January 27, 2013
His legs are stronger than in the past. So are his résumé, his nerves and his coaching staff. But Andy Murray still cannot solve the tennis riddle that Novak Djokovic represents at the Australian Open.
But then Murray — beaten again in the final Sunday — is in excellent company.
Melbourne and its blue hardcourts and aromatic eucalyptus trees are nearly a half-world way from the Serbian mountain resort of Kopaonik, where Djokovic learned to play the game; nearly a half-world away from the less rugged hills of the Cote d’Azur, where he now makes his home in Monaco.
But Djokovic, still only 25, has transformed Melbourne Park into his Grand Slam redoubt: the distant outpost where he is toughest to trump, not just for Murray but for all the challengers involved.
Djokovic has now won four of his six Grand Slam titles down under. No man has beaten him here since 2010, when Jo-Wilfried Tsonga managed it in five sets in the quarterfinals. Since then, Djokovic has used the Australian Open as a launching pad to the No. 1 ranking and reeled off three straight victories, generating squeak after squeak with his quick-moving feet and generating innumerable breaches in opponents’ morale with his ability to rise to the big points and his otherworldly ability to contort and extend his body in successful pursuit of other men’s best shots.
Murray, his former junior rival in Europe and onetime doubles partner, knows Djokovic’s strengths as well as anyone. He shares many of them, but on this clear night in Melbourne, after more than holding his own in the early phases of the grueling match, he gradually faded — suffering from a toe blister and a surprising inability to break serve — as the top-seed Djokovic put the finishing touches on his 6-7 (2), 7-6 (3), 6-3, 6-2 victory.
What seemed grindingly difficult early — the first two sets required 2 hours 13 minutes — seemed much closer to routine by the end as Djokovic accelerated to win in 3:40, which qualified as a middle-distance final in this age of marathons.
“What a joy,” Djokovic said in his postmatch remarks in Rod Laver Arena. “It’s an incredible feeling, winning the trophy once more, and it’s definitely my favorite Grand Slam, my most successful Grand Slam. I love this court.”
Djokovic won his first Grand Slam title here in 2008 and is now the first man in the 45-year Open era to win three consecutive Australian Open singles titles. Only two other men have won three or more Australian championships in a row: Jack Crawford from 1931 to 1933 and Roy Emerson from 1963 to 1967.
But neither of those Australians nor any other tennis champion has covered the angles and the corners quite like the elastic-limbed Djokovic. He dived to his right like a goalkeeper midway through the second set to hit a forehand behind the baseline, a modern update in this era of supreme defense to the diving volleys that net-rushers like Boris Becker used to hit.
Midway through the fourth set, as he was taking control for good, he sprinted to his left and skidded into nearly a full split with his back to the net as he hit a towering defensive lob that rebooted a point, one that Murray eventually lost with an error.
Then there were the moments — the trademark moments — when he was pushed wide into what was once considered a vulnerable position and responded with something strong and decisive.
“When he’s on defense he can actually win the point with one shot; that’s an evolution of the game,” said Andre Agassi, the former American star and four-time Australian Open champion who handed Djokovic the trophy Sunday night.
Agassi continued: “It’s remarkable to watch him play so far behind the baseline, to watch him play so far inside the baseline, to watch him be so defensive, to watch him be so offensive, watch how he upsets the spin and how he creates his own set of rules out there.”
Murray, another supreme defender, can thrive by those rules, too, just not quite yet in Melbourne.
“His record here is obviously incredible,” Murray said of Djokovic.
from: http://www.nytimes.com/2013/01/28/sports/tennis/djokovic-murray-australian-open.html?_r=0
———————————————————————————–
Novak Djokovic was born on May 22nd, 1987 at 11:00 a.m. in Belgrad, Serbia according to http://www.astro.com/astro-databank/Djokovic%2C_Novak
May 22nd, 1987
5 + 22 +1+9+8+7 = 52 = his life lesson = Keen. Perceptive. Astute.
———————————————————————————–
May 22nd, 1987
May 22nd
5 + 22 +2+0+1+2 = 32 = his personal year (from May 22nd, 2012 to May 21st, 2013) = Winning. Victory. Champion. #1. The best. Grand Slam.
32 year + 1 (January) = 33 = his personal month (from January 22nd, 2013 to February 21st, 2013) = Defending the title. Defending the championship.
———————————————————————————–
using the number/letter grid:
1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9
A B C D E F G H I
J K L M N O P Q R
S T U V W X Y Z
Where:
A = 1 J = 1 S = 1
B = 2 K = 2 T = 2
C = 3 L = 3 U = 3
D = 4 M = 4 V = 4
E = 5 N = 5 W = 5
F = 6 O = 6 X = 6
G = 7 P = 7 Y = 7
H = 8 Q = 8 Z = 8
I = 9 R = 9
Novak Djokovic
56412 41626493 53
his path of destiny = Forthright. Straightforward. Offense. With one deft stroke. As a matter of principle.
—————————————————————————————–
—————————————————————————————–
—————————————————————————————–
Sex Numerology available at:
https://www.createspace.com/3802937
—————————————————————–
—————————————————————–
——————————————————————
discover some of your own numerology for FREE at:
—————————————————————————————–
—————————————————————————————–
—————————————————————————————–
learn numerology from numerologist to the world, Ed Peterson:
https://www.createspace.com/3411561
—————————————————————————————–
—————————————————————————————–
—————————————————————————————–
predictions for the year 2013 are at:
sports astrology and numerology 