Djokovic is facing the most important match of his tennis career tomorrow

jeroenn

Professional
If my player is a contender for the gold: Most important match ever. Goat. history. Must have otherwise hole in resume.

Otherwise: exho, olympics not important, distraction, mugfest, etc etc.

Whatever.
 

thrust

Legend
Injured Nadal wasn't reaching the RG 2021 final, let alone winning the title, due to the aggravation of his Mueller-Weiss chronic injury. Look, when Nadal's foot is at his worst pain-wise, he loses to anyone, even to Shapovalov in Rome 2022 and can barely walk on the court. The same inability to run due to pain showed up in the RG 2021 SF, especially visible in the 4th set. Barely moving due to the foot pain, Nadal can't defeat anyone, csll him Shapo, Novak or Tsitsipas. At RG 2021, Nadal had not yet explored the anaesthetic injections on the foot option that he used at RG 2022 and the later radiofrequency ablation treatment (a procedure that implements heat on the nerve to quell long-term pain and th
Noone else, that day, was going to beat Rafa in the 21 FO semifinal. I still think Novak was not fully recovered from his knee operation, at least mentally, in this year's Wimbledon final, which is why he tried rushing the net too much in the first two sets.
at Nadal used right after RG 2022).
 

GoatNo1

Hall of Fame
This is not just another Olympic Gold like Murray's and others that will be fotgotten probably. This is the only trophy that "Goat" of tennis misses in his cupboard. The holy grail trophy of Novak Djokovic. To Novak this is the most importan match of his life. Trust me, Novak will play on Sunday as if it is a matter of life and death. He is ready to die on court. This will not be like WB final when he appeared like he spent the entire day fighting diarrhoea. Novak's motive in this match surpasses Carlos's by a light year. He will give it all to grab the golden medal. Match of the year incoming.
so, speaking about GOATs and OGs. what have all tennis GOATs (laver, borg, sampras, fed, nole) in common?
 

Indigo

Professional
Trust me, Olympic Games are a matter of national pride in Serbia. You get halo of a saint in case you win Olympics. You are literally never ever forgotten by common people. They will sing songs about you for hundreds of years if you win Olympics. No one will remember RG or WB for so long but by gifting Olympic Gold to people of Serbia Novak will become national hero forever. Not to mention hundreds of thousands will gather to celebrate with him in Serbia. Trust me, with Olympic Gold Novak will become immortal for people of Serbia. With record GS numbers he becomes hero for his tennis fans but Olympic Gold will make him become saint in Serbia just like Maradona was in Argentina or Pele in Brasil. He will live forever.
 

socallefty

G.O.A.T.
The match is on Alcaraz’s racquet and a win or loss for Djokovic will depend on how Alcaraz plays. Alcaraz is younger, healthier, more confident after the Wimbledon beatdown and likely a better player right now on clay. If Alcaraz plays well, it is curtains for Djokovic’s gold medal quest. Djokovic has to play well and hope that Alcaraz has an off-day for some reason. Unlikely to happen as Alcaraz has been clutch in all his big tournament finals so far.
 

Indigo

Professional
Yes, Novak needs some magic and a bit of luck to win this match. He also needs some help from Alcaraz. Perhaps, Alcaraz will have a day off as it happens or he may deal with fear of gold which I doubt because he proved already he is very capable. Alcaraz loses matches, it happens, so Novak has chance although not a huge chance. As I said earlier Novak is ready and I mean it literally ready to die in this match.
 

Razer

G.O.A.T.
Most Pivotal matches of Djokovic's career

01.
US open 2021 Final - LOST
02.
Aus Open 2012 Final - WON
03.
Wimbledon 2018 Semi FInal - WON
04
. Wimbledon 2019 Final - WON
05.
2021 French Open Semi Final - WON

Hon Mention :
Beating Federer at AO 2008 sf which gave him a lot of confidence.
 
shaquille-o-neal-shaq.gif
 

travlerajm

Talk Tennis Guru
Djokovic is a massive underdog no doubt.

If he loses, it doesn’t change much.

But if he wins, it would put a nice cherry on top of his legacy and seal his Goat title for a few generations, with every future accomplishment by Alcaraz only causing Djokovic’s legend to grow.
 

Drob

Hall of Fame
He's not trolling.

While objectively Slams are more important, subjectively this is the nost important match of the year dor Novak. It's the only Big Title he lacks and with his obsessive mindset (which is what made him the GOAT, that sheer determination to win everything) he really wants to get it done to avoid having a hole in his resume.
and even when younger, before he was G.O.A.T. and did not appear that likely to become it, Djokovic put Olympics equal or virtually equal to Slams. I know he said such before 2016 and before 2021 Olympics. Thing is, he says contradictory things about how much value he puts on the Gold Medal. But there are plenty of Novak quotes to the effect it equals a Slam. I think for Novak it is more important than just filling a "hole" in his G.O.A.T. In one way you are absolutely right. The only ATG or top-20 or former G.O.A.T. candidate who does not have a "hole" in his resume is Don Budge. Think about it - Federer, Nadal (inability to win indoors), Laver (WCT Finals), Rosewall (Wimbledon), Borg, Sampras, Gonzalez, Tilden, each has one, two or even three "holes", just to name top-10 players. If Novak wins tomorrow he will have everything covered, everything.
 
