"He needs to win the French Open because this might be his last chance at the calendar grand slam"
- Thread starter weakera
- Start date
UnforcedTerror
Hall of Fame
I hope someone tells him one day that there is no FO anymore. Only DO.
B
Beerus
Guest
The Grand Slam should have happened in 2021. It's too late now.
Silverbullet96
Hall of Fame
There's no need to put age limits on him. We've been putting age limits since Nadal in 2009, and eat crow every time. For all we know at the moment Djokovic has a chance to do CYGS in 2030 also.
Rafa4LifeEver
G.O.A.T.
Let's hope Rafa slaughters him to dust once again.
Rafa had his last chance at a CYGS last year.
Kralingen
Talk Tennis Guru
Remove the calendar Slam part of it. It might be his last chance to win any Slam whatsoever.
At age 36 there is absolutely no guarantee of any future.
We all saw Zverev’s career radically change with one wrong step last year at RG. Thiem went from Slam champ to Challengers overnight. Injury kills. I know there’s a level of mythologizing we do with these guys but you never know when it’ll be over. And when it is, it’s usually over abruptly, and terminally.
At age 36 there is absolutely no guarantee of any future.
We all saw Zverev’s career radically change with one wrong step last year at RG. Thiem went from Slam champ to Challengers overnight. Injury kills. I know there’s a level of mythologizing we do with these guys but you never know when it’ll be over. And when it is, it’s usually over abruptly, and terminally.
Rafa4LifeEver
G.O.A.T.
no he did not have that chance.
You're right. He's not as good.
UnforcedTerror
Hall of Fame
He won a hardcourt slam with one leg losing one set in a tiebreak. Barring an injury, he can win as many as he wants but the question is how many slams he still really wants.
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CoolCoolCool
Hall of Fame
He shat himself the last time he had a shot at the CYGS. He can't do it.
Tennfan123
Legend
Djokovic, Roland Garros, CYGS. It's just keywords and clickbait.
Nadal_Django
Legend
Only to cry about the evil "career inflation era", like a little babies, if it actually happens. Turn it however you want, these Fed nostalgia bozos are always right.
MichaelNadal
Bionic Poster
Mats has good insight as always. It will be very difficult for Novak to win the French Open, yet a Grand Slam.
As time passes, I always believed that Novak had the best chance to win a Grand Slam of all the players. The French Open has always been a difficult task since Rafa arrived on the scene. His records there are truly unbelievable.
We all know that Novak will give it his best effort as always.
As time passes, I always believed that Novak had the best chance to win a Grand Slam of all the players. The French Open has always been a difficult task since Rafa arrived on the scene. His records there are truly unbelievable.
We all know that Novak will give it his best effort as always.
Nadal_King
Hall of Fame
Exactly who thought that Federer won 2017 without dropping a set at Wimbledon would win his last slam in 2018 and then not win any slam thereafter
Fabresque
Legend
Correct. He ain’t good enough.
Kralingen
Talk Tennis Guru
What if he tears his Achilles tomorrow in practice?
What if the elbow issues come back and we have another 2017-18 situation?
What if COVID rears its ugly head again and mutates into a Last of Us scenario where it causes flesh eating zombification of the people it infects?
Then Djokovic would turn into a ghoulish undead who feeds on the flesh of fellow tennis competitors and obviously never win another Slam.
after Wim 2019 did you think Fed would only play 3 more Slams? Did you know Wimbledon would not even be held in 2020? Did you have any idea about what Thiem, Zverev, or Nadal’s future would be?
Did you even know who Carlos Alcaraz was in 2019?
Poisoned Slice
Bionic Poster
Another day, another doughnut.
Poisoned Slice
Bionic Poster
But yeah, I think it does make sense. Pretty decent comment from ol Mats.
The Fedfather
Legend
What's the urgency? Djokovic is only 25 in tennis years.
D
Deleted member 629564
Guest
Wow.
Might be.
What a deep thinking from Wilander.
This Wilander statement might be one of the most bland things he said this year.
Poisoned Slice
Bionic Poster
Razer
Legend
His body is very young, thats for sure. He has more hair on his head than Rafa had in his teen years or probably even Fed in his peak years. He has not slowed down a lot though he does get tired sometimes. 35 might be the new 28-30 in his case.
