Djokovic fans - Win one past match?

What loss would you make a win? Up to 3 choices.

  • Total voters
    44
TripleATeam

TripleATeam

G.O.A.T.
If Djokovic could have won any one past match that he lost (let's say he does it in 4 sets), which would it be?

Short list of contenders:

Nadal RG 2013: He was so close to winning, and is there any doubt that he would have beaten Ferrer? Could have had the CGS much sooner, ended #1 in 2013, and kept Nadal at bay for a few more weeks at #1.

Stan RG 2015: He almost had a CYGS, plus 6 in a row. This wouldn't have done much to help in many measurable ways, but it sure would have been cool (especially since many, me included, were thinking Wawrinka would be a straightforward win).

Nadal USO 2013/2010: This was the one that so many Nadal fans bring up against Nole, his 1-2 record against Nadal in the US Open. There are things to be said about both 2010 and 2013; in 2010, he would have taken the #1 ranking soon after the AO, in 2013 he would have kept his #1 ranking throughout 2013, having it from YE 2012 to YE 2016, close to Federer's consecutive weeks record.

Honorable mentions:
Federer 2011 RG
Federer 2012 Wimbledon
Murray 2013 Wimbledon
Murray 2012 US Open
Wawrinka 2016 US Open
Nadal 2008 Olympics

Feel free to add more and discuss below. Thanks!
 
Last edited:
TripleATeam said:
If Djokovic could have won any one past match that he lost (let's say he does it in 4 sets), which would it be?

Short list of contenders:

Nadal RG 2013: He was so close to winning, and is there any doubt that he would have beaten Ferrer? Could have had the CGS much sooner, ended #1 in 2013, and kept Nadal at bay for a few more weeks at #1.

Stan RG 2015: He almost had a CYGS, plus 6 in a row. This wouldn't have done much to help in many measurable ways, but it sure would have been cool (especially since many, me included, were thinking Wawrinka would be a straightforward win).

Nadal USO 2013/2010: This was the one that so many Nadal fans bring up against Nole, his 1-2 record against Nadal in the US Open. There are things to be said about both 2010 and 2013; in 2010, he would have taken the #1 ranking soon after the AO, in 2013 he would have kept his #1 ranking throughout 2013, having it from YE 2012 to YE 2016, close to Federer's consecutive weeks record.

Honorable mentions:
Federer RG 2011
Federer Wimbledon 2012
Murray 2013 Wimbledon
Nadal 2008 Olympics

Feel free to add more and discuss below. Thanks!
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I would substitute 2012 US Open given he fought back from 2 sets down to take it to a decider. At 2013 Wimbledon he got straight setted.
 
Mainad said:
I would substitute 2012 US Open given he fought back from 2 sets down to take it to a decider. At 2013 Wimbledon he got straight setted.
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Yeah, I wasn't so much worried about how close the match was, but rather the repercussions. 2012 US Open sucked because he lost a US Open, but other than that there was little that it did to his overall career. Maybe it helped Murray's confidence and helped him win in 2013 too, but I still think 2013 had more impact.

I won't substitute 2013, but I will add 2012 to the list. Because honestly, any US Open loss is up for grabs.
 
RG15 from a legacy perspective, nothing would beat having a CYGS. This is a universal achievement that casual, hardcore, old time new gen fans, etc can all relate to and understand as a unique feather in his cap.

RG13 from the gut wrenching feeling of losing a super tight match that I thought he had. 2011+ Djokovic has really only had 3 matches where I felt like he had it and let it slip: RG 13 SF vs Rafa, AO 14 QF vs Stan, AO 17 2R vs Istomin
 
Tough, but I would go with French Open 2011 semi final. He had no business losing that match and had he won he may have gone on to win the calendar slam because he was certainly beating Nadal at the FO that year.
 
upchuck said:
Tough, but I would go with French Open 2011 semi final. He had no business losing that match and had he won he may have gone on to win the calendar slam because he was certainly beating Nadal at the FO that year.
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Wrong. That’s what Djokofans used to say about their 2012, 2013 and 2014 meetings at RG and look how it ended.
 
Yugram said:
Wrong. That’s what Djokofans used to say about their 2012, 2013 and 2014 meetings at RG and look how it ended.
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LOL, Nadal in both 2012 and 2013 was much better than in 2011. In 2014 he was terrible and won, but Djokovic was also not in his 2011 level.
 
Surely have to be 2013 RG? Beating a close to peak form Nadal at RG.

