[Mr. Oracle]

Originally Posted by teacherling

Yeah, it was an ugly win in a way. What is scary is that all the time I had this feeling that Novak was in second gear. He did accelerate a couple of times and it was so obvious. As he did against Golubev, just a couple of times and then his quality showed. I found his attitude completely ugly though. He actually played cat and mouse with both Golubev and Anderson. He'd catch the mouse (had them under his watchful eye) and let them play a little and just about when they were about to flee (for example, just when Anderson was about to break him) he'd grab and squeeze them into submission. Scary stuff. And I don't think I like Novak all that much any more. He was a much more enjoyable player back in 2008 when he showed passion and wished to win, when he was not so secretive about what he could do. Today he tried only one DTL backhand shot and it didn't go in and he gave up on it, as if it wasn't his favorite winning groundstroke. Regardless one was never in doubt about the score and that's what I find scary and ugly.

True, he may have been firing on all cylinders in 2008/09 in nadaldian fashion, all the time, but we also saw how that pace led to "Gaspovic" as he ran deep into some tournaments. The demands of the tour are such that one has to pace himself. Better a Lethargovic who gets a win instead of a Gaspovic who has to retire. There is only one madman on tour who can fire on all cylinders all the time and we all know who he is...the lawnmower man who hails from spain.

[Mr. Oracle]

Originally Posted by Mountaindewslave

I agree; I watched the match and felt so bad for the crowd, Novak made this match not at all enjoyable to watch. he looked indifferent the entire time and lacks so much passion these days. he still can play great (or at least win matches by large margins) but often he looks so not excited! or happy. people mention it about Nadal or Murray sometimes, the fact they look like they are going through the motions out there / disinterested but definitely since the fantastic season last year Djokovic seems less passionate. that is concerning if you ask me but maybe he really is sticking to his guns about prioritizing slams.
then again the crowd pays for a good match with players who 'care' so it's a bit dissapointing

Damn son its only a masters tournament. The champ clearly has bigger fish to fry. These are tournaments that Murray should be getting excited about.

[heya]

djokovic could improve upon the consistent 15 months. not everything was good last year, so why is everyone surprised that he could reach #1, beat nadal and federer in most events, then struggle to stay healthy?
nadal and federer could be number 1 with the worse competition level in 2006 and 2008, but djoker can't be better than last year?

[Alex999]

I agree that it was an ugly win, but Novak is simply able to toy with his opponents nowadays. I also prefer his aggressive game back in 2007/08 but this is working for him. that's why he is #1 in the world. one thing that really separates the top dogs from the rest of the field is CONSISTENCY. they simply know how to play big points. yes, Anderson is a good player, he can play few good games but he fails when it really matters.

I also feel that Nole doesn't put too much effort against lower ranked players.