Anybody notice Djokovic's game hardly goes south during a match?

[Mike Sams]

One bad point and a player unravels. One slight hiccup and a player can completely lose his confidence and ultimately his game goes to hell.

In the case of Djokovic, noticed he's played many bad points or missed many easy shots or gotten broken at times which for most other players would cause a meltdown. Instead, he fights harder! The only guy I saw fight as hard was Nadal. I guess there's a reason why Djokovic is becoming so hard to beat. Not because he's more talented than the rest but because he'll fight for the point and not given an inch and will force you to hit something spectacular to earn it.
No freebies from him.

Even when he goes into a mini slump or goes 2 sets down or goes 2 sets to 1 down, he fights even harder and forces you to play just as hard in order to keep the lead. Very hard to do even for somebody like Nadal who has been widely considered as one of the biggest fighters in the sport who plays every point like a match point.

That's all I wanted to point out.

[devila]

actually, imo he's more clever and talented than federer and nadal.
he always broke federer about 6 times at the slams. even at the 2007 us open final, without great serves, he was serving for the 1st set and led 4-2 in the 2nd set. that was before he realized that federer was a sore loser and insult artist in press conferences.

[ledwix]

He's also incredibly solid when down set points or match points, as we all know. It seems like when he is down to the last straw, he plays at his highest possible level, totally locked in. I haven't seen anyone else like that.

[FlashFlare11]

That simply shows his sheer determintion and confidence, especially against Nadal. Sometimes I feel he is a bit shaken when playing against Federer, but that confidence comes back as soon as he sees an opening. It's quite remarkable, really.

[marcub]

Originally Posted by ledwix

He's also incredibly solid when down set points or match points, as we all know. It seems like when he is down to the last straw, he plays at his highest possible level, totally locked in. I haven't seen anyone else like that.

He really doesn't get enough credit for the matchpoints he saved against Fed at last years USO.

[CocaCola]

He became a mental giant as a result of enormous confidence. He said it himself during AO; When he gets broken, he doesn't get nervous about it since he knows that he can return well and get back on track instantly.

[MichaelNadal]

Originally Posted by Mike Sams

One bad point and a player unravels. One slight hiccup and a player can completely lose his confidence and ultimately his game goes to hell.

In the case of Djokovic, noticed he's played many bad points or missed many easy shots or gotten broken at times which for most other players would cause a meltdown. Instead, he fights harder! The only guy I saw fight as hard was Nadal. I guess there's a reason why Djokovic is becoming so hard to beat. Not because he's more talented than the rest but because he'll fight for the point and not given an inch and will force you to hit something spectacular to earn it.
No freebies from him.

Even when he goes into a mini slump or goes 2 sets down or goes 2 sets to 1 down, he fights even harder and forces you to play just as hard in order to keep the lead. Very hard to do even for somebody like Nadal who has been widely considered as one of the biggest fighters in the sport who plays every point like a match point.

That's all I wanted to point out.

This. He goes after RIDICULOUS shots that he has no business going after and ends up winning the point.

[Sentinel]

Originally Posted by FlashFlare11

That simply shows his sheer determintion and confidence, especially against Nadal. Sometimes I feel he is a bit shaken when playing against Federer, but that confidence comes back as soon as he sees an opening. It's quite remarkable, really.

Maybe he just cannot exploit Fred's backhand like Nadal can. Also at RG, iirc, Fred kept the points very short so Joker could not find rhythm. By the 3rd set, Joker was finding his shots and won it. I think Joker was playign well in the 4th but Fred managed to serve really well in the TB.

If Fred had choked in the TB, Nole could well have won RG.

[Nathaniel_Near]

'What goes down, must come up.' - Nole's philosophy during his pre-serve ball bouncing routine. By reversing an old simple adage, Nole was able to reverse his negative psychological barriers and summon the strength to become a consistent world beater.

[Beryl]

Do people forgot how he dropped serve at love in the fifth set against Federer USO 2011? The reason he was down match point was because he went off on a mental walkabout beforehand.

He was also serving to force a fifth against Federer at the french open last year, got broken and lost the tiebreaker.

And these are some of the more high profile drops of form, there's been countless time's when he has cheaply dropped serve against his opponent, even last year. For example, against Tomic at Wimbledon. Since when has Djokovic been this mental giant everyone is making him out to be? It's a little over the top.

[Mike Sams]

Originally Posted by MichaelNadal

This. He goes after RIDICULOUS shots that he has no business going after and ends up winning the point.

