Why doesn't Djokovic get much support from the crowds?

billboard

Rookie
Fred fans are not the type that cares about fair wins and competition level.
They love flawed, vicious liars and sociopaths that become "their leaders". They were so stupid that they thought Roddick was a poor innocent golden boy and victim of Fred. They really believed a money hungry, talentless, sociopathic sycophant like Roddick was some kind of respected superstar and Fred fan.
How dare Novak reveal Roddick's sense of inadequacy and ignorance?

Fred floons are obsessed with money because that's the only thing that keeps them excited. They have to feed their 4-5 kids and Fred is like their robotic babysitter and daddy. They like to turn it around and say Novak the charismatic hero, is a talentless, scared, dimwitted robot that just stands around the same place on the court and begs for their mercy, love and respect. Who in their right mind would want fake support from sociopaths and idiots? Novak knows how friendly and smart he is. He shuts up the media by pretending Fred and nadal are better than him. If he cared about his reputation, he'd bad mouth and lie about opponents to get support from fans. He doesn't play tennis because he shows off how pretty he plays. Unlike Fred, he doesn't cheat and distract with net rushing and two faced behavior. Novak doesn't need to act like Dubai, Basel and Cincinnati make him a better man.
 

NonP

Legend
I can't be the only one who noticed that Novak chose not to thank the crowd in his winner's speech, and while he was no doubt being gracious and diplomatic he probably couldn't help but feel somewhat bitter about the decidedy pro-Federer chants throughout the match.

Such a constant, almost pathological need to be liked is what I find both endearing and frustrating about Nole. I've yet to see it but in his '08 AO acceptance speech he gently chided the crowd for being so behind Tsonga, before defusing the potential faux pas with an "I still love you guys." It was only partly successful, but nowhere near as cringe-inducing as his calculated schtick of "inviting" JMac onto the court to hit with him early into the '09 USO, which came across as too obvious an attempt to win back the NY crowd's favor after his disastrous feud with Roddick and then turning on the crowd the year before. (When I saw Novak's mousy and listless body language before his next rounder against Fed I knew he was going to lose.) That does reveal him as a flesh-and-blood antihero, the part of him that made me a fan in the first place, but the cutthroat world of sports generally has little room for such "human" failings and it was obvious he needed to get his personality to fall more in line with his robotic (I don't mean that disparagingly) game.

Thankfully he's gotten better in recent years, as we saw at the '11 USO where he used his irritation with the pro-Fed crowd to his advantage when he angrily unleashed the return seen around the world (you know which one), not to mention the thoughtful gesture of acknowledging the 10th 9/11 anniversary on his victory cap. But as we just saw he's never gonna become a Connors who not only can work the crowd but also feed on their hostility as his very raison d'etre. He'll always have to juggle and fortunately for him and for us fans he's proven to be one hell of a juggler.

BTW his innate need for popularity is why, contrary to some suggestions, Djokovic would actually make a bad politician. Of course in politics you need a thick skin, but in addition to that you often need to be willing to take endless abuse in making unpopular positions popular, and I doubt Novak has that kind of perseverance and resolve to go far up the political ladder.
 

tipsa...don'tlikehim!

Talk Tennis Guru
I think once someone stands in way of Roger and Nadal as a constant threat, his dirty laundry will suddenly appear out of nowhere.
Actually you may have a point, was stunned to see the hate towards Monfils last year and this year (US open 2014, Davis cup, French open 2015...) (but here i mean online mainly, in stadiums it is a different story)
but my whole point stands Tsonga and Del Potro would be more liked in these conditions I reckon.
And there are players who never won majors but dont have much support, Berdych is a good example.
 

xan

Hall of Fame
@NonP ill just add, but he did thank the crowd. He went to the box and shared a moment with all of people who were cheering for him.
Right there, in that box.
 

TennisCJC

Legend
I am not a Djoko fan, and I find him and his parents a bit offensive at times. The way he puffs up his chest and glares at his box when he wins is a bit over the top for me. I also have never liked the tear my shirt off and strike a muscle pose as a way of celebrating a win. Nor, did I like the way his mom said "the king is dead, long live the king" after Djokovic beat Federer in 2008 Aussie Open when Federer had mono. Djoko has yet to catch the king in slams if she is referring to Federer as the king. His parents have have been a bit over the top at some events.
 

mistik

Hall of Fame
Djokovic doesn't seem to have a dedicated fan base anything like as large as Federer and Nadal both enjoy and that goes a long way to explain his problems in getting crowd support.

