Djokovic Sportsmanship

thomasannand

thomasannand

New User
I started recently playing against a new guy, he's a big Fed fan and I'm a Novak fan. However, he states that it is impossible for djokovic ever to be considered the GOAT because he lacks sportsmanship. So then he defines sportsmanship as "fighting until the end and never giving up". He stated that djokovic has retired far more than Nadal and Federer despite having a shorter career. Therefore he's saying djokovic essentially gives up when he knows he is beat, rather than "fighting until the end!".

What's people's thoughts on this?

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Slowtwitcher

Slowtwitcher

Legend
thomasannand said:
I started recently playing against a new guy, he's a big Fed fan and I'm a Novak fan. However, he states that it is impossible for djokovic ever to be considered the GOAT because he lacks sportsmanship. So then he defines sportsmanship as "fighting until the end and never giving up". He stated that djokovic has retired far more than Nadal and Federer despite having a shorter career. Therefore he's saying djokovic essentially gives up when he knows he is beat, rather than "fighting until the end!".

What's people's thoughts on this?

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1/10
 
gjm127

gjm127

Hall of Fame
It's a factor but not a deal breaker especially that he hasn't been doing it during his best years.
 
E36BMWM3

E36BMWM3

Hall of Fame
thomasannand said:
I started recently playing against a new guy, he's a big Fed fan and I'm a Novak fan. However, he states that it is impossible for djokovic ever to be considered the GOAT because he lacks sportsmanship. So then he defines sportsmanship as "fighting until the end and never giving up". He stated that djokovic has retired far more than Nadal and Federer despite having a shorter career. Therefore he's saying djokovic essentially gives up when he knows he is beat, rather than "fighting until the end!".

What's people's thoughts on this?

Sent from my CLT-L09 using Tapatalk
Click to expand...
Early in his career yea sure. He retired multiple times... recently??? No way. Also, what’s retiring have to do with sportsmanship??? What he lacks is charisma, and the natural ability to take in all he’s won with a degree of humbleness. He’s arrogant, expects to be liked/respected rather than having to earn it, and tries way too hard. Anyways, these personality shortcomings might not even be important factors when talking about GOATness. It will all come down to the numbers
 
NoleFam

NoleFam

Bionic Poster
I would say they have a weak argument, especially by adding Nadal to the equation. So retirements count but walkovers don't? Nadal has 9 retirements and 6 walkovers for a total of 15. Djokovic has 13 retirements and 1 walkover for a total of 14. Where's the difference?
 
NoleFam

NoleFam

Bionic Poster
E36BMWM3 said:
Early in his career yea sure. He retired multiple times... recently??? No way. Also, what’s retiring have to do with sportsmanship??? What he lacks is charisma, and the natural ability to take in all he’s won with a degree of humbleness. He’s arrogant, expects to be liked/respected rather than having to earn it, and tries way too hard. Anyways, these personality shortcomings might not even be important factors when talking about GOATness. It will all come down to the numbers
Click to expand...

He's arrogant because he expects to be respected? As a 17 time Slam champion in the sport his name deserves respect and he has more than earned it. Whether you like him or not is a personal preference but to say he hasn't earned respect is inconceivable. Just because fans of the "opposing teams" grapple with that fact does not make it any less valid.
 
N

ND-13

Hall of Fame
Well, that would be true for Djokovic's career from 2006-2010.

But he changed from 2011. Don't we all make mistakes / have ignorance about our own bodies / immune system ?
 
B

Brauvenklatsch

Rookie
He deliberately took medical time out for his toe when it's Wawrinka's time to serve in US Open final 2016. He should've taken the time out before his own serve.


He deliberately bounces the ball longer when under pressure, and often went pass the allocated time.
 
King No1e

King No1e

G.O.A.T.
Yes, obviously couldn't have anything to do with heat stress or asthma problems right? That would be ridiculous :-D :-D
The problem was fitness, not sportsmanship.
 
