In case you’ve somehow missed it, the Serb is back. Arguably better than ever. Having lost six of his opening 12 matches this season, Djokovic is now on an 18-match winning streak. He’s lost just one tour-level contest since July. This week, he didn’t drop serve once as he stormed to a 32nd Masters 1000 title.
With a fourth Shanghai Masters win under his belt, the 31-year-old will leapfrog Roger Federer in the ATP rankings and sit at world No. 2 on Monday. He will almost certainly be world No. 1 by November. Current incumbant Rafael Nadal is not set to return before the Paris Masters, but Djokovic could have replaced him before the end of the month – should he decide to compete in Basel or Vienna in a week’s time.
'I couldn’t ask for a better scenario,’ he said after defeating Borna Coric 6-3 6-4 in the final.
‘I am very close now to Nadal in the rankings and put myself in a good position for the last period of the year. ‘Obviously the last three, four months have been terrific for me. Not many holes in the game in general, especially this week. Everything worked perfectly.’ Even if Nadal returns to the tour at full fitness to make a real fist of the fight for the year-end top spot, it may not matter. Djokovic is superior to all on hard courts – and barring a late injury problem, it’s unlikely that Nadal will finish the year ahead of him. Should, as expected, that be the case, Djokovic will have ended a season as world No. 1 for a fifth time.
Federer and Jimmy Connors have also finished on top of the world on five occasions at the end of a season, while Pete Sampras achieved the feat six times. Djokovic may well even surpass that. As former British No. 1 Greg Rusedski told Sky Sports after his Shanghai win: ‘He looks like a serious threat to win multiple majors. ‘Right now he’s tied with Pete Sampras with 14 Grand Slams, but he looks like the heavy favourite to win the Australian Open. I wouldn’t be surprised if he wins all four and holds all four again because he is just getting better match in, match out.
' He has this calmness and aura that was once there when he held all four Grand Slams. The more comfortable that you become in yourself, the easier it is to play.’
It is, of course, easy to get ahead of ourselves. But right now, the 14-time Grand Slam champion looks unstoppable. The goal posts have shifted again. There’s almost a feeling of expectation that he will hold all four Grand Slam titles again come June – though Nadal will certainly have something to say about that at Roland Garros – and it seems more than possible that he can surpass Federer’s haul of major trophies. The sky is the limit for this phenomenal athlete. What’s arguably most remarkable about this revival has been his ability to cleanse his mind of two years of immense struggle.
Fitness and form deserted him. Djokovic was a fallen star. Many were happy to write him off. Mentally, he appeared a shadow of his former self. Now, after wiping the slate clean, he looks set to become the first ATP player to finish the year as world No. 1 having slipped outside the top-20 within that same season. Having picked up two Slams and two Masters 1000 titles in the past three months – and with perhaps more to come in 2018 – Djokovic is the de facto best player on the planet. No one else even appears close.
The dismantling of the highest-ranked young star Alexander Zverev in the semi-finals was, in many ways, a worrying sight for the immediate future of tennis, while Federer’s best days appear behind him. Andy Murray and Stan Wawrinka are still some way short of top form after injury lay-offs and Juan Martin del Potro’s game doesn’t match up particularly well against the Serb’s.
Only Nadal seems capable of challenging the 31-year-old on current form, but his long-standing injury problems limit him in terms of mounting a year-round challenge. If others fail to step up, then 2019 will likely follow the same patterns of 2011 and 2015 – years where Djokovic won three major titles. At this stage, it wouldn’t be a great surprise if he made it four for good measure. So brace yourselves for yet another period of Djokovic domination, this may just be the start.
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