When they were the 2 heavyweights in the ring, Nadal was perceived as the anti-Fed with his aggressive counter-punching style which was such a contrast to Federer's quicker, more balletic type of movement so the tennis world quickly divided into 2 camps.

Djokovic falls somewhere in the middle and fans of Federer and Nadal can't quite decide which of their heroes he emulates the most in terms of his personality and playing style. He has therefore fallen between the 2 big stools and just seems to irritate the fanbases of the other 2 players who can never quite understand how he has managed to become as good (if not better) than each of the 2 Big Idols.

At the top of tennis, as in love, 3 is a crowd. Djokovic will only truly come into his own with the fans when Federer and Nadal have both retired from the scene.
But why people loves Murray also more than him ??? He doesnt seem to be crowd favorite against Murray either...
 

RF20Lennon

Legend
I'll tell you my personal feeling about Djokovic. I absolutely love him after a match. I love him in interviews, love him in practice, love his personality, just seems like such a cool guy. But on court...not so much. He seems like a totally different person with the attitude and the idiosyncrasies. I mean I admire the hell out of the man. He is an inspiration for everyone considering what he had to go through in his childhood but you have to understand Federer has been the most popular player for the last decade! He's the only guy that most people would not mind seeing win over and over again. Now why that is I don't know.
 

MonkeyBoy

Hall of Fame
he came on to the scene after Federer and Nadal had well established fan bases and set himself up as a rival to the two of them so there's gonna be some animosity
 

Djokodal Fan

Hall of Fame
You're being judgemental because I like Federer? There were other players on my list who aren't from Western countries and haven't won as much. Delpo for example. I would've enjoyed watching him dominate more than Novak. I also enjoy watching Tonga and Stan.
Dont make everything about color, race etc just because you don't have a argument. Murray is from a western country but I still find his game boring to watch.
Yes, we have all heard what was said and liked about Novak as a person and his playing style as long he remained the bridesmaid back in 2008-2010. Once he started challenging the top echelon everything changes.

We have seen how Federer fans stooped and laughed at Nadal when Novak started dispatching him off @ 2011. It's time to give some hate because your boy is getting his a $$ whipped in every other God Damn GS final.

Sure I believe you that you like "would have liked" Tsonga or delpo. That's because they never threatened Federer to begin with. If and buts donot exist in sports. Only facts speak for themselves.
 

Djokodal Fan

Hall of Fame
For Novak it is. He desperately wants to be liked by the crowds.

LOL at some of Fed fanatic key board warriors. I'm wondering how many of these Key board warriors who complain about 'wanting to be liked' have a facebook account and peep every 5 minutes to see who liked their absurd and styupid pictures.

Bravo hiding behind your computer and criticize about others who want to be liked. Every person on this whole earth wants to be liked by his friends, family, peers. Yes every God Damn human being!

Just Novak shows up his real face in front of the camera to be liked, he has committed a sin, hasn't he?
 

syc23

Professional
Djokovic doesn't seem to have a dedicated fan base anything like as large as Federer and Nadal both enjoy and that goes a long way to explain his problems in getting crowd support.

When they were the 2 heavyweights in the ring, Nadal was perceived as the anti-Fed with his aggressive counter-punching style which was such a contrast to Federer's quicker, more balletic type of movement so the tennis world quickly divided into 2 camps.

Djokovic falls somewhere in the middle and fans of Federer and Nadal can't quite decide which of their heroes he emulates the most in terms of his personality and playing style. He has therefore fallen between the 2 big stools and just seems to irritate the fanbases of the other 2 players who can never quite understand how he has managed to become as good (if not better) than each of the 2 Big Idols.

At the top of tennis, as in love, 3 is a crowd. Djokovic will only truly come into his own with the fans when Federer and Nadal have both retired from the scene.

When both Fedal retire, the ones who are gloryhunters will 'suddenly' develop love for Djokovic - probably the same idiots who cheered Nole's DFs the other night...
 

Omega_7000

Legend
LOL at some of Fed fanatic key board warriors. I'm wondering how many of these Key board warriors who complain about 'wanting to be liked' have a facebook account and peep every 5 minutes to see who liked their absurd and styupid pictures.

Bravo hiding behind your computer and criticize about others who want to be liked. Every person on this whole earth wants to be liked by his friends, family, peers. Yes every God Damn human being!

Just Novak shows up his real face in front of the camera to be liked, he has committed a sin, hasn't he?

Calm down boy! When did I say it's a sin for Novak wanting to be liked by the crowd? Go back and read before mouthing off.

I was responding to underline man....He said tennis is not a popularity contest....I said for Novak it is important to be liked by the crowd. Nothing wrong with that but it is important to him.
 

