Why is nadal so much more popular than Djokovic?

D

dominikk1985

Legend
I can understand why fed is more popular as he won a million slams and has a very elegant game.

However I'm not sure why nadal is so much more popular than nole. Nole was the best player over the last 2 years and he is also a very funny and intelligent person (IMO the most intelligent out of the top4-although I cannot judge murray). nadal on the other hand barely speeks english and is not an "interesting person" (not say he is boring but he doesn't have any apealing stories for the media) in general.

he is (was?) a fantastic player but his game does not have a federer level of elegance either.

so why is he still much more popular than nole? I agree that nole sometimes does questionable stuff but I do think he does not get the respect he deserves.
 
RAFA2005RG

RAFA2005RG

Banned
Nadal is likeable. Djokovic is attention-seeking. And tennis-wise, Nadal is unorthodox, while Djokovic/Federer/Murrray are more textbook.
 
90's Clay

90's Clay

Banned
Nole's early years where he was rather obnoxious and attention seeking hurt him. Though I liked that Nole way better then the current one.

Love me some Nole with a chip on his shoulder. Its too bad he had to actually mature. An obnoxious jerk IMO is what this game needs .. Its a breathe of fresh air. Instead of these slew of politically correct PR prima donnas, always having to watch what they say or some sissy's feelings will get hurt
 
veroniquem

veroniquem

Bionic Poster
I like both but Rafa has achieved more than Djoko at this point (many more titles, slams, masters, etc). If Djoko continues winning at a regular pace, his popularity will increase accordingly.
 
Phoenix1983

Phoenix1983

G.O.A.T.
90's Clay said:
Nole's early years where he was rather obnoxious and attention seeking hurt him. Though I liked that Nole way better then the current one.

Love me some Nole with a chip on his shoulder. Its too bad he had to actually mature. An obnoxious jerk IMO is what this game needs .. Its a breathe of fresh air. Instead of these slew of politically correct PR prima donnas, always having to watch what they say or some sissy's feelings will get hurt
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I agree, they are all so bland these days. The last real character near the top of the sport was Safin.
 
ollinger

ollinger

G.O.A.T.
Athletes who are Spanish speaking tend to be popular in countries where Spanish is spoken, and there are MANY of these, not least the USA among others. Not many places where Serbian is spoken, though Novak certainly speaks adequate English.
 
Phoenix1983

Phoenix1983

G.O.A.T.
veroniquem said:
Of the many things one could accuse Djoko of, 'bland" is not one...
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Sorry but all he does is win matches with a boring grinding style and lacks the charisma of a Federer/Nadal, or the bad boy antics of a McEnroe/Connors type.

He's the identikit bland modern champion. :|
 
veroniquem

veroniquem

Bionic Poster
Phoenix1983 said:
Sorry but all he does is win matches with a boring grinding style and lacks the charisma of a Federer/Nadal, or the bad boy antics of a McEnroe/Connors type.

He's the identikit bland modern champion. :|
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223044-novak-djokovic-celebrates-win-over-rafael-nadal.jpg
 
P

papertank

Hall of Fame
Nadal's rise to fame is basically because he represents the anti-Federer. Yin and yang. Not any better or worse, just opposite. Federer plays elegant and offensive attacking tennis while Nadal plays brutal and gritty counter-punching. Federer is the most naturally talented player to ever play while Nadal is the hardest worker. Federer exudes class and skill and Nadal brutality and youth. Anyone who dislikes one is bound to like the other.

Nadal definitely has character on his own but his traits are magnified by comparing him to Federer. Together they have achieved higher popularity than they ever would have separately. For Djokovic and Murray to achieve this kind of popularity they will have to take their rivalry to the next level.
 
S

single_handed_champion

Professional
Nadal is popular because he came up as Federer's nemesis. Fire vs ice, grit vs silk, rough-hewn vs smooth, counterpuncher vs attacker, moonball vs flatball (not to put him down, just wanted something concise here :) ). In addition, you can see the effort that goes into his game, which I think appeals to the common man.

