Djokovic is unique in the history of tennis

naylor73

Rookie
I think Novak is at an interesting point in his career where he still has just enough consistency, movement, shot pace, shot variation and most importantly experience to beat the youngsters. He wins by outthinking his opponents.

Imo the nextgen players are losing to him because they don’t have the experience needed. That will change in time.
 

Mazz Retic

Hall of Fame
Sticking to the topic of my initial post, let's say Alcaraz is a strong NextGen. It still means that the now 36 year old Djokovic has only faced one strong NextGen at the slams...a player he's only met twice, and a player who hasn't yet peaked.
There are plenty of strong next gen players. Just because few have broken through doesn’t mean they lack quality.
 

The Sinner

Semi-Pro
I’m no Djokovic fan… yes I know he’s been feasting on this questionable era last few years, but he has also proven to all that he can challenge anyone. Look at what happened in 2011; prime Nadal, prime Murray and near prime Federer. 2015, albeit not as strong a year, still massacred everyone. Younger generations have come and gone, and Djoko stood his ground and fended them off. He may not be likeable to many, including myself, but he does get my respect. It’s truly amazing what he’s been able to do, and keeps breaking records at such an advanced age.
 

Alcawrath

Semi-Pro
Oh, you thought that was all hard work? Lmao
Yes, and natural freakish athleticism. He's not juicing. There has been a predictable and steady decline in his athleticism consistent with aging even though he takes immaculate care of his body.
 

duaneeo

Legend
The mindset of Nole fans.

They don't say 2004-2007 peak Federer prevented his strong contemporaries from winning slams. They say 2004-2007 Federer faced weak competition.
They don't say 2018-2023 past-prime Djokovic faced weak young players. They say 2018-2023 Djokovic prevented strong young players from emerging.
 

Djokodalerer31

Hall of Fame
The mindset of Nole fans.

They don't say 2004-2007 peak Federer prevented his strong contemporaries from winning slams. They say 2004-2007 Federer faced weak competition.
They don't say 2018-2023 past-prime Djokovic faced weak young players. They say 2018-2023 Djokovic prevented strong young players from emerging.

On the contrary all i keep hearing as of recently is Fedal fans, that won't stop saying how weak of an era current one is, compared to the GOAT era of Federer! LOL
 

Neptune

Hall of Fame
The mindset of Nole fans.

They don't say 2004-2007 peak Federer prevented his strong contemporaries from winning slams. They say 2004-2007 Federer faced weak competition.
They don't say 2018-2023 past-prime Djokovic faced weak young players. They say 2018-2023 Djokovic prevented strong young players from emerging.
Competition strength Nole vs Fed:
Wins against top5:
Nole 122, Fed 104
Wins against top10:
Nole 257, Fed 223
Wins against Elo>=2400:
Nole 36, Fed 17
Wins against Elo>=2300:
Nole 80, Fed 42
Average Opponent Rank
Nole 23.7(1st), Fed 27.0(3rd)
Average Opponent Elo Rating
Nole 2037(1st), Fed 2017(4th)
 

duaneeo

Legend
Competition strength Nole vs Fed:
Wins against top5:
Nole 122, Fed 104
Wins against top10:
Nole 257, Fed 223
Wins against Elo>=2400:
Nole 36, Fed 17
Wins against Elo>=2300:
Nole 80, Fed 42
Average Opponent Rank
Nole 23.7(1st), Fed 27.0(3rd)
Average Opponent Elo Rating
Nole 2037(1st), Fed 2017(4th)

Number of slams won by players currently aged 21-34: Two.
 

darthrafa

Hall of Fame
djoker is the most successful OAT who won everything and i can confidently say that no one in future can break his records but he still fail to win the love of majority tennis followers that fed and rafa enjoy
ultimately he is the GOAT in terms of uniqueness
 

T&M Returns

Rookie
Novak is the LeBron James of tennis. Both refuse to age!

King James is one month away from turning 39 and he still dominates the sport of basketball:

Comparing him to Lebron is all you need to know.

https://www.msn.com/en-us/sports/nb...s-claims-ex-ufc-star-chael-sonnen/ar-AA18sqhC

There is so much smoke around Djokovic in terms of his performance, how his endurance skyrocketed in his mid 20s, his responses to questions about PEDs, how when Andy Murray said he thinks the sport has drugs, while not mentioning names, Djokovick and Becker came out and said "how dare you say such things" (they weren't even mentioned, why would they feel attacked?). Attributing success to magnets, going gluten free, the egg, pyramid energy or whatever. Notice how it's always some bizarre explanation that's easily proven false? It just means there has to be fire. There is not a single tennis player I've ever seen, ever, that has been this "fresh" and indefatigable, not only at this late stage in his career, but at any age. I can't imagine being so gullible.

Sorry but these "ageless" athletes in their mid to late 30s ... well, there is a reason they seem that way. When someone is that much of an outlier to other world class athletes there is a reason.
 

a10best

Hall of Fame
Novak is the LeBron James of tennis. Both refuse to age!

King James is one month away from turning 39 and he still dominates the sport of basketball:
LBJ again?
MJ scored 50 points in a game at age 40!!!
Kobe was in 7 finals from 2000 - 2010 and won 5 of them lost 2.
LBJ just got swept again in WCF by the Nuggets. Let's stop inserting LeBron as if he is winning championships hand over fist.

Djokovic is not getting beat in straight sets and when he does lose it is super close.
Djokovic has far better than 40% win ratio in championships than LeBron at 67% (nearly LeBron's FT%)
 
Last edited:
Top