Oakel

Semi-Pro
Fed fans in ruins everytime Novak takes a grandslam away from him.

Their tears make two back to back final wins so sweet.

Everytime Novak wins a grandslam against fed, these threads will come and I'm so happy to read how all the Fed fanatics continue to cry and mourn.
To be fair mate true fed fans don't care. I was happy the way Roger played sure he missed some silly shots which cost him breaks but at 34 he has nothing to prove to us. If he beats Novak his fans should be more bothered than us. The crowd wasn't any worse than a Wimbledon crowd with a Brit (we are aweful). My main concern is the state of the atp tour. Takes Federer who has been and I quote "a weak era mug" to challenge and beat Djokovic? Any true Novak fan would've got nervous at 4-3 3rd set.
 

Omega_7000

Legend
Yes, we have all heard what was said and liked about Novak as a person and his playing style as long he remained the bridesmaid back in 2008-2010. Once he started challenging the top echelon everything changes.

We have seen how Federer fans stooped and laughed at Nadal when Novak started dispatching him off @ 2011. It's time to give some hate because your boy is getting his a $$ whipped in every other God Damn GS final.

Sure I believe you that you like "would have liked" Tsonga or delpo. That's because they never threatened Federer to begin with. If and buts donot exist in sports. Only facts speak for themselves.

Oh so you're a Nadal fan disguised as a Djokovic fan. I get it now. Jumped ship and boarded the Djokovic bandwagon in 2012. ;)
Let's see how bad your boys ar$e will whopped at the age of 34! At least Federer's losing to the #1 player. Who does Nadal lose to? Rosol, Darcis, Brown, Fognini?
rofl2.gif
How many weeks has he had the # 1 ranking? 2? 3? All this despite being 5 years younger.

Federer has achieved everything he wanted to and more. His fans are happy and content with his career.
Novak still has a way better style of play compared to the time wasting cheater but not as much fun to watch as the shot makers like Federer, Stan, Tsonga, DelPo etc.
 

upchuck

Hall of Fame
It would appear that people paid closer attention to his early career flaws––brashness, frequent retirements––than one might have expected. It defined him for people, or at least contributed significantly to their overall impression of him.

Otherwise, I still think he is viewed as the ultimate party pooper. This era was "supposed" to be all about Federer and Nadal and then the new guy came and disrupted that. Now, he's always treated as the guy who came and ruined a party, regardless of who is on the other side of the net.
 

Djokodal Fan

Hall of Fame
Oh so you're a Nadal fan disguised as a Djokovic fan. I get it now. Jumped ship and boarded the Djokovic bandwagon in 2012. ;)
Let's see how bad your boys ar$e will whopped at the age of 34! At least Federer's losing to the #1 player. Who does Nadal lose to? Rosol, Darcis, Brown, Fognini?
rofl2.gif
How many weeks has he had the # 1 ranking? 2? 3? All this despite being 5 years younger.

Federer has achieved everything he wanted to and more. His fans are happy and content with his career.
Novak still has a way better style of play compared to the time wasting cheater but not as much fun to watch as the shot makers like Federer, Stan, Tsonga, DelPo etc.

You can check my history of posts and can figure out whose fan I am. You don't have to try too hard. it's ok
 

rh310

Hall of Fame
Fred fans are not the type that cares about fair wins and competition level.
They love flawed, vicious liars and sociopaths that become "their leaders". They were so stupid that they thought Roddick was a poor innocent golden boy and victim of Fred. They really believed a money hungry, talentless, sociopathic sycophant like Roddick was some kind of respected superstar and Fred fan.
How dare Novak reveal Roddick's sense of inadequacy and ignorance?

Fred floons are obsessed with money because that's the only thing that keeps them excited. They have to feed their 4-5 kids and Fred is like their robotic babysitter and daddy. They like to turn it around and say Novak the charismatic hero, is a talentless, scared, dimwitted robot that just stands around the same place on the court and begs for their mercy, love and respect. Who in their right mind would want fake support from sociopaths and idiots? Novak knows how friendly and smart he is. He shuts up the media by pretending Fred and nadal are better than him. If he cared about his reputation, he'd bad mouth and lie about opponents to get support from fans. He doesn't play tennis because he shows off how pretty he plays. Unlike Fred, he doesn't cheat and distract with net rushing and two faced behavior. Novak doesn't need to act like Dubai, Basel and Cincinnati make him a better man.

I sincerely hope this post was in jest.
 

RF20Lennon

Legend
Fed fans in ruins everytime Novak takes a grandslam away from him.

