Honestly, Novak is harder to beat than ever.

Sunny014

Legend
People say Novak has better legs than youngsters so he cannot be grinded ?

What nonsense

A 34 yr old has better legs than a 24 yr old ?

Then he should try his hand at athletics if he is that gifted

Total rubbish, these youngsters are just weak compared to their previous generations and are unfit to reach slam finals/semi finals, if they are doing it is because the guys below them are even worse
 

tex123

Hall of Fame
That is what separates a true champion from a mug.

Sorry to say that all the youngsters are mugs, each and every one of them, this is an evolutionary thing, social media has made them all losers, growing up in the 90s or 00s in some village or in a small town would have been better, or in some war torn country

These entitled buffoons are still in awe of the big 3 and of Novak, Novak has already eaten his share of the pie in his youth and is now eating Zverev's share of the pie and it doesn't bother him enough ??? Thats why he is choking, it is all in the mind.
You're being very harsh. It is called scar tissue. Greg Rusedski was talking about it. It is the hardest thing for a player to overcome. The longer it goes on, the harder it becomes.
 

Hitman

Bionic Poster
That is what separates a true champion from a mug.

Sorry to say that all the youngsters are mugs, each and every one of them, this is an evolutionary thing, social media has made them all losers, growing up in the 90s or 00s in some village or in a small town would have been better, or in some war torn country

These entitled buffoons are still in awe of the big 3 and of Novak, Novak has already eaten his share of the pie in his youth and is now eating Zverev's share of the pie and it doesn't bother him enough ??? Thats why he is choking, it is all in the mind.

Not eveyone can be Federer/Nadal/Djokovic.

Those three spoiled us a little too much.
 
People say Novak has better legs than youngsters so he cannot be grinded ?

What nonsense

A 34 yr old has better legs than a 24 yr old ?

Then he should try his hand at athletics if he is that gifted

Total rubbish, these youngsters are just weak compared to their previous generations and are unfit to reach slam finals/semi finals, if they are doing it is because the guys below them are even worse
He was getting tired in the 4th, it was noticeable.
 

Arak

Legend
I never said he is unbeatable, I've even been saying that I didn't even have him as a lock over Zverev or Medvedev here. But here is the thing, he is the best big match player now arguably of all time just because of what he has done, and you can thank Fedal for that, for making him who he is. They of course can beat him, but saying it in he since that all his opponents beat themselves is disrespectful to both them and Novak....he isn't just there like a lamb waiting to be slaughtered, and all of a sudden everyone becomes an animal lover.
I think you are reading too much in my post. I think he’s the best player in the world at the moment. Zverev could have beaten him yesterday if he wasn’t too nervous to play his best shots. It’s true that Novak has his “presence” that plays with minds of the opponents. Hence it’s difficult for them to play their best.
 

SonnyT

Legend
He got winning down to a process, and a science.

If he can't outplay you, he will outsmart you. If that doesn't work, he'll out-mental and then out-psyche you. One of 'em will definitely get it done.

And he got that thing called best of 5 on his side.
 

sliceroni

Hall of Fame
Very few match up well against Nole that give him trouble in his career on a consistent basis. Off the top of my head Rafa, younger Federer with the 90inch racquet, Stan, healthy Murray. Honorable mention Roddick, yeah it was baby Nole but it was also an injury ridden past peak Roddick that had a winning record against him. That list is small. Nole will get 21 unless Medvedev plays completely out of his mind with no dips. Maybe he should lose the first set on purpose lol Going camping tomorrow where my cell signal is spotty at best so won’t catch it but good luck to both….Let’s go Daniil!! Haha ;)
 
You need to go full on Robin Soderling and try to hit winners on every shot. What else can you do. Nobody is beating him best of 5 from the baseline
 

ibbi

G.O.A.T.
What is the game plan exactly? What do you attack? There is no exploitable weakness that lasts longer than a point or two. Seriously, how does one beat him anymore?
I mean Zverev was doing just fine until his serve collapsed at the beginning of the fifth. Let's not get carried away with the hyperbole, folks :-D You serve well, you return well (until Novak pounced on his crumbling serve in the fifth set, Zverev was returning better - 'better' relative to the difference between the two serves:p) and you have the ability to rally with him.

Zverev had all those things, and then just as everyone nowadays does... He collapsed. He did get it back together after that collapse, but when you spot the dude a break lead in the fifth set it is, in fact, safe to say that he's going to be tough to beat, and go from strength to strength. Let's not pretend also that he didn't twice have to come from two sets to nothing down during this Grand Slam run. He looked exploitable on those days until, again, his opponents collapsed.

