rePost :: Concrete Elbow by Steve Tignor – Mr. One More Ball

I said yesterday, in talking about Sam Stosur, that it’s satisfying to see a player find herself, surprise herself, get out of her own way, when even she may have thought it was never going to happen. The same has been true for Djokovic in 2011. The guy who we thought was too volatile, too easily frustrated, too prone to doubt, too ready to throw caution to the wind or hit a bail-out drop shot, has transformed himself into a paragon of steadiness on all fronts—the Djoker has grown up and become Mr. One More Ball. Watching him today was to see tennis at it most holistic, as a package rather than a group of individual strokes or weapons or weaknesses.  Whether it’s doing the spectacular, like hitting a backhand return crosscourt for a winner while lunging to his left in the ad court, or the routine, like working his opponent into his backhand corner and then finding the open court up the line, Djokovic is making it all look easy right now—everything looks safe. His lack of Federer-esque showiness only adds to the impression of easy efficiency.
via TENNIS.com – Blogs – Concrete Elbow by Steve Tignor – Mr. One More Ball.