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Drob

Hall of Fame
Brother he is trolling

This match is most important now after nole has won the world completely

But even 3 years ago it was second Roland garros.
Until 2016 it was rg first
2014 was second Wimbledon.
2011 it was first Wimbledon

There are many who want to build the match up just so they can post vile ******** if he loses and op definitely is among them. These were the fans that were respectful even 2 months ago but the Nadal losses have broken almost all of them completely unhinged

There is not much reason to stay on this site tbh
Yeah, thread proposition is pretty farfetched. Most important of his career? Nah. Several, possibly many, more important or at least equal. But it is a big match for him He has been going for the Gold since 2008 Olympics. Bigger matches have to include 2016 RG; his RG wins over Nadal; the 2018 comeback at Wimbledon; 2012 AO versus Nadal; 2014 Wimbledon vs. Fed; 2019 Wimbledon vs. Fed; 2021 second RG; 2011 Italian Open F vs. Nadal; and I would also say that first YEC in 2012, which, w the finals victory over Federer, soldified his No. 1 ranking because there was a lot of chatter about maybe Federer being equal that year. And these are only the victories. I won't even start on big losses.
 

nolefam_2024

Bionic Poster
Yeah, thread proposition is pretty farfetched. Most important of his career? Nah. Several, possibly many, more important or at least equal. But it is a big match for him He has been going for the Gold since 2008 Olympics. Bigger matches have to include 2016 RG; his RG wins over Nadal; the 2018 comeback at Wimbledon; 2012 AO versus Nadal; 2014 Wimbledon vs. Fed; 2019 Wimbledon vs. Fed; 2021 second RG; 2011 Italian Open F vs. Nadal; and I would also say that first YEC in 2012, which, w the finals victory over Federer, soldified his No. 1 ranking because there was a lot of chatter about maybe Federer being equal that year. And these are only the victories. I won't even start on big losses.
As well as the cygs final.
 
Do not fool yourselves to think otherwise. This is the match Djokovic has been dreaming of since 2008. He is a mature tennis player now and Im sure that this time he will handle the gigantic preassure that he has on his shoulders, wont he?
pat yourself on the back for calling it
 

Tostao80

Rookie
Yeah, thread proposition is pretty farfetched. Most important of his career? Nah. Several, possibly many, more important or at least equal. But it is a big match for him He has been going for the Gold since 2008 Olympics. Bigger matches have to include 2016 RG; his RG wins over Nadal; the 2018 comeback at Wimbledon; 2012 AO versus Nadal; 2014 Wimbledon vs. Fed; 2019 Wimbledon vs. Fed; 2021 second RG; 2011 Italian Open F vs. Nadal; and I would also say that first YEC in 2012, which, w the finals victory over Federer, soldified his No. 1 ranking because there was a lot of chatter about maybe Federer being equal that year. And these are only the victories. I won't even start on big losses.

His reaction to winning speaks volumes.
This means more to him than most of his other slam wins, that's for sure. I've not seen him like that before.
 

PK6

Semi-Pro
Glad to see iokovic win!!! He needed this big time!!! Does he retire now or win 100 tournaments/25 grand slams then retires?
 

PT630

New User
His reaction to winning speaks volumes.
This means more to him than most of his other slam wins, that's for sure. I've not seen him like that before.
Agree 100%. Novak has always shown a high level of patriotism. This one is for his country, and his own legacy.
 

jm1980

Talk Tennis Guru
If my player is a contender for the gold: Most important match ever. Goat. history. Must have otherwise hole in resume.

Otherwise: exho, olympics not important, distraction, mugfest, etc etc.

Whatever.
Comparing some one-time OSG winners and one-time Slam winners who were their contemporaries, who do you think will be remembered as greater?

Marc Rosset vs Pat Rafter, Michael Stich
Nicolas Massu vs JC Ferrero, Gaston Gaudio, Andy Roddick
Alexander Zverev vs Dominic Thiem, Daniil Medvedev (assuming none of these guys win anything else)
 

jm1980

Talk Tennis Guru
Do not fool yourselves to think otherwise. This is the match Djokovic has been dreaming of since 2008. He is a mature tennis player now and Im sure that this time he will handle the gigantic preassure that he has on his shoulders, wont he?
Djokovic needlessly put a ton of pressure on himself to win these games, ever since Rio

Thankfully he handled what is likely his last realistic chance really well
 
Condolences, 'KingCarlitos' botching the biggest match of his career. Did he lose credibility with the loss to a 37 year old one legged player?
Djokovic was hitting all the super aggressive DTL FH attempts he was missing at Wimbledon and when he's doing that he's still an ATG caliber player so it says nothing about Alcaraz's level in a bad way that he forced both sets to tiebreakers.
 

hoodjem

G.O.A.T.
The Dark Side?
Black Magic afoot?
Pact with the Devil?

