What is it with Djokovic on match points?

[BreakPoint]

He did it twice against Federer at the past two US Opens and he did it again against Tsonga today. It's like Djokovic turns into some wide-eyed wild man on match points and just rips the ball as hard as he can without any regard to where it's going and somehow they always go in.

So is it luck or some kind of bizarre superhuman skill that only he has?

[Cesc Fabregas]

Originally Posted by BreakPoint

He did it twice against Federer at the past two US Opens and he did it again against Tsonga today. It's like Djokovic turns into some wide-eyed wild man on match points and just rips the ball as hard as he can without any regard to where it's going and somehow they always go in.

So is it luck or some kind of bizarre superhuman skill that only he has?

He has a deal with the devil.

[Moose Malloy]

I'm sure there are cases of Djokovic losing match points with wild errors from going for too much, but no one remembers them(he lost 5 times this year, don't remember how he played the match points he lost)

goran & philippoussis often went for huge 2nd serves down match point or break point, sometimes they made them. sometimes they double faulted.

[underground]

Originally Posted by BreakPoint

He did it twice against Federer at the past two US Opens and he did it again against Tsonga today. It's like Djokovic turns into some wide-eyed wild man on match points and just rips the ball as hard as he can without any regard to where it's going and somehow they always go in.

So is it luck or some kind of bizarre superhuman skill that only he has?

Don't worry you'll see that finger wagging on Friday.

[TheCanadian]

I find Djokovic's mental toughness scary.

[OldFedIsOld]

The guy is so clutch when it comes to matchpoints

[mandy01]

You have to be really clutch to put this guy away. Last year, Roger came through because of that Ace. Anything less, especially a second serve and Djokovic would've evened out in the TB.

[TahoeTennis]

it's the pick of destiny

[BreakPoint]

Still can't believe Djokovic saved 4 match points with ridiculous play in the 4th set and then eventually won the match in the 5th set. Tsonga must be devastated.

Djokovic is possessed.

[ashitaka2010]

Djesus Clutchovic

[cucio]

It's "teh gluten".

[DeShaun]

It's a strange quality that he has. If you watch footage of his 08 OZ campaign you can see that, as early as back then, whenever his back was squarely against the wall that's when he actually started fighting the fiercest like a lion--it's very pronounced this quality and it's noble IMO.

[OverratedIvanovic]

Gluten free balls
But seriously I have seen him going for broke at set points and match points. Amazingly he pulls it off most of the times at slams.

[Hood_Man]

Djokovic acts like a cornered ,caged animal when down match points, just thinking he has nothing to lose so goes for broke.

Basically like this:

http://youtu.be/1hPxGmTGarM

[SwankPeRFection]

It's not something he controls directly. Sometimes your body just reacts in clutch situations and it comes out great. It's the fight or flee response on a tennis level if you will. The timing and power are just there... some people instinctively have the ability to be in a situation and somehow sense what the next move will be. When that happens in a split second, you're in control of that perfect moment.

I'm sure some of you have played tennis enough to where you've had a perfect day and it was almost like you knew what the guy was going to try next. It's kind of like that, except when it happens in situations like this, your adrenaline levels get even higher and the time factor slows down even more for you. It's magic when it happens because your opponent has almost no time to react to your actions. Half the time, they don't even see it... Vampire Tennis.

[Tony48]

The irony is that he saved the 1st MP with a smash that clipped the line (when he has been so consistently horrible on them recently)

[Fate Archer]

Have noticed this many times last year, though not necessarily just on matchpoints.
Even on slightly less important points, as when down breakpoints on his own serve and the like, he would start to play too loosely and with nothing to lose for someone who was in a pressure situation. And he was surprisingly coming through nearly all holes he would get into.

It's not just his play, it's the "nothing to lose" mindset and attitude that makes him play loosely and more able to overcome challenges, not so bothered by psychological pressures. It's like he's able to momentarily disregard the pressure while being just reasonably aware of his situation, just enough to make the best choices.

It IS amazing. He seems to not lose any racquet head speed in such moments when actually he should be extremely tight, like most would be... it actually seems like his racquet head speed gets even FASTER in such moments, when he starts brushing the ball even more violently when going for winners or adding consistency to his shots.

It feels different, it's a different type of clutchness and struggle on pressure situations.

With Nadal you used to feel like he was destined to get through tough situations, no matter how down he was... everything would line up to him. It was Fate and no one could break from it.

With Novak... it feels like he's surrounded in a desperate struggle where he is fighting with all his life to CHANGE his fate on the spot... like he did today.

Clutchest player in the last 1 and a half years, no doubt.

[namelessone]

Originally Posted by BreakPoint

He did it twice against Federer at the past two US Opens and he did it again against Tsonga today. It's like Djokovic turns into some wide-eyed wild man on match points and just rips the ball as hard as he can without any regard to where it's going and somehow they always go in.

So is it luck or some kind of bizarre superhuman skill that only he has?

Word around here is that he is the son of God.

[Sid_Vicious]

Originally Posted by Fate Archer

Have noticed this many times last year, though not necessarily just on matchpoints.
Even on slightly less important points, as when down breakpoints on his own serve and the like, he would start to play too loosely and with nothing to lose for someone who was in a pressure situation. And he was surprisingly coming through nearly all holes he would get into.

It's not just his play, it's the "nothing to lose" mindset and attitude that makes him play loosely and more able to overcome challenges, not so bothered by psychological pressures. It's like he's able to momentarily disregard the pressure while being just reasonably aware of his situation, just enough to make the best choices.

It IS amazing. He seems to not lose any racquet head speed in such moments when actually he should be extremely tight, like most would be... it actually seems like his racquet head speed gets even FASTER in such moments, when he starts brushing the ball even more violently when going for winners or adding consistency to his shots.

It feels different, it's a different type of clutchness and struggle on pressure situations.

With Nadal you used to feel like he was destined to get through tough situations, no matter how down he was... everything would line up to him. It was Fate and no one could break from it.

With Novak... it feels like he's surrounded in a desperate struggle where he is fighting with all his life to CHANGE his fate on the spot... like he did today.

Clutchest player in the last 1 and a half years, no doubt.

Absolutely! Even though this match was a loss for Djokovic, he really showed how much better he plays when he swings for the fences.

He was getting humiliated in the first hour of the match and then started swinging freely and nearly beat Federer
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Sd2JhMC7dVk

[BreakPoint]

Originally Posted by namelessone

Word around here is that he is the son of God.

But why only when down match point does he turn into "the son of God"?