So Djokovic is doing great… you must be joking!

So you think Novak Djokovic is having a great year?

With 30 straight victories, the Serbian has got off to the best start to an ATP season in 27 years – he’s beaten Rafael Nadal, Roger Federer and every other comer during a streak that has also seen him capture the first Grand Slam in the season. He hasn’t lost a match since November and he doesn’t look like losing one anytime soon either.

Some of his opponents leave the court in awe and others like Mardy Fish feel crushed. After the defeat at Miami, Fish couldn’t help putting the thoughts of the other players in words. “He’s crushing us,” said the American in a matter-of-fact way.

But then think again, if this is how Djokovic’s opponents are feeling then just how demoralised John McEnroe’s peers would have felt. Djokovic’s winning streak is currently the third best start to the season – John McEnroe (42 matches) and Bjorn Borg (33) are still ahead of him.

But those who watched McEnroe’s brilliance in 1984 can’t just ever get it out of their minds. The American brat who morphed into one of the most loved tennis players of all time had a winning percentage of 96.47 that season. Of the 82 matches he played, McEnroe lost just three.

He lost only 20 out of 224 sets played that year, winning an astonishing 91% of all sets played. He also beat his two closest rivals mercilessly that year. He was 7-1 against Ivan Lendl and 6-0 against Jimmy Connors. He was also 4-0 against Mats Wilander. He reached the finals of 16 of the 17 tournaments that he played. Now that’s domination and it was against some of the best players the world has ever seen.

McEnroe was in such a zone that year that he would often stand almost a foot inside the baseline during rallies even against players like Lendl. And from there he would volley it back and make the opponents run all over the court. His control was immaculate and that allowed him to keep changing the speed and spin of the ball. It was a game of cat and mouse and that year, there was just one big cat on the tennis courts of the world and that was McEnroe.

Only Roger Federer, at his very best, has managed to get close. In 2006, Federer managed to pull off a record of 92-5. As amazing as it was, his winning percentage was still lesser than that of McEnroe.

And that’s the man that Djokovic is chasing. The enormity of the task cannot be underestimated. It’s still early days for the 23-year-old wiry star with a body that contorts in amazing ways, but just the fact that he managed to get into a position where he can even think of breaking McEnroe’s record is no mean achievement.

And you thought McEnroe was all talk!