Djokovic popularity

Beckerserve

Beckerserve

Legend
Obviously amongst the fans he seems not as revered as Fedal. His on court behaviour is not a good look. Even djokovic fans will agree about that.
However in the locker room he seems as popular as Roger and way more popular than Nadal. Numerous players speak glowingly about Roger and Nole as people. Their sense of humour often talked about and how they mix with everyone.
Nadal though never seems to get much said about his personality. Hugely respected of course but i do not think ive heard any player say he is a great guy. I have heard players diplomatically state they dont know him well as he only really mixes with Spanish guys.
If Djokovic was the a hole he is often portrayed as surely he would not be so popular in the locker room.
My own feeling is that he is probably a great chap off court and generous and down to earth outside tennis much like Alex Ferguson apparently was even though on the sidelines he was a guy you wanted to punch. Perhaps this explains why he gets so irritable. He knows he is a good guy but feels he has had very bad press by certain US and UK press who do carry clout.
 
Lleytonstation

Lleytonstation

Talk Tennis Guru
Rafa is a more private guy and speaks less English than many of the players, specifically Djoker and Fed.

How many threads are we going to have on this?
 
daggerman

daggerman

Hall of Fame
In reality he's an affable guy who respects his peers. As lousy as his on-court behavior can (often) be, he never directs any of it toward his opponent. Plus, I think his concern about the well-being of his fellow players is genuine. The players know who advocates for them behind closed doors.
 
airchallenge2

airchallenge2

Hall of Fame
What amazes me the most is how many people are surprised to realize that Nole is a great dude and loved by a lot of people. I understand that he broke up the Beatles and those Fedal fans didn't like that. However, that was almost 10 years ago.
 
conjoshruk

conjoshruk

Semi-Pro
I am Djokovic fan, but find its hard (at times) to defend some of his behaviour. He does say some things that appear arrogant, but I think deep down his a good guy, that does stupid things occasionally. And I agree, Nadal speaks less English than the other two, so he will naturally be closer to his fellow Spanish players.
I definitely dislike Fed the most out of the 3, his fans make him seem like he never puts a foot wrong or loses his temper, believe it or not I myself was a Federer fan about 15 years ago, but my opinion of him has changed significantly over time, as you can see by my profile picture.
 
joekapa

joekapa

Legend
I taske a lot from the post match interviews.

Djokovic gives the more inciteful interviews out of the three. Clear, answers questions directly, in very good English with no um's and er's. Federer avoids answering directly, keeping it diplomatic at best.
 
C

ChrisRF

Legend
During the Rome tournament a commentator in German TV talked about him as a person and tried to be as diplomatic as possible. At the end he said something like: "But say what you want about him, a least it won’t ever get boring with him. Noboby including himself knows beforehand if he will behave of what he generally does next." :-D

And during the matches a report including some analysis about his behaviour was the constant topic. He was mainly portrayed as a guy with strange moods and beliefs, but without the consciousness of the possibility of being wrong. Also for the first time some commentators openly made fun of his celebration routine after the matches.
 
Lew II

Lew II

G.O.A.T.
junior74 said:
Everybody likes classical music. Stick with numbers.
Click to expand...
Most popular songs on youtube:

Despacito
Baby Shark dance
Shape of you
See you again
Uptown Funk
Johny Johny yes papa
Gagnam Style
Sorry
Sugar
Roar

etc.

None of them is classical music.
 
Lew II

Lew II

G.O.A.T.
junior74 said:
So this means the same as "not many people like classical music"?

Great interpretation of numbers right there - never see things in context! :D
Click to expand...
I mean it's not the most popular genre.

highest paid musicians in 2019:

taylor swift
kanye west
ed sheeran
eagles
elton john
jay z
beyonce
drake
diddy
metallica
 
Mike Sams

Mike Sams

G.O.A.T.
If Djokovic didn't rise in 2011, Nadal would've been winning everything and probably be at 37 Slams today!:eek:
Djokovic is the only guy who had an answer for the fearsome Nadal topspin FH.
Federer took like 12 years to figure out how to play Nadal the right way :-D
 
socallefty

socallefty

G.O.A.T.
Djokovic is the most extroverted, down-to-earth and likes being light-hearted - he is reputed to be very sociable in the locker room. Federer is a prankster with those he is close with, but is relaxed and professional with others - most in the locker room are in awe of him and Federer likes it that way. Nadal is intense, private and does not have relaxed conversations with other players - also prefers speaking in Spanish with his compatriots. I think Djokovic and Federer are both popular with other players, but probably more of them will have had more inter-action with Novak. The popularity of the Big 3 with fans is based almost entirely on their public image, playing style and aesthetics while their popularity with other players would be based more on how they behave with them in the locker room.