Their tears make two back to back final wins so sweet.

Everytime Novak wins a grandslam against fed, these threads will come and I'm so happy to read how all the Fed fanatics continue to cry and mourn.

Think you're generalizing too much my friend! I'm very happy Novak has turned into such a champion and he continues to be an inspiration for many. But at the same time I'm frustrated at Federer for blowing his opportunities he created in the match.
 
O

OhYes

Guest
Actually you may have a point, was stunned to see the hate towards Monfils last year and this year (US open 2014, Davis cup, French open 2015...) (but here i mean online mainly, in stadiums it is a different story)
but my whole point stands Tsonga and Del Potro would be more liked in these conditions I reckon.
And there are players who never won majors but dont have much support, Berdych is a good example.

I hear you. When we talk about Delpo, can't imagine anything bad about big man being said, even though he has one pretty nasty fan on social networks. Tsonga... IDK, maybe, maybe not.
 

RF20Lennon

Legend
Think you're generalizing too much my friend! I'm very happy Novak has turned into such a champion and he continues to be an inspiration for many. But at the same time I'm frustrated at Federer for blowing his opportunities he created in the match.

I think @Omega_7000 feels the same way as well. He just enjoys the styles of Tsonga and Delpo more. Who have also taken away slams from Federer!
 

Omega_7000

Legend
you are the one who needs to calm down instead of pre-judging someone based on what they do. With your posts are you trying to impress fellow fed fans? That's the impression I get reading your posts!

Another good counter argument. :rolleyes:

Back on topic...Some people are just more likable than others. It's a combination of different factors.
 

MarcusS

New User
Pretty simple - he came after 2 GOAT contenders. Even tho he has a better personality than both and skills to match theirs it was too late. Party crasher.
Registered to +1 this. Best summary ever. If Fed have had his personality on and of the court, I think he would be most loved sportsman ever. He is not far from that now.
 
O

OhYes

Guest
Well people love Hot dog, Big mac, and French fries although they know it's bad for their health. ;) Novak Djokovic is like a raw carrot, or apple - good for you but not advertised as much. :p
 

Djokodal Fan

Hall of Fame
Another good counter argument. :rolleyes:

Back on topic...Some people are just more likable than others. It's a combination of different factors.

Agree and i'll move one. Its just that some fans (not you) are too pre-judgemental before they throw their opinions as facts.But Point taken :thumbs up:
 

RanchDressing

Hall of Fame
You are effectively saying that people are morons and that this is the reason why they like Federer and dislike Djokovic.
I second the idea that most people can't appreciate the way novak wins compared to rafa or roger. At least not after years of roger and rafa being at the top where it was all about THEM RUN AROUND FOREHANDS BROH.

I think especially as of late fed has a growing fan support because they want to see him pull off one more. If fed was number one and had just won 3 majors in a row, I wouldn't be surprised to see more people supporting novak.

As for the underdog theory, I think that is a huge part of crowd cheering. People pay a lot of money to watch players at the slams. For some people it may be a once in a life time opportunity, so they'd rather see 5 sets of a dog fight, than one guy just routing another. But again, that does depend on the particular fan.
 
I really don't think it is Novak not getting love from the crowd, Federer is just a unique special athlete that is hard to dislike. Add Federer's age to the mix and he is naturally the favorite. Everyone wants to see him get 1 more even if that means cheering against the number 1 player in the world.
 

tipsa...don'tlikehim!

Talk Tennis Guru
Oh so you're a Nadal fan disguised as a Djokovic fan. I get it now. Jumped ship and boarded the Djokovic bandwagon in 2012. ;)
Let's see how bad your boys ar$e will whopped at the age of 34! At least Federer's losing to the #1 player. Who does Nadal lose to? Rosol, Darcis, Brown, Fognini?
rofl2.gif
How many weeks has he had the # 1 ranking? 2? 3? All this despite being 5 years younger.
circa 140 I think but you were close enough ;)
 

Fugazi

Professional
I can't be the only one who noticed that Novak chose not to thank the crowd in his winner's speech, and while he was no doubt being gracious and diplomatic he probably couldn't help but feel somewhat bitter about the decidedy pro-Federer chants throughout the match.

Such a constant, almost pathological need to be liked is what I find both endearing and frustrating about Nole. I've yet to see it but in his '08 AO acceptance speech he gently chided the crowd for being so behind Tsonga, before defusing the potential faux pas with an "I still love you guys." It was only partly successful, but nowhere near as cringe-inducing as his calculated schtick of "inviting" JMac onto the court to hit with him early into the '09 USO, which came across as too obvious an attempt to win back the NY crowd's favor after his disastrous feud with Roddick and then turning on the crowd the year before. (When I saw Novak's mousy and listless body language before his next rounder against Fed I knew he was going to lose.) That does reveal him as a flesh-and-blood antihero, the part of him that made me a fan in the first place, but the cutthroat world of sports generally has little room for such "human" failings and it was obvious he needed to get his personality to fall more in line with his robotic (I don't mean that disparagingly) game.

