Mats Wilander and Novak Djokovic - an interesting parallel?

Is there a parallel between Novak Djokovic and Mats Wilander, 2 players with similar approaches to the game and physical attributes.
Consider the facts for Mats Wilander peak years 84-88...and Novak's so far 07-11

Age MW from 1984 to 1988 - 20 to 24 years old
Age N_D from 2007 to 2011 - 20 to 24 years old

World ranking MW - 1984-1988: 4, 3, 3, 3, 1
World ranking N_D - 2007-2011: 3, 3, 3, 3, 1

Slams: no. won per year (#) or reaching finals (F)
Slam record for MW 1984-1988: 1, 1, 0, F, 3(!)
Slam record for N_D 2007-2011: F, 1, 0, F, 3(!)

MW slam W:L in 1988: 25-1
N_D slam W:L in 2011: 25-1

World Tour Finals MW 1984-1988: SF, QF, SF, F, RR(!)
World Tour Finals N_D 2007-2011: RR, W, RR, SF, RR(!)

Overall W:L MW across 1984-1988: av. 80%
Overall W:L ND across 2007-2011: av. 81%

Mats and Nole both had similar career performances building to their stellar years at the age of 24...3 slams, clear #1 ranking.
Like Wilander 1984-87, Nole similarly had good years from 2007-10 but 2011 (like 1988) was out comparison to their careers to date.
Like with Mats in 1988, for Nole what happened in 2011 just seemed to almost come out of nowhere.
Infact 2011 for Nole has been even more spectacular than Mats 1988 when you add in the Masters series.
At the end of 2011, like 1988, after winning 3 slams they both burnt out at WTF not making it past the round-robins.

Then what happened to Wilander in 1989? He fell off the tennis cliff.
1988 was his pinnacle, and having achieved so much in 1 season his motivation for the game badly slipped in 89 and beyond.
Is it possible that something similar, if not quite so drastic, can happen to Novak? Or was this just unique to Mats?
Nole must know there's now a mountain ahead of him to defend in 2012 and everyone will be gunning for him. No pressure!
Just something to throw out there....shoot me down NITB and anyone else!

So 2012 will see Djokovic falling off the tennis cliff and ...and....of course Nadal resume business at number 1?

Wishful thinking me thinks?

Good effort though on the stats job!

Tenez wrote:So 2012 will see Djokovic falling off the tennis cliff and ...and....of course Nadal resume business at number 1?

Wishful thinking me thinks?

Good effort though on the stats job!

Come on Tenez...not everything is about Nadal.
This is not wishful thinking, I'm a "fan" of Nole's and have said so, its just an interesting set of stats/circumstances for debate.
I'm not saying Nole will fall off a cliff, just that Mats did >88. However, I dont believe he will have a 2012 anywhere near like 2011.

Tenez wrote:So 2012 will see Djokovic falling off the tennis cliff and ...and....of course Nadal resume business at number 1?

Wishful thinking me thinks?

Good effort though on the stats job!

Amazing stats Lydian.
There is one big difference between Nole and Wilander: Nole is enormously hungry at the moment and I would like to believe he's got about 3 peak seasons ahead of him.

Curious to know, being a Nadal fan, do you have any similar career parallels for him?

1989 saw the emergence of Sampras and Agassi. It also saw the peak of the Edberg/Becker rivalry. Wilander and in particular his brand of tennis was always going to struggle against say Sampras and Agassi who were power hitters. I think the game really kicked off and Wilander was left behind.

2012

Apart from the establishment that is Federer and Nadal, realistically who can you see breaking through that would seriously harm the top 3? You have Murray, Tsonga and Del Potro and only one Slam between them and 4 runner-up spots. It is hard to really consider them making 'severe' in-roads. Another angle, could Raonic and Tomic do what Sampras and Agassi did and make a splash in 2012 and announce themselves to the world?

I can see the parallel thinking. There wasn't much made of Sampras and Agassi in 1988, but that said not much is being said of Raonic and Tomic in that similar mould.

Thought provoking indeed.

I just think it's very difficult to compare 2 different times and what made Mats and Djoko successful. Both relied immensely on their fitness but like everything in tennis, what affects the success of a player, is not in the hands of the player as much as his opposition.

So if we want to study what could make Djoko fall off the cliff, we will have to check first who are his next rivals, what can they do to that they could not do in 2011.

