5 Reasons why Novak Djokovic will win the 2015 US Open

World No. 1 Novak Djokovic, pictured at the 2014 US OpenIt is that time of the year again! The last Grand Slam of the year is just around the corner and players are training as hard as they can to finish the year on a high note.While men’s tennis is still being dominated by the usual suspects, this year has been just about one man: Novak Djokovic. The World No. 1 is way ahead of the rest, and about to finish another year of sheer dominance.The last time someone dominated the sport like this was Djokovic himself, back in 2011. Despite some shocking losses in between, he has shown that he can come back to play his best tennis when it matters most. Though the sting of losing to Stanislas Wawrinka in Paris still persists, lifting the Wimbledon trophy few weeks later has served as the perfect antidote.Flushing Meadows has by no means been the Serb’s favourite hunting grounds, with the last time he won the trophy four years ago, in 2011. Going by his recent form, however, it seems almost impossible for anyone to stop him from winning. His recent losses to Murray and Federer may have made things more interesting, but here are 5 reasons why he will still win the US Open :

#5 His favourite surface

 

We might still have to wait for a few years to know where Djokovic stands among other tennis legends but when it comes to hard courts, he is already among the best in history. With 40 ATP titles including seven Grand Slams on hard courts, he has been dominating the surface for the past few years. Hard courts bring the best out of his game.

In terms of his serve, hard courts give Djokovic’s delivery more of a punch than clay does, allowing him to collect the occasional free point, which always comes in handy.

As for Djokovic’s groundstrokes, hard courts give him the ability to use every single part of his arsenal. His forehand can become quite safe (hit with a ton of topspin), or very violent (when hit flat) in order to end a point right away .

Those backhand, down-the-line winners are never sweeter (or more damaging) than on hard courts. Not satisfied with his two-handed prowess, Djokovic has even been adding more one-handed sliced backhands to his repertoire over the past two years, and these tend to work far better on hard courts than anywhere else.