Definition of unbeatable:

[ForehandCross]

To pretend this guy plays anywhere near this now is insanity I tell you, he was simply invincible then.


Indian Wells Final was little tentative from Djokovic , more about out Nadaling Nadal.

But from Miami this guy just overpowered the Spaniard even on clay . Insane hitting.


The no. of times the commentators say "unreal" or some synonym of it is a testament to the highs Djokovic reached.

 

[ForehandCross]

The Miami match is heavily underrated. Peak Nadal and Peak Djokovic going at it. Insane rallies and physicality.

Probably their best bo3 match on HC.

 

[HetTheGreaterer]

Definition of unbeatable??
2008 nadal at FO
Nothing any player has ever produced, can come closer to this.
To take him down there, it'd take a player with Delpo's Power & Fed's accuracy+angles+footwork off the FH wing, wawrinka's power & djokovic's accuracy+angles+footwork off the BH wing, Monfils' athleticism, fed's movement, djokovic's slide+defence+stamina, pete's clutch & serve, edberg's net skills.

 

[Breakpointerer]

Definition of unbeatable??
2008 nadal at FO
Nothing any player has ever produced, can come closer to this.
To take him down there, it'd take a player with Delpo's Power & Fed's accuracy+angles+footwork off the FH wing, wawrinka's power & djokovic's accuracy+angles+footwork off the BH wing, Monfils' athleticism, fed's movement, djokovic's slide+defence+stamina.

And good break point conversions.

 

[HetTheGreaterer]

And good break point conversions.

Added

 

[Azure]

Definition of unbeatable??
2008 nadal at FO
Nothing any player has ever produced, can come closer to this.
To take him down there, it'd take a player with Delpo's Power & Fed's accuracy+angles+footwork off the FH wing, wawrinka's power & djokovic's accuracy+angles+footwork off the BH wing, Monfils' athleticism, fed's movement, djokovic's slide+defence+stamina, pete's clutch.

And you may still fall short

 

[HetTheGreaterer]

And you may still fall short

That's the frustration of playing nadal at RG.

 

[helterskelter]

I don't see how a player can be said to be invincible when he went a whopping 0-6 against his main "rival," only to start the next season by losing to him yet again.

Djokovic wasn't unbeatable in 2011. Bull was. As he always is.

 

[ForehandCross]

Definition of unbeatable??
2008 nadal at FO
Nothing any player has ever produced, can come closer to this.
To take him down there, it'd take a player with Delpo's Power & Fed's accuracy+angles+footwork off the FH wing, wawrinka's power & djokovic's accuracy+angles+footwork off the BH wing, Monfils' athleticism, fed's movement, djokovic's slide+defence+stamina, pete's clutch.

And you may still fall short

2008 was Topspin Clay God himself descending on Earth.

We are discussing mere mortals. Not Gods.

This thread is about a mortal man going as close to invincibility as possible.

 

[Nadal_Django]

He plays much smarter now, more intelligent, more versatile, better serve, much better at the net, mentally much tougher, he plays the most important points so well. He knows how to pace himself during the match. Definitely more polished version now. The 2011 version was all about the speed, physical strength and movement.

 

[ForehandCross]

He plays much smarter now, more intelligent, more versatile, better serve, much better at the net, mentally much tougher, he plays the most important points so well. He knows how to pace himself during the match. Definitely more polished version now. The 2011 version was all about the speed, physical strength and movement.

Current Djokovic and even 2015 Djokovic was driven nuts by big hitters like Wawarinka and Thiem.

Imagine an opponent who hits as big as them and rarely misses but also not only runs down every ball , he is ready to out muscle and out rally for 5 straight hours if need be.

Today's Djokovic will find it really really hard to beat this guy.


This is the hardest I have seen anyone hit yet landing everything in consistently, and despite hitting cover off of the ball ,have a clear cut tactical plan behind it all.


Nobody in history out rallies and out muscles Rafa like this.

Djokovic 2011 might have been a less complete player,true.

But by sheer level of play and fitness, he is beyond Today's version.

Only 2015 compares and I doubt Even that version gets a lot of wins.

Don't mistake me, as a player Djokovic 2015>Djokovic 2011.
But Djokovic 2011 beats 2015 everywhere except WB.

 

[KINGROGER]

Arguably best AO - clay season run ever. Certainly highest level imo. I don’t think he was as good after that.

 

[BGod]

It's basically when a player's primary shot focus is difficult to counter and you can't beat them in endurance or strength. That's unbeatable to me.

07-08 French Nadal
78-80 French Borg
05-06 Wimbledon Federer
93-95 Wimbledon Sampras
06-07 USO Federer
10-12 French Nadal
1984 McEnroe off-clay
15-16 AO Djokovic
85-86 USO Lendl

 

[Tennisfan339]

That Miami 2011 final was one of the best match off GS I've seen. Definitely one of the best M1000 final of the decade, with Murray-Djokovic in Shanghaï 2012.

The USO 2011 final was also incredible in term of level of tennis.

 

[TearTheRoofOff]

'Unable to be beaten'... I'll see myself out.

 

[daggerman]

no such thing as unbeatable. anybody can be beaten.

 

[daddy]

To pretend this guy plays anywhere near this now is insanity I tell you, he was simply invincible then.

This guy does not play anywhere near now, he plays a lot better. Yes he was quicker and could endure much more in 2011 but he was never about the power and the moment he realized that and started working on his strengths he became a monster. He would have 40% of the success he has now had he not done that - he polished the old FH which tbh had to much action ( as Navratilova kept mentioning back then ), started choosing his shots better cutting the irritating drop shot routine whenever he was unsure but introducing slice backhand with mixed results at first but polished it over the years ( not nearly to the Roger's level but to a good enough level to mix up and dictate the tempo ), worked on approaches and volleying under Becker, now he polished the serve with Goran while at the same time maintaining the physical abilities to run down balls and change direction which was his principle quality ( as pointed out by Roddick ). He did demolish Rafa in 2011, but that's not nearly enough proof that he was a better player, it is just a H2H which in my honest opinion could have gone differently if Rafa had proper coaching and not "let's do what we do and this will soon be over with, he can't do this all year long" coaching or "we'll win RG with this so let's keep it up". With Novak's now game he'd have gone through 2011 Rafa with 50% effort. Let's be honest, Roger did show pretty clearly all Novak's problems and shortcomings in that RG 2011 SF - but was rarely able to expose him like that in his 2.0 ( 2015 ) and 3.0 ( 2019 ) iterations.

 

[RS]

Current Djokovic and even 2015 Djokovic was driven nuts by big hitters like Wawarinka and Thiem.

Imagine an opponent who hits as big as them and rarely misses but also not only runs down every ball , he is ready to out muscle and out rally for 5 straight hours if need be.

Today's Djokovic will find it really really hard to beat this guy.


This is the hardest I have seen anyone hit yet landing everything in consistently, and despite hitting cover off of the ball ,have a clear cut tactical plan behind it all.


Nobody in history out rallies and out muscles Rafa like this.

Djokovic 2011 might have been a less complete player,true.

But by sheer level of play and fitness, he is beyond Today's version.

Only 2015 compares and I doubt Even that version gets a lot of wins.

Don't mistake me, as a player Djokovic 2015>Djokovic 2011.
But Djokovic 2011 beats 2015 everywhere except WB.

The USO would be a great battle between 2011 and 2015 Djokovic. I think Djokovic of RG 2015 before the final would compete well as well with 2011.

 

[DSH]