Fed fans: Say something good about Nadal and Djokovic here

[Deleted member 763024]

The constant negative drumbeat about Roger fans being unappreciative or disrespectful of his rivals is annoying.

We’re accused of not caring about the game when Roger is not in action.

With Roger out for the season, let’s show our appreciation for these guys and disprove this notion

I’ll start:

Djokovic: amazing champion who has unfortunately been in the popularity shadow of his rivals and will go on to leave a lasting impact on the record books and how this game is played in the future. I’m very happy for him and his fans that he’s back to where he belongs and hope he gets the credit he deserves + the perks in scheduling etc that an ATG gets.


Nadal: for years he’s tormented us Fed fans but only the most hard hearted can call him ine-dimensional or a clay specialist after all he’s achieved. An inspiration in the way he plays every match, humble in his approach to learning and improving, a great ambassador for the sport and just like Novak will leave a huge mark through his achievements and tennis academy.


Share your accolades and make their fans feel this board is about their celebration too.

 

[Ann]

I'm Fedal so I'll only include Djokovic.

I think he's an incredibly nice human being that gets a bum rap because of some of his on-court actions. There are commentators that say he's the nicest person on the tour. I think he's one of the best athletes (if not the best) playing tennis today. I think before he went gluten-free vegan he had one of the most aesthetically pleasing bodies in tennis. I think his backstory is the best in tennis and should be given more airtime, especially if you want this guy's fanbase to grow by leaps and bounds.

 

[Deleted member 763024]

Another quick thought:

Given the real and heated discussions we have here, It’s easy to be cynical but I follow other sports as well and have been to live events many times where fanbases of teams get into physical altercations and worse. Tennis is a beautiful sport and even with all the rancor, crowds/fans are still very very civil in comparison. We can take consolation in that.

Sure there won’t be a kumbaya circle going on anytime soon, but I’m sure even the most partisan fan here is more educated about the sport and cares for it more than the tribals in other sports

 

[True Fanerer]

Nadal - Xisca
Djokovic - Jelena

 

[Deleted member 763024]

I'm Fedal so I'll only include Djokovic.

I think he's an incredibly nice human being that gets a bum rap because of some of his on-court actions. There are commentators that say he's the nicest person on the tour. I think he's one of the best athletes (if not the best) playing tennis today. I think before he went gluten-free vegan he had one of the most aesthetically pleasing bodies in tennis. I think his backstory is the best in tennis and should be given more airtime, especially if you want this guy's fanbase to grow by leaps and bounds.

I agree. Tennis channel and ESPN in the US haven’t done enough justice to his background. I would love to see more attention from the ATP as well - tribute videos, celebrating his achievements etc

 

[Spencer Gore]

Say something good about them?

Both have winning head to heads over Roger Federer.

 

[Steve0904]

Thread was made in good spirits I'm sure, and I'll try not to derail it too much, but honestly I say plenty good about Nadal and Djokovic already.

Also, if we're accused of not caring about the game when Roger is out, we're only accused by Nadal and Djokovic fans who are more similar than they realize (Djokovic fanboys in particular).

 

[Towny]

Nole: clearly matured and become a likeable guy. Will probably be gracious in defeat more than anyone else on the tour. Extremely high level and consistency: 2015 blew me away. Kind of thought 2011 was a one time thing, clearly I was wrong. Very dominant as well. As much as the Fed fan in me is disappointed that his 5 YE#1 total has been matched, Novak more than deserves it

Rafa: again, likeable guy, find his interviews funny. Unreal clay dominance but great on all surfaces. AO09, W08 and USO10 were an incredibly high level. Deserves more slams off clay than he has. In my top 5 favourite players

 

[True Fanerer]

They're both great champions and I believe most Federer fans agree with that. Wars won't ever stop because that would be boring.

 

[I Am Finnish]

@vive le beau jeu !

 

[StannisTheMannis]

Thread was made in good spirits I'm sure, and I'll try not to derail it too much, but honestly I say plenty good about Nadal and Djokovic already.

