Djokovic the only player capable of beating Federer in Melbourne?

[Djokovic2011]

This is more a question for Federer fans as I get the impression from what I've been reading on this forum and elsewhere that Djokovic is the only player they'd like to see out of the way when the Australian Open comes around in order to witness their guy hold aloft GS trophy #21. Is this a fair assessment or are there other players currently who you believe can also take three sets off him in Melbourne? If so, which ones?

 

[Red Rick]

This is more a question for Federer fans as I get the impression from what I've been reading on this forum and elsewhere that Djokovic is the only player they'd like to see out of the way when the Australian Open comes around in order to witness their guy hold aloft GS trophy #21. Is this a fair assessment or are there other players currently who you believe can also take three sets off him in Melbourne? If so, which ones?

I see where it went wrong.

According to most people who discuss tennis, Federer bleeds succes, so the population isn't really unbiased lol.

 

[K-H]

Tbh there’s plenty of players who can do damage to both Djokovic and Federer. Djokovics the clear favourite but he’s not at 2015 level.
Zverev and Kyrgios will be difficult for both. It’s just a question of whether either of them will go far enough in the tournament to do any damage.
If you look at the last few matches these two have played against Djokovic/Federer, they’ve been close and these guys have beaten them both in the past.
I can’t mention Nadal because we don’t know where his fitness is really at right now.

 

[Poisoned Slice]

 

[NBP]

This is more a question for Federer fans as I get the impression from what I've been reading on this forum and elsewhere that Djokovic is the only player they'd like to see out of the way when the Australian Open comes around in order to witness their guy hold aloft GS trophy #21. Is this a fair assessment or are there other players currently who you believe can also take three sets off him in Melbourne? If so, which ones?

2017 form Federer? Yes.
2018 form Federer? There are at least 5 top players and probably 3 journeymen who could defeat Fed.

We'll have to wait and see.

 

[Hamnavoe]

 

[ibbi]

Can you imagine that final? The two winningest Aussie Open champions of the Open Era, going head to head to surpass the other and Emmo for the all time record? The two time defending champion against the man who just a few years ago seemed unstoppable at this tournament, and was the only guy that stood between his prospective opponent here and who knows how many major titles? I don't know that there's ever been anything quite like it. It'd be like Sampras and Federer contesting the Wimbledon final in 2017, or Rafa and Borg at Roland Garros in 2012. This is an all timer. stakes wise, hype wise.

So much so it's obviously never going to happen. I wonder what will go wrong.

 

[Djokovic2011]

Can you imagine that final? The two winningest Aussie Open champions of the Open Era, going head to head to surpass the other and Emmo for the all time record? The two time defending champion against the man who just a few years ago seemed unstoppable at this tournament, and was the only guy that stood between his prospective opponent here and who knows how many major titles? I don't know that there's ever been anything quite like it. It'd be like Sampras and Federer contesting the Wimbledon final in 2017, or Rafa and Borg at Roland Garros in 2012. This is an all timer. stakes wise, hype wise.

So much so it's obviously never going to happen. I wonder what will go wrong.

Hopefully Federer losing before the final.

 

[Mainad]

I see it the other way round. Is Federer the only player capable of beating this version of Djokovic in Melbourne? I think he's the only one with a realistic chance (he's the 2 time defending champion after all) and a slim one at that given his recent record against Djokovic.

 

[TheMaestro1990]

Federer can lose to many players in the draw, especially if he plays to the same standards as he did during the 2nd half of 2018. His movement has looked a lot better to me during Hopman Cup, although his forehand and backhand aren’t clicking thus far. Not concerned though. The movement is the most important part at this stage.

Djokovic is without doubt the biggest threat for Federer, because he is the only one that will be considered a favorite against him if Federer hits something close to his early 2018 level. But again, he is far from the only threat, much depending on what kind of form the GOAT brings to the table.

 

[upchuck]

Fed's still in the Hopman Cup right? Which means he has yet to face Zverev, right? That should tell us if Djokovic is the only person capable of beating him or not.

 

[TMF]

Hopefully Federer losing before the final.

They both should lose before the final. These guys have won more than enough so let one of the LOSTGEN player win for the first time.

 

[Tiki-Taka]

They both should lose before the final. These guys have won more than enough so let one of the LOSTGEN player win for the first time.

Or Rafa. It's been a while for him down under.

 

[BeatlesFan]

Fed's form has been good at the Hopman Cup, but not anywhere close to his form from Jan-March, 2017. There's no neo-BH and literally no FH. Without his FH, Fed is not winning the AO. But he can still beat anyone in the draw (if playing very well) except for Djokovic. I don't read too much into form in this match up, it's mostly mental with Federer. He should have won the Paris final in November, but became tentative and choked in the decisive moments.

