Novak Djokovic enters the conversation at French Open
TENNIS
The swaggering Serbian becomes part of the speculation at Roland Garros along with the formidable Rafael Nadal, whom he faces next, and Roger Federer.
PARIS -- Eagerness for Federer-Nadal finals so pervaded the 2006 and 2007 French Opens that the other 126 male players seemed uncouth trespassers who needed to get out of here and stop trying to gum up the daydream.
Well, the chatter has changed a little this year, as anticipation bloats at Roland Garros for a daydream semifinal coming Friday, thanks to a 21-year-old Serbian with an airtight game and a self-certain air.
"All of a sudden there's a conversation about somebody else," the estimable TV analyst Mary Carillo said of Novak Djokovic, the Australian Open champion who will play the autocratic emperor of the French Open, Rafael Nadal, before the winner can even think about No. 1 Roger Federer.
It's a semifinal so freighted with personal gravitas that you almost wonder how both can fit on the main court.
"They both take up a lot of space," Carillo said. "They both have a lot of personal power. . . . Djokovic and Nadal are beasts. What's not to like?"
In fact, a fair question lurks with Nadal, a mastodon at 26-0 lifetime at Roland Garros and fresh off the scariest French quarterfinal in the open era, 6-1, 6-1, 6-1 over the world's 20th-ranked player, Nicolas Almagro: Who has the better slim chance, Federer or Djokovic?
"I honestly think Novak," said Luke Jensen, an ESPN analyst and 1993 French Open doubles champion. "I think Novak has a better chance because of the backhand down the line. And he doesn't have any scars against Nadal" as does Federer. "He's lost to him here, but there's an arrogance, a swagger, a defiance in his demeanor right now."
Awed by Nadal's showings against excellent opponents this week, Jensen quips that Nadal conjures "Joe Frazier just breaking your ribs" and turns opponents into "Hamburger Helper," so Jensen prefers Djokovic's stouter shoulders and his two-handed backhand to cope with the unavoidable physical punishment.
"In some ways," Carillo said, "maybe Djokovic's game is a little better suited to hanging with Nadal's just because Novak's backhand is so solid and he's got so much belief these days."
Yet Carillo can't answer one question about Djokovic or Federer: "Where do they get their points? How do you win three sets off him on clay? I could see them winning one or two. . . . Nobody can figure out how to win a third set. That's the killer."
True, Nadal's 113-2 record on clay since April 2005 features zero losses in best-of-five-set matches.
