Djokovic looks spent and used up, we will see if he really is the equal of Federer or Nadal...

DRII

G.O.A.T.
Each time when asked by circumstance, he has showed he is of Federer and Nadal's equal.

we will see if he can do it again by having a couple to a few Twilight-Swan years where he can pad his record with a few more slams. Federer had 2017 and 18, Nadal had 2019 and 20 - each adding 3 slams to their tally.

We shall see how Djokovic does in 2022 and if he will need to get into his Swan song stage yet.

This may be the one criteria where he does not equal Federer or Nadal. Of course he didn't need such to get to his 20, but i don't think Nadal is finished yet (depending on how his foot surgery went) and Federer still has some chance after another knee surgery, although slim.

again, we shall see..
 

DRII

G.O.A.T.
“If he is their equal” my guy Novak’s dominated an entire decade of tennis over his greatest rivals and at the age of 34 is winning more slams than Federer did at that age. Really really dumb thread title.
he's at 20, just like the other 2 coGOATS are!

they're equal!

you were probably one of the ones already claiming/giving Djokovic 21 slams. you were wrong!
 

Djokodal Fan

Hall of Fame
were you sleeping when he came back from his injury to take wimbledon and USopen 2018? After a dismal Australian open and defeat to Chechinato, he just stormed back to form to show who he really is.

And the youngest to get to 20 slams.

The weird threads we get to see in TTW these days!
 

DRII

G.O.A.T.
were you sleeping when he came back from his injury to take wimbledon and USopen 2018? After a dismal Australian open and defeat to Chechinato, he just stormed back to form to show who he really is.

And the youngest to get to 20 slams.

The weird threads we get to see in TTW these days!
that was one exact circumstance I was talking about, coming back from injury to win more slams.

so you were sleeping and didn't read my entire post.
 

Amen786

Semi-Pro
Each time when asked by circumstance, he has showed he is of Federer and Nadal's equal.

we will see if he can do it again by having a couple to a few Twilight-Swan years where he can pad his record with a few more slams. Federer had 2017 and 18, Nadal had 2019 and 20 - each adding 3 slams to their tally.

We shall see how Djokovic does in 2022 and if he will need to get into his Swan song stage yet.

This may be the one criteria where he does not equal Federer or Nadal. Of course he didn't need such to get to his 20, but i don't think Nadal is finished yet (depending on how his foot surgery went) and Federer still has some chance after another knee surgery, although slim.

again, we shall see..
He has already overachieved a lot, especially last 4 of his Wimbledon & Australian opens (combined, not individual 4 at both)
Enough is enough now.
 
His game is beautiful in a way that's harder to appreciate. I love looking at all the little things he does well; his focus has to be complete in order to be at the same level as them. No he is not as good but damn he's great.

Grand Slam total means nothing to me; Sampras had 14 but I would consider his just as good.
 

James P

G.O.A.T.
I have to admit, Novak losing the USO F really had a strange effect on what we all think we know about the makeup of the tour in 2022. By all rights, anyone winning 3 majors in a season, getting to the final in the 4th, should be expected to keep that level of play up. His age, though, and the ever improving field, are really making it hard to predict what's next.
 

DRII

G.O.A.T.
He has already overachieved a lot, especially last 4 of his Wimbledon & Australian opens.
Enough is enough now.
that is what I'm thinking to an extent.

Djokovic has won far more of his slams by the skin of his teeth than Federer or Nadal have.

Djokovic also had to sacrifice a lot more than Federer or Nadal, I'm mainly talking about diet. Federer and Nadal enjoy exquisite cuisine (and doing commercials for such), where Djokovic would go years without eating a single bite of chocolate. How much more will he or can he sacrifice?
 

MichaelNadal

Bionic Poster
160e81cbd5b35fa0968782793836.gif
 

Amen786

Semi-Pro
that is what I'm thinking to an extent.

Djokovic has won far more of his slams by the skin of his teeth than Federer or Nadal have.

Djokovic also had to sacrifice a lot more than Federer or Nadal, I'm mainly talking about diet. Federer and Nadal enjoy exquisite cuisine (and doing commercials for such), where Djokovic would go years without eating a single bite of chocolate. How much more will he or can he sacrifice?
Its not about his sacrifice really.
He has to take care of his body. Like every top athlete. And he's the fittest of them all so far.
 

abmk

Bionic Poster
Each time when asked by circumstance, he has showed he is of Federer and Nadal's equal.

we will see if he can do it again by having a couple to a few Twilight-Swan years where he can pad his record with a few more slams. Federer had 2017 and 18, Nadal had 2019 and 20 - each adding 3 slams to their tally.

