Djokovic the new Lendl?

[The_Mental_Giant]

Good in HC and indoors
has been in negative slam final winning ratio (not at 50%)
does much better in master cups and YEc than at slams..


Is djoko the new Lendl?

 

[Chico]

Good in HC and indoors
has been in negative slam final winning ratio (not at 50%)
does much better in master cups and YEc than at slams..


Is djoko the new Lendl?

Novak is at 50% at slam finals now. Not in negative.

This being said, beside similarities you mentioned, the fact that they are both hated for being from Eastern Europe, for being too good and for dethroning previously loved champions, and both actually being very nice guys outside tennis court, I agree you could draw certain parallel between the two of them.

 

[Cesc Fabregas]

Both have no charisma too

 

[TopFH]

As of now, maybe. But come next year, he won't be. I think he'll win AO and possibly RG next year, with a 3-5 Masters as well. Hell, he could win everything next year if he maintains this form.

 

[tennisaddict]

Biggest Difference is

Lendl - didnt care whether he was liked or not

Djokovic - is so desperate to be liked.

But there are lots of parallels - Lost finals, Wimbledon /FO proving the achilles heel, always on the shadow of fellow greats.

 

[The_Mental_Giant]

As of now, maybe. But come next year, he won't be. I think he'll win AO and possibly RG next year, with a 3-5 Masters as well. Hell, he could win everything next year if he maintains this form.

you mean if rafa is out...

HE has no bussiness winning AO, RG and USO if Rafa remains healthy and in good form...

Wimbledon maybe..

 

[Chico]

you mean if rafa is out...

HE has no bussiness winning AO, RG and USO if Rafa remains healthy and in good form...

Wimbledon maybe..

LOL what a delusional post. :roll:

 

[TopFH]

LOL what a delusional post. :roll:

Yeah, it's not like Novak has 4 AOs and 5 USO finals (1 title)... Oh, and 2 RG finals as well.

 

[The_Mental_Giant]

LOL what a delusional post. :roll:

Isn't USO where nole is completely owned by fedal ?

 

[Krish872007]

Novak "Rock"ovic. So proud of what he's been doing for the last four years especially!

http://as01.epimg.net/tenis/imagenes/2009/12/29/mas_tenis/1262041201_740215_0000000001_noticia_normal.jpg

 

[beast of mallorca]

Good in HC and indoors
has been in negative slam final winning ratio (not at 50%)
does much better in master cups and YEc than at slams..


Is djoko the new Lendl?

If he is, he will be the better version of Lendl, with more GS wins.

 

[Deleted member 688153]

Novak is at 50% at slam finals now. Not in negative.

This being said, beside similarities you mentioned, the fact that they are both hated for being from Eastern Europe, for being too good and for dethroning previously loved champions, and both actually being very nice guys outside tennis court, I agree you could draw certain parallel between the two of them.

Who actually dislikes them for that?
Who cares where they're from, even if some Eastern European fans can be obnoxious.

 

[Man of steel]

Lads we all know djoko will most likely not win US and RG. RG because nadal will most likely be back to his clay best. And he seriously underpeforms at Us in the finals. Consistent at getting to the semi's or better. But how he doesn't have more than 1 US i can't even understand for the life of me.

 

[merwy]

Novak is at 50% at slam finals now. Not in negative.

This being said, beside similarities you mentioned, the fact that they are both hated for being from Eastern Europe, for being too good and for dethroning previously loved champions, and both actually being very nice guys outside tennis court, I agree you could draw certain parallel between the two of them.

My dutch commentator mentioned today that Federer is always very generous to his fans and is in person just as nice as he is on court and in press conferences. As opposed to Djokovic, who can be a clown on court but isn't very talkative in person.

I found that a weird comment out of nowhere because it sounded like he said that part about Djokovic in a negative way. Don't know why he had to bring Djokovic up in a negative way while he was saying something good about Federer.