B

Ballmachine87

Rookie
Well, correct me If you feel different, but the term sportsmanship has a different meaning to me. I feel like IT means to play fair, not to cheat, respect your oponent don't, don't look for appologies, respect the officials, don't complain about wrong decisions, don't be arrogant but humble, be AS gracious in Victory as You are in defeat...
 
T

Tennis_Hands

Banned
TheAssassin said:
What I am saying is that if Djokovic didn't fight until the end, Federer would have won Wimbledon.
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Federer could have won at some point, and that is why I asked if it was on his racquet. Apparently another Novak fan said it was, so, if Federer had prevailed, the answer would have been different as it would have appeared that he gave up. Isn't it funny, how people interpret things only with hindsight and not based on any principled position?

:cool:
 
thomasannand

thomasannand

New User
ND-13 said:
Well, that would be true for Djokovic's career from 2006-2010.

But he changed from 2011. Don't we all make mistakes / have ignorance about our own bodies / immune system ?
Click to expand...
I agree, I know Nole had issues with his gluten intolerance early on and this caused a few retirements. He fixed this though in 2010 I believe when he went pretty much vegan. Apart from that there was 2017/2018 where he had elbow issues

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JaoSousa

JaoSousa

Hall of Fame
thomasannand said:
I started recently playing against a new guy, he's a big Fed fan and I'm a Novak fan. However, he states that it is impossible for djokovic ever to be considered the GOAT because he lacks sportsmanship. So then he defines sportsmanship as "fighting until the end and never giving up". He stated that djokovic has retired far more than Nadal and Federer despite having a shorter career. Therefore he's saying djokovic essentially gives up when he knows he is beat, rather than "fighting until the end!".

What's people's thoughts on this?

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Click to expand...
There have been a few questionable injury time outs and some time wasting from him over his career. Part of the reason why I don't root for him a lot of the time. Again, there is no GOAT. Djokovic has a legitimate claim to be the best of the 2000s because of his weeks at #1, Masters, Grand Slams, and overall dominance over an extended period.

The "sportsmanship" you are citing only plays a factor in which people like him and which don't. Part of the reason why he has less fans.
 
jm1980

jm1980

Talk Tennis Guru
E36BMWM3 said:
What he lacks is charisma, and the natural ability to take in all he’s won with a degree of humbleness. He’s arrogant, expects to be liked/respected rather than having to earn it, and tries way too hard.
Click to expand...
Arrogance never stopped people from liking Federer... Good old Rog is easily the most arrogant out of the Big 3

tumblr_lset77qnU01r3587bo1_500.jpg


And I mean, Djokovic has won 17 Slams, has been ranked #1 for a long time so I don't know what else he needs to do to earn respect
 
Last edited:
TheAssassin

TheAssassin

Legend
Tennis_Hands said:
Federer could have won at some point, and that is why I asked if it was on his racquet. Apparently another Novak fan said it was, so, if Federer had prevailed, the answer would have been different as it would have appeared that he gave up. Isn't it funny, how people interpret things only with hindsight and not based on any principled position?

:cool:
Click to expand...
As funny as funerals.
 
T

Tennis_Hands

Banned
jm1980 said:
Arrogance never stopped people from liking Federer... Good old Rog is easily the most arrogant out of the Big 3

tumblr_lset77qnU01r3587bo1_500.jpg


And I mean, Djokovic has won 17 Slams, has been ranked #1 for a long time so I don't know what else he needs to do to earn respect
Click to expand...

Ya, top that:

federer-gq.jpg


:cool:
 
D

Deleted member 768841

Guest
How is sportsmanship “not retiring in a match”? If you get injured and retire it ain’t your fault.
 
Q

Quaichang

Semi-Pro
Brauvenklatsch said:
He deliberately took medical time out for his toe when it's Wawrinka's time to serve in US Open final 2016. He should've taken the time out before his own serve.


He deliberately bounces the ball longer when under pressure, and often went pass the allocated time.
Click to expand...
How about medical timeout during the AO final to thwart Dominic Thiem’s momentum.
 
