Novak Djokovic and the strength of a brilliant mind which is the key in his fight to be the best in history

This Wimbledon 2022 cannot be considered another title for Novak Djokovic. It is his seventh trophy at the All England Club, one of Roger Federer’s eight and the fourth in a row he has won since 2018. Not an easy thing, you know. History says it … And while one can talk at length about all the brands of him, it is 28 consecutive victories on the sacred grass– and his great performances in recent seasons on this surface, the context in which this coronation took place deserves another kind of analysis. Because the enormous ability to build their big wins never ceases to amaze. And that goes beyond the final that beat the unpredictable Nick Kyrgios.

It has become clear that Djokovic cannot always prevail right from the start. In the previous rounds, in fact, he had lost several first sets and it even seemed, many times, that the games could get complicated. But in the end he always appears in celebration.

So before we delve into what Nole has to extend his dominance, it’s worth putting yourself in a situation and understanding that the Serbian has come to London knowing this could be his last Grand Slam tournament of the season. It is that his participation in the US Open is in doubt because the health protocol requires you to be vaccinated to enter New York. And Djokovic, as he is known from those judicial incidents in Australia last January, is not.

That’s why the Serbian needed to take a strong step in London. To put a little on track, even a year in which he not only played little, but also earned almost nothing given his demanding parameters. Therefore, it could be assumed that anxiety would play against him due to that need to win the yes or yes tournament.

It is that unlike all previous seasons, at least until 2019 when the pandemic had not yet altered everyone’s life, the normality of revenge has always existed. That is to say: before each goal not achieved, the head immediately moved to the next challenge. And this is different for Djokovic. Because even he doesn’t know what will happen in the future. Hence, anxiety and uncertainty could be an extra burden for him.

Yet the Serbian returns to shine on Sunday. Beating Nole on Sunday is very complicated indeed. And this Wimbledon had a very special value. As we said, it helped him get the year back on track, but it also allowed him to overtake in the final an opponent he had always had problems with. In fact, he had lost both times they had crossed paths. He hadn’t even managed to win sets against him.

Ghosts appeared with their bad start which allowed Kyrgios to take the first set. But again, as he has done in the last few games – and as he has historically done – if he doesn’t beat you in the beginning, he finds a way to fight him later in the game. It’s just that Nole is mapping you. He lets you in and finds your flaws, almost like the body’s immune system. He lets the enemy in, analyzes him, it seems that the rival will complicate him and keep him on the ropes, but from then on he starts to grow, he starts to find a way to make the game work. And this is a huge plus. This is being Djokovic.

There he shows you his intelligence, his competitive spirit, the way he leads the game and, many times imperceptibly, where he wants to go. That is why, dear reader, when it seems that Djokovic is in the worst moments, do not get up, just sit and watch him … And if you are on the other side of the net, be on your guard because the best version always appears.

And that, what he was talking about a game in general, would be almost transferable to this year. He had a difficult year, he had only had one title, the one at the Masters 1000 in Rome, and just when the season seemed complicated, because it was thought that if he didn’t win in London the year would be broken, he went and finished until win this title from Wimbledon.

A separate paragraph deserves the whims of some decisions, which have to do with the prohibition by the organizers to the participation of Russians and Belarusians, which was added to the decision of the ATP and the WTA that the tournament did not award points. Is it worth it? It seems like no. That the blow has gone back to organizers and organizations. Because Djokovic, a great champion, has dropped from third to seventh in the standings since Monday. And that doesn’t make sense. He has just won his fourth Wimbledon for the fourth consecutive year and will be relegated to a position that is not his. And for Wimbledon there was also “punishment”. Although Elena Rybakina’s flag was that of Kazakhstan, the tournament champion is a Russian player through and through. So it seems that fate took it upon itself to tell everyone they were wrong.

Beyond this disquisition, the concrete thing is that Djokovic seems determined to fight to the end in that open dispute that the whole world of tennis enjoys and which has to do with who will win the most Grand Slam titles. Nole knew he had one cartridge left in the season to try and wait for Rafa Nadal, put the number 21 in his account of him and be careful when the opportunity to strike presented itself.

Because he competes with a Nadal we already know in the situation he is experiencing, with all the physical discomfort on his back, and with a Roger Federer who, as much as we all want to see him again, no one thinks he can win a major again. Therefore, Novak Djokovic, in the medium term, is the best.

And let’s remember that for the Serbian the most beautiful challenge and the one that motivates him the most is the one that seems the most difficult. He is determined, he is convinced that the top belongs to him. And that there will be no way to get him out of there. It is a matter of time. Just as he never lost easily, in this case Djokovic’s fight is intact. That temperament, that matchless physique, simply put him as one of the great candidates to be the biggest Grand Slam winner of all time.