A change of guard

Novak Djokovic did almost everything right in winning his maiden Grand Slam title at the Australian Open, right down to tearing off his shirt.

If only he had beaten his chest like our good old jungle hero to the distant sound of beating drums, the change of guard in the tennis world would have been complete and an occasion to celebrate.

Nevertheless, Djokovic was a worthy winner, a deserving champion. But to understand the enormity of his achievement it is not just enough to appreciate his present feat of beating master craftsman Roger Federer in the semi-final and a giant-killer Jo-Wilfried Tsonga in the final.

It goes far back in history. Djokovic ended the Grand Slam reign of Federer, Rafael Nadal and Marat Safin to perhaps begin his own. Suddenly, and not surprisingly, the tone and tenor of tennis conversation has changed. It is not as much about what Federer leaves behind as it is of how much Djokovic can achieve in the future.

In a way, tennis talk has changed gears. It is not as much about the past and present as it is of the future. Thanks mainly to Djokovic and Tsonga and a handful of other 20-something players. No other sport enjoys such a scenario, not even Formula One where Michael Schumacher's legacy is so deep-rooted that all talk of his successor sounds superficial in my opinion.

The past fortnight somehow resembled the Formula One season of 2007. Tennis was seemingly in fast-forward mode as Tsonga butter-knifed his way through the draw from one end while Djokovic blasted through from the other to set up a mouth-watering final at the Rod Laver arena.

The Muhammad Ali lookalike Tsonga evoked many comparisons. Former French star Guy Forget saw shades of Yannick Noah in him while former Australian champion Patrick Rafter felt he was more like a young Boris Becker. Both saw Tsonga through their own prisms.

In a wider perspective however, Tsonga looked more like Lewis Hamilton to me. Both are 22, immensely talented and come from modest backgrounds. Like, Hamilton, Tsonga has also begun his big year with a bang. The giant-killing run began with a stunning win over No 9 seed Andy Murray and culminated with a heroic performance in the final against Djokovic.

On the way, Tsonga captured three more seeds in Richard Gasquet (No 8), Mikhail Youzhny (No 14) and Nadal (No 2). But like the Briton in Formula One, the French man faltered when the world was at his command after having won the first set in the final.

Tsonga made the same sort of professional mistakes that Hamilton did on the home stretch. Experience was the key here and both Hamilton and Tsonga singularly lacked it. With just 40 ATP Tour matches under his belt before the final, compared to Djokovic's 178, Tsonga could not handle the pressure-cooker situation, just like Hamilton in Japan and Brazil.

Tsonga's predicament was acute with the second set locked 3-3. Djokovic cracked a stunning backhand return to move to break-point. The Serbian turned on the heat when his opponent was most vulnerable and virtually swept Tsonga off the court in a deep, intense rally.

Tsonga found the going tough, like Hamilton did when Kimi Raikkonen was unforgiving and ferociously determined. His strokes landed long or wide and his feet began to skid from beneath him. Remember, Hamilton going off the track in Brazil?

That was the turning point. Djokovic stepped up the pace and systematically dismantled Tsonga's game. A double-fault in the fourth set tie-break and then a running forehand, which was long, ended it all. It turned out to be a freak show rather than a fairy tale, just like in Formula One and in case of Hamilton.

The bitter tussle, however, stayed on court and did not spill over to spoil the post-match celebrations. The finalists were as endearing with the microphone as they were with the racquets in their hands.

"I'll keep it short," said Djokovic. "I'm very proud of myself. I know the crowd wanted him (Tsonga) to win. But that's OK, it's all right, I still love you guys."

Tsonga did even better. "I'm very proud of myself," Tsonga said. "I'm happy for Novak, because he played unbelievable today. I don't know if I have to be sad or happy of this final, but I feel great."

Even The Greatest would have approved that.