Cash's advice to Djoko - keep short term goals

Abu Dhabi - Such was his dominance that it seemed he was incapable of putting a foot wrong. The 10-time Slam winner didn't shy away from admitting that breaking Federer's all-time record of 17 Grand Slam titles was on his mind.

 Even by his high standards, the year 2015 was quite phenomenal for Novak Djokovic. Yes he did fail to complete his career Slam at the French, but with three Majors, six Masters, 11 titles, appearances in all four Slam finals and an 82-6 win-loss record, the 28-year-old Serb turned the proverbial Big Four in tennis into the Big One.
Such was his dominance that it seemed he was incapable of putting a foot wrong. The 10-time Slam winner didn't shy away from admitting that breaking Federer's all-time record of 17 Grand Slam titles was on his mind.
But Pat Cash - the 1987 Wimbledon champion and Mubadala World Tennis Championship ambassador - believes it would be better for the Serb to keep short term goals.
"He won three majors last year. I don't think anybody is counting numbers now other than Serena (Williams)," Cash told us on Thursday.
"Serena is obviously trying to break Steffi Graf's record. Playing tennis is taking one point at a time, one game at a time, one set at a time, one match at a time, one week at a time and one Grand Slam at a time.
"So if they have one good year it's fantastic. But I think looking too far ahead will be a big mistake for anybody. If he (Djokovic) wins two (Slams) this year then maybe he could think of it, but it's not going to be easy for him in 2016 because (Andy) Murray is back, (Rafael) Nadal is starting to play better.
"It will be a harder year for him. Stan (Wawrinka) is playing good tennis. (Roger) Federer was very close at the Wimbledon and US open," said Cash.
The Australian believes Federer still has what it takes to win Majors. "I won't be surprised if Federer wins another Slam. He almost guarantees himself a place in the finals and in the finals anything can happen.
"Remember Djokovic had to play his best tennis twice to beat Federer in the Slam finals in 2015. Last year for me the US Open final was the highlight. I mean the atmosphere was unbelievable inside the stadium with 20,000 people screaming for Federer.
"It was disrespectful to Novak but that he still beat Roger showed how tough a player he is. I have lot of respect for him. But the fact remains that he had to play his best to beat him."
If he plays five per cent less, Federer beats him. There is a good chance that Novak is going to play five per cent less at some stage in 2016!"
The two-time Australian Open runner-up said the 29-year-old Nadal - who had a season to forget in 2015 - might not look for a new coach at this stage of his career.