 

[beast of mallorca]

Who actually dislikes them for that?
Who cares where they're from, even if some Eastern European fans can be obnoxious.

You have to know the history of it to understand that.
Sadly, there is some truth to it.

 

[Strobe Lights]

I would say at the moment it is a very good comparison and the fact that Djokovic can be compared with Lendl shows how good he is.

Both have been the best player in the world for long stretches and relatively underperformed in terms of Majors won. Lendl is more extreme in this regard with only 1 more Major yet 150 more weeks at #1. Lendl's poorer win percentage in Major finals is not a negative. If Novak had lost in the final rather than semi-final at some of those Majors earlier in his career you could not say he was a worse player because of it.

Both have performed well at the YEC.

Both were/are excellent on outdoor hard, clay and indoor hard. Lendl was excellent on carpet, Novak never had the chance. Novak is excellent on grass, whereas Lendl struggled on it, but maximised his ability and reached three Major finals on it (one AO and two Wimbledons).

Both have two finals but no titles at that one big elusive Major (RG for Novak and Wimbledon for Lendl). Novak has Rafa in his way and Lendl was never fully comfortable on grass.

Two all-time greats.

 

[britam25]

Novak is at 50% at slam finals now. Not in negative.

This being said, beside similarities you mentioned, the fact that they are both hated for being from Eastern Europe, for being too good and for dethroning previously loved champions, and both actually being very nice guys outside tennis court, I agree you could draw certain parallel between the two of them.

I have never, ever, EVER heard anybody describe Lendl as a very nice guy outside the tennis court, or anywhere else. I just heard that Pat Cash, in his book about his tennis life, say that Lendl was universally despised, and that he, Cash, wanted to punch Lendl's lights out when Lendl destroyed some object that Cash was proudly displaying in the locker room...as a joke.

 

[Chanwan]

Good in HC and indoors
has been in negative slam final winning ratio (not at 50%)
does much better in master cups and YEc than at slams..


Is djoko the new Lendl?

But Llendl was only good on clay, no?* Then how can Djoko be the new Llendl?





*(see sig)

 

[Noelan]

My dutch commentator mentioned today that Federer is always very generous to his fans and is in person just as nice as he is on court and in press conferences. As opposed to Djokovic, who can be a clown on court but isn't very talkative in person.

I found that a weird comment out of nowhere because it sounded like he said that part about Djokovic in a negative way. Don't know why he had to bring Djokovic up in a negative way while he was saying something good about Federer.

Lies about Novak and you know that, just bitter now, heh this forum..

 

[merwy]

Lies about Novak and you know that, just bitter now, heh this forum..

How am I bitter? I said that my commentator said those things, not me.

 

[Gary Duane]

Good in HC and indoors
has been in negative slam final winning ratio (not at 50%)
does much better in master cups and YEc than at slams..


Is djoko the new Lendl?

Novak is like Lendl in that he showed a huge amount of promise while quite young, did not reach #1 as early as most great players. Both peaked late.

Lendl was actually #1 very briefly at age 23, but he was not a solid #1 until around age 26 - very late.

Lendl was the "baby" of the Connors/Borg/McEnroe/Lendl group (52/56/59/60)

Fed/Nadal/Murray/Djokovic is similar (71/76/77/77)

Lendl slowly emerged, and so did Novak. A lot of it has to do with the timing of when they were born.

Novak can do a LOT of damage over the next few years, if he stays healthy. That's also similar to Lendl...

 

[5555]

Both have no charisma too

Nole has no charisma? Are you serious or are you trolling?

 

[Chico]

Nole has no charisma? Are you serious or are you trolling?

He is trolling. Ignore him.

 

[jaggy]

Maybe he will coach Murray

 

[MichaelNadal]

Nole has no charisma? Are you serious or are you trolling?

:lol: you guys must eat his little antics up. Barf.

 

[NatF]

Maybe he will coach Murray

That would be hilarious.

