How Good is Novak Djokovic?

Normally I would rip on Djokovic for pictures like this, but after breaking Nadal's 37 match clay court winning streak at the Madrid Open and extending his own streak to 34 straight wins, I can't say anything.

Djokovic deserves to wear whatever silly outfits and take whatever goofy pictures he wants because he is now "the man". We haven't had "a man" that isn't Nadal and Federer for about 8 years. Even throughout this entire year when Novak has dominated, I kept saying that once the clay season comes, he'll fizzle out a bit. That just isn't happening. Instead of acting like the fat kid whose breathing is affected by clay (which he has done many many times), he's acting like a genuine dirtballer. Actually, no - he's different than a regular dirtballer, because his strokes are still just as penetrating as they are on the hard courts.

I guess there's not much to say other than I'm completely blown away by Djokovic right now. He continues to exceed very high expectations and appears to only be getting better. At this rate, there's no reason he couldn't take the French Open and Wimbledon, which would leave his best surface at the US Open to finish off the Grand Slam. Do I think it's going happen? No - but at the same time, Djokovic has left me so unsure of how good he really is that I don't know what to think anymore.. with one exception, the French Open is going to be completely awesome.

Donald Young is a Big Chump

Yesterday, Donald Young lashed out against the USTA because they didn't give him a wild card into the French Open.

Young is best known for being an incredible teenage player but has really sucked it since joining the ATP. Unlike his buddy Sam Querrey, Young has never really pieced together any sort of clue as to how to win on the big stage but has been lucky enough to get into most big tournaments on the fact that the USTA wants him to succeed. And what does he do? He throws it in their face and whines about not getting into Roland Garros. Here's an idea Donald, how about you stop being such an underachiever and crack the top 70 for the first time in your career. If you win some matches against the big boys, then you can make a trip and lose in the first round of all the grand slams you could ever imagine.

Lessons Learned in Monte-Carlo

The Monte-Carlo Rolex Masters Tournament is history, which means we have officially entered the clay court season and there's no turning back (except for American players who will skip most of the tournaments, opting to prepare for the French Open by playing on hard courts, therefore ensuring a very quick but painful exit at Roland Garros) With that being said, let's jump into what we learned this last week.

Andy Murray Isn't Dead
It looked bleak for Andy coming into the clay season and I declared him dead on last week's Culture Clash podcast. Well, he obviously was listening to my naysayer sentiments, because he perked up and put on an impressive showing in Monaco. Sure he didn't beat anyone of substance, but he can take pride knowing that he was the only player to take a set off Rafa. Not sure what's gotten into the lad, maybe he's tired of losing, maybe his energy is back because he's excited for the royal wedding or maybe it just shows us that Andy Murray is a complete enigma. Expectations form, Andy Murray has momentum and he'll flame out like there's no tomorrow. But when there are no expectations and the fans/tennis media have left him for dead, look out tennis world.

The Big Three Dominate

I've been talking a lot about up and comers (most notably Milos Raonic) and how they are helping to shape one of the most exciting times in men's tennis history. There's a lot of young blood with enormous potential and that's obviously always a great thing for a professional sport. But the fact of the matter is that when matches count and tournaments are on the line, the ATP is a three man show.

Djokovic's Commercial Doesn't Make Sense but is Awesome

Novak Djokovic is really embracing his superstar status well. He's even got the making of random, nonsensical commercials that turn out to be super cool down. Watch for yourself.

The Year of Djokovic Continues

Another tournament, another Novak Djokovic win. The Serbian is 18-0 this year and doesn't seem to be letting up for anyone. This BNP Paribas Open was particularly impressive as he cruised to the semi's by bageling his opponents left and right. When he looked up from the beatings he was giving, he found himself on a collision course to face Federer and Nadal on back to back days.

Where in the US is Mats Wilander?

Have you ever wondered what happens to a tennis great when his tour days are over? Agassi works hard to improve his school, Johnny Mac entertains tennis fans through his blunt but insightful commentary and Mats Wilander... he apparently makes house calls in his Winnebago to teach just about anyone how to play tennis.

I'm not sure what is most surprising from this article - it could be the fact that he has a Puerto Rican telephone number that people call to set up their own fantasy camp or maybe that he sleeps in parking lots and then the next morning gets up and runs old people through a drill called "the heart attack."

Whichever one it is, the whole story is an interesting look into one ex-athlete's life where he's decided not to take the conventional post-tennis cushy job. Mats Wilander loves tennis and he apparently loves to drive ridiculous distances to teach random people how to play tennis for significantly less than he's worth. That a boy Mats!