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Wilander: "Djokovic Wants it as Badly as Any Tennis Player I've Ever Seen"


Speaking on Eurosport seven-time major champion Mats Wilander breaks down what went right for Novak Djokovic in the Australian Open final—and what went wrong for Rafael Nadal.

The Swedish great says that Djokovic did a much better job of reading the tea leaves in this match. The Serb was in position and ready to read and react as Nadal was struggling to get looks on Djokovic’s serve and in a defensive posture far too often.

“When Novak is playing well, he definitely reads Nadal’s game better than Nadal reads Novak’s game,” Wilander said. “The court position of Novak against Nadal is unbelievable.”

Wilander said the biggest difference between the two came from the service stripe. Djokovic faced only one break point in the contest and dropped just 13 points on serve all night. Meanwhile, Nadal won just 51 percent of his first-serve points and faced eight break points, dropping five of those.

“The serve of Novak Djokovic has always been underrated, but I think the biggest difference when these two play on a hard court is that Djokovic gets free points on the first serve,” Wilander said. “It looks like Nadal is not sure where to return the ball from and Nadal doesn’t get any free points. It doesn’t matter how well he serves, where he serves—Novak seems to be able to read and anticipate where Nadal goes.”

Like many, Wilander was shocked at how passive Nadal’s game was in this the pair's 53rd career meeting. The Spaniard gave up a lot of court and was routinely parked way behind the baseline from the start of rallies.

“We thought that Rafa was going to come out and play very risky tennis but he didn’t quite dare to in the beginning,” Wilander said.

Djokovic’s triumph sets the table for a very interesting clay-court season. If the Serb can dominate Nadal on a hardcourt so thoroughly, is he ready to challenge the King of Clay on the red stuff?

“I can’t wait to see them play at the French Open in May – if that happens,” Wilander said.

A push from Djokovic on the clay is certainly not out of the question. The Serb lost his first nine tilts to Nadal on the clay, but since then the pair have split 14 encounters on the surface.

Wilander says that he was particularly impressed with the way that Djokovic used his forehand to dominate rallies at this year’s Australian Open.

“I think it’s cleaner now,” said Wilander of the Serb’s forehand wing. “I think he is more aggressive, I think he hits the ball a little bit cleaner. I think his forehand is more of a weapon. … he used to use more angles, spin it up high and then go for it [with the forehand]. Today, and the whole tournament, he seems to be okay just flattening the forehand out and going for winners whenever he feels like it.”

So what does the future hold for Djokovic. Many believe that he can press on and become the first player in the Open Era to hold all four Grand Slams at the same time—twice.

Wilander believes Djokovic could do even better than that.

“I think he’s going to win another two this year, suddenly that puts him at 17. The question is: can he win a Grand Slam? I think that we underrate his tactical ability and his fighting spirit. I always say speed starts in the heart—Novak wants it as badly as any tennis player that I’ve ever seen.”

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