 

[BringBackSV]

Novak is at 50% at slam finals now. Not in negative.

This being said, beside similarities you mentioned, the fact that they are both hated for being from Eastern Europe, for being too good and for dethroning previously loved champions, and both actually being very nice guys outside tennis court, I agree you could draw certain parallel between the two of them.

I can't recall anybody hating Novak, it seems more like indifference.

 

[BringBackSV]

Biggest Difference is

Lendl - didnt care whether he was liked or not

Djokovic - is so desperate to be liked.

But there are lots of parallels - Lost finals, Wimbledon /FO proving the achilles heel, always on the shadow of fellow greats.

Novak seems to me to be a pretty likable guy but he definitely tries too hard. You can't force people to like you.

 

[Fiji]

Lads we all know djoko will most likely not win US and RG. RG because nadal will most likely be back to his clay best. And he seriously underpeforms at Us in the finals. Consistent at getting to the semi's or better. But how he doesn't have more than 1 US i can't even understand for the life of me.

I concur. Next year Djokovic will only win the AO.

 

[Tennisknowledge99]

Their similarities:

They're good at Clay and Hard

They're decent at net-skill

They do very well at the Year End Tournaments

Their difference:

Novak is more all-court player, able to play well on all surface while Lendl struggled on Grass

Lendl's personality is more serious and cold, Nole does a lot of things to be liked

 

[Cesc Fabregas]

Nole has no charisma? Are you serious or are you trolling?

No he doesn't have any charisma he has to do silly things to get noticed. Someone with charisma commands your attention by just walking into a room. Everything Djokovic does is forced.

 

[oberyn]

Their difference:

Novak is more all-court player, able to play well on all surface while Lendl struggled on Grass

I feel the need to defend Lendl here. His record at Wimbledon from 1983-90 is 5 semis, 2 finals, and one 4th round exit (upset by Henri Leconte in 1985). He also won Queen’s Club back-to-back in 1989 and 1990. 1990 at Queen’s, in particular, he played stellar grass court tennis, beating McEnroe in the semis in straight sets, and absolutely tattooing Boris Becker 6-3, 6-2 in the final.

Grass was his least favorite surface, but his grass court resume is actually pretty darned good.

All that’s to say, if Djokovic is an all-courter (I don’t really think he is, by the way), there’s no way Lendl doesn’t also fit that description.

 

[Mustard]

After 1990 Queen's Club, Dan Maskell, the then 82 year old BBC commentator, said that Lendl had produced the greatest grass-court tennis that he had ever seen. Lendl had been practicing on grass for some time by then, and showed his best ever grass form at that tournament. Unfortunately for Lendl, he peaked too soon, because he mostly struggled for form at 1990 Wimbledon.

 

[oberyn]

After 1990 Queen's Club, Dan Maskell, the then 82 year old BBC commentator, said that Lendl had produced the greatest grass-court tennis that he had ever seen. Lendl had been practicing on grass for some time by then, and showed his best ever grass form at that tournament. Unfortunately for Lendl, he peaked too soon, because he mostly struggled for form at 1990 Wimbledon.

I agree with you about his peaking too soon. I was a big-time Lendl fan and was really disappointed when he didn't win it in 1990.

As for his overall grass court prowess, though, just look at who he lost to at Wimbledon between 1986 and 1990.

1986 – Lost to Becker in the finals
1987 – Lost to Cash in the finals (Cash steamrolled through that tournament, only dropping one set)
1988 – Lost to Becker in the semis in a tough 4-setter
1989 – Lost to Becker in the semis in a 5-setter in which it can be argued that Becker was “rescued” by a rain delay
1990 – Lost to Edberg in the semis.

 

[Mustard]

I agree with you about his peaking too soon. I was a big-time Lendl fan and was really disappointed when he didn't win it in 1990.

As for his overall grass court prowess, though, just look at who he lost to at Wimbledon between 1986 and 1990.

