Novak Djokovic

Djokovic had a 41 match winning streak to start the 2011 season.  This streak opened the eyes of a lot of tennis fans and instantly put Djokovic in the same class as tennis legends Roger Federer and Rafael Nadal.  Djokovic finally did lose to Federer in the semi-finals of the French Open, but his streak included an Australian Open victory, which he added to his other title at the same tournament for a total of 2 Grand Slam victories in his career.  Djokovic has played third fiddle to Federer and Nadal for the past several years, but he is ready to make the jump.

Betting On Novak Djokovic

Djokovic has been dominant of late destroying everyone in his path and seeing as oddsmakers still view Djokovic as the third wheel to Nadal and Federer, it is still possible to get solid odds on Djokovic to win matches against the other big 2.  Let’s check out some of Djokovic’s tendencies that will help when placing a bet on Djokovoic.

• Djokovic is fairly consistent on all surfaces.  His best career winning percentage comes on hard courts with .789, while grass is considered his worst surfaces with a .738 career winning percentage.
• Djokovic is usually able to bring out his A-game when it matters most.  Djokovic is 116-62 in tiebreaks in his career and 78-34 in the deciding set of a match.
• If Djokovic pulls out the first set he is nearly a lock to win the match.  Djokovic is 318-17 after winning the first set.

Main Rivalries

Djokovic has emerged this past year and men’s tennis is now considered a 3-man battle for supremacy, instead of just Nadal vs Federer like it used to be.

Djokovic vs Federer

Djokovic has won 3 of the last 4 meetings between these two, but Federer holds a 14-9 lead all-time.  The two have played most of their matches on hard court, with Federer up 11-8 on that surface, while the other 4 matches have been played on clay with Federer winning 3.

Djokovic vs Nadal

Djokovic has had Nadal’s number lately, winning their last 4 matches, two of which were on Nadal’s favourite surface: clay.  Nadal still holds a 16-11 lead on Djokovic all-time, but it will be interesting to see if Djokovic can chip away at this lead and continue his winning streak over Rafa.

Djokovic is just reaching his prime and battling for the number one ranking that has been held by Federer or Nadal for several years.  I for one think he will do it and will be backing him in many upcoming matches against the other big 2.

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