After watching Novak Djokovic and James Blake batter the ball back and forth in the first game of their third-rounder, I wished the entire match would unfold this way, even though I knew it couldn't. I was half-right. Blake flatlined; his flat darts began finding the net or zooming long all too often. But Djokovic didn't let up. He was merciless with his control—sounds like an oxymoron, right?—placing Blake wherever he chose with spin-heavy shotmaking. Then there was his first serve, which, when it landed in, meant that he would win the point 89 percent of the time. It worked out that way because of the Serb's astute targeting of Blake's backhand, by far his weaker stroke. The errors poured like sweat from his brow.
Blake took two games from the No. 2 in the first set; he couldn't even produce half that output in the second set. Djokovic is confident, in command, and most importantly appears comfortable in his role as tennis' hottest player. Now 20-0 in 2011, Djokovic next gets Viktor Troicki, who lost to him by an even worse margin than Blake at Indian Wells (6-0, 6-1). The question may not be whether Troicki can pull the upset, rather, can he stay out there for more than 52 minutes, the time it took Djokovic to bounce Blake?
—Ed McGrogan