Novak Djokovic rallies on an airplane wing in a new video for HEAD and continues to reside in the rare air of a perfect season.
In a battle of childhood rivals who grew up to lead Serbia to the Davis Cup championship, Djokovic showed no signs of separation anxiety in booting his buddy Viktor Troicki out of the Sony Ericsson Open, 6-3, 6-2. The streaking Serb collected his 23rd consecutive win, raising his record to 21-0 in 2011 and setting up a quarterfinal clash with Kevin Anderson. The towering South African was ranked No. 122 when he upset defending champ Djokovic, 7-6 (1), 3-6, 6-4 in the second round of this tournament in 2008.
Clearly, this is a different Djokovic.
Fueled by high-octane confidence that comes from claiming his second Australian Open crown and beating the world’s top two in succession to capture Indian Wells, Djokovic continued his flight path toward a fourth straight final. He has surrendered just eight games in three tournament wins so far.
A rain delay revised the schedule, shifting the clash to the Grandstand. Seeing a Djokovic in full flight on the cozy confines of this court can be almost as eye-opening as watching one of the Blue Angels soar above the backyard: you get a greater appreciation for the speed and power at play.
But it was a turbulent take-off.
Djokovic double-faulted to face break point in the third game, but quickly erased it. Impatiently, he tried to end points prematurely driving the ball down the line, only to be tested in a demanding 12 minute, 27-second third game. Djokovic raised his arms in relief after earning a hard-fought hold for 2-1.
The game took a toll on Troicki, who began to wear the vacant-eyed expression of a jet-lagged traveler wandering around in search of missing luggage. Stylistically, the old friends are somewhat similar, but Djokovic is a better athlete and more adept in every aspect of the game. Troicki faltered in the forehand-to-forehand exchanges that followed and when he buried a running forehand into net, Djokovic had the break and a 3-1 lead.
A shrewd forehand drop shot struck from three feet behind the baseline stretched the lead to 4-1. Djokovic staved off another break point for a 5-2 edge and collected the opening set in 46 minutes.
Directing his attack at the Troicki forehand, Djokovic drew another forehand error for the opening break of the second set, eventually extending the lead to 4-0 before Troicki finally stopped the bleeding.
Djokovic did not drop serve in the 83-minute win as he continues his ride toward historic heights. In the last 30 years only John McEnroe, who reeled off 39 straight wins in 1984, and Ivan Lendl, who racked up 25 consecutive wins in 1986, have started a season with longer winning streaks than Djokovic. He departed the court wearing the wide smile of a man thoroughly enjoying this thrill ride.
—Richard Pagliaro