Lleytonstation

Lleytonstation

Talk Tennis Guru
thomasannand said:
I started recently playing against a new guy, he's a big Fed fan and I'm a Novak fan. However, he states that it is impossible for djokovic ever to be considered the GOAT because he lacks sportsmanship. So then he defines sportsmanship as "fighting until the end and never giving up". He stated that djokovic has retired far more than Nadal and Federer despite having a shorter career. Therefore he's saying djokovic essentially gives up when he knows he is beat, rather than "fighting until the end!".

What's people's thoughts on this?

Sent from my CLT-L09 using Tapatalk
Click to expand...
Sounds like your friend is a smart man, that or I AM your friend.
 
Benben245

Benben245

Banned
I enjoyed his comeback end of match hugs with lower ranked opponents who beat him. Evoking this, “this is a big deal for you, beating me, your welcome, I love you” impression. I don’t think Djokovic has bad sportsmanship, perhaps his father does by proxy, bad ball boy repertoire certainly.
 
F

Fedforever

Hall of Fame
thomasannand said:
I started recently playing against a new guy, he's a big Fed fan and I'm a Novak fan. However, he states that it is impossible for djokovic ever to be considered the GOAT because he lacks sportsmanship. So then he defines sportsmanship as "fighting until the end and never giving up". He stated that djokovic has retired far more than Nadal and Federer despite having a shorter career. Therefore he's saying djokovic essentially gives up when he knows he is beat, rather than "fighting until the end!".

What's people's thoughts on this?

Sent from my CLT-L09 using Tapatalk
Click to expand...

I'd just agree to disagree on who is GOAT.

It's what we used to do before the Internet when people weren't treating the whole thing as a fight to the death.
 
Federev

Federev

Legend
thomasannand said:
I started recently playing against a new guy, he's a big Fed fan and I'm a Novak fan. However, he states that it is impossible for djokovic ever to be considered the GOAT because he lacks sportsmanship. So then he defines sportsmanship as "fighting until the end and never giving up". He stated that djokovic has retired far more than Nadal and Federer despite having a shorter career. Therefore he's saying djokovic essentially gives up when he knows he is beat, rather than "fighting until the end!".

What's people's thoughts on this?

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My thought is 40-15.
 
Federev

Federev

Legend
King No1e said:
Yes, obviously couldn't have anything to do with heat stress or asthma problems right? That would be ridiculous :-D :-D
The problem was fitness, not sportsmanship.
Click to expand...
Novak has earned the benefit of the doubt for his early career health woes.

Roddick - and to some degree Federer -were just being petty to judge a guy when they had no idea what was really going on.
 
E36BMWM3

E36BMWM3

Hall of Fame
NoleFam said:
He's arrogant because he expects to be respected? As a 17 time Slam champion in the sport his name deserves respect and he has more than earned it. Whether you like him or not is a personal preference but to say he hasn't earned respect is inconceivable. Just because fans of the "opposing teams" grapple with that fact does not make it any less valid.
Click to expand...
He’s arrogant period. His actions on the court are arrogant AF. The screaming and racket-breaking episodes, for example. I RESPECT him because he disrupted the status quo of the Nadal-Federer rivalry and he himself became one of the all time greats. But yes he EXPECTS and sometimes DEMANDS the same level of respect and reverence as Nadal and Fed. How many times does he hit an insane winner and looks at the crowd as if saying “DID YOU NOT JUST SEE THAT SHOT I MADE? CAN I GET LOUDER CHEERS?”...
 
JaoSousa

JaoSousa

Hall of Fame
jm1980 said:
Arrogance never stopped people from liking Federer... Good old Rog is easily the most arrogant out of the Big 3

tumblr_lset77qnU01r3587bo1_500.jpg


And I mean, Djokovic has won 17 Slams, has been ranked #1 for a long time so I don't know what else he needs to do to earn respect
Click to expand...
This is true. And there are many who would say that one of the main reasons they dislike Federer is the arrogance. But I don't think that arrogance is unwarranted especially at the highest levels. Look at Ronaldo or Zlatan Ibrahimovic. But there are lots of other reasons why the people like Federer. He is very sportive, doesn't retire or withdraw very often, has an offensive and attacking game, and is a great ambassador for the sport.
 
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