Thankfully he's gotten better in recent years, as we saw at the '11 USO where he used his irritation with the pro-Fed crowd to his advantage when he angrily unleashed the return seen around the world (you know which one), not to mention the thoughtful gesture of acknowledging the 10th 9/11 anniversary on his victory cap. But as we just saw he's never gonna become a Connors who not only can work the crowd but also feed on their hostility as his very raison d'etre. He'll always have to juggle and fortunately for him and for us fans he's proven to be one hell of a juggler.

BTW his innate need for popularity is why, contrary to some suggestions, Djokovic would actually make a bad politician. Of course in politics you need a thick skin, but in addition to that you often need to be willing to take endless abuse in making unpopular positions popular, and I doubt Novak has that kind of perseverance and resolve to go far up the political ladder.
This ^^^^^
 

PinShot

Rookie
Federer is like Mike Tyson (Quiet, but pure Action, Aggressive - however Tyson was never so full of himself)

Djokovic is like Muhammad Ali (Loudmouth, Joker, Rebel, a square peg in a round hole and he turns Defense into Offense like noone before)

Djokovic often reminds me of this Scene ...

tumblr_n2rxnkJ8Tr1svefdfo4_400.gif
 

HRC-E.B.

Rookie
On-court, despite his undeniable mental strength, his demeanor doesn't come off as sincere, compared to others. His demonstrations of "emotions" when winning points, for example (I'm using quotation marks because, in my view, it's looks choreographed at times) seem artificial and arrogant, as opposed to spontaneous and authentic.

This is all the more surprising considering that Djokovic is a funny guy, as you can appreciate by his off-court humour and dry wit, which is more evident in his interviews.

If he were simply being himself, more natural, on court, I believe people would like him a lot more.
 

sureshs

Bionic Poster
Djokovic is not as popular as Federer, just like Nadal isn't. It comes down to the same reason in either case. The popularity is orchestrated by an influential segment of the society and press: older men. They even control what their wives and children think by imposing themselves on everyone. These guys perceive Federer as a tame domesticated family guy with harmless classy expensive tastes, but ultimately not an alpha male who can hurt them. Djokovic and Nadal strike fear in their minds. They are afraid that their Viagra-dependency and lack of muscular structure will make them vulnerable against young lions like Novak and Rafa. In short, they are a threat to masculinity.
 

Sysyphus

Talk Tennis Guru
Djokovic is not as popular as Federer, just like Nadal isn't. It comes down to the same reason in either case. The popularity is orchestrated by an influential segment of the society and press: older men. They even control what their wives and children think by imposing themselves on everyone. These guys perceive Federer as a tame domesticated family guy with harmless classy expensive tastes, but ultimately not an alpha male who can hurt them. Djokovic and Nadal strike fear in their minds. They are afraid that their Viagra-dependency and lack of muscular structure will make them vulnerable against young lions like Novak and Rafa. In short, they are a threat to masculinity.

Long live the patriarchy, eh?

(You got it slightly wrong though: Fed is not tame. He symbolizes patriarchal sexism and white oppression, not to mention the capitalist class' tyranny over the proletariat)

Federer_Laughs.jpg
 

BeatlesFan

Bionic Poster
Young lions like Novak and Rafa. In short, they are a threat to masculinity.

LOL.

Roger and Djoker are both metrosexual, and in person, this perception is very strong. Rafa might appear to be this macho, tough guy, but he's very retiring and doesn't have an aggressive persona AT ALL up close. Rafa is afraid of the dark and lives with his parents. While that is perfectly alright and not anything to be ashamed of, it's not something a "macho" guy does or admits to.

Nole travels the world with Pierre, his delicate and fluffy poodle. I find this endearing, but does a "young lion" do this?

The most overtly macho tennis players I've ever seen are Pat Cash and Marat Safin. Nole and Rafa aren't remotely in that same league, not close.
 

Djokodal Fan

Hall of Fame
Guess what Federer did against a complete Pro-Agassi rowdy Crowd at USopen finals: Put his head down and win.

The crowds remained the same as now, Cheered for almost every serve fault of Federer. For any doubts watch the video below.



Kudos to Novak for doing the same
 
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