Peak Safin vs. Peak Djokovic: who prevails?
- Thread starter kalpab
- Start date
Rusty Shackleford
G.O.A.T.
Mount Everest should hang its peak in shame of Safin's peak supremacy.
metsman
G.O.A.T.
no no no
it goes....peak ponytailerer>peak Hungover Safin>peak DTL Forehand nadal>peak Fedr>peak Safin>peak Drunkovic
That's basically the Fermat's Last Theorem of tennis..hard to proof, but it's absolutely true and you will never find evidence to the contrary.
DerekNoleFam1
Hall of Fame
But somebody forgot to say that K2 is actually more difficult to climb!
Safin's peak is too inconsistent to be regarded as legit.
metsman
G.O.A.T.
Peak Safin is dangerous because it disappears at times...like imagine climbing a mountain and halfway through the mountain just disappears and you are falling from 10000 feet up....but then it reappears just as you are about to smash into the ground and you have start over.But somebody forgot to say that K2 is actually more difficult to climb!
Safin's peak is too inconsistent to be regarded as legit.
Djokovic2011
Bionic Poster
Even your peak is greater than Safin's peak Rusty and that's saying something!
J/K mate!
The Safinator
Rookie
Does it matter? Safin has the head to head 2-0.
daggerman
Hall of Fame
When Novak hits returns right at Safin's feet, Safin's just going to handle those perfectly fine?
Third Serve
Talk Tennis Guru
Safin far superior to Djokovic in every aspect of the game, even dropshot and lob
Sunny014
Legend
Aus open is slow, that wont be a problem, it would be a battle of rallies and Safin will outmuscle Djokovic
daggerman
Hall of Fame
AO has been slow some years, less so in others. Recently it's been at least medium-fast. Which year are you referring to?
But either way, it doesn't really matter how slow the surface is. Handling depth on a return of serve is never easy, and it's not something Safin can prepare for in practice or by playing lesser returners. I mean, I'm sure Safin would win some of the time, but let's not act like he'd win all the time. Novak has plenty of ways to hurt him.
RF-18
Talk Tennis Guru
Till this day I still wonder if you were serious or not.
Tennis_Freak99
Legend
Peak Djokovic will be too much to beat over 5 sets for Safin
Sampras-Bruguera 1993
Legend
Peak safin lasted for about a 2 week bender
Yes I am sure if Safin was still active he would be dominating the tour and have at least 21 slams. Lol this place.
NatF
Bionic Poster
I was joking lol.
Sunny014
Legend
2-0 bud
Both wins in best of 5 and one of those wins was after Djokovic won his 1st slam.
Safin is the only person to have beaten 3 GOATs from 3 different generations in slams after they all won their 1 slam
Sampras - 2000 USO
Federer - 2005 AO
Djokovic - 2008 W
Tennis_Freak99
Legend
The OP states 'Peak vs Peak' . Safin didn't play 2011,2015-16 Djokovic
Kralingen
Talk Tennis Guru
I think non-peak AO Djokovic would beat 2004 AO Safin or 2002 AO Safin for example. So in a series such as best of 5 across multiple prime years Djokovic would win easily.
If we're talking just absolute best vs. absolute best, about a span of like 5 or 6 matches in total for what would constitute 'Peak Safin'... damn that would be close. Safin USO 2000 was crazy, but also playing a S&V style in Pete knowing he had a clear advantage from the baseline. The dynamics would change a lot but if it was still fast HC I think Safin could beat 2011 USO Djokovic.
AO 2005 Safin vs. AO 2016 or AO 2012 Djokovic would be an amazing match going 5 for sure, don't think anyone can predict who would win that confidently though.
If we're talking just absolute best vs. absolute best, about a span of like 5 or 6 matches in total for what would constitute 'Peak Safin'... damn that would be close. Safin USO 2000 was crazy, but also playing a S&V style in Pete knowing he had a clear advantage from the baseline. The dynamics would change a lot but if it was still fast HC I think Safin could beat 2011 USO Djokovic.
AO 2005 Safin vs. AO 2016 or AO 2012 Djokovic would be an amazing match going 5 for sure, don't think anyone can predict who would win that confidently though.
Age is no longer a valid excuse. Nole Fam has made that abundantly clear. Safin with a 100% win rate not just in matches but in sets as well is not a very flattering look for the fresh-poking youngster.
If the 2 play, peak to peak, a series of 10 matches over a number of years, maybe Safin would win the first few, then Djokovic would dominate. Why? First, Djokovic always learns from his mistakes and losses; Safin rarely does. Secondly, Djokovic is a hard worker, Safin not so much.
Sunny014
Legend
Safin would have been a bad matchup for Novak just like Wawrinka, that 2-0 slams H2H is no joke, it is only a sign of things to come if they clashed at peaks and were aged same. Novak would have greater longevity than Safin, thats true, but would lose a lot to Safin and would win quite as few as well...
helterskelter
G.O.A.T.
Agreed. Stylistically, Safin is much more like Del Potro than he is like Wawrinka, although Safin's movement is better than post-2011 Del Potro by a country mile.
The thing that Wawrinka had that really troubled Djokovic was his ability to open up the court with his heavy one-handed backhand. Safin's backhand is certainly as good as Wawrinka's in general, but I'm not sure it could open up the rallies against Djokovic as well as Wawrinka could.