We shall see how Djokovic does in 2022 and if he will need to get into his Swan song stage yet.

This may be the one criteria where he does not equal Federer or Nadal. Of course he didn't need such to get to his 20, but i don't think Nadal is finished yet (depending on how his foot surgery went) and Federer still has some chance after another knee surgery, although slim.

again, we shall see..

Djokovic won his 20th slam slightly over 34 years and 1.5 months old
Nadal won his 20th slam at like 34 years and 5 months old

not much of a difference.
 

DRII

G.O.A.T.
Its not about his sacrifice really.
He has to take care of his body. Like every top athlete. And he's the fittest of them all so far.
But he does more than Federer or Nadal does, going off the surface. Fedal did not have to sacrifice eating great food.
 

DRII

G.O.A.T.
I have to admit, Novak losing the USO F really had a strange effect on what we all think we know about the makeup of the tour in 2022. By all rights, anyone winning 3 majors in a season, getting to the final in the 4th, should be expected to keep that level of play up. His age, though, and the ever improving field, are really making it hard to predict what's next.
also, look what happened to Laver. after his last grand slam year, he didn't win another slam.
 

Amen786

Semi-Pro
But he does more than Federer or Nadal does, going off the surface. Fedal did not have to sacrifice eating great food.
He doesn't have the raw talent & hand-eye coordination of Federer. The man is one in billions. On the pure genius & talent scale, Djokovic is below federer.
But the serb is a mental fortress and clutch as hell, fed's clutch is a sand tower compared to nole's concrete tower. Its all between the ears.
 

DRII

G.O.A.T.
He actually means that if Djokovic fails to do something special he will fall back to being equal to Fedal. Nice of him to acknowledge Djokovic's superiority.
I don't need, nor did I ask for your insecurity.

My praise for Djokovic is in my OP, w/o the childish sarcasm you're eliciting in your response.

learn how to take a compliment for your guy!
 

Djokodal Fan

Hall of Fame
that was one exact circumstance I was talking about, coming back from injury to win more slams.

so you were sleeping and didn't read my entire post.
Nadal and Djokovic are the same age. So please educate me how Nadal has entered Twilight years and showed his mettle, but Djokovic didn't? I get the Fed part though. We have to wait and see.
 

DRII

G.O.A.T.
He doesn't have the raw talent & hand-eye coordination of Federer. The man is one in billions. On the pure genius & talent scale, Djokovic is below federer.
But the serb is a mental fortress and clutch as hell, fed's clutch is a sand tower compared to nole's concrete tower. Its all between the ears.
I see you skipped past Nadal's X factor. guess thats too much to expect.

anyway, yes, Djokovic lacks the X factor of the other 2.
 

DRII

G.O.A.T.
Nadal and Djokovic are the same age. So please educate me how Nadal has entered Twilight years and showed his mettle, but Djokovic didn't? I get the Fed part though. We have to wait and see.
I've already explained on this forum how Nadal is at least 3 tennis years older than Djokovic (basically Nadal was a teen phenom and played much more tennis than Djokovic did at that age). I'm not doing it again.

Search the forum and you will see the thread i made about it, if you wish, plenty of facts and stats to back up my claim.
 

Fabresque

Legend
he's at 20, just like the other 2 coGOATS are!

they're equal!

you were probably one of the ones already claiming/giving Djokovic 21 slams. you were wrong!
Tennis isn’t all slams.

Novak leads every other measurable statistic that has importance for the GOAT mantle.

Wimbledon pretty much made him GOAT, people just don’t accept it because he’s not their favorite player or value things like playstyle and elegance more.
 

Amen786

Semi-Pro
I see you skipped past Nadal's X factor. guess thats too much to expect.

anyway, yes, Djokovic lacks the X factor of the other 2.
You asked solely about federer so.
Nadal is the beast of a nature, exceptional talent, fight, grit & hand skills. Easy power.
 

Djokodal Fan

Hall of Fame
I've already explained on this forum how Nadal is at least 3 tennis years older than Djokovic (basically Nadal was a teen phenom and played much more tennis than Djokovic did at that age). I'm not doing it again.

Search the forum and you will see the thread i made about it, if you wish, plenty of facts and stats to back up my claim.
You explaining as a poster doesn't mean anything. Anyone can make any interpretation and come up with any theory. If that is the case, I have my own version of Djokovic entering Twilight purely based on same age as nadal. Nadal doesn't play outside of clay and is injured all the time

Let's stop your biased opinion as facts!
 