I posted this a month ago in another thread.

socallefty said:
My coach gets coaching credentials at Indian Wells every year as he is friends with many lower-ranked Russian players and this gives him access to the locker rooms, workout rooms etc. He has stories about all the players from meeting them for more than 10 years during the IW Masters tournament. I asked him recently about the Big 3 and he told me the following:

- Federer is polite and will sign autographs/take pictures, but otherwise has no interest in gettting to know my coach even though he has seen him every year for a decade.
- Nadal will stop and chat with him and usually it is serious conversations about working out or other topics. Nadal also will often play two rounds of golf in the morning when he has matches at night. It seems that he is an obsessive golf enthusiast.
- Djokovic seems to deserve his nickname ‘Djoker’ as my coach says he is warm and friendly and jokes around with him and other people all the time. He seems to have a genuine interest in getting to know my coach - I asked my coach if Djokovic speaks Russian as I was wondering if there was some affinity from being able to speak in my coach’s first language, but that was not the case. I also heard a very funny story about how Nole reacted when he couldn’t find his car in the IW parking lot.

Second-hand stories from how they behave when they are on a ‘business trip‘ and doing business which is what a tennis tournament is for a pro player. Might not reflect how they are in their private lives.
Click to expand...
 
skaj

skaj

Legend
Beckerserve said:
Obviously amongst the fans he seems not as revered as Fedal. His on court behaviour is not a good look. Even djokovic fans will agree about that.
However in the locker room he seems as popular as Roger and way more popular than Nadal. Numerous players speak glowingly about Roger and Nole as people. Their sense of humour often talked about and how they mix with everyone.
Nadal though never seems to get much said about his personality. Hugely respected of course but i do not think ive heard any player say he is a great guy. I have heard players diplomatically state they dont know him well as he only really mixes with Spanish guys.
If Djokovic was the a hole he is often portrayed as surely he would not be so popular in the locker room.
My own feeling is that he is probably a great chap off court and generous and down to earth outside tennis much like Alex Ferguson apparently was even though on the sidelines he was a guy you wanted to punch. Perhaps this explains why he gets so irritable. He knows he is a good guy but feels he has had very bad press by certain US and UK press who do carry clout.
Click to expand...

He is irritable because he wants to be loved and adored the way his parents adored(and still do) him in his childhood. If you listen to their interviews, you can hear about the pathological glorification of a child. It certainly helps child's confidence in the future but it also makes them irritable, if not something worse, when they are disliked in the real world.
 
Last edited:
skaj

skaj

Legend
GoldenMasters said:
Of course Nadal doesn't mix well with other guys in the locker room. The guy is a weirdo.
Click to expand...

Nadal is one of the most common personas on the ATP, complete opposite of weird.

Weird is someone like Djokovic for example
pof5hAspj
pmbwZyvwj
poaUYiNSj
pmJzpXTkg
 
socallefty

socallefty

G.O.A.T.
For an average person, anyone who has OCD tendencies like Nadal (water bottle alignment, b*tt-picking before every point) and anyone who believes in weird New-Age principles like Djokovic (following Pepe Imaz, believing that water can be purified by good thoughts, throwing his love to the crowd etc.) would be justifiably considered weird. Federer might have his faults, but being a weirdo is not one of them.

Anyway, none of it matters much to me - I love watching all of them play and hope they keep winning all the Slams.
 
TearTheRoofOff

TearTheRoofOff

G.O.A.T.
Mike Sams

Mike Sams

G.O.A.T.
Biggest problem with Djokovic is his nerdy schoolboy look. He needs to grow out his hair, slick it back, grow a full beard, dress up in all black and call himself Darth Djoker!
 
S

SonnyT

Legend
skaj, just because you would never think of trying something, doesn't make that 'something' automatically weird, or abhorrent!
 
skaj

skaj

Legend
SonnyT said:
skaj, just because you would never think of trying something, doesn't make that 'something' automatically weird, or abhorrent!
Click to expand...

