Novak Djokovic Roger Federer Heir

Posted by T. A. Niles Aug 31, 2007

No.3 seed Novak Djokovic and unseeded Radek Stepanek played stupendously, superbly sick tennis for 4 ¾ hours at Louis Armstrong Stadium today! Unbelievable showmanship, gamesmanship, shot-making characterized this thrilling five-setter.

Djokovic played most of the match as though he was feeling the weight of the expectations that have been draped around his shoulders since his win in Montreal. His feet weren’t moving as quickly, and his shots weren’t as dominantly penetrating as they have been. But some of that credit could be placed on Stepanek's doorstep, cause he was ballin'.

A former top-ten player before injury last year, Stepanek is back in top-ten form although he is currently ranked No.35 in the world. Stepanek kept the pressure on Djokovic throughout the match, approaching the net 122 times, precisely twice as much as Djokovic. He also played Djokovic evenly from the baseline for most of the match.

However, when it came down to crunch time in the fifth set tiebreak, Djokovic displayed the speed, power, and mental toughness that has me believing he is Roger Federer’s heir apparent for the No.1 crown on the ATP Tour. The way he pumped up the volume at the end, I have a sneaking suspicion that Djokovic may have purposely allowed this match to go five sets to boost his props. Look for Djokovic-Federer in the final. If they both make the final and Federer plays like he played against Paul Capdeville in round 2, and Djokovic plays his best ball, get whatever you use to record, because we won't have seen anything like it...and Federer will not yet relinquish his crown. Game, set, match...