Australian Open: Why Novak Djokovic has the advantage over others

By Sumit Chakraberty
The last time they met in the Australian Open final in 2012, the match lasted six hours and both players looked like zombies by the end. Tennis is a gruelling game these days, with enormous power going into the serve and baseline shots, on top of all the running and sliding from side to side at the back of the court.

The serve-volley, the chip-and-charge, and deft touches at the net have all but vanished. Now it is one long-winded point after another, with a constipated grunt accompanying each enervating topspin drive from a few feet behind the baseline. An additional energy-sapper this time is the Australian summer, as the temperature is expected to go above 40 degrees Centigrade in Melbourne next week.

For lovers of attritional tennis, however, it's a mouthwatering prospect. The top two seeds in the men's singles are the same gladiators of the 2012 final – Rafael Nadal and Novak Djokovic. They are both relentless baseline ralliers and supremely fit athletes.

There's little to choose between them. Nadal is a little fitter and stronger than Djokovic, and also a trifle less likely to make an error because he puts more topspin into his shots and clears the net by a wider margin.

Djokovic, on the other hand, can hit more winners with his flatter and more angled shots.

But what it may come down to in the end is sheer stamina. Here the draw may have been kind to Djokovic. The only opponent of note he has to overcome is Stanislas Wawrinka on his way to a semi-final clash with either Tomas Berdych or David Ferrer.

Compare that with Nadal's half of the draw which has Andy Murray, Roger Federer, Joe Wilfred Tsonga and Juan Martin Del Potro. Even Nadal's first round opponent is no pushover – rising Australian star Bernard Tomic. What it means is that the Spaniard may be somewhat drained out by the time he reaches the final to face his Serbian interlocutor. Add to that the heat wave forecast in Melbourne and you begin to think it's advantage Djokovic as of now.

Sumit Chakraberty is the author of Master Laster: What They Don't Tell You About Sachin Tendulkar