It doesn't make it not weird either, especially if it is saluting the crowd by stroking your imaginary breasts.
 
vex

vex

Legend
Beckerserve said:
Obviously amongst the fans he seems not as revered as Fedal. His on court behaviour is not a good look. Even djokovic fans will agree about that.
However in the locker room he seems as popular as Roger and way more popular than Nadal. Numerous players speak glowingly about Roger and Nole as people. Their sense of humour often talked about and how they mix with everyone.
Nadal though never seems to get much said about his personality. Hugely respected of course but i do not think ive heard any player say he is a great guy. I have heard players diplomatically state they dont know him well as he only really mixes with Spanish guys.
If Djokovic was the a hole he is often portrayed as surely he would not be so popular in the locker room.
My own feeling is that he is probably a great chap off court and generous and down to earth outside tennis much like Alex Ferguson apparently was even though on the sidelines he was a guy you wanted to punch. Perhaps this explains why he gets so irritable. He knows he is a good guy but feels he has had very bad press by certain US and UK press who do carry clout.
Click to expand...
Only rabid idiot fans think Djoker is some kind of a-hole off the court. Even on the court he gives more respect to opponents than Rafa or Fed do. (Not a ton, but his little salutes are something they don’t do). But, obviously, on-court his temper is a mess and he finally paid a big price for it.

Roger is Roger. Like Djoker he’s a pretty good dude on and off. He’s made some mistakes on court but his hardcore fans pretend he hasn’t.

Rafa isn’t necessarily a bad guy, I think he's much less social than the other 2 guys. No big deal.
 
Beckerserve

Beckerserve

Legend
socallefty said:
Djokovic is the most extroverted, down-to-earth and likes being light-hearted - he is reputed to be very sociable in the locker room. Federer is a prankster with those he is close with, but is relaxed and professional with others - most in the locker room are in awe of him and Federer likes it that way. Nadal is intense, private and does not have relaxed conversations with other players - also prefers speaking in Spanish with his compatriots. I think Djokovic and Federer are both popular with other players, but probably more of them will have had more inter-action with Novak. The popularity of the Big 3 with fans is based almost entirely on their public image, playing style and aesthetics while their popularity with other players would be based more on how they behave with them in the locker room.

I posted this a month ago in another thread.
Click to expand...
Great stuff and confirms what i thought judging by player reactions at the net after a match. With djokovic always genuine warmth. With Rafa it is respectful. With Roger there is awe.
 
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Beckerserve

Beckerserve

Legend
Mike Sams said:
If Djokovic didn't rise in 2011, Nadal would've been winning everything and probably be at 37 Slams today!:eek:
Djokovic is the only guy who had an answer for the fearsome Nadal topspin FH.
Federer took like 12 years to figure out how to play Nadal the right way :-D
Click to expand...
Nalbandian and Davydenko may say they can be added to the list.
 
Born_to_slice

Born_to_slice

Legend
Mike Sams said:
I'd give it 2 years. People move on very very quickly. Once you're out of the game, nobody cares or remembers. It's only the commentators that keep bringing up old players like Borg and Laver and Billie Jean King, etc otherwise they'd have been forgotten too.
Click to expand...
We were talking about music, not players.
 
Born_to_slice

Born_to_slice

Legend
Mike Sams said:
LOL oh sorry then. Yeah, great musicians and singers are timeless. Athletes? Not so much.
Click to expand...
This was about contemporary pop garbage. At least I hope it will be forgotten.

Tennis ATGs will be remembered. Obviously, they won't be talked nearly as much as when they played.
 
Druss

Druss

Hall of Fame
Tennis aside, I think Djokovic is the most down-to-earth of the Big 3. He'd be someone I'd most likely pick to spend a couple hours with over say a dinner or something. Perhaps that's because we have similar point of views/beliefs. IMO he'd be the one to less likely 'snob' you, if say you crossed paths on the streets somewhere.
 
Mike Sams

Mike Sams

G.O.A.T.
Born_to_slice said:
This was about contemporary pop garbage. At least I hope it will be forgotten.

Tennis ATGs will be remembered. Obviously, they won't be talked nearly as much as when they played.
Click to expand...
Yeah, that's the point I was making. People will move on and watch new talents. And I'd imagine probably a lot of people will leave this site once their guy is gone. Nadal fans and Federer fans specifically.
 
Mike Sams

Mike Sams

G.O.A.T.
Druss said:
Tennis aside, I think Djokovic is the most down-to-earth of the Big 3. He'd be someone I'd most likely pick to spend a couple hours with over say a dinner or something. Perhaps that's because we have similar point of views/beliefs. IMO he'd be the one to less likely 'snob' you, if say you crossed paths on the streets somewhere.
Click to expand...
Djokovic is also the one most likely to physically attack you as well if you irritate him! :p
 
Druss

Druss

Hall of Fame
Mike Sams said:
Djokovic is also the one most likely to physically attack you as well if you irritate him! :p
Click to expand...
LOL, yeah maybe. On a serious note, I dare say his on-court tantrums have a lot to do with the pressure he puts upon himself, to become the GOAT and break Federer’s records. He is a perfectionist, and if things are not going his way then yeah, beware.
 
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