1986 – Lost to Becker in the finals
1987 – Lost to Cash in the finals (Cash steamrolled through that tournament, only dropping one set)
1988 – Lost to Becker in the semis in a tough 4-setter
1989 – Lost to Becker in the semis in a 5-setter in which it can be argued that Becker was “rescued” by a rain delay
1990 – Lost to Edberg in the semis.

In the 1989 Wimbledon semi final against Becker, Lendl was 2-1 up in sets and was a break up at 3-2 in the fourth set. Becker broke straight back and came back to win the match in 5 sets. All the vital line calls at that time went Becker's way too, to the extent where Lendl was basically pleading with the umpire about how unfair he thought it all was.

That loss to Becker is when Lendl became obsessed with winning Wimbledon, where nothing else in tennis mattered in comparison. He quickly announced that he would be skipping the whole of the 1990 spring clay tournaments to play golf and practice tennis on grass for 2 months. It looked to be a masterstroke at 1990 Queen's Club, where he had taught himself perfect grass-court tennis, but it didn't last.

 

[Boom-Boom]

I agree with you about his peaking too soon. I was a big-time Lendl fan and was really disappointed when he didn't win it in 1990.

As for his overall grass court prowess, though, just look at who he lost to at Wimbledon between 1986 and 1990.

1986 – Lost to Becker in the finals
1987 – Lost to Cash in the finals (Cash steamrolled through that tournament, only dropping one set)
1988 – Lost to Becker in the semis in a tough 4-setter
1989 – Lost to Becker in the semis in a 5-setter in which it can be argued that Becker was “rescued” by a rain delay
1990 – Lost to Edberg in the semis.

Good old times...first set of 1989 W final was peak level on grass of all time ;-)

 

[Mustard]

In the 1989 Wimbledon final, after Becker's 6-0 first set against Edberg, Edberg broke Becker's serve for a 5-4 lead in the second set, and went 40-0 up on serve to get 3 set points which would have levelled the match. Becker then won 12 of the next 13 points to take a 2 set lead. Phenomenal stuff.

 

[oberyn]

In the 1989 Wimbledon semi final against Becker, Lendl was 2-1 up in sets and was a break up at 3-2 in the fourth set. Becker broke straight back and came back to win the match in 5 sets. All the vital line calls at that time went Becker's way too, to the extent where Lendl was basically pleading with the umpire about how unfair he thought it all was.

That loss to Becker is when Lendl became obsessed with winning Wimbledon, where nothing else in tennis mattered in comparison. He quickly announced that he would be skipping the whole of the 1990 spring clay tournaments to play golf and practice tennis on grass for 2 months. It looked to be a masterstroke at 1990 Queen's Club, where he had taught himself perfect grass-court tennis, but it didn't last.

Yes, the rain delay came with Lendl up 3-0 (double break) in the 3rd set. Becker was, pretty much by his own admission, really, really out of sorts at that point. Lendl went on to win the 3rd set, 6-2, but Becker was refreshed mentally. Had the rain delay not happened, I certainly like Lendl’s chances of closing that one out in 4.

 

[Boom-Boom]

In the 1989 Wimbledon final, after Becker's 6-0 first set against Edberg, Edberg broke Becker's serve for a 5-4 lead in the second set, and went 40-0 up on serve to get 3 set points which would have levelled the match. Becker then won 12 of the next 13 points to take a 2 set lead. Phenomenal stuff.

Yep epic stuff indeed and crazy tie-break with Becker suddenly firing winners all over the court

 

[Tennisknowledge99]

I feel the need to defend Lendl here. His record at Wimbledon from 1983-90 is 5 semis, 2 finals, and one 4th round exit (upset by Henri Leconte in 1985). He also won Queen’s Club back-to-back in 1989 and 1990. 1990 at Queen’s, in particular, he played stellar grass court tennis, beating McEnroe in the semis in straight sets, and absolutely tattooing Boris Becker 6-3, 6-2 in the final.