He's playing great, and he's battling hard. To pretend like he's unplayable is sort of doing him a total disservice. Federer used to have this issue where he didn't like how people talked about how easy it all was for him, and he had to point out that it only looked that way because of how hard he worked to make it that sp. It's the same thing here. You have seen repeatedly in this tournament the pressure getting to Djokovic. He's had ONE straight setter in the entire tournament. That's unheard of for him, but he's bounced back in so much style that if you looked at the scorelines of his matches after the first set then most of the tournament would look like a beatdown:laughing:
 
D

Deleted member 771911

Guest
He does get beat though.
Look at his season:
MC- lost Evans
Belgrade- Lost Karatsev
Rome- Lost Nadal
Olympics- Lost Zverev
Lost Busta

He has won 4 tournaments all season- AO, RG, Wim. Belgrade 2.

He's only played 10 events all season, and this USO is no. 10.

The issue is slams and five sets. He has a huge advantage there. He is the most motivated. The most experienced. The most confident. His game is going to hold up better over a five set match than anyone else and he is unrivalled. Look at his stats and the rest of the USO Semi-finalists. They have nothing on him.

So, I don't think that he is harder to beat than ever. He was winning more in 2011, 2015. And it's not that he is harder to beat at slams. It's more that the field going up against him just do not have the tool box and mentality to do it. However, put some of them up against him in a best of 3 somewhere and they have a much better chance. They can sustain their best level for 2 sets much easier than 3. They are also coming up against a less motivated player. Djokovic brings it to the slams and can afford to sacrifice a higher season winning percentage to do so due to where he is at in his career. These guys still can't do that. They are much further down the career and development line.
 

Omega_7000

Legend
You need to go full on Robin Soderling and try to hit winners on every shot. What else can you do. Nobody is beating him best of 5 from the baseline

Not really. Zverev had the game to do it. He's just extremely fragile mentally on the big stage. His serve goes away. He starts spraying errors. He just cannot play his game under pressure in BO5. There is a reason why he hasn't beaten any top 10 player in BO5
 

TennisLurker

Professional
In his match against Zverev yesterday there were a lot of crosscourt backhand exchanges that didn't end with any of them hitting a down the line backhand. Both prefered to wait for the chance to hit an inverted forehand. Somebody that could abuse the down the line backhand would have a chance if the rest of his game is also solid.
 

Biggest3

New User
Once he wins The Calendar Slam and officially becomes the Goat all the pressure goes away and the flood gates will open. Fedal will then promptly retire knowing they did all they could with their body in shambles( mere humans do age unfortunately)

He will get 30+ slams easily and at the very least will go for another easy and quick Calendar Slam to tie up with Laver. He might even go for 14+ Rgs and another Calendar Slam so that he stands alone at the top if he feels like it's worth his time.
 

duaneeo

Legend
The unbeatable Djokovic has faced 48 break points at the USO. A healthy Nadal or Wawrinka would chew him up.
 

socallefty

G.O.A.T.
I think Djokovic in 2015-16 was a way better baseliner and returner as he seemed to have the ability to hit winners or forcing shots whenever he wanted of take control of rallies on both wings. But, he is better at the net and a way better server now with the ability to hit big serves when needed including on breakpoints, game points and when he needs a quick point after a long rally. The ability to pace himself during a long match emotionally and mentally also seems to be much better now and his unbeatable aura seems even bigger for his opponents at Slams. He plays like Sampras and Federer now instead of the old Djokovic in terms of depending on his serve to win matches - he is unbeatable in Slams because he is a much better returner still than anyone in history.

If I had to pick a version of Djokovic to win an entire tournament, I would still pick the 2015-2016 Novak in his Novak Slam glory days. If I had to pick a version to just win one match, I’m tempted to pick the current one as huge serving when needed, unbeatable GOAT aura and ability to finish points at the net efficiently seem to be compensating for his slightly slower movement and reduced ability to hit winners/force errors.
 

Biggest3

New User
The unbeatable Djokovic has faced 48 break points at the USO. A healthy Nadal or Wawrinka would chew him up.
Unfortunately the versions that could beat him are long dead. No one currently on the tour can beat him. Watch how Medvedev will speedrun his loss tomorrow.
 

MeatTornado

Talk Tennis Guru
It's not really that complicated. It's extremely difficult, but it's not complicated.

1) Hold your damn serve, ya damn mug. No but seriously, Zed lost yesterday because of just a couple sloppy games where he couldn't hit a 1st serve and started double-faulting like he's prone to do under pressure.

2) Big backhands down the line (or forehands if you're Rafa). We've known how key this is for so many years now. Every time Stan or Rafa beat him, this was one of the first things we would point to. You have to be brave, something that Zverev very much is not. He was much more comfortable getting into 30 shot rallies back down the middle, which obviously Novak can do all day. You're only hope is to take the racket out of his hands and make him start second guessing if he should cheat to cover that line, opening the cross-court back up to be punished.