If Djokovic and Fed meet at the AO, Novak will be the prohibitive favorite based on age alone. If Fed wins, he'll surpass Rosewall as the oldest slam champion in the Open era. I just don't see a 37 year old beating a dominant #1 player in a slam. It's too big of an ask, even for the GOAT.

 

[Towny]

Certainly others can beat him. Djokovic is just the only one who I would say Federer would definitely be the underdog against.

Federer hasn't been in particularly strong form of late and while I'm expecting at least a SF appearance, I won't be surprised if he loses to anyone from the QF onwards

 

[Deleted member 763657]

Federer isn't as reliable against the field as he used to be. We saw he lost to a lot of guys in the second half of 2018, not just Djokovic. Got to see how he performs in the first week of Australian Open to get the better idea of where he is at the moment.

 

[Sport]

Djokovic is the only player able to defeat anyone in Melbourne.

 

[Otacon]

Let's not forget that Djokovic has never won on this new fast surface. Granted he was far from his best in 17-18, but he's better on slow HC.

 

[Djokovic2011]

@TMF: LostGen can take over as soon as Djokovic wins six more majors.

 

[DSH]

Can you imagine that final? The two winningest Aussie Open champions of the Open Era, going head to head to surpass the other and Emmo for the all time record? The two time defending champion against the man who just a few years ago seemed unstoppable at this tournament, and was the only guy that stood between his prospective opponent here and who knows how many major titles? I don't know that there's ever been anything quite like it. It'd be like Sampras and Federer contesting the Wimbledon final in 2017, or Rafa and Borg at Roland Garros in 2012. This is an all timer. stakes wise, hype wise.

So much so it's obviously never going to happen. I wonder what will go wrong.

OR CONNORS VS SAMPRAS IN 2003

 

[EasyGoing]

I’d say they are both more than capable of losing to a number of players, especially Fed. Bad days come more often when you are older, and none of them is unbeatable right now. In the last few years Fed is usually playing just good enough to win and is never going all-in to destroy an opponent like when he was younger. Nole has a deceptive game where he can make an average opponent look like a world beater, but also bring a great player down to journeyman level. You never know what you will get.

However, should they meet, Nole would be a huge favorite in Bo5 - but not because of Roger’s mental issues, which IMO are hugely overstated on this forum. It’s simply physicall, and once your legs go and you start getting tired, you miss easy shots and make poor decisions.

In any case, the draw will be hugely important as there are certain types of players both struggle against. I’d still bet on Nole for the win but anything can happen really. That’s why we watch the matches, right?

 

[DSH]

This is more a question for Federer fans as I get the impression from what I've been reading on this forum and elsewhere that Djokovic is the only player they'd like to see out of the way when the Australian Open comes around in order to witness their guy hold aloft GS trophy #21. Is this a fair assessment or are there other players currently who you believe can also take three sets off him in Melbourne? If so, which ones?

WHEN YOU THINK THAT ONLY ONE PLAYER CAN WIN A PLAYER WHO IS OVER 37 YEARS OLD, I THINK SOMETHING IS VERY bAD IN THIS SPORT.

 

[TheMaestro1990]

Or Rafa. It's been a while for him down under.

Shhhhhhh

 

[TheMaestro1990]

Fed's form has been good at the Hopman Cup, but not anywhere close to his form from Jan-March, 2017. There's no neo-BH and literally no FH. Without his FH, Fed is not winning the AO. But he can still beat anyone in the draw (if playing very well) except for Djokovic. I don't read too much into form in this match up, it's mostly mental with Federer. He should have won the Paris final in November, but became tentative and choked in the decisive moments.

If Djokovic and Fed meet at the AO, Novak will be the prohibitive favorite based on age alone. If Fed wins, he'll surpass Rosewall as the oldest slam champion in the Open era. I just don't see a 37 year old beating a dominant #1 player in a slam. It's too big of an ask, even for the GOAT.

I feel Fed’s forehand is too buggy whippy. Too much focus on topspin. Needs more pace and flatness. Don’t know why he has gone so extreme...

 

[True Fanerer]

Federer is the #1 challenger as it stands. Zverev, Cilic, Anderson or even Nadal could suprise. Really never know. Could be someone else. Will know more after this weekend. Anything can happen in Melbourne.

 

[EloQuent]

This is silly. The man is 87 years old. He can lose anytime to anyone. Be nice if he does well, but it's all bonus at this point.

 

[MasterZeb]

If things go to plan yes. But as we’ve seen, Feds form varies drastically match by match at this point in his career. Zverev should be a good test to see feds form. Djokovic himself isn’t playing that great either. This could be a very interesting Australian open.

