Djokovic's year of living large

For a long time, Novak Djokovic acknowledged recently, he was thinking what most of the tennis world was thinking: "Wow, Federer and Nadal . . . they're so good, I didn't know if I could really make it."

For four full years, Djokovic was Jose Carreras to the sport's Luciano Pavarotti and Plácido Domingo -- the "other" in a trio of virtuoso performers, not quite able to alter the tenor of major-tournament developments.

Even after he won the 2008 Australian Open title, at only 20, Djokovic remained the third wheel in the Roger Federer-Rafael Nadal power dance. In the 23 Grand Slam events contested from the 2005 French Open to last year's U.S. Open, Federer won 12 and Nadal nine, and Djokovic began to look increasingly like a one-hit wonder. (The other non-Federer/Nadal major winner during that span was Argentina's Juan Martin del Potro at the '09 U.S. Open.)

John McEnroe, who ruled in the early 1980s, claimed he "can relate to Djokovic, because I was trying to break into the mix, with Jimmy [Connors] and Bjorn [Borg], and those guys were selfish, just like Roger and Rafa are; they wanted to win them all. It's hard to break in, but you know you've done something incredible when you have."

The difference was that McEnroe got over the hump quickly, winning four (of his eventual seven) major championships by the time he was 23, which was Djokovic's age when beaten yet again by Nadal last September in the final at Flushing Meadows. That was Djokovic's 24th Grand Slam tournament -- starting when he was just 17 -- all played in the lengthy shadow of Federer and Nadal.

So, now, how to explain 2011?

This year, Djokovic has a staggering 57-2 match record, has won nine tournaments, including the Australian and Wimbledon singles titles. He is 3-1 against Federer and 5-0 against Nadal -- who took three of the four majors in 2010 to stir discussions of whether he, rather than Federer, might wind up the most accomplished player in history. (Just a year ago, Djokovic was a combined 1-6 against that pair.)

Now that Federer has turned 30, there is a school of thought that age has slightly loosened his grip of dominance. And, though Nadal is only 25, there is a long-held consideration that the stringent physical demands he puts on himself may be shortening his career.

More likely, Djokovic has ascended to their level -- at least in the short term -- on his own physical and mental wings. He has said that, after leading his native Serbia to the Davis Cup title in December, "I lost my fear." He became "full of life, full of energy, eager to come back to the tennis court . . . "

Much has been made of his new gluten-free diet -- no more pizza, beer, pasta, French bread, cornflakes, pretzels -- but he continues to emphasize his self-belief, after years of fretting over expectations and doubts that may have exacerbated on-court panic attacks in which he had difficulty breathing and subsequently lost concentration.

Djokovic first caught the sport's attention for his obvious talent both as a player and an amiable mimic, rolling out spot-on imitations of Andy Roddick's twitches under a pulled-down cap, Maria Sharapova's pre-serve hopping while fiddling with her racket strings, Nadal's penchant at pulling on his shorts and his power sprint. Not so lovable was Djokovic's sometimes annoying habit of incessantly bouncing the ball before a serve.

Now, fellow players have begun to consider him the total package of tennis skills -- the best backhand in the game, athletic court coverage that allows him to play offensively even from defensive positions, a much-improved serve. Borg believes that Djokovic has turned the tables on the former No. 1 by figuring out "exactly how to play Nadal, and that's very difficult for Rafa mentally."

It was only a year ago that Nadal at last had adjusted his serve, and kept his full health, long enough to win his first U.S. Open. Now, what small deficiencies Nadal may have on the Flushing Meadows hard courts (Djokovic's favorite surface) appear to be working in Djokovic's favor, as well, especially if the shoulder injury that took Djokovic out of last week's Cincinnati final is as minor as Djokovic claimed.

That hardly diminished Djokovic's kick-the-door-down 2011 record. Among his recent victims, Gael Monfils described Djokovic's efficiency as "whoosh, whoosh, whoosh, bang." Jo-Wilfried Tsonga felt it necessary to demystify Djokovic's mastery by declaring, "He is not an alien."

"I am human, I can definitely assure you," Djokovic said. "Look, I've become No. 1 in the world. I achieved my dreams. This is all that is going on in my head, all I'm thinking of, just enjoying the moment."

Top-ranked American Mardy Fish, Djokovic's victim in the final of the Open tuneup in Montreal earlier this month, grumbled good-naturedly, "We're getting tired of this."

Djokovic responded happily, "I'm not getting tired of this."