Djokovic : Federer and Nadal made me the player I am today

[Checkmate]

http://www.sbs.com.au/news/article/2016/01/27/djokovic-alert-federer-threat

"Honestly, I played so many times against both of these guys. At one stage, I lost count of how many times I played," Djokovic said.

"I've played these guys so many different occasions. I've battled them for biggest title in sport.

"These two guys made me the player I am today. These rivalries have allowed me to grow and to evolve and to get strong and tough and understand what it takes to be on the level that they are on.

"I mean, they've been dominating the tennis for many years before Murray and myself came along.

"It took a while to get in the mix. Took a lot of matches to actually level the score head-to-head against both guys.

"It keeps going."

 

[tennisaddict]

OTOH, Djokovic is responsible for the 34 year old to constantly evolve and improve.

The shanked BH are a thing of the past. Who else to credit for that improvement other than Novak ?

 

[xFedal]

OTOH, Djokovic is responsible for the 34 year old to constantly evolve and improve.

The shanked BH are a thing of the past. Who else to credit for that improvement other than Novak ?

Fed also using the SABR for Novak.

 

[zep]

And also the fact that they declined massively in the last couple of years.

 

[Gazelle]

Let's hope tonight Fed makes him the player I want him to be again.

 

[pc1]

Federer's stroke improvements have impressed me tremendously. Enjoy the SABR.

 

[BeatlesFan]

OTOH, Djokovic is responsible for the 34 year old to constantly evolve and improve.

The shanked BH are a thing of the past. Who else to credit for that improvement other than Novak ?

You must not have been watching this tournament, Fed's BH has been horrific. Djoker will ruthlessly and continually exploit that this evening.

 

[tennisaddict]

You must not have been watching this tournament, Fed's BH has been horrific. Djoker will ruthlessly and continually exploit that this evening.

Djokovic said in the last interview Fed's backhand is now better than it ever was. He is in the best spot to observe how good or bad the BH is.

While Fed still dumps balls in the net due to his movement, I really don't see the shanks which go out of the court into the stands.

 

[Djokovic_is_the_best#1]

Djokovic always makes good comments and he is right in what he says here

 

[jm1980]

You must not have been watching this tournament, Fed's BH has been horrific. Djoker will ruthlessly and continually exploit that this evening.

Hoping to see this:

 

[Mainad]

Federer and Nadal clearly have a lot to answer for!

 

[Deleted member 512391]

Hoping to see this:

Nadal handles Federer's slices extremely well and Novak's backhand is not as heavy as Nadal forehand, nor it makes the ball bounce as high as Nadal does. Djokovic (nowadays) exploits Roger's movement; Nadal has been (successfully) exploiting his backhand throughout his whole career.
It's quite different, I would say.

 

[Steve0904]

This is pretty obvious to anyone who has watched Djokovic's entire career, particularly since 2011. He knew he'd need to beat Federer and Nadal at the slams to win the slams, and to his credit, he's found a way to do that.

 

[Nathaniel_Near]

He found a way to annihilate a peaking Nadal. 2011 was a stunner. Now he's making Federer his big match pigeon - possibly TBC. Murray? Slaughtered.

 

[rommil]

Watch out Nole, Boris is mad you're not giving him credit. He is waiting for you in a broom closet somewhere

 

[above bored]

Djokovic said in the last interview Fed's backhand is now better than it ever was. He is in the best spot to observe how good or bad the BH is.

While Fed still dumps balls in the net due to his movement, I really don't see the shanks which go out of the court into the stands.

Djokovic said it's better than it was about 4 or so years ago, not that it's better than it ever was. In any case, much of what players or people say for the press is meaningless. Their lips move and sound comes out because they have to respond to questions. That does not mean that a great deal of thought, research or insight has gone into the response. Most of it is just generic filler, not insightful and accurate truths.

Federer's backhand was much better in his prime, primarly because he was quicker and sharper back then. There's not much room for technical improvement down the road when you have already mastered the sport at the age of 20, but a drop in reaction speed and movement will reduce the efficacy of your strokes and increase errors.