 

[Djokovic2011]

WHEN YOU THINK ONLY ONE PLAYER CAN WIN AGAINST A 37 YEARS OLD TENNIS PLAYER I THINK IS SOMETHING WRONG IN THE SPORT.

Couldn't agree with you more.

 

[TMF]

@TMF: LostGen can take over as soon as Djokovic wins six more majors.

That's being greedy.
The big 3 have won a combined total of 51 slams! OTOH, the entire active players on the ATP tour minus the big 3 have won a total of 8 slams.

I'm not like you, because I hate to see nice player like Ferrer who will end up with no slam in his career.

 

[maratha_warrior]

That is because Djoker is the best returner ..
Federer's biggest weapon is his serve and its neutralised and Fed has to rally every ball to death..
There is immense pressure on every game fed Serves and its very tough to then beat djokovic..
Just like WB 2018, Rafa threw everything at Novak Thunderous forehands inside out, DTL, drop shots but Djoker kept rallying and finally his return game won him the match..

No disrespect to Fed, but If Djoker loses at AO, he won't lose to Fed but to young teenager or to Stan da Man

 

[maratha_warrior]

Also it looks like Djoker wakes up only to fight in matches versus Fedal.
It sometimes looks like Djoker doesn't care if world no. 200 beats him or a young 18 year old tsisipas, but When Fedal are across the net, Djoker plays like his life depends on it..

 

[Djokovic2011]

That's being greedy.
The big 3 have won a combined total of 51 slams! OTOH, the entire active players on the ATP tour minus the big 3 have won a total of 8 slams.

I'm not like you, because I hate to see nice player like Ferrer who will end up with no slam in his career.

So you don't want to see Federer win another GS tournament? Pull the other one TMF.

 

[Pheasant]

To answer the OP's question, if Fed(huge if) could play like he did at 2017 IW during the entire 2019 AO, then Djokovic is the only one that could beat him. What I would love to see is a zoning Fed play Djoker for the AO heavyweight championship of all time. I would love this, despite the fact that I'm pretty sure that my favorite player would go down in a five set classic.

But the reality now is that Fed has played terribly during the last 8-9 months now and he's quite vulnerable to players that are 2-3 levels below Djokovic.

There are a couple of things that have me confident that Fed could reach a semi at the AO, a result that I'd be quite pleased with.

I think that the 2 months off allows Fed enough time to heal physically and perhaps even more importantly, mentally. I think that this event is by far his best, due to all of the rest. As the tennis season progresses, Federer starts breaking down physically and mentally. And this is the main reason why that I have always said(since 2016 when his doctors said that playing on clay is bad for Fed's surgically repaired knees) that Fed should never play clay again.

 

[Respect for big 5]

That's being greedy.
The big 3 have won a combined total of 51 slams! OTOH, the entire active players on the ATP tour minus the big 3 have won a total of 8 slams.

I'm not like you, because I hate to see nice player like Ferrer who will end up with no slam in his career.

I appreciate your empathy here, but if they can't win it, why should they get it. This is not a charity ball

 

[Respect for big 5]

That is because Djoker is the best returner ..
Federer's biggest weapon is his serve and its neutralised and Fed has to rally every ball to death..
There is immense pressure on every game fed Serves and its very tough to then beat djokovic..
Just like WB 2018, Rafa threw everything at Novak Thunderous forehands inside out, DTL, drop shots but Djoker kept rallying and finally his return game won him the match..

No disrespect to Fed, but If Djoker loses at AO, he won't lose to Fed but to young teenager or to Stan da Man

Or Basilashvili.

 

[maratha_warrior]

Or Basilashvili.

Or Cecchinato

 

[wangs78]

Fed's form has been good at the Hopman Cup, but not anywhere close to his form from Jan-March, 2017. There's no neo-BH and literally no FH. Without his FH, Fed is not winning the AO. But he can still beat anyone in the draw (if playing very well) except for Djokovic. I don't read too much into form in this match up, it's mostly mental with Federer. He should have won the Paris final in November, but became tentative and choked in the decisive moments.

If Djokovic and Fed meet at the AO, Novak will be the prohibitive favorite based on age alone. If Fed wins, he'll surpass Rosewall as the oldest slam champion in the Open era. I just don't see a 37 year old beating a dominant #1 player in a slam. It's too big of an ask, even for the GOAT.

Fed will need the gods to smile on him bc if this final does happen he will be playing super aggressive and going for winners from the get go. If he's unlucky, he'll make UEs early and fall behind and get straight setted. If he's lucky, he'll pressure Djokovic repeatedly and put Nole on the back foot. If anyone can do it, Fed can.