Everything Djokovic is known for (defensive gets, physicality) was first spoken of in association with Nadal, even if he is better in some respects perhaps. Djokovic also has no unique shots or on-court persona.
 
S

single_handed_champion

Professional
papertank said:
Nadal's rise to fame is basically because he represents the anti-Federer. Yin and yang. Not any better or worse, just opposite. Federer plays elegant and offensive attacking tennis while Nadal plays brutal and gritty counter-punching. Federer is the most naturally talented player to ever play while Nadal is the hardest worker. Federer exudes class and skill and Nadal brutality and youth. Anyone who dislikes one is bound to like the other.

Nadal definitely has character on his own but his traits are magnified by comparing him to Federer. Together they have achieved higher popularity than they ever would have separately. For Djokovic and Murray to achieve this kind of popularity they will have to take their rivalry to the next level.
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LOL, I should have read the thread to make sure someone had not already posted the exact same thing I did.
 
BauerAlmeida

BauerAlmeida

Hall of Fame
Nadal has been around for a lot longer and won a lot more, if Djokovic stays 1 for some time and wins more majors they could have both the same popularity.

As the OP said, none of them will reach Federer's popularity.
 
S

Sid_Vicious

G.O.A.T.
single_handed_champion said:
Nadal is popular because he came up as Federer's nemesis. Fire vs ice, grit vs silk, rough-hewn vs smooth, counterpuncher vs attacker, moonball vs flatball (not to put him down, just wanted something concise here :) ). In addition, you can see the effort that goes into his game, which I think appeals to the common man.

Everything Djokovic is known for (defensive gets, physicality) was first spoken of in association with Nadal, even if he is better in some respects perhaps. Djokovic also has no unique shots or on-court persona.
Click to expand...

I think people are attracted to Nadal's competitive atitude. They appreciate his fist pumps, vamoses, and amped up approach to the match. Nadal also helps this image by giving interviews that make him seem like Rocky Balboa.. "Thank you everybody for the support. I will try my best and keep fighting like I have my whole life".
 
MichaelNadal

MichaelNadal

Bionic Poster
Sid_Vicious said:
I think people are attracted to Nadal's competitive atitude. They appreciate his fist pumps, vamoses, and amped up approach to the match. Nadal also helps this image by giving interviews that make him seem like Rocky Balboa.. "Thank you everybody for the support. I will try my best and keep fighting like I have my whole life".
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Im watching the Rocky movies with a friend that has NEVER seen them. Tonight is Rocky 3 :) Can't wait, he's gonna be like damn, what a kick-ass movie :p
 
Clarky21

Clarky21

Banned
BauerAlmeida said:
Nadal has been around for a lot longer and won a lot more, if Djokovic stays 1 for some time and wins more majors they could have both the same popularity.

As the OP said, none of them will reach Federer's popularity.
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Djesus has been around for years now. It's not like he's a rookie on the tour.
 
BauerAlmeida

BauerAlmeida

Hall of Fame
Clarky21 said:
Djesus has been around for years now. It's not like he's a rookie on the tour.
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Less than Nadal though.

And I'm talking about being in the top of the sport. Regularly competing for gs titles and the number 1 ranking. Djokovic started doing that 2 years ago.
 
zagor

zagor

Bionic Poster
veroniquem said:
I like both but Rafa has achieved more than Djoko at this point (many more titles, slams, masters, etc). If Djoko continues winning at a regular pace, his popularity will increase accordingly.
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Nah, Nadal had a way bigger fanbase when he had less slams than Novak has now.

It's just the way it is, you could ponder whether It's because of Nadal's on court intensity(the only who comes close is Hewitt), better (and bigger) FH, more highlight reel shots (especially Nadal's passing shots), better looks or charisma (though that's debatable depending on whom you ask) etc.

Some players just attract the bigger crowds, player's success does affect his popularity but there are various other factors that come into play.

Personally, I prefer watching Novak to Nadal, even in long rallies I just like the way Novak hits the ball off both sides, his effortless change of direction, consistent depth he gets on his shots etc. but I'm not gonna fool myself and claim that if he wins more he'll have the fanbase Nadal has, I sincerely doubt that's ever gonna happen.
 
