Forget the Big Four: Novak Djokovic is now tennis's Big One

Novak Djokovic's first, overwhelming feeling upon defeating Roger Federer and capturing his third career Wimbledon title was relief.

Not the relief caused by swiping away the demons from his French Open defeat a month ago, nor the relief of finally capturing a second slam in a year for the first time since his legendary, guard-changing 2011 season.

This was relief borne out of at last being finished with the tournament. He is finally finished with the stress built up through everything from the matches, to the media, the expectations, the routines and the whirlwind of attention that arrives with every slam. He was finished, he said, and so he could finally breathe.

It's funny then, that Djokovic states his method for overcoming nerves is to breathe. In the heat of an important tournament there is no room to breathe and so, despite being constantly characterised as an unfeeling machine, Novak Djokovic is always nervous.

Throughout the year, the stress has been clear. In all his anger, there are times when his mouth runs for minute after minute in an unending, creative stream of Serbian cuss words. He yells towards his team constantly. He has now scared multiple ball kids with his anguished screams, including one last week who he reduced to tears.

Conversely, at one point during the Australian Open final against Andy Murray, the nerves left his knees wobbling and the most balanced creature in tennis was barely able to stand. After choking in the second set against Roger Federer in Indian Wells, the camera zoomed on the Serb at the break between sets, his hand violently shaking as he tried to sip his water.

What sets Djokovic apart in these moments of crisis, and is perhaps is greatest and most underrated quality, is how he responds to them. He has this uncanny ability to right the ship. And not just to turn things around, but to flip situations in his favour so rapidly. One moment he is falling, the next he is soaring. He has often been accused of faking his random mid-match dips after he inevitably rises while beating his chest and roaring, but those slurs are unfair. It's just how he functions.

In the final, one such similar moment of doubt was presented to him. After doing so well to take the first set tie-break and then build a lead in the second, set point arrived on his serve. He found a short forehand and blazed it inside out, but he could only watch as Federer tracked it down and shot a backhand winner down the line.

[QUOTES: Djokovic hungry for more after chewing on Wimbledon turf again]

The set point was gone, and eventually the set went with it as Federer fought to level the match. This could have been a moment - the moment - that changed everything. As he ranted and cursed between sets, he was clearly thinking the same thing.

But, immediately, Djokovic snatched an easy break in the third game of the next set. In a flash, he had regained control, and with all the resilience in the world he marched to his third Wimbledon title without so much as facing another break point.

It's a third Wimbledon title that is so important for many reasons. Aside from the strange fact that his Wimbledon count now triples his solitary US Open win on his favoured hardcourts, this is the victory that truly, beyond doubt, solidifies him as the dominant force in tennis.

This has been true for a long time as he has spent the last couple of years tearing apart the ATP tour outside of slams, closing the gap on or entirely overtaking Federer and Rafael Nadal in various statistical columns. It has been clear that he body checked the two legends from the very top of the game, perhaps forever, but his performances in the slam final stages were still questionable. After his loss to Stan Wawrinka in the French Open final, his record in those finals outside of Australia stood at 3-8. But now he has crossed the line and captured more than one slam in a year for the first time since 2011, perhaps the moment of true dominance is upon us.

After his victory, as Djokovic walked from the court, he was asked if the raucously pro-Federer crowd affected or upset him. It was a question he has received after every one of their battles, so famed is his complex about the lack of appreciation he receives. But while his demeanour or something he says usually betrays his true feelings on the subject, there seemed to be a genuine change after this victory.

“More or less anywhere I play against Roger, it's the same.” he shrugged. “So it's just like that.  I have to accept it.  I have to work and earn a majority of the support maybe one day.”

On the same coin, those crowds will soon accept that despite being at the very top of the sport, Novak Djokovic is still only moving upwards. He is the most resilient player in the world and responded to his French Open heartbreak with another slam.

He has proven that he is as elastic and flexible in his tennis as is his body. He has somehow managed to wipe away the notion of the Big Four - now, the situation in men's tennis can only be described as the Big One.

He is the Wimbledon champion three times over, despite the tournament supposedly being his worst slam. And now he is able to kick back, take a deep breath and finally relax.