For now he seems to have a healthy margin with only Federer at his best getting close.

legendkillar wrote:1989 saw the emergence of Sampras and Agassi. It also saw the peak of the Edberg/Becker rivalry. Wilander and in particular his brand of tennis was always going to struggle against say Sampras and Agassi who were power hitters. I think the game really kicked off and Wilander was left behind.

Exactly what I mean by my above post. It's down to the opposition.

But I must agree on Mats' build, my kind of look: lean and mean, cos nothing beats a good pair of legs in tennis

http://sportsthenandnow.com/wp/wp-content/uploads/2009/10/Wilander-1988.jpg

If Djokovic can stay healthy, he can overcome the MW parallel, Lydian. MW's desire for Tennis in 1989 had faded quite a bit, unlike Djokovic's.

I hope he does stay healthy. It would make for very good tennis matches in 2012.

As LK says, some young guns are needed on the scene to upset apple carts and upstage the 'establishment'.

Wonder if there is a group called 'Occupy Tennis'?

Lydian... one statistic which is different is money.

http://www.atpworldtour.com/News/Tennis/2011/12/Features/Djokovic-Record-Prize-Money.aspx

It is much more difficult for young players to come in and make such an impact. If you look at the Grand Slam format and the routes involved, any player ranked outside the top 50 would no doubt have to face a seed as early as the 2nd round. You would say they would have to go through 5 seeds at least to win a Slam. That is a very very tall order.

legendkillar wrote:It is much more difficult for young players to come in and make such an impact. If you look at the Grand Slam format and the routes involved, any player ranked outside the top 50 would no doubt have to face a seed as early as the 2nd round. You would say they would have to go through 5 seeds at least to win a Slam. That is a very very tall order.

I think it's partly because of the physicality of the game but EQUALLY lack of serious, prodigal talent.
Maybe we are expecting too much too soon, we are already having an exceptional generation of players.

Sadly, ball-bashing school of playing is being encouraged in tennis camps which doesn't help the cause, however, I am positive the game will revert itself back to its roots within 10 years.

Sorry Nadal fans, but I'm glad I can't see anyone of his biceps's size on the horizon....

noleisthebest wrote:I think it's partly because of the physicality of the game but EQUALLY lack of serious, prodigal talent.

Agree with the first part, completely disagree withe second part NITB. They are so linked nowadays that you simply cannot see the talent if you have not got the physique to back it up. I actually think there is new generation which has clearly more talent than Nadal and Djoko but they simply cannot add the wins to be noticed in a draw now. But wait a couple of years, and you will see that when that talent will be coupled with strong physique, life will be very tough for Nadal....and Djoko.

lydian wrote:Is there a parallel between Novak Djokovic and Mats Wilander, 2 players with similar approaches to the game and physical attributes.
Consider the facts for Mats Wilander peak years 84-88...and Novak's so far 07-11

Age MW from 1984 to 1988 - 20 to 24 years old
Age N_D from 2007 to 2011 - 20 to 24 years old

World ranking MW - 1984-1988: 4, 3, 3, 3, 1
World ranking N_D - 2007-2011: 3, 3, 3, 3, 1

Slams: no. won per year (#) or reaching finals (F)
Slam record for MW 1984-1988: 1, 1, 0, F, 3(!)
Slam record for N_D 2007-2011: F, 1, 0, F, 3(!)

MW slam W:L in 1988: 25-1
N_D slam W:L in 2011: 25-1

World Tour Finals MW 1984-1988: SF, QF, SF, F, RR(!)
World Tour Finals N_D 2007-2011: RR, W, RR, SF, RR(!)

Overall W:L MW across 1984-1988: av. 80%
Overall W:L ND across 2007-2011: av. 81%

Mats and Nole both had similar career performances building to their stellar years at the age of 24...3 slams, clear #1 ranking.
Like Wilander 1984-87, Nole similarly had good years from 2007-10 but 2011 (like 1988) was out comparison to their careers to date.
Like with Mats in 1988, for Nole what happened in 2011 just seemed to almost come out of nowhere.
Infact 2011 for Nole has been even more spectacular than Mats 1988 when you add in the Masters series.
At the end of 2011, like 1988, after winning 3 slams they both burnt out at WTF not making it past the round-robins.

Then what happened to Wilander in 1989? He fell off the tennis cliff.
1988 was his pinnacle, and having achieved so much in 1 season his motivation for the game badly slipped in 89 and beyond.
Is it possible that something similar, if not quite so drastic, can happen to Novak? Or was this just unique to Mats?
Nole must know there's now a mountain ahead of him to defend in 2012 and everyone will be gunning for him. No pressure!
Just something to throw out there....shoot me down NITB and anyone else!