Also, if we're accused of not caring about the game when Roger is out, we're only accused by Nadal and Djokovic fans who are more similar than they realize (Djokovic fanboys in particular).

good effort on trying to follow through with your intentions in the first sentence. You made it all of 0 sentences before you derailed.

 

[Deleted member 763024]

Thread was made in good spirits I'm sure, and I'll try not to derail it too much, but honestly I say plenty good about Nadal and Djokovic already.

Also, if we're accused of not caring about the game when Roger is out, we're only accused by Nadal and Djokovic fans who are more similar than they realize (Djokovic fanboys in particular).

That may be so, but one good turn begets another. Thats all I can say. Thanks for for reasonableness in all your posts. Cheers

 

[Sport]

.

 

[Rhino]

Nadal's outfit was quite good at the 2010 US Open.

Djokovic was nice to his limo driver.

 

[Deleted member 763024]

good effort on trying to follow through with your intentions in the first sentence. You made it all of 0 sentences before you derailed.

- deleted -

 

[StannisTheMannis]

How so? I’m sincere in my praise. I’m only annoyed because the accusation of hyper-partisanship does not reflect how I think and I suspect is true for a lot of other Roger fans here as well.

What? I’m talking about Steve saying he wants to keep in good spirits and not derailing the thread, and then the very next sentence going into the fanboy war. Not your post.

 

[Deleted member 763024]

What? I’m talking about Steve saying he wants to keep in good spirits and not derailing the thread, and then the very next sentence going into the fanboy war. Not your post.

Sorry got mixed up. Thought you were responding to my post. My bad.

 

[mike danny]

Djokovic: he is the most gracious loser of the Big 3 (and I mean that as a compliment, not in a derogatory manner), his defense and flexibility are both top-notch, he is a very likeable guy, fluent in many languages and I fins his serve very underrated.

Nadal: very likeable guy, his clay prowess is unmatched and he is the greatest player on a single surface of all time, his passing shots are unbelievable, his speed and defense are both phenomenal and he is incredibly hard to convert BPs against.

 

[junior74]

Nadal has nice hair and Djokovic has nice backhand slice

 

[Steve0904]

good effort on trying to follow through with your intentions in the first sentence. You made it all of 0 sentences before you derailed.

You're one of the Djoko fanboys I was talking about so you can't say much.

 

[StannisTheMannis]

You're one of the Djoko fanboys I was talking about so you can't say much.

Keep going. You’re really following through. And next time, realize that I didn’t make any claims about myself being holier than thou like you did. That little detail fly right over your head?

 

[Steve0904]

Keep going. You’re really following through. And next time, realize that I didn’t make any claims about myself being holier than thou like you did. That little detail fly right over your head?

No I think I'll stop.

 

[StannisTheMannis]

No I think I'll stop.

Yet here we are

 

[Deleted member 763024]

Yet here we are

Can we stay on thread topic please. Appreciate it.

 

[abmk]

Nadal : amazing mover, really blindingly quick from 2005-09, best player at hitting the shots on the run that I've seen, 2nd GOAT FH, brilliant passing shots off both wings(arguable GOAT in that one), amazing competitor , probably the most mentally tough player out there at his prime/over the course of his career.
FH looks really amazing when you watch in person.

Djokovic : amazing mover with most flexibility among the players I've seen, one of the all time great RoS, amazing competitor, peak mental toughness over a ~1 year stretch of time (AO 11-AO 12), one of the all time great BHs.
BH looks really amazing when you watch in person.

 

[vive le beau jeu !]

@vive le beau jeu !

djokovic appears to be a nice and funny guy

me gusta el chorizo

 

[tennis_pro]

Djokovic thanks for beating Nadal a lot.

Nadal hot girlfriend

 

[Mark Asher]

I think Djokovic at his best may be the strongest baseline player ever, able to play fantastic defense and switch to overpowering offense when the chance presents itself. He has perhaps the best return game ever, too.

I root against Nadal because I don't want to see him eclipse Federer's records, but I have nothing against, him really. He probably had, at his height, the toughest forehand for any righthander to deal with, and a great backhand too. He has very good hands at the net too. It's a shame he never really incorporated that into his game a bit more. I think he'd be more interesting to watch.

