Is Novak the most perfect player (Open Era)?

Does Novak have the least amount of weaknesses, and is he the most pefect?

  • No weaknesses; the guy is near perfect

    Votes: 56 34.4%

  • Not even close; Federer is far more perfect with fewer weaknesses

    Votes: 107 65.6%
  • Total voters
    163
jackson vile

jackson vile

G.O.A.T.
fps said:
Oh rubbish. That might be true of the two as they are, with Federer's place up at tennis' summit with the other gods secured, staring down the barrel of 31 with twins and a wife. But we don't know a thing about how this guy trained or how hard he worked to get where he is. Nor how hard he continues to work to be THREE IN THE WORLD at an age when most pros with this many miles on the clock are struggling to get on court at all, or gone from the game completely.
Click to expand...

I think what the posters means is by results. Results suggest that Federer is not doing enough, while Novak is.
 
W

wimble10

Semi-Pro
TennisFan3 said:
, if you didn't observe how he modified his style midway through his career. Sampras, in his younger days, was an ALL COURT player. He could rally anyone from the back of the court. For evidence see any of his early matches, not least his maiden UsOpen triumph.
Click to expand...

Actually I think he was more of a Serve & volleyer in his early days. I was just watching his big upset at the US Open '89 when he knocked off Wilander. He was coming in on everything in that last service game in the 5th.

Midway through his career, especially after Tim Gullikson's death, Pete adopted a HIGHLY aggressive style of play which was composed of shortening points, rushing to the net and taking more risks on serve. His basic aim was to litter up the stat sheet and go for a big shot as soon as possible. This was in part due to his illness (Thasselmia Minor) because of which he faced stamina issues, and didn't feel strong enough to rally for hours. He talks about this in his book too.
Click to expand...

I forget that Pete had this illness. He really didn't seem to ever let it get in his way. But I can see how it could have had a serious impact on his stamina, especially during longer matches.

Anyway, after 1996, Pete pretty much gave up on the French Open and just focused on Wimbledon. He just went for winners on pretty much everything including low percentage shots such as service return winners, running forehand or DTL backhand. His ground game worsened as his fitness suffered too. But he was still able to hold the top spot because of his remarkable ability to play 1-2 tennis, his half-volleys, serve and the tremendous mental strength. I haven't see any better big match player than Pete. If there was someone you could bet your life upon, it was him.
Click to expand...
I thought his ground game improved throughout his career. His serve & volley and attacking style were his strength, but his improved counterpunching from the baseline were what kept him ahead of his competition.
 
W

wimble10

Semi-Pro
5263 said:
As a big Sampras fan, I'm pretty convinced that Sampras is the Most INcomplete player of the greats.
How people forget with time. Anytime the rally was started, all us big Sampras fans were scared to death; especially against Agassi who pretty much owned him off the ground. Without his incredible serves (1st & 2ond) he might not have been a top ten player and pretty surely not a top 5 player.
Click to expand...
I wouldn't say Agassi owned Sampras off the ground. Agassi groundstrokes were probably more consistent so in a long baseline rally Agassi often came out on top.

Sure he he hit a big running Fh here and there, but he often struggled to hold (even with his great serves) and had to serve his way out of trouble time and time again. Thats what hes famous for. And Probably broke serve of others far less often than Joker, Fed, Agassi, and Nadal do.
His volleys were just better than avg and his fitness was more suspect than Jokers 3yrs ago. Bh was clearly a weakness except for some hot streaks.
Click to expand...
I would say Pete's volleys were one of his biggest strengths. I think he had excellent volleys.

Novak really has no weakness to speak of, with excellent height, Fh, Bh, and slice. Maybe best return of serve ever! Really nice volleys when he uses them and a way better than avg pair of serves.
Big strengths are Backhand and returns, with very little drop off after that on the other strokes. I expect he would Route Pete, as I think his return is good enough to handle Pete's serve due to how he can punish returns like Agassi, but make a ton of returns in play like RF and Nadal.
Click to expand...
I'm not sure Djokovic could handle Pete's power. Pete's game was a lot more offensive than RF or Nadal. I think it would depend on surface. FO to Djokovic. Wimbledon, USO and AO are toss up.
 
S

Sid_Vicious

G.O.A.T.
5263 said:
As a big Sampras fan, I'm pretty convinced that Sampras is the Most INcomplete player of the greats.
How people forget with time. Anytime the rally was started, all us big Sampras fans were scared to death; especially against Agassi who pretty much owned him off the ground. Without his incredible serves (1st & 2ond) he might not have been a top ten player and pretty surely not a top 5 player.

Sure he he hit a big running Fh here and there, but he often struggled to hold (even with his great serves) and had to serve his way out of trouble time and time again. Thats what hes famous for. And Probably broke serve of others far less often than Joker, Fed, Agassi, and Nadal do.
His volleys were just better than avg and his fitness was more suspect than Jokers 3yrs ago. Bh was clearly a weakness except for some hot streaks.