2011 RG is another option the form he was in but it may have turned out to be another 2012. If he wins it, I don’t think he wins the CYGS... too much pressure and USO probably goes the other way.
 
StrongRule said:
LOL, Nadal in both 2012 and 2013 was much better than in 2011. In 2014 he was terrible and won, but Djokovic was also not in his 2011 level.
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So you are saying that 2011 RG Djokovic, who couldn’t get through Federer on clay would certainly beat Nadal in the final? He would have a decent chance, obviously, but to say it’s certain? Nah, absolutely wrong.
 
KINGROGER said:
Surely have to be 2013 RG? Beating a close to peak form Nadal at RG.

2011 RG is another option the form he was in but it may have turned out to be another 2012. If he wins it, I don’t think he wins the CYGS... too much pressure and USO probably goes the other way.
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Nadal wasn't close to his peak on clay in 2013. Just prime level.
 
Yugram said:
So you are saying that 2011 RG Djokovic, who couldn’t get through Federer on clay would certainly beat Nadal in the final? He would have a decent chance, obviously, but to say it’s certain? Nah, absolutely wrong.
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What does getting through Federer has to do with his matchup against Nadal? Nadal actually needed 5 sets to beat Isner that year, and had to save 8 setpoints against Andujar. He was very unconfident, and had strong mental issues against Djokovic. He would have lost this final mentally.
 
KINGROGER said:
For the last 2 sets of the SF his shotmaking was GOATing. FHs hitting the lines. Almost unplayable.
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He should have won in 4 sets, but his mental issues against Djokovic made him feel unconfident in the end of the fourth set. In the fifth set I agree that he started hitting great shots.
 
RG 2011. He wins that he probably not only wins the final, but quashes Fed's "I ain't goin' quietly" spirit and eliminates him as a future threat.
 
SaintPetros said:
RG 2011. He wins that he probably not only wins the final, but quashes Fed's "I ain't goin' quietly" spirit and eliminates him as a future threat.
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I don’t know why but I have the opposite thought, for some reason I think if Fed loses that SF, he probably does better at Wimbledon and USO. He beats Tsonga and he’s favourite there. He’s never reacted too badly to losses aside from a period in 08/09 when losing to Nadal.
 
KINGROGER said:
I don’t know why but I have the opposite thought, for some reason I think if Fed loses that SF, he probably does better at Wimbledon and USO. He beats Tsonga and he’s favourite there. He’s never reacted too badly to losses aside from a period in 08/09 when losing to Nadal.
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Could be. The loss could shake him into changing his tactics/racket sooner and he might have a better result at the last two slams of the year.
 
Djokovic2015 said:
RG15 from a legacy perspective, nothing would beat having a CYGS. This is a universal achievement that casual, hardcore, old time new gen fans, etc can all relate to and understand as a unique feather in his cap.

RG13 from the gut wrenching feeling of losing a super tight match that I thought he had. 2011+ Djokovic has really only had 3 matches where I felt like he had it and let it slip: RG 13 SF vs Rafa, AO 14 QF vs Stan, AO 17 2R vs Istomin
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I’m not a Djokovic fan, but obviously I agree with the importance of the missed CYGS chance. That’s why for me Federer’s 2006 and 2007 RG losses are the worst as well.

However, I’m surprised that RG 2013 is still such a pain. It was a huge match when it occured, and of course winning would have been great back then, but Djokovic later achieved both aspects anyway with beating Nadal (2015) and winning RG (2016).
 
Has to be RG 2013 just for the fact he seemed broken in finals after that. In W 2013 he was routined then USO 2013 he choked. He got Becker on board to fix his mental game in finals. Going into W 2014 he was 6 wins 7 loses in GS finals and then nearly chocked that final.
 
CYGS said:
Ended with a straight set win over Nadal at RG2015.
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Djokovic literally needed Nadal to step half dead on the court to beat him at RG lol.

And Djokofans needed 5 attempts for "Djokovic is definitely beating Nadal at RG this year" to become true.
 
Yugram said:
Djokovic literally needed Nadal to step half dead on the court to beat him at RG lol.

And Djokofans needed 5 attempts for "Djokovic is definitely beating Nadal at RG this year" to become true.
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Which Fed never even came close. This reply just makes you a sour grape and nothing more.
 
Yugram said:
Djokovic literally needed Nadal to step half dead on the court to beat him at RG lol.

And Djokofans needed 5 attempts for "Djokovic is definitely beating Nadal at RG this year" to become true.
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Cool. Nadal was lucky he got his AO against 4 set Fed before the AO king got fully on the scene.
 
