Don’t you dare forget about Djoker

Novak Djokovic might have the answer, because his progress to the semifinals of Wimbledon over the past fortnight has hardly raised a whimper.

By ALLON SINAI, JPOST CORRESPONDENT
Djokovich 311 (photo credit: REUTERS)
Djokovich 311
(photo credit: REUTERS)
How does a player who holds a record of 46-1 on the year go almost overlooked in a grand slam tournament? Novak Djokovic might have the answer, because his progress to the semifinals of Wimbledon over the past fortnight has hardly raised a whimper.
Sure, his wins on the way to the last four at the All England Club have hardly been impressive, but still, the man has lost just one match in six months.
Oh, and that defeat was against a player no longer in the draw after Jo-Wilfried Tsonga ousted Roger Federer in the quarterfinals to set up a semifinal meeting with the Serb.
Moreover, a win for Nole over Tsonga will ensure he climbs to the top spot in the ATP rankings regardless of the results recorded by current No. 1 Rafael Nadal, becoming the first player not named Rafa or Roger to hold the top position since Andy Roddick did so in November 2004.
But still, it seems that few people are tipping Djokovic to go all the way at Wimbledon.
He himself admits that he isn’t at the dominant best he was just a couple of months ago and confesses that grass is not his favorite surface.
But nevertheless, should he make the Wimbledon final for the first time in his career by winning what will be his third semifinal at SW19, he can hardly be discounted against either Nadal or Andy Murray, holding a 4-0 record against the Spaniard this year while also beating the Brit in both their meetings in 2011.
First things first, however, Djokovic has no intention of taking Tsonga lightly in Friday’s semis after the Frenchman’s heroics against Federer.
“I need to work a little bit on my game.
I hope I can perform a little bit better than I did today,” Djokovic said after his four-set victory over Bernard Tomic in the quarterfinals.
“That’s what matters for me the most, regardless who is across the net. Tsonga came back from 0-2. It’s an amazing comeback. He’s been playing great in grass-court season so far. He played really well in Queen’s, and now he’s been winning against top players. He’s very dangerous.”
Djokovic may be continually looking for improvement, but he does not feel he is playing all that badly.
“I think I’ve been playing well so far,” he said. “My focus is to win every single match I play, obviously. But I’m aware of the importance of every match that I play in. I’m very close to reaching the No. 1, but, you know, I try not to think about that too much.”
So will Djokovic go on to win on Friday and Sunday and lift the Wimbledon title? Not necessarily, but he sure deserves more consideration than he is currently being given.
“Grass is not my favorite surface, but I still know I can play well on it,” he said.
“So it’s really hard to kind of compare my form, the present form, and the one two, three months ago. It’s different circumstances.
It’s a grand slam.”