Huffington Post