robthai
Hall of Fame
you will say the same thing when he losses slams to next gen. Losses to Dominic Thiem at RG "oh he doesnt care about RG as he already won it, he only focuses on Australian Open and Wimbledon"
2019 Shanghai Masters QF - (1.) Novak Djokovic vs. (6.) Stefanos Tsitsipas
- Thread starter Enceladus
- Start date
TennisFan3
Talk Tennis Guru
I did not say that about French open. It was a tough loss. The match went to 5 sets still and it was bad weather. Novak was devastated with that loss.
With these Mickey mouse tournaments he doesn't care.
It's all about the slams. And until these next gen guys beat him there, it will all amount to nothing.
Mark my words. Watch Novak in slams in 2020. He would be very hard to beat. Other than Nadal at RG, there is NO ONE who is the favorite against Novak on any surface.
robthai
Hall of Fame
lost wtf to Zverev. "Novak doesnt care about that tournament too". Just admit it. He has struggled with Nex gen players and as soon as they start regularly meeting him in semis of the slams he will struggle. It will not be the same as playing a 38 year old Swiss man or a 33 year old Spaniard.
TennisFan3
Talk Tennis Guru
Good post. Have you considered that next gen don't even make it far in slams.
They are not even getting to Novak. To say they will beat him is a stretch. 5 sets is a different ball game
robthai
Hall of Fame
Here is how I see it. Djokovic struggles the most out of the big 3 when facing the top NextGen players. His game relies on his rock solid baseline which works well against Fedal due to his physical advantage over these 2 (6 years younger than Roger and more injury-free than Rafa). The Top NextGen players, on the other hand, are all great baseliners and some are even better than Novak. When he cant outlast the young blood behind the baseline, which is growing to be more and more the case, there’s not much more left in his weaponry to get ease points. Nadal has his lefty topspin forehand, Federer has his serve and forehand combo, and both of them can serve and volley quite effectively when needed. It will only become more and more difficult for Djokoivc, I think next year he will be defeated at least once by Medvedev/Tsitsipas/Thiem/etc. in hard court Grand Slams
tennis4jags
Semi-Pro
So much happy to see this result as Tsitsi beat Djokovic. I mean overall.. NextGen players are beating so called Big Three. So happy to see the fight between Tsistsi/Zverev/Thiem/Medvedev (Nadal is absent otherwise he would beaten too)
Now interesting thing is No1 spot, lets see who is going grab it.
Now interesting thing is No1 spot, lets see who is going grab it.
DSH
Talk Tennis Guru
Jokervich
Hall of Fame
16 > 3 and 25-11Looks as if Murray will remain the only player to complete the Tokyo-Shanghai double.
TennisFan3
Talk Tennis Guru
Again a good post. I partially agree with the hypothesis.Yes, Novak can outlast Fed and Nadal as he is fitter and younger. He is also thinner so has less wear and tear.
But against Next Gen, You talk as if Novak has NO weapons. His serve is deadly these days. His change of direction on groundies is the best in the history of tennis. He BH DTL and ROS is best in the history of tennis. His movement and flexibility is also among the best ever.
Look there is a difference between best of 3 and best of 5 slams. In best of 5 usually the better player wins. Except Medvedev, none of the next gen HAS been able to sustain their best tennis in best of 5. The records from Zverev and TsiTsipas in slams are pathetic. Consider this: In the last 2 years Novak has ONLY lost to peaking Thiem on clay and Stanimal.
Until one of the next gen ACTUALLY beats Novak, I will say it is NOT possible. People made a lot of noise about Agut. He beat Novak twice in best of 3 matches. Look what happened in their Wimbledon match. So let's see, but I don't see any next gen (Excluding Medvedev) challenging Novak at the slam level. As I said before, tennis in the next 3-5 years will be defined by the Novak-Medvedev rivalry. Rest of the next gen won't win anything IMO.
Mainad
Bionic Poster
Nonetheless he was defending champ which means he will lose points which could be risky with Nadal breathing down his neck for y/e #1.
octobrina10
Talk Tennis Guru
TennisFan3
Talk Tennis Guru
I don't think Nadal cares about #1. Plus Rafa is usually super sub-par at Paris and WTF.
So Novak's favorite for #1. And honestly, the Serb probably doesn't care about it as much either.
It's all about AO 2020 at this time. These guys are only playing for slams. Each win makes history.
Novak wants #17 and Fed/Nadal desperately hope to avoid that from happening. Since if Novak wins AO 2020, he will almost certainly break Fed's record.
StrongRule
Talk Tennis Guru
Is he even going to play there? I really doubt that.
Zara
G.O.A.T.
He'd be wise to play. Nothing to lose and everything to gain. Why not.
Mainad
Bionic Poster
Cortana
Legend
Are you on drugs?
Pretty sure Novak cares about weeks #1.
He won't get to 20 slams, the young guys are taking over 2020.
NoleFam
Bionic Poster
I heard the same stuff last year this time when he lost Paris and WTF and then what happened the next year? Djokovic lost to Agut twice this year in the same fashion and he is far from next generation. He just has underwhelmed in BO3 this year. Djokovic plastered most of next gen this year except Medvedev, who is tough and shaping up to be the best of them, and his loss to Tsitsipas here. He still beat Tsitsipas handily in the more important match this year. Until these guys regularly start making it to Djokovic in Slams I wouldn't get ahead of myself.
BlueB
Legend
He is smart indeed... Once he got that break in the 3rd, he was doing Sampras - not spending much energy on Nole's serve, almost tanking, focusing on keeping his own. It worked big time!Honestly, Tsits is a very smart tactician and just massages his level to keep his opponent at bay. In this case it put some surprising pressure on Novak who looked resplendent in the first set. Novak in a way stole the first set, but Tsitsipas stole the match. Didn't think Tsits had it in him after long match yesterday with Hurkacz.
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Harry_Wild
G.O.A.T.
Rafa can sit back and have Djokovic ranking go below Rafa’s! The easy life coming with his wedding and honeymoon, etc...!
octobrina10
Talk Tennis Guru
You have continuously doubted him.
Mainad
Bionic Poster
How careless of him not to notice he'd qualified for the WTF. Pay attention Stefanos!
aditya123
Hall of Fame
I will have to defer!!!! Is it that he doesnt care or is it that he cannot afford to put same effort in masters too( which he used to do earlier) due to fear of injuries????? Or do the next gen play lights out fearless tennis in bo3???
Jokervich
Hall of Fame
What is part of the "etc."?
heninfan99
Talk Tennis Guru
The next gen has finally made their moves on Federer & Djokoivic. Only Nadal is left with the last shreds of ATP dominance.
Djokovic2015
Semi-Pro
IMO Novak was only playing his C- game in the 3rd set. 2nd set, Novak was playing B game. Usually the type of set that he is able to get into a breaker and then clutch it out, but he wasn't able to close out 5-6 game point due to Tsitsipas bringing his A game. Its relevant that it seems Novak needs his A game to beat Tsitsipas now.
I also disagree this tournament didn't matter at all. Novak clearly is interested in YE #1 and this loss put a damper on that.
I do agree this win probably doesn't impact slams next year though as long as Novak is able to play his A game in slams.
HetTheGreaterer
Banned
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