My list is this

  1. 2015 RG - Speaks for itself. CYGS if he has it. No one was stopping him elsewhere. Huge missed opportunity.
  2. 2013 RG - Nadal was fairly good then, and Novak would have great props for taking down Nadal - on top of a double CGS right now. Maybe also would have positively affected his future matches there. Who knows? That would also mean 2 wins against Nadal at RG , which is good.
  3. 2016 US Open - Djokovic gets all of Murray's weeks at #1 (41) - already putting him at 304 weeks. On top of that, Djokovic would have won 4/8 US Opens, losing to Federer (1), Nadal (2), and Murray (1). Not a bad list of losses.
  4. 2013 US Open - Lost YE#1 with this - plus he reverses the 2-1 with Nadal. On top of that, gains a few more weeks at #1. However, Djokovic was losing to a great opponent in Nadal. Sure, I'd love to get that 2-1 monkey off my back, but Nadal was good here. It looks much worse to lose to Wawrinka in 2016 (even if Djokovic wasn't playing so well).
All in all, 2-4 are relatively close and could really go any way.

That being said, I frankly never realized how influential 2013 was to Djokovic. The narrow loss to Nadal at RG, losing the H2H at the US Open, and letting a Wimbledon slip through his fingers against Murray - someone he had a decently positive H2H against. Not a great year for him.
 
I would pick 2015 RG final, as that win, as you stated, would have given him a CYGS and six straight slam titles.

A close second contender is one that you haven't listed: the 2012 RG final. That would have given him a "Nole Slam" much earlier and he would have two "career grand slams" to date.

My third choice would probably be the 2013 US Open final. That was just an annoying loss overall. And yes, Novak would have been able to keep #1 til the end of the year, I believe.
 
What about 2010 USO ?

It's very hard to choose between 2011 RG, 2013 RG and 2015 RG. I'll go with 2015, followed by 2013 then 2011.

1) 2015 RG
2) 2013 RG
3) 2011 RG
4) 2012 USO
5) 2013 Wimb
6) 2013 USO
7) 2010 USO
8) 2007 USO
9) 2012 Wimb
10) 2016 USO
 
swordtennis said:
Cool. Nadal was lucky he got his AO against 4 set Fed before the AO king got fully on the scene.
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What does that have to do with AO? Only a complete idiot can deny that Nadal was at his absolute worst form in 2015. And just to think how sensitive Djokovic fans are to comments about somebody beating their hero in 2017.

And Nadal's AO 2009 draw is like a million times harder than Djokovic's 2016 RG draw. It is a joke to even compare these two titles.
 
powerangle said:
I would pick 2015 RG final, as that win, as you stated, would have given him a CYGS and six straight slam titles.

A close second contender is one that you haven't listed: the 2012 RG final. That would have given him a "Nole Slam" much earlier and he would have two "career grand slams" to date.

My third choice would probably be the 2013 US Open final. That was just an annoying loss overall. And yes, Novak would have been able to keep #1 til the end of the year, I believe.
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True - I did neglect RG 2012. That would have given Djokovic the DCGS, a Nole Slam, and kept Federer from gaining a few months at #1 after Wimbledon. Good point.
 
StrongRule said:
What does that have to do with AO? Only a complete idiot can deny that Nadal was at his absolute worst form in 2015. And just to think how sensitive Djokovic fans are to comments about somebody beating their hero in 2017.

And Nadal's AO 2009 draw is like a million times harder than Djokovic's 2016 RG draw. It is a joke to even compare these two titles.
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Who cares. Nadal was lucky AF he got his lone AO. Fed was the perfect opponent for him as well. Only an idiot would not see how lucky he was to get that lone title when he did. Same with wimbledon to a lesser extent. I am going to play the stupid fedal games! Game on!
 
swordtennis said:
Who cares. Nadal was lucky AF he got his lone AO. Fed was the perfect opponent for him as well. Only an idiot would not see how lucky he was to get that lone title when he did. Same with wimbledon to a lesser extent. I am going to play the stupid fedal games! Game on!
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Lol. You really have no idea what is the difference between a GOATing Verdasco followed by prime Federer (who was a VERY tough opponent) and a very easy draw with a terrible Murray who collapsed after 40 minutes in the final?
 
RG 2013 for me. But any Olympics loss is highly underrated. In general winning an OSG is very very underrated and is a pretty big achievement in its own right.
 
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