3) A semblance of a good slice to change the pace doesn't hurt either.


Unfortunately for Daniil, none of this applies to him tomorrow. He'll get into 30 shot consistently paced rallies down the middle just like Zed did and he'll pay for it.
 

ForehandRF

Legend
I think Djokovic in 2015-16 was a way better baseliner and returner as he seemed to have the ability to hit winners or forcing shots whenever he wanted of take control of rallies on both wings. But, he is better at the net and a way better server now with the ability to hit big serves when needed including on breakpoints, game points and when he needs a quick point after a long rally. The ability to pace himself during a long match emotionally and mentally also seems to be much better now and his unbeatable aura seems even bigger for his opponents at Slams. He plays like Sampras and Federer now instead of the old Djokovic in terms of depending on his serve to win matches - he is unbeatable in Slams because he is a much better returner still than anyone in history.

If I had to pick a version of Djokovic to win an entire tournament, I would still pick the 2015-2016 Novak in his Novak Slam glory days. If I had to pick a version to just win one match, I’m tempted to pick the current one as huge serving when needed, unbeatable GOAT aura and ability to finish points at the net efficiently seem to be compensating for his slightly slower movement and reduced ability to hit winners/force errors.
Djokovic's game these days is one of maximum efficiency.He doesn't have to be the baseline juggernaut as he was back in 2011 or 2015-2016, he just pushes the pedal right when he needs to, he solves the problems in realtime as if he has a troubleshooter included lol, then the serve, as you mentioned; sometimes he servebots like Federer :D He hides the physical decline with adjustements but the crumble on big points displayed by his opponents surely gives him a helping hand.
 

ForehandRF

Legend
It's not really that complicated. It's extremely difficult, but it's not complicated.

1) Hold your damn serve, ya damn mug. No but seriously, Zed lost yesterday because of just a couple sloppy games where he couldn't hit a 1st serve and started double-faulting like he's prone to do under pressure.

2) Big backhands down the line (or forehands if you're Rafa). We've known how key this is for so many years now. Every time Stan or Rafa beat him, this was one of the first things we would point to. You have to be brave, something that Zverev very much is not. He was much more comfortable getting into 30 shot rallies back down the middle, which obviously Novak can do all day. You're only hope is to take the racket out of his hands and make him start second guessing if he should cheat to cover that line, opening the cross-court back up to be punished.

3) A semblance of a good slice to change the pace doesn't hurt either.


Unfortunately for Daniil, none of this applies to him tomorrow. He'll get into 30 shot consistently paced rallies down the middle just like Zed did and he'll pay for it.
Daniil will go down meekly in 4 sets, it's my prediction :D
 

TennisLurker

Professional
the biggest problem these young players have is they game is more about running a lot than about hitting big winners
Djokovic is a wall with no weak poitns, and they have no cannons
 

reef58

Semi-Pro
He can crush the ball as he has done before. He was just too scared of losing/over hitting.

You can't redline for 5 sets unless you are Stan. You become error prone playing at 100%. If he had continued and started spraying errors people would have jumped on him for that. That 50+ shot rally which Z won was played perfectly by each player considering the circumstances of the match at the time.
 

GabeT

G.O.A.T.
The unbeatable Djokovic has faced 48 break points at the USO. A healthy Nadal or Wawrinka would chew him up.
Fed had two match points on his serve and couldn’t beat him

Nadal won the first set at FO and still lost

Plenty of players have had “opportunities” against Novak only to find out it’s easier said than done
 

NoleFam

Bionic Poster
Fed had two match points on his serve and couldn’t beat him

Nadal won the first set at FO and still lost

Plenty of players have had “opportunities” against Novak only to find out it’s easier said than done

But how is Nadal gonna chew him up on hardcourt these days even if healthy?
 

duaneeo

Legend
Fed had two match points on his serve and couldn’t beat him

Roger (a pastgen 6 years Nole's senior) had match points against Djokovic at RG 2011 and WB 2012 and won them.

Wawrinka (a contemporary 2 years Nole's senior) had match points against Djokovic at AO 2014, 2015 RG, 2016 USO, and 2019 USO and won them.

Nadal (a contemporary 1 year Nole's senior) had match points against Djokovic at 2012 RG, 2013 RG, 2013 USO, 2014 RG, and 2020 RG and won them.

Murray (a contemporary 1 week Nole's senior) had match points against Djokovic at 2012 USO and 2013 WB and won them.

Medvedev/Berrettini/Zverev/Tsitsipas (nextgens 9/10/11 years Nole's junior) have yet to reach a match point against Djokovic at a slam.
 
