Just call Novak Djokovic butter, 'cause he is on a roll! The Djoker continues his hard court dominance by winning the most important, non-major tournament of the year, besting Rafael Nadal 4-6 6-3 7-6 (4) in Miami on Sunday. You can see the low-def highlights here.
In startling contrast to Nadal's thumping of Roger Federer on Friday, this match made it clear: Djokovic-Nadal is the hottest ticket in tennis today. How could it not be? Both players are striking the ball so hard, and playing such remarkable defense, it's anyone's guess how either can win any points at all.
Of course, the answer is superb shotmaking--every other winner, it seems, worthy of making you stand up out of our seat. Both play with outrageous amounts of shot-controlling topspin, but neither are by any means constrained to the baseline. The result is a largely mistake free, dynamic all court match-up that is chalk full of jaw-droppers.
As bristly as I may have been at the thought of Djokovic being a world beater, his added class in taking center stage has made him exponentially more likable. He's full of grace, compliments to his beaten opponents, and is humble in his attitude toward winning and getting better. So, I'm out of reasons to not be excited. If this is a new era in men's tennis, I feel like, considering the quality of Sunday's final, it's something I could definitely get used to.
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