Why Novak never plays Queens or Halle?
- Thread starter juanparty
- Start date
D
Deleted member 791948
Guest
I remember Agassi and Hingis both said something along the lines of that you lose the timing on your groundstrokes if you play on grass for more than a couple of weeks.
Djokovic_is_the_best#1
Bionic Poster
The courts are to quick for him! 
Nostradamus
Bionic Poster
appearance money isn't that good. he needs at least $500,000 in appearnace money before he will consider playing
Born_to_slice
Legend
He's already tired from the clay season, regularly going deep in Rome/RG. So no need to spend more energy by playing a tournament he doesn't really need points from. Last time he got out early in RG, he played Queens because he needed more match play.
tennisjedi
Hall of Fame
The grass courts in Queens and Halle have gluten in them.
tennis_pro
Bionic Poster
He's won Wimbledon enough times to prove he doesnt need them.
wouldn't he make mo money if he played?
vex
Legend
^^^
Dude just doesn’t need to. He usually needs rest post-clay. He’s elite enough that his grass warmup is just Wimby Rounds 1-3.
UnforcedTerror
Hall of Fame
He almost always plays the semis at RG and there are only two/three weeks between RG and Wimbledon.
Watch him play them when he starts losing early at RG.
Watch him play them when he starts losing early at RG.
Topspin_80
Hall of Fame
Like Tel Aviv, Astana.He focuses on the big stuff, not the Mickey Mouse tourneys
Novak probably only played those tournaments because he was unable to play in Canada and the US, before these tournaments, this year.
dr325i
G.O.A.T.
What other “big stuff” could he focus on between Wimbledon and Bercy??
Topspin_80
Hall of Fame
Lauren_Girl'
Hall of Fame
I often wonder the same thing. He has played 3 times. Lost in final 3 times (Nadal in 2008, Haas in 2009, Cilic in 2018)
The only rational explanation is skipping these tournaments has proved to be the right formula. He doesn't need any grass warmup, he quickly adapts to the surface. 1 exhibition match (like this year) is enough.
At least he has won Eastbourne on grass. We can say he has won 1 grass event besides Wimbledon. It's better than nothing. LOL
The only rational explanation is skipping these tournaments has proved to be the right formula. He doesn't need any grass warmup, he quickly adapts to the surface. 1 exhibition match (like this year) is enough.
At least he has won Eastbourne on grass. We can say he has won 1 grass event besides Wimbledon. It's better than nothing. LOL
Mustard
Bionic Poster
He's been in 2 Queen's Club finals, losing to Nadal in 2008 and blowing championship points against Cilic in 2018 before losing.
dr325i
G.O.A.T.
It could...like that Pre-Melbourne 250 that other GOAT played after a long layoff.
If you understood professional sport, you'd understand that it is not easy to play a top tournament after a long layoff (for whatever reason)...
Topspin_80
Hall of Fame
Like Belgrade 1, then Belgrade 2??
ROTFLMAO your understanding of professional sports!!
Mainad
Bionic Poster
Clearly, losing in the finals of Queen's (twice) and Halle (once) never impaired his preparations for Wimbledon. He and Borg are the only multi-winning champions at Wimbledon in the Open Era who never played Queen's or any other grass warm-up event.
Still a shame for all that! Neither Borg nor Djokovic have ever joined the exclusive club of 8 players who won the Queen's/Halle-Wimbledon double in the Open Era!!
Still a shame for all that! Neither Borg nor Djokovic have ever joined the exclusive club of 8 players who won the Queen's/Halle-Wimbledon double in the Open Era!!
RF-18
Talk Tennis Guru
It's not that relevant really.
Roubaixcomp
Rookie
Because he doesn't need to as he keeps winning Wimbledon regardless.
juanparty
Hall of Fame
Lol, like Feddy
Mustard
Bionic Poster
Djokovic did play Queen's Club and Wimbledon in 2018.
Mainad
Bionic Poster
Depends what you mean by 'relevant'?
Mainad
Bionic Poster
I know he played it. Just very infrequently.
stringertom
Bionic Poster
Joe Kovic is into English Boodles, not French Poodles.
metsman
G.O.A.T.
Agassi and Hingis are not exactly the people to ask about timing on grass.
dr325i
G.O.A.T.
Dudeeee, that was 2021 when selected tournaments were offered and travel was restricted. You’re not only clueless about professional sports but also about basic things that happened last 3 years. Stop embarrassing yourself
D
Deleted member 791948
Guest
They both won Wimbledon without lead-up events.... and Agassi reached the semi-finals or better on 5 occasions (and a couple of Agassi's SF losses were 5-setters to Rafter).
metsman
G.O.A.T.
I am aware, but neither are natural grass courters.They both won Wimbledon without lead-up events.... and Agassi reached the semi-finals or better on 5 occasions (and a couple of Agassi's SF losses were 5-setters to Rafter).
roysid
Hall of Fame
A bit of history wont hurt. Djokovic used to play at queens till 2010. Didnt help his wimbledon though.
At 2011 after his unexpected loss in french semis, he decided to take break and straight way jumped to wimbledon. Voila, he won.
The winning formula continued till 2018 until that bad loss in french. It helped to bounce from tough losses in Rg in 2014 and 15 . He was contemplating not playing wimbledon. Played queens and reached championship point. And then won wimbledon.
Next you know, back to winning formula
At 2011 after his unexpected loss in french semis, he decided to take break and straight way jumped to wimbledon. Voila, he won.
The winning formula continued till 2018 until that bad loss in french. It helped to bounce from tough losses in Rg in 2014 and 15 . He was contemplating not playing wimbledon. Played queens and reached championship point. And then won wimbledon.
Next you know, back to winning formula
RF-18
Talk Tennis Guru
That Queens and Halle don't really deserve much attention if you are capable of winning 7 Wimbledons.
weakera
Talk Tennis Guru
Born_to_slice
Legend
daggerman
Hall of Fame
If anything, that makes them more qualified to talk about how playing on grass affects their timing, though I'm not sure I accept the premise.
socallefty
G.O.A.T.
It seems like Djokovic can play his base game and win big titles on any surface whether it is fast/slow, high/low bouncing. He doesn’t seem to have to make too many adjustments whether he plays at Wimbledon, Cincinnati, Shanghai, Paris Bercy, Australian Open, Indian Wells, Miami, US Open, Madrid, Rome, French Open etc. That is why he deserves to be the GOAT in my opinion as he has no weaknesses (someone will of course bring up his overhead which maybe costs him 1 or 2 points per set) and has the Big Title lead because of that.
I wish that he wins enough Slams to take the lead in that race as I would like to see a player with a balanced game who can win and dominate on all surfaces be the unofficial consensus GOAT. I hope he does not do more self-sabotage in the future to prevent him from playing more Slams and it would be nice if the Australian visa ban gets lifted as most tennis fans would like to watch him play.
I wish that he wins enough Slams to take the lead in that race as I would like to see a player with a balanced game who can win and dominate on all surfaces be the unofficial consensus GOAT. I hope he does not do more self-sabotage in the future to prevent him from playing more Slams and it would be nice if the Australian visa ban gets lifted as most tennis fans would like to watch him play.
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Few, if any, care how many Halle or Queens a player wins. Winning 7 Wimbledon's is what counts!
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