The Whole Delivery

As his return to competition begins at the Rogers Cup in Montreal this week, it appears nothing can stop Novak Djokovic from capturing a 10th Grand Slam title at the upcoming US Open, not even a grown man on his back with a steep flight of stairs in his path. His recovery from a devastating Roland Garros defeat to Stan Wawrinka, by winning Wimbledon for the third time, was just as impressive as if he were still up for a calendar Slam. It was a signal that Djokovic is clearly the best in the world at the moment as questions beset his other Big 4 rivals with Roger Federer’s age, Andy Murray’s consistency and Rafael Nadal’s confidence affecting their level.    Coupling Djokovic’s current dominion of the ATP World Tour with his hard court supremacy may appear to make him a larger favorite in Flushing Meadows. The Serbian has already won the three biggest titles on the surface this year, capturing a fifth Australian Open with ease and showing his legendary resilience in ...

Only two men have defeated Novak Djokovic this year. But both of them egressed on Saturday, as the Top four turned into the Final two of today. Can Rafael Nadal be the third to defend his US Open title? Or will it be the officially the year of the Serbian young king. The tactics and the prediction, right below. The Tactics: For Nadal 1) When you have an opening, go down the line, not cross court. End the point when you are in control instead of letting Djokovic back into the point. 2) Establish the lefty serve with authority. 3) Mix in the serve and volley to make Djokovic not comfortable. 4) Galvanize the crowd to firmly be on your side. For Djokovic 1) Continue being "the better man" at the turnaround points. 2) Aggressive like the last 3 sets against Federer, not passive like the first 2 sets 3) Only come in and mix it up when you aren't in full control of the baseline momentum in this match 4) You own the rivalry now. You survived match points. Nothi...

At the days' beginning, disappointment would have been on most tennis fans' faces if the dream final between Rafael Nadal and Roger Federer somehow did not happen. At days end, that disappointment could possibly be made easier, if not be wiped away completely . In a remarkable effort, Novak Djokovic has played the role of ultimate spoiler, fighting off two match points to defeat Federer 5-7, 6-1, 5-7, 6-2, 7-5 to advance to the final against Nadal tomorrow. Nothing short of "terrific" could be the adjective to describe this second semifinal, the total opposite of Nadal's romp over Mikhail Youzhny in the preceding match. Djokovic delivered his best tennis arguably in two years with this display today, hitting his backhand and forehand with the conviction that garnered him the 2008 Australian Open title. No more was that assurance in his strokes more evident than the two match points at 4-5 in the final set he saved, as Djokovic hit two back to back forehand...

Photo from Jacques Demarthon/AFP/Getty Images French Open Report: Novak Djokovic was headed to a possible collision course with Roger Federer in the semifinals. And with the form he showed all throughout the spring, a possible match with Rafael Nadal in the final. Instead, the world number four collided into Philipp Kohlschreiber today, and crashed out of Roland Garros in stunning fashion. A 6-4, 6-4, 6-4 laydown by the Serbian at the hands of the solid but far from spectacular German, unless you are talking about today. From the get go, Kohlschreiber was locked in for the upset, serving proficiently and using his terrific one handed backhand to full success. But Djokovic looked sluggish and had the wear and tear of a long clay court season spell his demise. 38 unforced errors from the 2008 Australian Open champion, and he summed up how dejected he was with the shocking result . "What is disappointing was that I couldn't find the rhythm throughout the whole match. This is what...