After slow start, Novak Djokovic dominates
In a season of breakthroughs and breakouts but only occasional bursts of dominance, one player — and one match — stood out.
Serbia's Novak Djokovic was the main protagonist for both.
That was the consensus reached by Paste BN Sports and Tennis Channel analysts Jim Courier and Martina Navratilova for the sport's best player and top match of 2014.
There was certainly room for argument: Serena Williams' 18th major in the U.S. Open and late-season surge to retain the No. 1 ranking at age 33; Roger Federer's autumnal revival and first Davis Cup championship, also at 33; the emergence of future stars Simona Halep and Eugenie Bouchard; Rafael Nadal's record ninth French Open title and clay-court supremacy before his season was interrupted by injuries and illness.
Djokovic, too, acquired Grand Slam tournament hardware and posted first-rate numbers: a tour-leading seven titles (including four Masters), a 61-8 record and his second Wimbledon crown and seventh major.
But it was his overall body of work after a substandard start, much of it after tying the knot and welcoming his first child into the world, that gives him the edge.
The 27-year-old arrived on U.S. soil in March with nary a tournament win and many wondering if his decision to hire Boris Becker as lead coach was an ill-fated move.
The Serb left the USA a month later with big Masters titles in Indian Wells, Calif., and Key Biscayne, Fla.
He went on to finish runner-up in the French Open and capture Wimbledon in a thrilling final against Federer.
Then came his marriage in July to longtime girlfriend Jelena Ristic and the birth of son Stefan in October.
Shaking off a desultory loss to Kei Nishikori in the U.S. Open semifinals, Djokovic tore though the fall, posting tournament victories in Beijing, Paris and the ATP World Tour Finals, his third in a row, while going 18-1.
Taken from a wider lens, Djokovic's return to No. 1 after losing it to Nadal in 2013 stamped the last four years as an era when he has had no equal.
With seven Grand Slam titles, three year-end No. 1 finishes, 30 ATP titles and an 88.8% winning clip, he leads all players in those categories.
"It's a great deal of happiness knowing that what I've been through the entire season in order to get to where I am and finish the year as No. 1," he said after clinching the year's top ranking.
There was clear agreement on the match of the year: Djokovic's 6-7 (7-9), 6-4, 7-6 (7-4), 5-7, 6-4 defeat of Federer at the All England Club.
For either impact or excellence, other matches were worth noting, among them Stan Wawrinka's 2-6, 6-4, 6-2, 3-6, 9-7 defeat of Djokovic in the Australian Open quarterfinals on his way to the title and Maria Sharapova's 6-4, 6-7 (5-7), 6-4 victory against Halep in the French Open.
But considering the stage, the stakes, the quality and the drama, nothing really came close to the Wimbledon men's final.
Played in the sport's grass temple, Djokovic buried recent Grand Slam failures — he had lost five of his six previous major finals — but not before blowing a 5-2 fourth-set lead to the resurgent Swiss, who boldly saved a match point with an ace.
Djokovic held his nerve and his serve, breaking Federer in the final game in the nearly four-hour match, which featured some of the tandem's best shotmaking in a rivalry that has spanned many years and continents but rarely in major finals. This was their second.
It marked the return of 17-time major winner Federer as a Grand Slam threat after a lackluster 2013.
The implications became even more resonant as the season neared its conclusion. Had Federer won the decisive fifth set, he likely would have finished the year No.1 instead of Djokovic.
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