NEW YORK—At times tonight watching Novak Djokovic, I pictured Roger Federer during his peak years. At a certain point, after he’d won a few majors, that instinctive shot-maker decided that being flashy was too much work over the course of seven matches and two weeks. He dialed back accordingly after 2005 and, when an opponent wasn't presenting any undue trouble, was content to rally, slice, play defense, and attack when needed. Even his attacks became more high percentage. Federer existed on a plane so far above his opponents that risk was taken out of the equation.
That’s what Djokovic did tonight against Nikolay Davydenko, a former member of the Top 5 who’s now on the wane. The Serb admitted afterward that he wasn’t feeling the ball well from the baseline, but it didn’t matter—it was also pretty hard to tell; we should all feel the ball that poorly. He just played a little safer than normal, with the knowledge that he was on a plane far enough above Davydenko that it wouldn’t matter. Rather than go for winners with his forehand, Djokovic hit that shot crosscourt with enough high-bouncing topspin that Davydenko couldn’t do anything with it. Djokovic was content, also like Federer circa 2007, to sit back and react to his opponent’s offensive moves, knowing that he had the answers. On many occasions, he allowed Davydenko to see an open court, then accelerated (Djokovic is accelerating like no one else at the moment), caught up to the ball, and hit an offensive shot from what would be a defensive position for anyone else. His backhand in particular is compact and steady enough now that it can absorb anything. Most important, he served lights out.
By the end of his 6-4, 6-4, 6-2 win, Djokovic had built up a weird, bored energy. He tried a couple of wild drop shots. He threw the balls up in the air toward the ball boy and let them bounce off his shoulder when they were tossed to him. He had a ball pop out of his pocket mid-rally, which meant a let was called, and then fired a dismissive ace when the point was replayed. And after he’d spent much of the match not bothering to let loose for outright winners, he finally did just that to break Davydenko a final time in the third set. He took a serve and slapped it crosscourt, as if he’d had enough and wanted to get to the changeover and sit down.
The bored energy: What does it mean? Does Djokovic need a challenge? Or was this just one night, and everyone has their moods? Either way, he finally found an outlet for it after the match. Djokovic said he didn't want to talk about tennis; instead, he had the music put on over the PA and he danced until he cracked himself up. It looked like he’d been waiting to do that all night.
—Steve Tignor