I don't think, though, that we can write off Wawrinka's wins by saying that Djokovic played poorly. In their last seven Slam matches over a span of almost seven years (January 2013 through September 2019), Wawrinka never failed to win two sets and he led the head-to-head 4-3. The less important event head to head just shows Wawrinka failing to get motivated for minor events. He clearly found a formula that Djokovic consistently struggled to deal with in that period of time.
InsideOut900
Legend
Wawrinka takes the ball late, which is quite effective against Novak, who thrives on quick, fast paced rallies, rather than facing heavy hitters who push him behind the baseline.
Safin just has a high peak because of his fantastic talent/potential, but he isn't a hard match-up for Novak necessarily.
vex
Legend
Def cannot write off Wawrinka’s wins. These hypo threads are always nonsense bc the reality is that if GOAT Player X is playing Really Good Player Y - yea GOAT Player is generally going to win. ESPECIALLY when you take into account the fact that Really Good Player Y oftentimes doesn’t even play well enough to reach the match against GOAT X, whereas GOAT X is incredibly consistent at a super high level and almost always goes deep in tourneys. But in the end, we’re talking elite levels of tennis when Really Great Player Y is on and of course he’ll pull off some upsets. Just glancing thru the list of guys that have upsets Fed, Rafa and Djoker over the years demonstrates this reality. The GOATS are GOATS because they win at an incredible rate and rarely get upset… but they aren’t invulnerable
RelentlessAttack
Hall of Fame
I have no doubt Safin could have Wawrinka’d Nole once in a while if their peaks overlapped, it would just happen once in a blue moon
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Deleted member 771911
Guest
Safin. I think it happened at Wimbledon one year.
skaj
Legend
It would be an interesting match.
Safin is one of a few players(if not the only one?) who can match Djoko's groundstrokes, top his serve and keep up with him when it comes to returning. He also has a better net game and more variety in general.
Djokovic has a better defense.
There's a question of mentality, since this is peak vs peak. Otherwise, it's one of the strongest against one of the weakest players mentally.
Safin is one of a few players(if not the only one?) who can match Djoko's groundstrokes, top his serve and keep up with him when it comes to returning. He also has a better net game and more variety in general.
Djokovic has a better defense.
There's a question of mentality, since this is peak vs peak. Otherwise, it's one of the strongest against one of the weakest players mentally.
Halba
Hall of Fame
peak federer on fast hard or indoors(2006/7 version of federer or 2017 ao version of fed with laser backhand, any version of fed on cincinatti or basel) - peak fed unbeatable on the fast to really fast hard stuff, no one has ever played better on the stuff.
peak djokovic on medium fast hard - (e.g. djokovic us open 2011, 2015, , miami, indian wells, doha, dubai, tokyo other examples)
peak djokovic on slow hard or indoors easily over the field(djokovic 2011, 2016, 2019, 2021 ao versions, WTF versions)
nadal(not even peak required here) on clay easily over the field! bwahaha
peak boating' sampras on fast grass.
peak djokovic on medium fast grass.
winner overall: djokovic. cos he is the frkken boat.
peak djokovic on medium fast hard - (e.g. djokovic us open 2011, 2015, , miami, indian wells, doha, dubai, tokyo other examples)
peak djokovic on slow hard or indoors easily over the field(djokovic 2011, 2016, 2019, 2021 ao versions, WTF versions)
nadal(not even peak required here) on clay easily over the field! bwahaha
peak boating' sampras on fast grass.
peak djokovic on medium fast grass.
winner overall: djokovic. cos he is the frkken boat.
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Halba
Hall of Fame
peak safin wont win djokovic. even peak safin, always made too many unforced errors and had dips in form. djokovic has a laser like focus on tennis efficiency born from the tennis gods, a hard hitting style whilst minimising his unforced errors. some sets peak djokovic is lucky to make 3 unforced errors in an entire set. only 2 other players to go thru sets like that - federer on grass and nadal on clay...
HailDjokovic
Semi-Pro
Thread is a joke….
2005 AO Safin, everyone’s peak god tennis player only won the tourney because Fed choked match points and went full tilt against him. He is not the greatest offensive player ever lol.
2016 AO or 2016 Doha Djokovic would obliterate 2005 AO Safin into the ground , if we’re counting their bests.
Nadal in the beginning of 2016 said that the Doha Djokovic he played was the highest level of tennis that he had seen in his lifetime
2005 AO Safin, everyone’s peak god tennis player only won the tourney because Fed choked match points and went full tilt against him. He is not the greatest offensive player ever lol.
2016 AO or 2016 Doha Djokovic would obliterate 2005 AO Safin into the ground , if we’re counting their bests.
Nadal in the beginning of 2016 said that the Doha Djokovic he played was the highest level of tennis that he had seen in his lifetime
Everyone in the history of tennis (that includes Safin, Roddick and Agassi) and his grandmother at their peak are sure to beat Djokovic.
Why? Because actual matches show his superiority to 2 of the greatest ATG's, Federer and Nadal. So everyone and his grandma must be really superior to Federer and Nadal.
Why? Because actual matches show his superiority to 2 of the greatest ATG's, Federer and Nadal. So everyone and his grandma must be really superior to Federer and Nadal.
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