the lines between skill/talent/sustainability are very blurred though. really it comes down to balance over anything else, and nadal might have the best balance. possibly aided by the long periods off hes had. if anything i would recommend novak cites an injury and just takes the rest of the year off tbh. if he is compromised physically (and hes acting like it mentally and with his demeanor at times), this gives him a chance to fix that. if not, the time off still gives him time to regroup mentally and rest, because he looks fried against the very best too often. murray is in a similar situation.
in terms of pure talent, there are a ton of players who can hit godly levels, the problem is sustainability though obv. redlining fed is the clear example, and seeing how nadal can wear him down.. but there are others too. wawrinka for sure (imagine if this guy was like 4 inches taller or had better conditioning? jesus christ), tipsarevic (also not big enough, weak mentally, looks injured this year), berdych (can't do it for several rounds in a row), tsonga (mentally weak), del potro (basically a better version of berdych who is clearly compromised physically and takes time to get into matches), hell even players like dimitrov or haas (too young/old), isner (too many bad matchups against him and can be forced out of rhythm easily), etc...and also murrays all around game is incredible. insane variety.
really it comes down to consistency though, and this is where nadal (a defensive clay-court/baseliner with insane topspin whos been guided into being more aggressive, beefed up serve, best volleyer for 4-5 years now) reigns supreme. his level is beatable for sure, but good luck doing that shit in a best of 5 if hes healthy. most can't even do it for more than half a set, and the other members of the big 4 usually only do it for a set+ at most.
consistency aspect of it makes the djokovic 2011 year even more incredible though, because for most of the year (at least until he was clearly hurt in the us hardcourt season) he was playing at a seemingly god-like level as an extremely aggressive baseliner would could get ahead in the point from anywhere on the court and then hit winners or force errors. this version doesn't do enough to get ahead in the point, and seems to be consistently stuck being a bit passive or going for winners too early. he had it for sure for about half an hour from the end of the 2nd set through the beginning of the third against nadal there, and hes had it for longer stretches against other players (especially those who can't really force him out of his comfort zone [ferrer, youzhny] or grind effectively enough [murray, del po, wawrinka]), but nowhere near as long as the 2011 guy, and not nearly enough to consistently beat the rest of the best.
This post was edited by 987 on Sep 11 2013 04:27pm