DRII

G.O.A.T.
You explaining as a poster doesn't mean anything. Anyone can make any interpretation and come up with any theory. If that is the case, I have my own version of Djokovic entering Twilight purely based on same age as nadal. Nadal doesn't play outside of clay and is injured all the time

Let's stop your biased opinion as facts!
Well then ignore it! I don't need your approval, if you want to ignorantly believe that Djokovic is the same 'tennis age' as Nadal, than go for it. just realize you look foolish doing so.

point is, Nadal played relatively little tennis in 2019 and 2020, a la a twilight year. Djokovic hasn't had any such years yet!

but you go ahead and pretend their the same age.
 

Bartelby

Bionic Poster
Djokovic is undoubtedly the GOAT, although I still prefer Federer in his prime.

Tennis isn’t all slams.

Novak leads every other measurable statistic that has importance for the GOAT mantle.

Wimbledon pretty much made him GOAT, people just don’t accept it because he’s not their favorite player or value things like playstyle and elegance more.
 

darthrafa

Hall of Fame
winning 3 GS consecutively and lost the last final = spent? r u kidding? if so, rafa and fed, including murray, should all have retired.
 

clayqueen

Talk Tennis Guru
An all singing all dancing, fully fit form of Djokovic on a surface on which he is supposed to be the King, only won 1 match in straight sets at the 2021 USO and lost in straight sets in the final. It's not going to be plain sailing for him anymore. And this was by far the most important match of his career.

 
Last edited:

mwym

Professional
Due to the fact he mindfvcked himself on Sunday Djokovic now can be prevented from winning majors before he retires?

Democracy is very expensive. (F)Actually, it is too expensive.
 

R. Schweikart

Professional
“If he is their equal” my guy Novak’s dominated an entire decade of tennis over his greatest rivals and at the age of 34 is winning more slams than Federer did at that age. Really really dumb thread title.


Federer at this age had to compete with peak Nadal and peak Djokovic.
Djokovic today has to compete with Zverev and Medvedev. Big advantage. We should apply an asterisk to his slam number.
 

Sunny014

Legend
Tennis Tiers as on today (GOAT in BOLD)

Tier 1 : FEDERER, Djokovic, Peter Sampras & Nadal
Tier 2 : Borg, Mcenroe, Connors, Agassi & Lendl
Tier 3 : Becker, Wilander, Edberg
Tier 4 : Safin, Courier, Kuerten, Murray, Hewitt, Roddick, Stanimal, Ivanisevic, Bruguera etc etc
Tier 5 : Gaudio, Thiem, Medvedev (new entrant in this list after yesterday's win), Muster etc etc
Tier 6 : Nalbandian, Raonic, Nishikori, Tsonga, Zverev, Sissypas etc etc
Tier 7 : Top 50 players who are journeymen

Tier 8 : Those ranked outside the top 100
 

Fedforever

Hall of Fame
I have to admit, Novak losing the USO F really had a strange effect on what we all think we know about the makeup of the tour in 2022. By all rights, anyone winning 3 majors in a season, getting to the final in the 4th, should be expected to keep that level of play up. His age, though, and the ever improving field, are really making it hard to predict what's next.

It's made things so much more interesting. If Novak had taken the CYGS he would be unassailable - even if Nadal had equalled or beaten the Slam Count by one most people would still put having a CYGS above that. A more likely scenario is that Novak would just add to his slam count in a fairly relaxed way and probably end up on 24/25

But now, if Novak was to lose in Australia and Nadal to win in Paris (nowhere near an impossible scenario) Novak is looking at two more slams to get the record back -and suddenly he's really under pressure. Next Gen now know that he can be beaten, Medvedev has had a huge boost, Zverev is looking tougher all the time, even Tsitsipas might get his head out of the toilet (literally).

The most likely scenario is still that Novak ends up the winner in the Slam Count. But the loss on Sunday has certainly added some new dynamics to things.
 

itrium84

Hall of Fame
Each time when asked by circumstance, he has showed he is of Federer and Nadal's equal.

we will see if he can do it again by having a couple to a few Twilight-Swan years where he can pad his record with a few more slams. Federer had 2017 and 18, Nadal had 2019 and 20 - each adding 3 slams to their tally.

We shall see how Djokovic does in 2022 and if he will need to get into his Swan song stage yet.

This may be the one criteria where he does not equal Federer or Nadal. Of course he didn't need such to get to his 20, but i don't think Nadal is finished yet (depending on how his foot surgery went) and Federer still has some chance after another knee surgery, although slim.

again, we shall see..
Fed 17/18
Ned 19/20
Djok 20/21
?
 
Top