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by Pete Bodo
After reading Andrew Burton's post of yesterday on Novak Djokovic, I remain fairly convinced about two things: Ivan Ljubicic's reputation as a deep thinker is greatly exaggerated, and Djokovic's willingness to play what we might call the "schedule card" is, shall we say, disappointing?
For gosh sakes, Djokovic has played, by my count, 19 matches so far this year. That's an average of about one match every five days.
Granted, those matches happen to be compressed (how I wish everyone concerned would recognize tennis always was and hopefully always will be an "interval" sport, with periods of rest alternating with periods of play). And clearly the Davis Cup tie that preceded Indian Wells took significant physical and emotional energy. But didn't John Isner also play in all three matches in that tie (correction of original text, which had him playing only singles - pb). Isner went out and had a fine tournament in the desert, and to my knowledge had no complaints about the lack of transition time - or fatigue.
I'm not sure about the precise number of days involved here, but I've got to guess that Djokovic had a solid five or more days between the end of Davis Cup and his first match at Indian Wells. That may not be ideal, but it's crazy to say its an impossible transition. Sure you play differently on clay, but court speed is the most significant factor in going from one surface to another, and it isn't like the Indian Wells courts are lightning quick.
Judging by the way the world no. 2 has played and even looked this year, he's not exactly on a mission. In our newest podcast, I put it this way: for over a year now, Djokovic has reminded me of a beautiful, detailed ice sculpture that's been set out under a blazing sun. Over time, all the definition and clean, sharp lines have been melting; a guy with a once precise, compact, purposeful game has become a collection of ticks, mood swings, loose nuts and bolts and . . . unreliabilties.
I think this has a lot to do with his emergence as a Top 5 player. Djokovic seems to like life near the top without actually feeling desperate to be on the top. And who can blame him, given how far he's come from the unlikely starting point of Serbia? My guess is that he likes being a dude among dudes (Roger, Rafa, and the two Andys, among others), and he clearly enjoys his bully pulpit. He may be destined never to develop that overpowering sense of entitlement (or the competitive desperation) that helps some players achieve the top ranking, and there's no question that Novak is always entertaining to watch.
Clearly, Djokovic needs to rationalize his loss Ivan Ljubicic, even though it would be stretch to call that a horrific loss. And the schedule/season is as good a scapegoat as anything.
PS - I'm off tomorrow, but will be popping in now and then, and over the weekend. Feel free to use this post for general discussion, but give those who have an opinion in the subject here adequate time to make their feelings known. Once the matches at Indian Wells are underway, anything goes.