Creepy.....

I have looked at past stats and there have been few un-seeded players who have beaten 4 seeds on their way to a Slam final, but have come up short against the fifth and final seed. It shows how demanding it is for someone to make a splash in the tennis world.

LK - yes new players coming through BUT...

1) Wilander did not play Agassi in 1989 at all (played him twice in 88, beating him both times)
2) Played Sampras only once in 89 losing a very close 5-setter. Mats beat Pete in straights at AO the following year including a bagel set, so I dont think this is the reason regarding those two.
3) Against Edberg (similar age) Mats had a 11-9 H2H. They played just once in 89, with Mats losing it 6-7 6-7, so very close, as their matches often were. Interestingly Mats won their last match in 1995.
4) Against Becker (3 yrs younger) he only played once in 89 in Davis Cup on carpet, so not surprisingly Boris won that being a carpet-king. In their next match at AO90 Mats beat him in straights.
5) He didnt play Lendl at all in 89.
6) His H2H against Mac was 6-7, so close. They played once in 89 - a close loss at Wimbledon and Mats worst surface anyway.

So the above doesnt explain the "cliff-fall". And LF it wasnt about Wilander not staying healthy either - Wilander was fit as a fiddle through 1989 and played a full tour of 18 events that year which was around average for a top player given ranking was based on best of 14 back then.

Indeed, against the top players he could still perform after 89 - that still motivated him. He had some great wins against them in 1990 for example but no major wins as such overall. But the thing about 1989 was that he started to lose to people not fit to lace his shoes - as below shows.

AO lost to guy ranked 51, Dallas to Pernfors, Miami to #41, DC to #141(!), MC to #31, Forest Hills to #86(!!!), Rome to #36, FO to #27, Queens to #49, Boston to #27, DC again to #51, USO to #91(!), Los Angeles to #101(!), Stockholm his home event to #92.

An amazing stat is that he didnt beat a top 10 player ALL year in 1989. Highest ranked player he beat was #24! He only got to 1 final all year.
In contrast in 1988 he beat 8 top10 players, and countless others between #10-20.

This shows that it was his MOTIVATION that fell off sharply after 1988. Too much success all at once and out of contrast to what had preceded led to a loss of desire for the game because he felt he had achieved most of what he wanted to set out to achieve. He couldnt reach the same heights of mental performance anymore even though the body was fit and willing. He simply couldnt , or didnt want to, sustain the mental effort needed stay at the top.

Clearly we dont expect this from Djokovic but it will be interesting to see what effect this season has on him next year given these two players have startling parallels up to their 3 slam years.

lydian wrote:LK - yes new players coming through BUT...

1) Wilander did not play Agassi in 1989 at all (played him twice in 88, beating him both times)
2) Played Sampras only once in 89 losing a very close 5-setter. Mats beat Pete in straights at AO the following year including a bagel set, so I dont think this is the reason regarding those two.
3) Against Edberg (similar age) Mats had a 11-9 H2H. They played just once in 89, with Mats losing it 6-7 6-7, so very close, as their matches often were. Interestingly Mats won their last match in 1995.
4) Against Becker (3 yrs younger) he only played once in 89 in Davis Cup on carpet, so not surprisingly Boris won that being a carpet-king. In their next match at AO90 Mats beat him in straights.
5) He didnt play Lendl at all in 89.
6) His H2H against Mac was 6-7, so close. They played once in 89 - a close loss at Wimbledon and Mats worst surface anyway.

lydian,

He doesn't need to have played Agassi or Sampras. It is irrelevent as what his H2H is against those players. Losing to lower ranked players didn't help, but the other players moving in the right direction to the top of the game does not soley rely on his fall from grace. If Federer for example started to lose to players below him, it cannot than be attributed to players outside of the equation eg. Nadal, Murray or Djokovic.

It is widely over-stated that Federer's victory over Sampras at Wimbledon was the beginning of his downfall, irrespective of his defeat to Safin at the US Open in 2000 which was the beginning of a new generation.

Wilander even if motivated could not hold his own against the likes of Agassi, Sampras, Becker, Edberg.

What you conveniently miss out is

Agassi 5 v 2 Wilander H2H
Sampras 2 v 1 Wilander H2H
Becker 7 v 3 Wilander H2H
Edberg 9 v 11 Wilander H2H

His cliff fall is a contribution of many factors. Least we forget he finished the year ranked 12th in the world.