Novak really has no weakness to speak of, with excellent height, Fh, Bh, and slice. Maybe best return of serve ever! Really nice volleys when he uses them and a way better than avg pair of serves.
Big strengths are Backhand and returns, with very little drop off after that on the other strokes. I expect he would Route Pete, as I think his return is good enough to handle Pete's serve due to how he can punish returns like Agassi, but make a ton of returns in play like RF and Nadal.
Click to expand...

Seems Legit.
 
DeShaun

DeShaun

Banned
jackson vile said:
Yes, you maybe correct on that one. However, to keep things on topic I am solely talking about weaknesses that players can take advantage of, ie holes in your game that cause you to lose.

I just don't see that in Novak's game and he is competing against two of the best players to exist in the Open Era!
Click to expand...

He's long had a fantastic return game, but when he finally got his serve back last year- and after winning DC, he clearly jumped levels. That coincided with Rafa taking one of his "off" years, as some have called his history of alternating/following a really strong year with a comparatively weak one. Add to the mix that Roger seems to be growing noticeably slower/lazier about his baseline every six months or so, and there you have a recipe for the new, "most perfect player ever" Novak jumping from 3 to invincible.
 
DeShaun

DeShaun

Banned
wimble10 said:
I wouldn't say Agassi owned Sampras off the ground. Agassi groundstrokes were probably more consistent so in a long baseline rally Agassi often came out on top.


I would say Pete's volleys were one of his biggest strengths. I think he had excellent volleys.


I'm not sure Djokovic could handle Pete's power. Pete's game was a lot more offensive than RF or Nadal. I think it would depend on surface. FO to Djokovic. Wimbledon, USO and AO are toss up.
Click to expand...

I saw Pete, McEnroe, Chang, and Courier all play at an exo (the Champion's League, or whatever they call it) only a few months ago.

If a forty-year old Chang still can crawl all over a forty-year old Sampras' best serves, which serves looked to me to be still quite formidable with Pete serving with a Babolat and polys, and with Chang just drilling some jaw-dropping returns against the most impressive serves that I had ever seen, I am positively certain that Novak could handle Pete's power because of the speed of Novak's reflexes, his length, and his flexibility.

In fact, I have been watching this video on repeat all weekend long:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=B8Qh-r77Sk4
 
Last edited:
T

The Gentleman's Sport

Rookie
fps said:
Oh rubbish. That might be true of the two as they are, with Federer's place up at tennis' summit with the other gods secured, staring down the barrel of 31 with twins and a wife. But we don't know a thing about how this guy trained or how hard he worked to get where he is. Nor how hard he continues to work to be THREE IN THE WORLD at an age when most pros with this many miles on the clock are struggling to get on court at all, or gone from the game completely.
Click to expand...

That's nice, but we've seen how Federer simply gives up and loses concentration when in a tight spot. He threw two sets and couldn't close out the match with 2 match points at USO 2011 and he gave up against Nadal at AO 2012. Djokovic played better when he was down against Murray and Nadal. Both players hate to lose (and Federer throws hissy fits when he does), but Djokovic's determination pushes him to victory even when facing physical exhaustion.
No contest.
 
zagor

zagor

Bionic Poster
TennisFan3 said:
I'm wondering what kind of Sampras fan you are, if you didn't observe how he modified his style midway through his career. Sampras, in his younger days, was an ALL COURT player. He could rally anyone from the back of the court. For evidence see any of his early matches, not least his maiden UsOpen triumph.

Midway through his career, especially after Tim Gullikson's death, Pete adopted a HIGHLY aggressive style of play which was composed of shortening points, rushing to the net and taking more risks on serve. His basic aim was to litter up the stat sheet and go for a big shot as soon as possible. This was in part due to his illness (Thasselmia Minor) because of which he faced stamina issues, and didn't feel strong enough to rally for hours. He talks about this in his book too.

Anyway, after 1996, Pete pretty much gave up on the French Open and just focused on Wimbledon. He just went for winners on pretty much everything including low percentage shots such as service return winners, running forehand or DTL backhand. His ground game worsened as his fitness suffered too. But he was still able to hold the top spot because of his remarkable ability to play 1-2 tennis, his half-volleys, serve and the tremendous mental strength. I haven't see any better big match player than Pete. If there was someone you could bet your life upon, it was him.
Click to expand...

I wouldn't say Sampras completely modified his style of play after Tim was gone, sure he got more agressive but he still played a ton from the baseline. I wouldn't say Sampras was a pure serve and volleyer until 2000 really (though he was gearing more towards it in 1998-1999).

Don't know if I'd call him the most perfect player(that notion is silly overall and OP's intention is clear anyway) but he's definitely the best all-court player I've ever seen, note that doesn't necessarilly mean the best player I've ever seen, I still might give that to Fed (it's a very close call IMO) and Nadal is getting there as well but that's a different argument.
 
PCXL-Fan

PCXL-Fan

Hall of Fame
I like how there are only 2 possible choices in the poll. Fed isn't "far more perfect" than Djokovic and Djokovic isn't the most perfect player in Open era either.