The Fedfather
Legend
Well, that's what I'm saying. Wilander is fearmongering and for what?
Razer
Legend
As per GAP theory 36 is the new 31, I am sure Wilander believes Novak can win slams next year at well but CYGS means 4/4, that is too much.
French Open is Novak's weakest slam and if he can catch Carlos/Holger for a win then it is this year when they are still teens, next year they will be close to 21, that is the age when ATGs start to hit prime, a defeat might come, so Wilander's prediction seems accurate. Novak could still win 2 next year but not 3 or 4. This year is the final attempt.
The Fedfather
Legend
I don't understand this logic. Novak is in his prime, and he's improving his serve and net game, his diet and lifestyle are maximizing his fitness and mentally he is getting stronger as well. He's supposed to be afraid of babies Alcaraz and Rune now? Yeah, don't think so.
Razer
Legend
Well Alcaraz and Rune are 16 years younger to him, I am not sure how a 37 year old will fight a 21 year old next year. But yes you do have a point, as per Statistics Novak is at the peak of his powers. No wonder Novak fans say Roger was at his peak at 35, maybe 35 is the new peak ?
The Fedfather
Legend
I think he is at his peak. Really, I've never seen Novak play better than this year. The serve improvement has been the key to take his game to the next level.Well Alcaraz and Rune are 16 years younger to him, I am not sure how a 37 year old will fight a 21 year old next year. But yes you do have a point, as per Statistics Novak is at the peak of his powers. No wonder Novak fans say Roger was at his peak at 35, maybe 35 is the new peak ?
Razer
Legend
Well I know you are trolling and Novak is trolling the youngsters too, but something tells me the trolling ends next year as the field gets stronger, the upsets will start more from 2024/2025. His return stats are still top notch 42% and that helps him, these are Federer's peak numbers, but once he declines he will decline quickly and 1 injury could mean the end of these good days. So.... this year is his best bet to take it, not next.
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Born_to_slice
Legend
They'll sooner find life on Mars {fingers crossed they do, we really need the little green (eyed) men for the Fed army}
The Fedfather
Legend
Me and stats are trolling? Djokovic is not showing any signs of decline while improving in some major aspects of the game. Again, we're not in the 90s. Modern medicine, physio teams moved the age of decline by 10 years. No reason to think Djokovic won't dominate for another couple seasons at least.
itrium84
Hall of Fame
It was too late in 2021 too, though.
Crocodile
G.O.A.T.
Even at the best of times the historical data shows that achieving a calendar GS is more unlikely than likely and the closer you are to the age of 40 the more unlikely your chances are so I would say that 2023 and 2024 are probably the last opportunity Novak has. Not saying he couldn’t do it because if anyone can then he can, but the odds are more unlikely.
BauerAlmeida
Hall of Fame
I think that ship has sailed, but if he wins RG somehow then he's the favorite for Wimbledon for sure and suddenly we are more than halway there maybe.
USO will always be the toughest because the field is deeper. Some players are not so good on clay (Medvedev, Fritz, Kyrgios, FAA) or grass (Tsitsipas, Thiem, Zverev, Alcaraz) but almost everyone is a threat on hard courts.
USO will always be the toughest because the field is deeper. Some players are not so good on clay (Medvedev, Fritz, Kyrgios, FAA) or grass (Tsitsipas, Thiem, Zverev, Alcaraz) but almost everyone is a threat on hard courts.
BauerAlmeida
Hall of Fame
I mean, he was as close as you can get without doing it. If that's too late...
itrium84
Hall of Fame
I meant 2 years ago exactly, between AO21 and RG21. He was far away from CYGS as any champion of 1st major in a season.
TheNachoMan
Legend
You have been successfully brainwashed by the NC.
DSH
Talk Tennis Guru
vex
Legend
Djokovic ain’t winning the CYGS, let’s get back to reality. In better years when he was younger, healthier, fresher…. He STILL consistently ran out of gas by the time the USO rolled around. He’s a top contender at every slam but he ain’t a lock to win anything anymore. Wimbledon is his best chance for another slam and even there he could lose to a hot server.
Alcaraz
DSH
Talk Tennis Guru
dr325i
G.O.A.T.
He is not winning CYGS…What are your thoughts on this statement from Mats Wilander?
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