Djokovic close to regaining his peak form

IWAS surprised at Novak Djokovic’s level of play in the semi-final against Rafael Nadal yesterday, and I think he surprised himself. It was a fantastic match and Novak was visibly emotional afterwards even though he’s been there and done it so many times.

I believe he wasn’t convinced of himself yet and in his eyes I think he is ahead of schedule, having had elbow surgery in February.

To make the final and beat Rafa in a match like that is a fantastic effort.

At the French Open last month this seemed a long way off. When I saw him at Queen’s on a couple of big points, there was some hesitation.

But yesterday Djokovic played the big points unbelievably well. He is not right back at his peak but he’s damn close. If he wins today, and I believe he will, he’s back. And that is a big, big danger for the rest of the tour.

Looking to the final after Anderson’s six-and-a-half-hour semi against John Isner, I thought he had no chance. But Djokovic played two grinding sets yesterday and has to do it again less than 24 hours later, so that gives Anderson a small chance.

Anderson has been brilliant. He is playing the big points so well, his attitude is fantastic, he is serving great and moving well for a big guy.

But with the physicality of it, it’s hard to see him beating Djokovic. I think Djokovic is going to make too many balls.

Anderson has to pick spots on his serve and serve very well. He has got to go big as early as he can in the rallies and put Novak on the defensive. If he gets a look at a second serve he has to do some damage. If he gets into rallies, we could be in for a short afternoon.

Djokovic has got to be careful there isn’t a let-down. That semi-final was huge and a lot of physical and emotional energy was used up.

I remember when I was married to Chrissie Evert there was a similar situation: she had a Wimbledon semi-final in 1980 against Martina Navratilova, who was almost unbeatable on grass. And Chrissie won and had to play the next day.

After the match she was on this high and I said: ‘Fantastic match but you’ve got another one in about 14 hours.’ She woke up the next day and I could tell she was flat mentally and she lost the final to Evonne Goolagong Cawley, against whom she had a great record.

She reacted to the semis as if it was the final. It is fine for us to assume that whoever won between Novak and Rafa would win the title but if Djokovic assumes that he could be in trouble. His team have to nip that in the bud. I tried to do that with Chrissie but it’s not that easy. Verdict: Djokovic in four sets