Grass was his least favorite surface, but his grass court resume is actually pretty darned good.

All that’s to say, if Djokovic is an all-courter (I don’t really think he is, by the way), there’s no way Lendl doesn’t also fit that description.

1989 Lendl Queens's draw was easy draw (except for his best opponent was Stich) and he was pushed to 3 set to finish 3 matches. 1990 Queens Mac past his prime and 1990 was not a good season for Becker, you can't judge Lendl is good grass courter with only good tournament. Lendl struggled with that court over in his career, also at Kooyoung Australian Open, even at his peak. He has made some of ''jaw-dropping'' volley but overall his net game is inconsistent, Wimbledon in the past required more serve and volley. He missed a lot of opportunites in those Wimbledon matches, which he should've won

Novak has to play the best clay courter ever, just like Federer. If Nadal didn't play tennis, Novak would have 3 RG titles now

 

[Gazelle]

Both Djokovic and Lendl had moments were they acted like a psycho, but seemed to me OK most of the time. Lendl seems more likeable 20 years after his career, same will probably be for Djokovic, when he doesn't have a crowd anymore that he requires to love him, has become less egocentric after raising multiple kids, and finally has enough money to buy a normal haircut.

 

[Djokovic2011]

Both Djokovic and Lendl had moments were they acted like a psycho, but seemed to me OK most of the time. Lendl seems more likeable 20 years after his career, same will probably be for Djokovic, when he doesn't have a crowd anymore that he requires to love him, has become less egocentric after raising multiple kids, and finally has enough money to buy a normal haircut.

:grin:

 

[Gazelle]

:grin:

I know some Djokovic fans like to post that picture to rub in it in that he won, but there's really no point to do so in this case. I'm not depressed or even in a bad mood that he won. He can win whatever he wants.

I have adapted to see Nadal win all these trophies all those years. Seeing Djokovic win is a lot easier. I can feel no pain anymore.

 

[veroniquem]

Lucky Djoko! He got 2 trophies this week

 

[Deleted member 307496]

I think Djokovic is better than Lendl, personally.

 

[5555]

No he doesn't have any charisma

If you go to Google and type "Novak Djokovic charisma" you'll find countless of reliable sources that say he has charisma but hardly any source that says otherwise.

he has to do silly things to get noticed. Someone with charisma commands your attention by just walking into a room.

Can you prove that Nole does not command attention by just walking into a room?

Everything Djokovic does is forced.

Can you prove it?

 

[Cesc Fabregas]

Can you prove it?

He has to raise his hands to tell the crowd to stand up so they cheer for him after he wins a long point.

 

[Gazelle]

He has to raise his hands to tell the crowd to stand up so they cheer for him after he wins a long point.

Add to that the Djocolat gifts to the press, the singing girl in the press conference, interrupting Dimitrov's interview, the cringe-worthy dance with the ballboys, the Dath Vader mask, and the berry on the cake: his possum drunken master act. No need to say more.

 

[veroniquem]

Good in HC and indoors
has been in negative slam final winning ratio (not at 50%)
does much better in master cups and YEc than at slams..


Is djoko the new Lendl?

Lol I love how people manipulate stats to fit their agenda :twisted:
Djoko is 7-7 currently in slam finals. You're gonna have to do some explaining as to how this is a NEGATIVE ratio and NOT 50%


This being said, there are similarities between Lendl and Djoko and you're right the main similarities are:
- better in best of 3 than in best of 5 (obvious regardless of 50% or not)
- dominant indoor and especially at WTF
- hard court: best surface

(the main difference is that Lendl dominated RG and never won W. )

 

[Djokovic2011]

Add to that the Djocolat gifts to the press, the singing girl in the press conference, interrupting Dimitrov's interview, the cringe-worthy dance with the ballboys, the Dath Vader mask, and the berry on the cake: his possum drunken master act. No need to say more.

If you don't like him, don't watch his matches. Simple really.