Essentially what Lydian is saying is that 2011 may have taken a lot out of Djokovic.

I am not sure he means mentally, physically? both?

I am not sure either why playing tennis takes a lot physically out of a player considering a couple of months rest - here much more as we can consider that Djoko retired early september and will start play seriously end of January, so that's a 5 months break roughly - can recharge his battery and being number one can actually boost his love for the game and motivation.
Mentally, someone who has craved all his life to be number one and went through very tough defeats despite working very hard not being close to number one (like many players on the tour) have many more resons to be mentally down than Djoko who actually made it to the very top and tastes the fruits of success like very few have.

If he were H&S above the rest and was getting bored of lack of competition, then maybe I could envisage a mental fatigue, or drop of motivation. But we know there isn't such a thing in a competitive sport like tennis.

Mental and physical tiredness would affect Nadal much more as we know nothing came easy to him. I know Nadal is not the subject here, but knowing Lydian is a big fan of his, I am surprised he doesn't apply a parallel between Wilander's best year and Nadal's (2010), whihc in my view has much more in common than with Nole.

LK, some of those H2Hs you post mainly cover matches well beyond 1989...he didnt even play Agassi again after 88 until 94! And after 1989 his career was basically over. Indeed from 1990 he basically retired until coming came back to tour for "fun" in 1994.

I'm looking at the turning point of 1989 itself. Big difference - after that it didnt matter, the 'damage' to him was done in 89 (well 88 actually). In 1989 Wilander should have still had the potential game (given what happened only a few months prior) to do damage to existing and emerging players and make his career go on a downwards slope, not the cliff fall off we saw.

His training coach Matt Doyle said this about him "I had seen Mats play so much tennis ever since he broke through in 1982. There has always been a lot of talk about McEnroe having the greatest talent, or about Mecir's fantastic stroke production, Becker's toughness, Edberg's serve, and so forth. But for me it was Mats who had the greatest mind of them all. It was just a matter of persuading him to train a little harder and to be a little more dedicated to his profession." That also sounds a little bit like Djokovic to me.

But it was his mind that went after 1988...and he went literally from hero to zero! He won nothing, and got to 1 final of a lower event. For example, at AO89 an event he basically owned just about, he lost in the 2nd round to a guy 3 years older of a ranking of 51! He just didnt have the motivation anymore to TRY to beat them as before.

In 1989 his wife said ""He is extremely happy in his private life. I think he's just tired of tennis". Similarly in August 1989 Becker said "Mats doesn't consider that tennis is specially important."

So something had clicked inside Mats mind for sure after 1988 and he just couldnt raise himself anymore. I'm not saying, of course, that this will happen to Nole but the progression of their careers is similar and I think they are very similar characters too. Both had/have lives away from the tennis court with wide circles of friends. Indeed we even see Nole getting involved in a movie (as himself). So there will always be alot going on in Nole's mind, I think out of the current 4 Nole is the most outgoing. The question is will he retain the iron like grip of focus needed to still carry on winning in 2012.

Mats career in 89 after a stellar 88 has shown that it only takes a slight mental slip for the whole thing to unravel quickly. Similarly we saw Borg lose that edge after a still succesful 1981 - something clicks in the mind and they're not the same again. We may even be starting to see this with Nadal. Time will tell I guess...here's looking for a good 2012 nonetheless!

Tenez wrote:Essentially what Lydian is saying is that 2011 may have taken a lot out of Djokovic.

I am not sure he means mentally, physically? both?

Mentally mainly.

Tenez wrote:If he were H&S above the rest and was getting bored of lack of competition, then maybe I could envisage a mental fatigue, or drop of motivation. But we know there isn't such a thing in a competitive sport like tennis.

Wilander and Borg had tough competition but they still lost their love for the game shortly after great success.

Tenez wrote:Mental and physical tiredness would affect Nadal much more as we know nothing came easy to him.

Exactly, Nadal is not immune to this. We may be seeing signs of mental deterioation already. I've said before it wont be physical issues that see Nadal off, it will be his motivation to push himself at the top. After all, in reality there is not much left for him to do and prove to himself other than chase records.

Tenez wrote:I know Nadal is not the subject here, but knowing Lydian is a big fan of his, I am surprised he doesn't apply a parallel between Wilander's best year and Nadal's (2010), whihc in my view has much more in common than with Nole.