I agree with you his form is still not at early 2017 level, but it looks better than post AO 2018. He's stretching for wide balls and is serving well whereas for most of the 2nd half of last year he could not serve and could not do anything with wide shots (especially with the FH). It's early enough in the season that he's still physically fresh too. So we'll see.

On the continued lack of the neo-BH, who knows. I don't think the neo-backhand was there early in the 2017 AO either. It really started showing up in the final rounds and particularly in the final against Nadal. So I think it has something to do with his mindset more than anything. In that final, I think he really let go and tried not to let nerves affect him. And Nadal was not peak Nadal either, so that helped.

A Fed-Nole final would be amazing and would create similar nerves as the AO-17 final against Nadal. But if it were up to me, I would have Nole lose in an earlier round.

 

[Krish872007]

There are a lot of players who "could" take Federer out at the AO. He may be the 2-time defending champion but it'll be a lot harder to maintain a consistently high enough level to get through the draw this year.

 

[Sport]

Federer is the #1 challenger as it stands. Zverev, Cilic, Anderson or even Nadal could suprise. Really never know. Could be someone else. Will know more after this weekend. Anything can happen in Melbourne.

Nadal will retire this 2019 according to @justasport. So no. Anderson on the other hand, looks like a potential upsetter.

 

[Deleted member 77403]

If Federer and Djokovic lock horns, the roof will blow off of Rod Laver Arena. The historical implications would be massive, AO GOAT on the line...

 

[Ann]

This is more a question for Federer fans as I get the impression from what I've been reading on this forum and elsewhere that Djokovic is the only player they'd like to see out of the way when the Australian Open comes around in order to witness their guy hold aloft GS trophy #21. Is this a fair assessment or are there other players currently who you believe can also take three sets off him in Melbourne? If so, which ones?

No that isn't how Federer fans feel and who can beat Federer? on any given day, any top 50 player. Just like that's who can beat Nadal or Djokovic.

Nice baity thread though. Lord knows there aren't enough of these.

 

[Sport]

If Federer and Djokovic lock horns, the roof will blow off of Rod Laver Arena. The historical implications would be massive, AO GOAT on the line...

Even if Federer wins, Djokovic can win 1 or 2 more, since he is only 31.

 

[Djokovic2011]

No that isn't how Federer fans feel and who can beat Federer? on any given day, any top 50 player. Just like that's who can beat Nadal or Djokovic.

Nice baity thread though. Lord knows there aren't enough of these.

Someone got out of bed on the wrong side this morning.

 

[Deleted member 77403]

Even if Federer wins, Djokovic can win 1 or 2 more, since he is only 31.

I am just talking about for this event.

That is like saying the GOAT will be decided between Federer, Nadal and Djokovic....There will always be something coming down the line.

 

[TearTheRoofOff]

While Impotenterer is still capable of beating most players due to descending from the loftiest standards, there's no way I can elevate him to status of only being stoppable at the hands of Djokovic. Unremarkable forehand, neutral backhand, can't hit a pass to save his life anymore and easier to run ragged than ever. It hardly bodes well, even if his serve is firing.

 

[Ann]

Someone got out of bed on the wrong side this morning.

Nice try.

((not really))

 

[DSH]

I am just talking about for this event.

That is like saying the GOAT will be decided between Federer, Nadal and Djokovic....There will always be something coming down the line.

maybe zverev or anothe youngster can be a protagonist this time and break the boring status quo that the fans of this forum seem to enjoy to the point of satiety.

 

[BeatlesFan]

I feel Fed’s forehand is too buggy whippy. Too much focus on topspin. Needs more pace and flatness. Don’t know why he has gone so extreme...

James Blake addressed this while commentating. His theory was that Fed is deliberately hitting his FH with less velocity in order to buy himself an extra second to re-position himself for the next shot. That seems a weird theory, but he knows better than any of us. I think that Fed simply cannot hit the FH with the wicked pace and depth he had in 2003-07. He doesn't have that shot in his arsenal anymore due to age.

 

[Deleted member 77403]

maybe zverev or anothe youngster can be a protagonist this time and break the boring status quo that the fans of this forum seem to enjoy to the point of satiety.

Maybe.

 

[BeatlesFan]

Let's not forget that Djokovic has never won on this new fast surface. Granted he was far from his best in 17-18, but he's better on slow HC.

He is definitely better on slow HC but has proven endlessly that he can also play incredibly well on fast surfaces. His ROS is as good on grass or indoor courts as it is on slow red clay. I don't think the speed of the court will hinder Djokovic at all. One small vulnerability he has is if they schedule him for a midday match when the temps are searing. But he'd have to have a strong, incredibly fit player to take him out even in hideous temps.