37-year-old, one-legged man beats 21-year-old world no. 3 reigning French Open and Wimbledon champion for Olympic gold medal.
Geez!



Can this era get any weaker?
 

socallefty

G.O.A.T.
The Dark Side?
Black Magic afoot?
Pact with the Devil?

37-year-old, one-legged man beats 21-year-old world no. 3 reigning French Open and Wimbledon champion for Olympic gold medal.
Geez!



Can this era get any weaker?
When you say the world #2 and top seed beat the #3, it does not sound so unusual.
 

Bastion

Semi-Pro
Djokovic was hitting all the super aggressive DTL FH attempts he was missing at Wimbledon and when he's doing that he's still an ATG caliber player so it says nothing about Alcaraz's level in a bad way that he forced both sets to tiebreakers.
Was a bit of sarcasm aimed at King Carlitos comment: "Nah, biggest match of his career was 2021 USO Final and he botched it, The other one was Wimbledon 2019 since he would've lost credibility If he lost to a 38 yr old."

I agree, no one, no prime Fed or Nadal or anyone else were going to beat the Goat in the Olympic final, it was destiny, and Novak stepped up big time when it really mattered. Carlos would also have beaten all other players easily, unfortunately the last great player standing in his path of total dominance, made the final also. Epic stuff.
 

socallefty

G.O.A.T.
I agree, no one, no prime Fed or Nadal or anyone else were going to beat the Goat in the Olympic final,
Nadal for most of his career from 2006-2020 except possibly 2015 would have easily beaten the current Djokovic at Roland Garros. Djokovic won because he played tennis better than Alcaraz on Sunday and not because of some mental magic - would not have been enough against prime Nadal on Philippe Chartrier.
 

weakera

Talk Tennis Guru
It is now obvious that the most important matches of Djokovic's career were any time he faced Nadal in the latter stages of a slam, given that any Djokovic win over Nadal that was flipped would have likely (or assuredly, in the case of grand slam finals) resulted in a tie on top the leaderboard as opposed to a +2 (for the moment, anyway).
 

GoatNo1

Hall of Fame
It is now obvious that the most important matches of Djokovic's career were any time he faced Nadal in the latter stages of a slam, given that any Djokovic win over Nadal that was flipped would have likely (or assuredly, in the case of grand slam finals) resulted in a tie on top the leaderboard as opposed to a +2 (for the moment, anyway).
why just at slams? if you referring to their overall h2h (+2 to nole). it is 15-13 in finals to nole. considering that out of their 60 matches 29 were on clay it's the fact that nole has been better vs rafa on clay (9-20, 31%) than rafa has vs him on HC (7-20, 26%) is the key to nole's positive h2h and the fact that they have played more matches on clay than on HC (29 vs 27) leaves no excuses for rafa.
 

weakera

Talk Tennis Guru
why just at slams? if you referring to their overall h2h (+2 to nole). it is 15-13 in finals to nole. considering that out of their 60 matches 29 were on clay it's the fact that nole has been better vs rafa on clay (9-20) than rafa has vs him on HC (7-20) is the key to nole's positive h2h and the fact that they have played more matches on clay than on HC (29 vs 27) leaves no excuses for rafa.


Because grand slams are the most frequently cited measure of tennis success, did you really need that explained?

You're arguing with yourself here. Don't be so manic over the numbers and scenarios, I didn't say anything which any reasonable person would take exception to.
 

Bastion

Semi-Pro
Nadal for most of his career from 2006-2020 except possibly 2015 would have easily beaten the current Djokovic at Roland Garros. Djokovic won because he played tennis better than Alcaraz on Sunday and not because of some mental magic - would not have been enough against prime Nadal on Philippe Chartrier.
Keep dreaming, Novak has beaten Rafa a few times, he would not have beaten Novak at this level with his focus and determination.
 
Novak was giving his everything for gold. Alcaraz was little bit behind on intensity. Loosing on TB is not worst thing in world but common thinking was ALCARAZ will easily win .Once Djokovic was that much focussed it was hard for alcaraz to break service. 4 4 first set break points .that was crucial if alcaraz won that game maybe different result could have come but novak hung in there and won .37 year old competing with 21 year old and fighting it out for 3 hours. Novak was never going to loose that match it was upto alcaraz to win.
 

JasonZ

Hall of Fame
Nadal for most of his career from 2006-2020 except possibly 2015 would have easily beaten the current Djokovic at Roland Garros. Djokovic won because he played tennis better than Alcaraz on Sunday and not because of some mental magic - would not have been enough against prime Nadal on Philippe Chartrier.
it was both: great level of play of great mental strength.
 
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