FOX Sports analyst Paradorn: 'Perfect' Djokovic untouchable in Melbourne

COMMENT

At the Qatar Open earlier this month, world No. 5 Rafael Nadal described Novak Djokovic's tennis game as "perfect".

The Spaniard, who was outclassed by Djokovic in straight sets 6-1, 6-2 in the final, said the Serb was doing "everything" impeccably.

I have to agree with Nadal.

The world No. 1 and defending Australian Open champion has been playing like that for more than a year.

He was impeccable for much of the match against Frenchman Quentin Halys last night in a routine 6-1, 6-2, 7-6 (7/3) win to ease into the third round.

Djokovic, 28, is at the peak of his powers.

He is physically stronger and riding on some serious momentum, which means he is supremely confident.

In tennis, "perfect" means it is almost impossible for anyone to even take a set off you.

To play perfect tennis, you need a few things.

This includes confidence, sound mental awareness, exceptional physical capabilities and a good game, of course.

When these ingredients come together, it becomes extremely difficult for other players to knock you down.

And this is what Djokovic has been doing for the past 12 months. I fully expect him to carry on his dominance from last year.

It is always a challenge for players to knock a world No. 1 off his perch.

There are "untouchables" in every generation: Before Djokovic, there was Nadal, before him there was Roger Federer.

I have had the pleasure of playing Roger on four occasions when he was in the prime of his career.

Nobody could overthrow the Swiss then.

SUMMIT

He was at the summit for about four years, from 2004 to 2008.

Anyone who is world No. 1 for that period of time will be playing "perfect" tennis.

When Federer and Nadal ruled the men's game, Djokovic struggled to defeat both of them.

But he never gave up.

He treated every loss as a chance for him to learn from 
his mistakes.

He won his first Grand Slam title in 2008 at the Australian Open but he became a dominant force in 2011, when he won in Melbourne again and added the Wimbledon and US Open crowns to make it four Major triumphs.

Djokovic never looked back - he knew he could beat the best, and he knew how to beat them.

Of course, no one is unbeatable and his rivals at the Australian Open may well have to hope that the Serb has an off day.

At the moment, yes, there really is not much of a weakness to his game.

But, no matter how good you are, opponents will eventually find a way to beat you.

It is a case of consistently chipping away at a brick wall until it crumbles.

When you're at the top, everybody wants to have a go at you.

One way players might try to defeat Djokovic is to get into his mind.

It is common to play mind games in any sport and, I feel if there is a weakness to Djokovic's game, it could very well be in his head.

THREAT

The player who is most likely to threaten the imperious Djokovic is Federer. With the amount of experience the Swiss has in his pocket, he could beat anyone on his day.

I personally don't think there is a dark horse in this year's tournament.

The defending champion will again lift the trophy at the Rod Laver Arena.

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TODAY’S SELECTED 2ND RD MATCHES

Morning (from 8am)

• Anastasija Sevastova (Latvia) v 20-Ana Ivanovic (Serbia)
• Kirsten Flipkens (Belgium) v 3-Garbine Muguruza (Spain)
• Sam Groth (Australia) v 2-Andy Murray (Great Britain)

Afternoon (from 4pm)

• 8-David Ferrer (Spain) v Lleyton Hewitt (Australia)
• Julia Goerges (Germany) v 9-Karolina Pliskova (Czech R)

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* Paradorn Srichaphan was the first men’s tennis player from Asia to break into the top 10 of the ATP rankings.

The Thai won five singles titles, reached the fourth round at Wimbledon, US and Australian Opens, and had beaten Grand Slam winners Andre Agassi, Rafael Nadal and Marat Safin.

The 36-year-old, once the world No. 9, is now a guest commentator for FOX Sports.

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MEN’S SINGLES, SELECTED 2ND RD RESULTS

• Novak Djokovic (x1) bt Quentin Halys 6-1, 6-2, 7-6 (7/3)
• Roger Federer (x3) bt Alexandr Dolgopolov 6-3, 7-5, 6-1
• Tomas Berdych (x6) bt Mirza Basic 6-4, 6-0, 6-3
• Kei Nishikori (x7) bt Austin Krajicek 6-3, 7-6 (7/5), 6-3
• Jo-Wilfried Tsonga (x9) bt Omar Jasika 7-5, 6-1, 6-4
• Marin Cilic (x12) bt Albert Ramos 6-4, 6-3, 7-6 (7/4)
• Gilles Simon (x14) bt Evgeny Donskoy 6-3, 5-7, 7-6 (7/1), 4-6, 7-5
• David Goffin (x15) bt Damir Dzumhur 6-4, 0-6, 6-4, 6-2
• Serena Williams (x1) bt Hsieh Su-wei 6-1, 6-2
• Agnieszka Radwanska (x4) bt Eugenie Bouchard 6-4, 6-2
• Maria Sharapova (x5) bt Aliaksandra Sasnovich 6-2, 6-1
• Daria Gavrilova bt Petra Kvitova (x6) 6-4, 6-4
• Dominic Thiem (x19) bt Nicolas Almagro 6-3, 6-1, 6-3
• Grigor Dimitrov (x27) bt Marco Trungelliti 6-3, 4-6, 6-2, 7-5
• Andreas Seppi (x28) bt Denis Kudla 7-5, 6-4, 6-4
• Nick Kyrgios (x29) bt Pablo Cuevas 6-4, 7-5, 7-6 (7/2)

WOMEN’S SINGLES, SELECTED 2ND RD RESULTS

• Serena Williams (x1) bt Hsieh Su-wei 6-1, 6-2
• Agnieszka Radwanska (x4) bt Eugenie Bouchard 6-4, 6-2
• Maria Sharapova (x5) bt Aliaksandra Sasnovich 6-2, 6-1
• Daria Gavrilova bt Petra Kvitova (x6) 6-4, 6-4
• Carla Suarez (x10) bt Maria Sakkari 6-7 (5/7), 6-2, 6-2
• Belinda Bencic (x12) bt Timea Babos 6-3, 6-3
• Roberta Vinci (x13) bt Irina Falconi 6-2, 6-3
• Kateryna Bondarenko bt Svetlana Kuznetsova (x23) 6-1, 7-5
• Kristina Mladenovic (x28) bt Nicole Gibbs 6-1, 7-6 (7/4)
• Margarita Gasparyan bt Kurumi Nara 6-4, 6-4
• Yulia Putintseva bt Han Xinyun 6-3, 6-1
• Lauren Davis bt Magdalena Rybarikova 7-6 (9/7) — abandoned