Why did Mr. Perfect lose against Fed in RO2011 and just barely scratch by a win against Fed in USO2011?
 
N

NLBwell

Legend
In this period of time in tennis, I would say Djokovic has no weaknesses (net play really doesn't matter much now). Doesn't mean he is perfect, as many players have portions of their games which are stronger.
 
D

devila

Banned
The Gentleman's Sport said:
That's nice, but we've seen how Federer simply gives up and loses concentration when in a tight spot. He threw two sets and couldn't close out the match with 2 match points at USO 2011 and he gave up against Nadal at AO 2012. Djokovic played better when he was down against Murray and Nadal. Both players hate to lose (and Federer throws hissy fits when he does), but Djokovic's determination pushes him to victory even when facing physical exhaustion.
No contest.
Click to expand...

djoker's AN INSPIRATION; HE REALIZES IT.
he was insulted by federer in the post match interview.
ironically, djoker was slightly injured in august but he never quit.
it would've been disastrous to watch federer with his slimey smile in
the us open final.
 
Mike Sams

Mike Sams

G.O.A.T.
Djokovic isn't perfect but he's got the perfect style to beat every single style of tennis he faces on any surface. He can nullify the brutal power of Tsonga, Del Potro, Soderling and Berdych, he can handle the all-court mastery of Federer, he can neutralize the murderous topspin of Rafa, he can handle the tricky and sneaky tactics of Tomic and Dolgopolov and even Murray. Basically Djokovic is the perfect blueprint. Teach your kids the Djokovic style. That is a winner's style right there.:)
 
Mike Sams

Mike Sams

G.O.A.T.
How can Federer be far more perfect with fewer weaknesses than Djokovic when he's losing almost all matches against Nadal? It obviously means he's got tons of weaknesses. Look at the AO. Federer looked like a complete clown, totally out of his league. Lucky to even win a set.
Delusional *******s can't see the obvious. :lol:
 
D

devila

Banned
glad to witness not-so-perfect fed fans; fed needs all the fast as lightning tennis courts that he can bribe tourney organizers for.
 
H

hawk eye

Hall of Fame
No, most perfect player still has to be Davydenko. When he's on no player can match him. Just demolished Robin Haase in front of his home crowd in spectacular fashion. When he's back to his best , I see him having a good chance to take his well deserved major.
 
C

CDestroyer

Professional
kishnabe said:
He doesn't give up does he.....maybe it would be better for him to have a username that has nothing to do with Nadal.
Click to expand...

The username letters are all in caps or all lowercase and revolve around the most disliked player in tennis.............besides Serena.
 
vamospunch

vamospunch

Banned
hawk eye said:
No, most perfect player still has to be Davydenko. When he's on no player can match him. Just demolished Robin Haase in front of his home crowd in spectacular fashion. When he's back to his best , I see him having a good chance to take his well deserved major.
Click to expand...

Federer has beaten Davydenko when Davydenko was on an absolute roll, at one Australian Open in particular.
 
H

hawk eye

Hall of Fame
vamospunch said:
Federer has beaten Davydenko when Davydenko was on an absolute roll, at one Australian Open in particular.
Click to expand...

Yes but first part of that match he totallly outplayed Federer. Then he choked, spoiled his lead and still lost the match. Not for the first time..
 
V

vllaznia

Semi-Pro
hawk eye said:
Yes but first part of that match he totallly outplayed Federer. Then he choked, spoiled his lead and still lost the match. Not for the first time..
Click to expand...

Did Davydenko use Prince against Haase? I hope he did, it would be nice to see him back in form.
 
DarthMaul

DarthMaul

Professional
Perfect is a superlative. There is no "most perfect". It is either perfect or not perfect...
The perfect player would have a 100% win/lost record.
And how can you say that a player is perfect when he's not able to hit the backhand with only one hand? :)
 
Last edited:
A

AMDRULES

New User
The most difficult for Nole will be to stay on top, playing like this, with no or minor injuries for some years.
Because thats what made Federer and Sampras so great, to be able to hold that Nº1 and keep beeing the best player in the world.

Time will tell. For me its very early to start making those comparisons.
 
You must log in or register to reply here.

Similar threads

D
  • Poll
U.S. Open 2015 SF: Novak Djokovic ([1] - Marin Čilić [9]
17 18 19
Replies
939
Views
37K
merwy
M
W
Bodo in 2007: Novak the "perfect player"
Replies
14
Views
3K
bullfan
B
S
Kei Nishikori: ´Roger Federer the Player I Admire the Most, He is Just Perfect´
2 3 4
Replies
164
Views
12K
tennisaddict
tennisaddict
ark_28
  • Poll
Sir John Isner v Novak Djokovic
5 6 7
Replies
327
Views
16K
ark_28
ark_28
Odvala
Nick Bollettieri: Novak maybe doesn't have the most GS, but...
2
Replies
84
Views
5K
AceSalvo
AceSalvo
Top