RAFA2005RG

RAFA2005RG

Banned
MichaelNadal said:
Im watching the Rocky movies with a friend that has NEVER seen them. Tonight is Rocky 3 :) Can't wait, he's gonna be like damn, what a kick-ass movie :p
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Interesting to see what he thinks of Drago vs Creed in Rocky IV :D

That fight is like a horror movie. DEATH....FROM ABOVE.
 
D

DropShotArtist

Banned
The only reason Nadal is so popular to begin with is because of Federer. No one in their right mind can deny that. Inherently Nadal is no more crowd attracting that Djokovic is. Nadal is simply lucky he overlapped more in the Federer era and made the perfect foil to Federer's style.
 
N

Nickzor

Semi-Pro
papertank said:
Nadal's rise to fame is basically because he represents the anti-Federer. Yin and yang. Not any better or worse, just opposite. Federer plays elegant and offensive attacking tennis while Nadal plays brutal and gritty counter-punching. Federer is the most naturally talented player to ever play while Nadal is the hardest worker. Federer exudes class and skill and Nadal brutality and youth. Anyone who dislikes one is bound to like the other.

Nadal definitely has character on his own but his traits are magnified by comparing him to Federer. Together they have achieved higher popularity than they ever would have separately. For Djokovic and Murray to achieve this kind of popularity they will have to take their rivalry to the next level.
Click to expand...

Great post! This really sums up why they're both so popular, your words were always in the back of my mind, and the perfect reason to their popularity
 
T

Tennusdude

Semi-Pro
dominikk1985 said:
I can understand why fed is more popular as he won a million slams and has a very elegant game.

However I'm not sure why nadal is so much more popular than nole. Nole was the best player over the last 2 years and he is also a very funny and intelligent person (IMO the most intelligent out of the top4-although I cannot judge murray). nadal on the other hand barely speeks english and is not an "interesting person" (not say he is boring but he doesn't have any apealing stories for the media) in general.

he is (was?) a fantastic player but his game does not have a federer level of elegance either.

so why is he still much more popular than nole? I agree that nole sometimes does questionable stuff but I do think he does not get the respect he deserves.
Click to expand...

I think alot of people respect and admire Nadal's persistence in pulling his wedgie out every 30 seconds.
 
T

timnz

Legend
ollinger said:
Athletes who are Spanish speaking tend to be popular in countries where Spanish is spoken, and there are MANY of these, not least the USA among others. Not many places where Serbian is spoken, though Novak certainly speaks adequate English.
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Djokovic speaks fluent english, fluent german ,fluent italian, passable french and of course serbian and croatian.
 
Last edited:
winstonplum

winstonplum

Hall of Fame
Nadal's tough, never-say-die, gritty, warrior persona on the court was absolutely revolutionary in tennis. Yes, there had been intense, hard-working, gritty players before, but none ever had the almost cinematic dimension that Nadal had. The funny thing is that he's not even really like that anymore. Which is fine. He's grown up. Things change. But the legend will live on forever.

As will Federer's. He was simply the greatest player many people had ever seen in their lives. His talent was breath-taking and Jordanesque.

Djokovic is simply a very, very, very good tennis player. In fact, the best player in the world for the last two years. But that in and of itself doesn't make one a transcendent icon.
 
S

spperry

Rookie
single_handed_champion said:
Nadal is popular because he came up as Federer's nemesis. Fire vs ice, grit vs silk, rough-hewn vs smooth, counterpuncher vs attacker, moonball vs flatball (not to put him down, just wanted something concise here :) ).

I agree with this. Nadal although only a year older came through several seasons before Djokovic and was the only player challenging Federer. I think a lot of people started supporting him then and regardless of how good Djokovic is now they still support Nadal.
Click to expand...
 
rafafan20

rafafan20

Professional
djoker could win 10 more majors than nadal and wouldn't be more popular, simple. People like rafa's warrior mentality (whether you believe it or not), personality and style. I think a lot of americans won't take to djoker ever because of his early career antics
 
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