Eyeing the top spot: Nadal looking to dismantle Djokovic in 2016

For the longest time, the argument against Djokovic was that both Roger and Rafa had a positive record against him. Rafael Nadal would be forced to agree. Could he possibly snatch his year from what, for him, had to be a black hole of frustration?

So few openings did Federer get that even a 30-30 scoreline sent the arena into overdrive, as did a stunning rally won with a net finish by the Swiss in the seventh game-and that just brought up 15-15.

Ghent, where the Davis Cup final is being held starting on Friday, is only 35 miles from Brussels and the 13,000-seat Flanders Expo is sold out for all three days of the final, with more than 1,000 British fans due to attend.

And, of course, there was Federer. There was little chance of a repeat lackluster performance from Novak in the last match of the season, and that was bad news for Federer. Both players gave their best, but in the end it was the Japanese, who triumphed in three sets.

Bob Bryan, to the crowd after he and Mike won their match prior to Djokovic vs. Federer: “We know you’re not here to watch us”. If you don’t play very well, you’re going to have a hard time.

“It’s not the first good year for Novak”. Doesn’t need much, you know.

Djokovic did indeed back it up in 2015. “This week was great again”. “That’s the key, more or less”. I used to work more precisely towards him. “It allows me to have the longevity”.

Looking through history, Federer’s incredible 2006 saw him drop only five from 97 games. It proved to be no idle threat, though.

· And Djokovic this year has faced a clearly weakened Nadal, who spent the year recovering from numerous ailments, a slowly – very slowly – aging Federer and an inconsistent Andy Murray.

But at that stage, either man could lose a match and still move on. His serve was a particularly valuable weapon.

And Djokovic, who is far too competitive to rest on his laurels, is already setting goals to keep himself motivated next year. It was anything but.

He also praised the runner-up on the day, Federer, saying that he was a complete player and added that his returns on the day to his opponent’s serve was much better as compared to his loss last week to the 17 time Grand Slam champion. Djokovic stayed back and continued hitting cleanly and scorching the court with great passing shots when Federer came into net. He was constantly in Djokovic’s face.

Losing to Djokovic in the semifinals doesn’t diminish that rare late-season success. Maybe to you a towel matters more.

Nole dominates quietly with the assurance of a man at the absolute peak of his powers.

So where does Djokovic go from here? And they had also met in six finals, two of them Grand Slams, three of them Masters.

Whether the Brit can threaten Djokovic’s top spot in 2016 remains to be seen, but he has continued to make promising strides.

The 11th title of Djokovic’s astonishingly dominant campaign served as the flawless finale to arguably the best run by any male player in the Open Era.

“I was always hoping that I can play this well throughout the entire season”.

“I tried my best”.

With Nadal’s golden age most likely coming to an end as his body slows with the ravages of his physical approach, the elastic Djokovic, whose movement around a tennis court quite frequently defies belief, has emerged as the pre-eminent performer of this generation.