Novak Djokovic. Know when to hold em, fold em, or walk away.

Pro tennis keeps changing it's dominant players and personalities. Lately, Novak Djokovic, a Serb, is "the man". A 64-2 match record with 10 tournament titles, including 3 of the 4 "majors" this year?  That's about as dominant as it gets.

He's the best thing since Rafael Nadal, who was the best thing since Roger Federer, who was the best thing since Pete Sampras, who might have been the best thing since, hmmm, maybe John McEnroe back in the 80's. Johnny Mac was known to throw temper tantrums on the court when things weren't going his way. He'd whine and cry like a spoiled 4th grader while verbally abusing line judges and especially the umpire sitting up in the chair at mid-court. Though he was a terrific player, that behavior was childish, and sometimes even embarrassing.

I sure am glad today's players like Serena Williams don't do any things like that any more. Hmmm. Come to think of it, maybe things haven't changed that much after all..

At any rate, Djokovic has a serious flaw in his game plan. No, it's not on the court. He doesn't appear to have any weaknesses there.

After swatting Nadal like a mosquito to win the US Open in NY, he double-faulted on another front.

First, before he hopped on a plane back to his adoring fans in Serbia, he got suckered into appearing on the same stage as Regis Philbin. The former "who wants to be a millionaire" host. The guy that has set the all-time record for most hours logged on TV. Notre Dame's version of Don Rickles and Robin Williams combined into one body on steroids.. Yeah, THAT guy. Bad idea. I'm surprised Regis didn't pick up on his initials and refer to his (Regis') alma mater.

Then he tried to dance with Kelly, or Kathy, or Katie, or whatever her name is. Worse idea.

Don't get me wrong. I'm rooting for Djokovic and hope he goes on to win a lot more tournaments for many years to come. He seems to be a class guy, and when he's not playing tennis, word has it he's quite the partier, especially in his homeland. You have to like that combination.

But I think he should forget about Regis and Katrina or whatever next time and save his moves for the tennis court.

I missed Letterman's show last night. Please tell me Novak didn't wind up reading the Top Ten list.

He won the title, the trophy, the big bucks, and he shouldn't keep messing around in a country that's chock full of people waiting to exploit him. In the words of Horace Greeley -- go east, young man.

Or something like that.










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