Dont agree, why do you think its a parallel? 2011 has still been a v.strong year for Nadal and certainly vs Mats in 1989, plus his preceding years were different to Mats 84-88. He's had a high level of consistent success before interrupted only by injury in 2009 otherwise his 2008/9/10 would have all been extremely strong slamwise, etc. In Mats and Nole's case they had different run ups to their stellar years of 88 and 11 respectively. But anyway, as I say Nadal is not immune to mental burn out and 2011 was very difficult for him - we'll see for 2012. But this thread is about the strong parallels for 84-88 and 07-11 for the 2 players mentioned.

The thing I would point out lydian is just how 'weak' mentally Wilander was. The same with Becker. If they are convinced of something mentally that can have a dentrimental effect on their game, they cannot be 'mentally' strong. Take Federer. When he broke through in 2001 and did not cement his Grand Slam title until 2003 and during that time his youth coach had died. That would almost de-stabalise any perfectionist. Same with Sampras at the AO 1995 when he beat Courier when his coach was told he was terminally ill. Even Ivanisevic in 2001 won Wimbledon with self belief alone. Safin did with the AO in 2005. While they show moments of mental strength doesn't hide the fact they have mental frailties.

Becker, Wilander, Safin, Courier, Edberg, Borg are examples of players who mentally wilted and found it difficult to prolong their success's beyond their peak years. Take Federer and Nadal who have secured Slam titles beyond their peak years. Djokovic could do the same, who knows. Take players like Lendl, Sampras, Agassi, Connors, McEnroe who declined through physical abilities that helped shaped their games.

I don;t there ever was a stronger player mentally than Wilander. He played every match as a challenger, never underestimated his opponents. He made the most of his skills.

However I remember an interview at the time, can;t say whether it was 88, before or after but Matt talked about the fire in himself had gone, so there is always this possibility but I personally doubt Djoko might be subject to "vague a l'ame"!

LK, I see what you mean about Federer early on although Carter wasnt his coach anymore when he died (Lundgren was), but he was a close confidante nonetheless and we know he tributed his first SW19 trophy to Peter. For McEnroe, I think his career suffered due to mental blowout...he had that great 84 season, then didnt do anywhere near as well in 85, and then decided to take time out from tour in 86 as he couldnt handle the pressure of being at the top anymore.

But the thing with Nole and Mats is that they both "suddenly" won 3 slams following none from the previous 2 years - that is completely unique. Its also different to Nadal who won 2 in 08, 1 in 09 (maybe more if not injured) before the 3 in 10. Federer is of course different and proved his longevity after winning 3 - and besides won 1 the year, and won WTF too before his first "3".

Agree Tenez (!), Mats was known for his mental strength and sharp tennis mind - hence that quote I posted by his trainer.
I think he just simply wanted (like Borg) a life away from tennis, he had alot of interests outside tennis and had got married in 89. I dont think he was mentally weak as such, he just didnt want to be on a court anymore. This of course may well be where the parallels between Nole and Mats separate, unless Nole wants to become a full time movie star! But that said, I think Nole has alot of interests outside tennis so I do wonder how his focus on the game will compare to others given he's achieved so much in such a short space of time.

Tenez, Lendl said of Mats that there was Mac at the "pure talent" end of the spectrum and himself at the strength/working hard end, he said Mats was a perfect blend of both in the middle.

Very worthy article, well done indeed! Having said that, there is no reason Djokovic will follow the same pattern as Wilander. As discussed above, the emergence of young players to a very high level is far below what it was in 1988-1989 which could allow Djokovic to do well for longer. And his masters series bagging shows it was more than just a good year at the slams.
Djokovic has to be the favourite to remain number 1 until proven otherwise.

First for my long time friend Lydian. Excellent post and addition to the original. One of the best ever post on V2.

Coming back to the topic, I think similarity will end here
Djoko is not going to be pushed back, he is here to stay atleast above Nadal

Lots of talk about how 2011 will have taken a lot out of Djokovic mentally. I'm not completely convinced he has been tested yet (mentally) in the same way that both Federer and Nadal have.

Most of his big wins this year came in a short space of time. Physically it was a huge test but mentally he was probably able to still able to play not exactly as an underdog but still without any huge expectation or pressure. This all changed towards the end of the year. Of course he may have physical problems but IMO there is something about the manner of a few of his losses that suggests that he may have difficulty dealing with this sort of pressure.

