N01E
Hall of Fame
As a Djokovic fan I agree about the RG statement. The RG 2015 loss hurt because it was the missing slam, but after 2016 it became "just" another final loss (the Nadal-Murray-Wawrinka combo would have been incredible though, Federer almost got it during AO 2017). We also can't know for sure how it would impact the rest of the season (and the next 12 months which were near perfect) as changing one variable can have different results. RG 2013 wasn't as bad for me personally as for others here because I felt like Nadal was much better player throughout the match (just like Djokovic was much better during AO 2012). It, alongside USO 2013 was however 2 slam relative difference match and Djokovic doesn't lose many of those compared to Fedal when he is a big contender, which is why he doesn't have as many painful defeats as they do. For example during the Nole Slam run he defeated Federer in 3 slams in a row. That had a potential of 6 slam difference in the race and would have ended the GOAT debate for good had it happened.
The worst one for me was actually AO 2014, his only loss there when he was the favourite to win the tournament. Not only did Novak win the first set, he also broke first in the 5th. The biggest problem I had with it was that he won all of his matches after the USO 2013 up until that point, only to lose to Stan who he just defeated easily in the WTF. That was his 4th slam loss in a row and was full of passive plays, loopy forehands and all of those elements that made 2012-2014 just a single slam won years. His roaring was getting really obnoxious and it felt like worst possible combination of Djokovic, Federer and Anderson shouting. The last two points were just awful, but it makes me appreciate the plays he made against Thiem this year just much more.
The USO 2014 was bizzare kind of Sharapova-Williams Wimbledon 2004 moment, but Djokovic was in a weird hangover mode after the wedding during Toronto and Cincy, so my hopes weren't as high. Luckily for him (and his fans) Fedal lost both HC slams after he went out, so the consequences weren't as severe (which is a recurring theme for him).
USO 2016 was one of the weirdest slams I have ever seen. Djokovic even considered skipping it and during his first match against Janowicz you could clearly see why. Horrible serving, movement and groundstrokes. I was just waiting for someone to put him out of his misery, but he just kept getting walkovers and withdraws. I even thought Nadal could take it, but he lost a 5th set TB to Pouille. Ironically the final was the only close to a decent match Djokovic played in the tournament, but he lost it similarly to the RG, with leading 1 sets to love, serving to stay in the 2nd and being 30-0 in the game he was broken. Djokovic even won more points than Wawrinka there I think, but I still think he had no buisness to be in that final given his form. I was prepared for RG '19 after seeing the weather forecast, so it didn't hurt much. After seeing the elbow problems in Cincy I was rather sceptical of Novak's USO chances, maybe with a very forgiving draw I could see it, but Wawrinka-Medvedev-Federer combo given his state at the time was too much, so again, not much hope. I wasn't sure of how this year's USO would go for him knowing his record (16/17 slams won against big 4 and 16/17 slams won against event champions), but there was a chance for taking an easy slam here. People were talking about absence of Fedal without knowing what it meant for Djokovic. The worst opponents for him (even including Fedal) are Thiem and Medvedev and there was a 50% chance that he wouldn't have to meet any of them before the final and it happened. Where Thiem lands in the RG draw is also a very important factor that can have a significant impact on event's champion. When I'll find some more time I'll make a thread about what exactly happened during the DQ, but as of now I can tell that it's less painful for me than losing a slam final or a 5-set classic. The lack of Fedal which makes this a 1 slam relative difference also helps.
