The Nole Zone

With a Grand Slam title and 12 consecutive wins to start the year, Novak Djokovic's future has never looked better.

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After Novak Djokovic won his 2nd title of the year in Dubai, convincingly might I add, I started to wonder if perhaps this could be the beginning of something utterly gargantuan for the 23-year-old Serb.

Now that he's 12-0, with two wins over Federer, two wins over Berdych, and a Grand Slam title on his mantle, who's to say that he can't be 24-0 in three weeks time, with a few Masters Shields bookending that Slam trophy?

It seems far-fetched, and it's probably stupid of me to even speculate that Nole could go the entire season without losing a match, but right now it's fun to imagine.

Imagine if John McEnroe's stunning 82-3 record in 1984 became the second best winning percentage of all-time after 2011.

Imagine how upside-down the tennis world would be if Djokovic sustained this wild ride even for a few months longer. What if he heads into the French Open without a loss? Will Novak Djokovic highlights be as viral as the bipolar videos of our current obsession, the ever-shocking Charlie Sheen?

Of course, we know it isn't possible, because if going undefeated for a whole season was possible, it would have been done already, right? We know the sport of tennis is just way too stacked at the top for a guy -- even one who is playing so out-of-his-skull -- like Djokovic to run the table for a full 12 months.

Even Rafa, as dominant as he was in 2010, had his slip-ups (he was 71-10).

Even the majestic Roger Federer, architect of 81-4 and 92-5 seasons back-to-back in '05 and '06, couldn't survive without several blemishes.

It's impossible, and I think I'm a complete idiot for even writing about it. But if you're like me, and you are a sucker for a hot streak -- think Joe Dimaggio's 56 game hitting streak or the '72 Miami Dolphins perfect season -- you're sort of hoping that Nole can run the table in the states over the next two weeks, just to make things interesting.

Roger Federer -- that majestic dude -- is the only active player to have won Indian Wells and Miami in the same season. He did it in '05 and '06, and those are some pretty mighty shoes to fill for the young Serb to be certain.

But the way he's played so far this season, I don't think it's completely crazy to surmise that if anybody is going to do the Indian Wells-Miami double in 2011, it will more than likely be Djokovic. He's been that good this year. He really has. So good in fact, that I just devoted a whole blog post to the fact that he might go undefeated this year.

Yup, that's right. He might. And until he loses, you can't argue with me on that point.