I think the current Big Three are all nice players, especially when compared to previous players like McEnroe, Connors, even Sampras who seemed a bit grumpy. I still think Nadal may have juiced at one time but whatever.

 

[Deleted member 763024]

I'm Fedal so I'll only include Djokovic.

I think he's an incredibly nice human being that gets a bum rap because of some of his on-court actions. There are commentators that say he's the nicest person on the tour. I think he's one of the best athletes (if not the best) playing tennis today. I think before he went gluten-free vegan he had one of the most aesthetically pleasing bodies in tennis. I think his backstory is the best in tennis and should be given more airtime, especially if you want this guy's fanbase to grow by leaps and bounds.

He looks lean now but his physique is far from unappealing. Donno if he could manage the feats of flexibility with more muscle mass.

I see an interesting mix of different physicalities between Roger, Rafa and Novak.

Rafa by genes, training or both is more muscular and physical and brings the strong points of that trait to his game.

Novak is on the other end with a lean frame and super flexibility and reflexive returns.

Roger is in between with his muscle mass but still possesses amazing footwork.

 

[Deleted member 763024]

I think Djokovic at his best may be the strongest baseline player ever, able to play fantastic defense and switch to overpowering offense when the chance presents itself. He has perhaps the best return game ever, too.

I root against Nadal because I don't want to see him eclipse Federer's records, but I have nothing against, him really. He probably had, at his height, the toughest forehand for any righthander to deal with, and a great backhand too. He has very good hands at the net too. It's a shame he never really incorporated that into his game a bit more. I think he'd be more interesting to watch.

I think the current Big Three are all nice players, especially when compared to previous players like McEnroe, Connors, even Sampras who seemed a bit grumpy. I still think Nadal may have juiced at one time but whatever.

Agree that Nadal has superlative net skills. It would be awesome to watch him play doubles more regularly on tour like he did in the Laver cup.

 

[Deleted member 763024]

Nadal : amazing mover, really blindingly quick from 2005-09, best player at hitting the shots on the run that I've seen, 2nd GOAT FH, brilliant passing shots off both wings(arguable GOAT in that one), amazing competitor , probably the most mentally tough player out there at his prime/over the course of his career.
FH looks really amazing when you watch in person.

Djokovic : amazing mover with most flexibility among the players I've seen, one of the all time great RoS, amazing competitor, peak mental toughness over a ~1 year stretch of time (AO 11-AO 12), one of the all time great BHs.
BH looks really amazing when you watch in person.

I saw both Roger and Rafa live the same year. His build is even more intimidating in person. He was just murdering the ball on every shot.

Haven’t had the privilege of watching Novak live yet.

 

[Roddick85]

I think I also said plenty of nice things about Rafa & Novak over the years even though I'm not always a big fan of their game, I have a lot of respect for both of them as players. Rafa is for me the greatest fighter the game has seen. Off the court, he's always been very humble and doesn't strike me as someone who let fame get to his head nor did he become arrogant. He didn't forget where he came from, stayed himself, so I have a lot of respect for that. As far as Djokovic goes, I always felt like he never got the love or respect he deserved, always playing the "bad guy" to Fed/Nadal for most of his career even though he's a funny and well spoken individual. If I look at him as a player, complete is the 1st thing that comes to mind. He doesn't have any easily exploitable weakness as he's solid off both wings, he turned his vulnerable serve into a very solid stroke.

 

[Ann]

He looks lean now but his physique is far from unappealing. Donno if he could manage the feats of flexibility with more muscle mass.

I see an interesting mix of different physicalities between Roger, Rafa and Novak.

Rafa by genes, training or both is more muscular and physical and brings the strong points of that trait to his game.

Novak is on the other end with a lean frame and super flexibility and reflexive returns.

Roger is in between with his muscle mass but still possesses amazing footwork.

I think he looks gross now.