He has shown nothing to suggest that he could deal with the sort of pressure Nadal did in his Davis Cup match with Del Potro. Expected by everyone to win, then going down 6-1 and a break and knowing that a loss would be disastrous. How would Novak have coped with that? That is mental pressure.

Also how will he handle a few losses next year. Everyone is sort of giving him a free pass at the moment but next year will be different. If he gets harassed by the press in the same way that Federer has been this year about decline. I'm not convinced he would be able to brush it off in the same way. What if Murray starts taunting him about letting his tennis do the talking... (sorry legendkiller sometimes I can't help myself).

Also motivation.

IMO Nadal gets motivation from the "competition". Of course losses hurt but they can also motivate him. Its all part of the game. Federer is probably above being too hurt by odd unexpected losses. He's been there and done it all. He just appears to love playing tennis and showing off his ability. One of the things I like about Djokovic is the puppy like way he wants and needs to be liked. After a few losses its not that people will stop liking him but to him it might feel like it. I'll be interested to see how he copes.

hawkeye wrote:Lots of talk about how 2011 will have taken a lot out of Djokovic mentally. I'm not completely convinced he has been tested yet (mentally) in the same way that both Federer and Nadal have.

Most of his big wins this year came in a short space of time. Physically it was a huge test but mentally he was probably able to still able to play not exactly as an underdog but still without any huge expectation or pressure. This all changed towards the end of the year. Of course he may have physical problems but IMO there is something about the manner of a few of his losses that suggests that he may have difficulty dealing with this sort of pressure.

He has shown nothing to suggest that he could deal with the sort of pressure Nadal did in his Davis Cup match with Del Potro. Expected by everyone to win, then going down 6-1 and a break and knowing that a loss would be disastrous. How would Novak have coped with that? That is mental pressure.

Also how will he handle a few losses next year. Everyone is sort of giving him a free pass at the moment but next year will be different. If he gets harassed by the press in the same way that Federer has been this year about decline. I'm not convinced he would be able to brush it off in the same way. What if Murray starts taunting him about letting his tennis do the talking... (sorry legendkiller sometimes I can't help myself).

Also motivation.

IMO Nadal gets motivation from the "competition". Of course losses hurt but they can also motivate him. Its all part of the game. Federer is probably above being too hurt by odd unexpected losses. He's been there and done it all. He just appears to love playing tennis and showing off his ability. One of the things I like about Djokovic is the puppy like way he wants and needs to be liked. After a few losses its not that people will stop liking him but to him it might feel like it. I'll be interested to see how he copes.

I guess he did prove to some extent at 2012 AO that he can deal with a lot of mental pressure, didn't he? Against Muray and also Nadal in back to back 5 & 6 hours battle... Next time when he doesn't have a day less of rest than Nadal, he will get him down in 3 sets. Same to Murray, but his servis has to work better than this AO. Agree?

Conditions are too different from 1989 sweety, Djokovic can return far more balls than Wilander.

As I explained a bit further up, the parallel between Wilander and Nadal is much more obvious to me. 2 players relying heavily on their fitness with a 1D game. Once found out, it's over for them. A talented player can have ups and downs and on the day can still beat anybody (Mc v Becker AO90?) Leconte beating Sampras, etc....

Nadal was i a way very lucky that Djoko, Delpo and Davydenko had problems in 2010 cause he woudl not have it that easy.

Well as other posters have indicated Novak already has one more slam in 2012 and Wilander never won a slam after his great season in 1988. Plus they are just different types of guys. Djokovic loves the limelight, has a real engaging Alpha dog type of personality that craves success. In addition, as others pointed out in the late 80s there was depth of young talent coming up or that had just come up. Players who were younger, hit harder, and were already making an impact. People like Becker, Edberg, Sampras, and Agassi where coming down the pipe. To me the mid 80s to the early to mid 90s was the best and deepest era of top notch talent. This era while good is not quite at that level of competition.

Whilst their ages were different you might say that the parallell with Pete Sampras is greater.

1990 Sampras won a slam (Djoko 2008) and then seemed to fail to live up to his promise.

1991 Sampras wins the Year-end Championship (Djoko 2009)

1992 Sampras got beaten in the US Open final and won the DC (Djoko 2010)

1993 Sampras gets a proper grip of himself seeing off the resident no. 1 grinder and RG Champion at Wimbledon (Djoko 2011)

1994 Sampras starts the year with his third slam in a row at the Australian Open, and the rest is history.