Like this one for example? http://youtu.be/CTpWe6QRX2Q?hd=1&t=4m13s

[devila]

he let the media interview from the schmoozer mcenroe affect him when fognini cancelled their french open match, and he had severe pain in his torn rib muscle in the federer match.
he didn't just wake up and play a few hours later. he was stressed by longer hours on court and big expectations while a year before, he was told that he was a thoughtless arrogant childish loser and that he should've forgotten about winning slams.

[roysid]

His natural play bothers Nadal but not Federer. And Federer can use his attacking style effectively against Djoker.

Djoker's mental toughness is now great. He is not afraid of losing, probably that's why he doesn't lose.

[Apun94]

Originally Posted by marcub

He really doesn't get enough credit for the matchpoints he saved against Fed at last years USO.

No, he doesnt deserve credit for the match point saved, becuz the first one was SHEER LUCK, and the second one was becuz Fed dumped an easy forehand into the net. What Jokovic does deserve credit for is how he fought back from 2 sets down and how he turned the match around after saving two match points...

[Apun94]

Originally Posted by Beryl

Do people forgot how he dropped serve at love in the fifth set against Federer USO 2011? The reason he was down match point was because he went off on a mental walkabout beforehand.

He was also serving to force a fifth against Federer at the french open last year, got broken and lost the tiebreaker.

And these are some of the more high profile drops of form, there's been countless time's when he has cheaply dropped serve against his opponent, even last year. For example, against Tomic at Wimbledon. Since when has Djokovic been this mental giant everyone is making him out to be? It's a little over the top.

REALLY? REALLY? Just because he gets broken sometimes that you think that he is not a mental giant? EVERYONE gets their serve broken!
1. In the fifth set against Fed at USO, when he got broken, that was just a bad game (maybe yes you are right in this case, maybe he got mentally broken) but look at the fightback he had from 2 sets down.
2. At the FO, when he was serving for the set, he DEFINITELY didnt lose it mentally, it was FED who raised his game (remember the DTL backhand by Fed)
3. So what if Tomic broke Jokovic several times. Tomic is actually quite a difficult player with his unique game style, plus Jokovic was playing Tomic for the first time.

You know, each time a player gets broken does not mean hes mentaly weak.
Plus, on the biggest moments, thats when Jokovic plays his best and when he is down and out, thats when he plays outragious tennis.
If all this is not a sign of mental strength, i dont know what is...

[marcub]

Originally Posted by Apun94

No, he doesnt deserve credit for the match point saved, becuz the first one was SHEER LUCK, and the second one was becuz Fed dumped an easy forehand into the net. What Jokovic does deserve credit for is how he fought back from 2 sets down and how he turned the match around after saving two match points...

I beg to differ.
Fed went AWOL for two entire sets and came back to life in the 5th.
And to book that return on teh 1st match point solely on luck is robbing the man down of the guts to throw in an insane ROS like that.

You don't seem to realize the pressure of two back to back match points - both on Fed's serve.

[Wilander Fan]

Its not that difficult to explain. ROS, Nole's biggest tactical advantage when he plays anyone, tends to be fairly stable. The rest of his game is also very high percentage based on his court coverage. They have a saying in baseball...power comes and goes but speed is constant. This is why Fed can go on his walkabouts these days. He has lost a step and his game really relies on his serve and shot making which can come and go in spurts.

This is also why Nadal has such a problem with him now. Both play similar high percentage games but Nadal has to hit low percentage winners to keep up with Nole. Eventually, that catches up to him.

Originally Posted by Wilander Fan

Its not that difficult to explain. ROS, Nole's biggest tactical advantage when he plays anyone, tends to be fairly stable. The rest of his game is also very high percentage based on his court coverage. They have a saying in baseball...power comes and goes but speed is constant. This is why Fed can go on his walkabouts these days. He has lost a step and his game really relies on his serve and shot making which can come and go in spurts.

This is also why Nadal has such a problem with him now. Both play similar high percentage games but Nadal has to hit low percentage winners to keep up with Nole. Eventually, that catches up to him.

If Nole's ROS had been this stable since 2008, as well as he knowing he was allergic to gluten four years ago, the Serbian could very well have 10-11 slams by now instead of just 5.

[MisterM]

Nadal's spinny shots favor Djok's flat shots because he can hit down more on the ball with more room for error no?

[Manus Domini]

Originally Posted by celoft

If Nole's ROS had been this stable since 2008, as well as he knowing he was allergic to gluten four years ago, the Serbian could very well have 10-11 slams by now instead of just 5.

So you're saying that he would have won virtually every slam since 08 if he found out he was allergic to Glutton then?

I'm sorry, that just does not compute.