Goran explains how Djokovic can win the 2021 French Open

BeatlesFan

Bionic Poster
Now Goran claims Djokovic wasn't physically "at his best" in the 2020 FO final.

‘It will hardly go the same way’, says Novak Djokovic coach on potential Rafa Nadal rematch

Coach Goran Ivanisevic says a repeat of the 2020 French Open final result is unlikely, as Novak Djokovic was not physically at his best. When asked about a potential rematch between Djokovic and Nadal in Paris, Ivanisevic said, “It will hardly go down the same way. To be honest, I do not think Novak could repeat it even if he wanted to. Rafa is the favourite, no doubt about that, but favourites do not always win."

“First and foremost, Novak must be physically at his best, he needs to feel powerful enough to stay on the court as long as it takes. For example, in the Roland Garros final he did not seem ready to stay on the court for fifteen hours if that is what it would have taken to beat Nadal. He was shortening points with drop shots and some other bad choices. Against Medvedev in the Australian Open final, you could tell that he was prepared to be on that court for thirty hours if needed.
That is the state Novak has to be in before that potential encounter with Nadal."

Link won't work, it's on tennis head dot net today.
 

Milanez82

Hall of Fame
Gotta believe in your man no matter what

Novak can hope for a rainy wet day to have a shot
Provided he can get past other obstacles.
 

Hitman

Bionic Poster
Now Goran claims Djokovic wasn't physically "at his best" in the 2020 FO final.

tenor.gif
 

clayqueen

Talk Tennis Guru
Roland Garros 2020
Goran Ivanisevic names Novak Djokovic favorite against Rafael Nadal
Further, the Croatian coach went ahead and called Djokovic the favorite for the title. “I went a little too far, but in my opinion, Novak is the number one favorite. He brought his body, his head, and preparation to perfection."

“He prepares everything in detail, from tactics, technique, to nutrition, and he adheres to it. But he knows it makes him better, he wants to progress every day and it’s very interesting to work with him because he wants something better every day, at least 0.00001 percent, but something has to be happening.”


Today:
"In the Roland Garros final he did not seem ready to stay on the court for fifteen hours if that is what it would have taken to beat Nadal. He was shortening points with drop shots and some other bad choices".
 

TennisFan3

Talk Tennis Guru
Novak might have a bigger problem with Thiem as well in the French Open. Forget about Nadal.

Novak CANNOT be as good as clay as he is on hardcourts. PERIOD. Clay will always be his least effective surface. Technically speaking his main weapons - Return of serve and serve are dented on clay. He has an edge on hardcourts because he can win free points on serve and be very offensive on ROS. On clay, Novak loses the edge on the serve return - given that Nadal/Thiem and other clay players can return just as effectively (if not better), as the slower surface gives more time to line up the ROS.
Furthermore, you don't get free points on serve on clay and that dents the 1-2 strike tennis as well.

Also Novak does not have the edge in movement on clay. Since Nadal, Thiem etc can move and slide better on the surface. Novak cannot take time away from them on the neutral rallies as the ball penetrates slower through the surface.

In short: To win French Open: Novak would need to play his very best and hope that he does NOT have to play both Thiem and Nadal. Also hope that Nadal/Thiem are not at their best.
 
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Goran is right, Novak should be physically ready for long grueling rallies. No more silly shortening of points, no more mind-blowing dropshots, no more clueless 50 UEs in 20 something games.
 

scotus

G.O.A.T.
The only type of drop shots proven effective against Nadal is the drop volley. Follow a wide serve that forces Nadal completely off to the side of the court, hit a drop volley in the opposite direction. Because Rafa stands so far back to return the serve, this strategy, if executed right, has a good chance of working. Tsonga executed that strategy to perfection in AO, albeit only for a match.
 

Rafa4LifeEver

G.O.A.T.
Now Goran claims Djokovic wasn't physically "at his best" in the 2020 FO final.

‘It will hardly go the same way’, says Novak Djokovic coach on potential Rafa Nadal rematch

Coach Goran Ivanisevic says a repeat of the 2020 French Open final result is unlikely, as Novak Djokovic was not physically at his best. When asked about a potential rematch between Djokovic and Nadal in Paris, Ivanisevic said, “It will hardly go down the same way. To be honest, I do not think Novak could repeat it even if he wanted to. Rafa is the favourite, no doubt about that, but favourites do not always win."

“First and foremost, Novak must be physically at his best, he needs to feel powerful enough to stay on the court as long as it takes. For example, in the Roland Garros final he did not seem ready to stay on the court for fifteen hours if that is what it would have taken to beat Nadal. He was shortening points with drop shots and some other bad choices. Against Medvedev in the Australian Open final, you could tell that he was prepared to be on that court for thirty hours if needed.
That is the state Novak has to be in before that potential encounter with Nadal."

Link won't work, it's on tennis head dot net today.
Another beatdown coming soon
 

-NN-

G.O.A.T.
Gotta admit that Goran's brand of hyperbole makes me chuckle. 15 hours? 30 hours?!!

This Djokovic guy isn't human.
 

Sephiroth

Hall of Fame
tell your man who can't even hit through Nadal to continue baseline exchanges for 15 hours vs Nadal at RG brehs
 

beard

Legend
First of all, Goran shouldn't say this thing in public...

Secondly, I am sure Novak thinks he can beat Nadal even on clay, that's champion mentality...

Thirdly, Novak was obviously off at RG 2020, for who knows what reason...

Next, who know in what condition will Rafa be, maybe he will be on 70 or 80% for some reason... Why couldn't Novak vulture slam? It's legit tactics which other use against Novak at AO, hoping Novak would lose early or will be off...

Next, who knows, maybe some player explode Soderling style...

Bottom line, Nadal is as of now huge favorite, but other can hope, it's sport... Rolland Garros if far away, let's see what happens in meantime and talk again right before tournament...
 

Backspin1183

Talk Tennis Guru
Why can’t Goran just shut up. Not even Uncle Toni talked this much as a coach.

Uncle Toni never really spoke like Goran. He was always more into hyping up Nadal's main rivals. Was a great coach but not the right one when Nadal was going through a rough phase and needed more support and confidence.
 

BeatlesFan

Bionic Poster
I am sure Novak thinks he can beat Nadal even on clay, that's champion mentality...
Novak has defeated Rafa at RG (obviously in Rafa's worst year on tour, 2015) and has beaten him 7 times on clay, more than anybody else has ever achieved. Sure Djokovic knows he can beat Rafa on clay, but doing it in an RG final is another dimension entirely.
 
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