 

[Deleted member 763024]

I think I also said plenty of nice things about Rafa & Novak over the years even though I'm not always a big fan of their game, I have a lot of respect for both of them as players. Rafa is for me the greatest fighter the game has seen. Off the court, he's always been very humble and doesn't strike me as someone who let fame get to his head nor did he become arrogant. He didn't forget where he came from, stayed himself, so I have a lot of respect for that. As far as Djokovic goes, I always felt like he never got the love or respect he deserved, always playing the "bad guy" to Fed/Nadal for most of his career even though he's a funny and well spoken individual. If I look at him as a player, complete is the 1st thing that comes to mind. He doesn't have any easily exploitable weakness as he's solid off both wings, he turned his vulnerable serve into a very solid stroke.

Great point about playing ‘bad guy’

Murray suffered the same I think but in his case, because he’s British the popularity aspect did not suffer as much.

Murray and Djokovic are both examples to this new generation in not having excessive respect for the top guys and believing in themselves.

Murray does let his respect for Nadal affect him somewhat in their encounters I feel but that’s just me. I could be wrong. Just a feeling.

 

[Deleted member 763024]

I think he looks gross now.

Really? I thought he looked gaunt under Pepe but seems to have recovered some mass since.

 

[abmk]

for djokovic , add keeps up great depth on his groundstrokes.
for nadal, of course the clay GOAT by far. amazing the level he's able to keep on up clay at 30+ ( in 2017/2018)

 

[abmk]

I saw both Roger and Rafa live the same year. His build is even more intimidating in person. He was just murdering the ball on every shot.

Haven’t had the privilege of watching Novak live yet.

hmm, which tournament ?
I saw all 3 guys live first in IW 17.
yeah, Nadal murders the ball even in practice (probably even more than in matches). his practice partner was running left right to retrieve.

 

[Pistol10]

 

[Federev]

They are both incredible athletes and have been the only ones who have been able to reach the bar that Roger set.

 

[Deleted member 763024]

hmm, which tournament ?
I saw all 3 guys live first in IW 17.
yeah, Nadal murders the ball even in practice (probably even more than in matches). his practice partner was running left right to retrieve.

USO 2006. Yeah, I'm old.

Both on Armstrong. Nadal lost to Youzhny. Fed won against Spadea

 

[OldschoolKIaus]

Djokovic: had Boris as coach once.
Nadal: funny accent.

 

[augustobt]

This point is the clutchiest thing I've ever seen anyone not named Federer to produce.

 

[EloQuent]

Rafa is a clay phenom that will never matched in dominance by anyone on any surface. He also is a decent dude outside of tennis.

Novak is very good on all surfaces. He has genuine care for his fellow ATP players.

 

[abmk]

USO 2006. Yeah, I'm old.

Both on Armstrong. Nadal lost to Youzhny. Fed won against Spadea

hmm, ok.
I'm not that young either, heh.
Only just moved to the US a few years ago. Was in India before. So didn't get much chance to watch any major tournament back then.

 

[Deleted member 763024]

hmm, ok.
I'm not that young either, heh.
Only just moved to the US a few years ago. Was in India before. So didn't get much chance to watch any major tournament back then.

Cool. I;m on the east coast. Hope I can go to IW someday.

 

[Deleted member 763024]

Sascha said something in his victory speech, which I hadn't thought of: Nole came back from surgery and got to No.1 in the same year. Not sure it's been done before. Anyone know?

 

[BeatlesFan]

Nice things about Rafa:

He's got a great body
He's very cute
Tremendous fighting spirit
Mentally a beast in the toughest moments
Never say die attitude on court

Nice things about Novak:

1. Smartest and most erudite current tennis player
2. Student of languages with a "thirst for knowledge," as he's said
3. Best and most gracious loser of ALL of the ATG's
4. His adorable, poodle, Pierre.

 

[Deleted member 763024]

Novak had a bad day today and ran into a totally dialed in Zverev.

He’s still the favorite going into 2019 at the slams for me.

Although I will say that unlike his fans think (and hopefully today proved) he’s neither discovered some secret elixir of invincibility nor, as are some saying in the wake of the WTF loss, that the resurgence is a fluke.

The truth is somewhere in-between.

 

[UnforcedTerror]

Nadal -> The Clay King.

Djokovic -> The BOAT.

 

[Tennis_Hands]

Nadal picks his battles better.

Djokovic is always mindful of his opponents.