It was not a big surprise that World Tennis Number 1 player Novak Djokovic won the Australian Open. What was surprising was how easily he beat rival and number two ranked Rafael Nadal.
The slaughter was in straight sets 6-3, 6-2, 6-3. It was not as close as even that score indicates.
What is amazing is how dramatically Djokovic has flipped his rivalry with not only Nadal, but also with Roger Federer. He is now 28-25 against Nadal (25-22 against Federer). Those numbers look relatively even, but upon closer examination, it is clear that while the others controlled the early stages of the rivalries, “The Joker” has had the last laugh for some time now.
In the case of Nadal, Djokovic lost 14 of the first 18 matches, and the first 8 on Nadal’s “home surface” of clay. Since then, the record is Djokovic 24-11 and 8-7 on clay. They have met in 25 finals. Nadal won the first five but is 5-15 since. Djokovic owns the longest winning streak at seven straight.
So essentially, Nadal dominated only the first third of the rivalry. It has been Djokovic ever since.
A similar pattern is there against Federer, who won the first four matches over Djokovic and seven of the first nine. Since then, it has been Djokovic with a 23-15 advantage and an overall 13-6 record in finals.
So the question is how did Djokovic so dramatically “flip the script”? I believe the answer lies in a 60 Minutes interview from 2012. When asked about Federer and Nadal, Djokovic readily admitted that he had a great deal of respect for them…”maybe too much”.
BINGO!
Respect is an admirable thing among peers. However, that quality will not serve you well when trying to get out from under someone else’s thumb. In fact, it is an albatross. Consider the story Michael Jordan tells about his first time facing Shaquille O’Neal. He readily admitted being intimidated by Shaq’s size alone. The first time MJ went to the hole, his fear was validated when Shaq put him on the floor. Then Shaq made a crucial mistake: he helped MJ get up. That told Jordan that in spite of his superior power and capacity to do serious harm to him, Shaq had too much respect for him to ever really impose on him the way he could.
Be it in sports or liberation efforts, if you want to get someone’s foot off your neck, respecting them is not the way to go. It must be kept in mind that the oppressor benefits from the current state of affairs and will NEVER voluntarily surrender the place of power. Oh they may appear beneficent and agree to modify the manifestation of the oppression, such as was the case in South Africa. However, rest assured, the domination remains and will until those under the foot rise up.
Various writers and thinkers from Franz Fanon to Naim Akbar and even Malcolm Gladwell have clearly illustrated that a prerequisite to changing one’s objective material condition is the changing of one’s subjective psyche about the condition.
Free your mind, the rest will follow.
I would go as far as to say that hate for your oppressor will get you a much greater return toward liberation than respect for them. At least hate can be used as fuel to do what needs to be done.
Once Djokovic figured this out about Federer and Nadal, in about 2011, he has not looked back. Even elbow surgery about a year ago has not suppressed him. Today he is number one again, and for the second time in his career will go into the French Open holding three major titles, and a chance to be the first to hold all four since Rod Laver did so in 1969. It will be no small task with a slew of clay court specialist standing in his way, to include 2018 finalist Dominic Theim and the defending champion and 11-time winner Rafael Nadal.
None of this would have been possible had Djokovic not changed his mind about his situation and those on top of him. So, for those serious about liberation, in simple terms, stick a middle finger up at the one with their foot on your neck.
You may end up being the public villain, as Djokovic often is, but you will also be a lot closer to where you want to be.