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MichaelNadal

Bionic Poster
The unbeatable Djokovic has faced 48 break points at the USO. A healthy Nadal or Wawrinka would chew him up.

605dfd5c67af596aa5a1fa34_TGI%20Fridays_Featured-Img_1_1080x680.png
 

Bubcay

Legend
He does get beat though.
Look at his season:
MC- lost Evans
Belgrade- Lost Karatsev
Rome- Lost Nadal
Olympics- Lost Zverev
Lost Busta

He has won 4 tournaments all season- AO, RG, Wim. Belgrade 2.

He's only played 10 events all season, and this USO is no. 10.

The issue is slams and five sets. He has a huge advantage there. He is the most motivated. The most experienced. The most confident. His game is going to hold up better over a five set match than anyone else and he is unrivalled. Look at his stats and the rest of the USO Semi-finalists. They have nothing on him.

So, I don't think that he is harder to beat than ever. He was winning more in 2011, 2015. And it's not that he is harder to beat at slams. It's more that the field going up against him just do not have the tool box and mentality to do it. However, put some of them up against him in a best of 3 somewhere and they have a much better chance. They can sustain their best level for 2 sets much easier than 3. They are also coming up against a less motivated player. Djokovic brings it to the slams and can afford to sacrifice a higher season winning percentage to do so due to where he is at in his career. These guys still can't do that. They are much further down the career and development line.
Agree with everything you said here 100%.
 

McGradey

Hall of Fame
He just has so much confidence these days. Both in his own toolkit and in his firm belief that he will win no matter the scenario.

If one weapon misfires on any given day, he can emphasise a different one as we saw vs. Zverev with the net game and serve coming to the fore when the baseline game wasn’t clicking.

I think he plays incredibly smart tennis; most of the time he is playing well within himself and he has several more gears he can go up to as needed.

For example it is noticeable when Djokovic really leans into a forehand vs his normal rally shot. He picks the ideal time to do it with uncanny regularity. He only did it a few times vs Zverev, just absolutely crunched it and immediately put Zverev on the back foot, effectively winning the rally by injecting more pace when he knows it’s a high margin option. I expect to see the same thing again with Medvedev. Djokovic knows he can hang with these guys playing his 80% game, but when he puts the hammer down, he pulls away. Meanwhile, Medvedev and Zverev are playing out of their skin just to hang.

I've seen this kind of energy/performance management in other sports, in team environments, but never to anything like this extent in a tennis player.

still think 2011 Djokovic was better though
 
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D.Nalby12

G.O.A.T.
No. I'm sure 2005 Fed or 2008 Nadal or 2011 Djokovic were much tougher players to beat than current Djokovic. I see Thiem or Wawrinka beating this Djokovic. Young gens suck.
 

big ted

Legend
i think kyrgios is the only one talented enough to challenge djokovic,
but he'd have to lose 20lbs, get a coach and actually practice everyday.
hopefully federer will start coaching him and put an end to this djoko dominance
 

D.Nalby12

G.O.A.T.
Not eveyone can be Federer/Nadal/Djokovic.

Those three spoiled us a little too much.

You don't need to be next Federer/Nadal to beat 34 yo Djokovic. Players like Murray - Wawrinka - Thiem have defeated younger Djokovic in Slams (multiple times). Young gen should not bring "He is too good to beat" excuse. He is good but still we have seen stronger version of Djokovic in past. And there were players who could beat him.
 

Pandaman

Semi-Pro
What is the game plan exactly? What do you attack? There is no exploitable weakness that lasts longer than a point or two. Seriously, how does one beat him anymore?
Force him to go up the line on both wings constantly. That also means standing on the baseline [to take him away from him], hitting angles to stretch him out, going down the line all match yourself, defending his drop shots pretty well, and involuntarily bringing him to the net.

Like you said, what's the game plan? In all seriousness, overpowering him while mixing in some of the above is one's best bet.

Side note: Nadal is very fortunate most of their recent meetings have been on clay since he's not good enough to get far enough on other surfaces. Novak would otherwise be bludgeoning him on fast courts on the regular.
 
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duaneeo

Legend
Not eveyone can be Federer/Nadal/Djokovic.

Sam Querrey stopped the 29-year-old Djokovic's attempt at the CYGS in 2016. Surely one would think that Medvedev/Zverev/Tsitsipas/Berrettini/Shapovalov/Garin/Tiafoe/etc could stop the 34-year-old Djokovic's attempt. Medvedev gets the last opportunity 12 hours from now.
 

MichaelNadal

Bionic Poster
Sam Querrey stopped the 29-year-old Djokovic's attempt at the CYGS in 2016. Surely one would think that Medvedev/Zverev/Tsitsipas/Berrettini/Shapovalov/Garin/Tiafoe/etc could stop the 34-year-old Djokovic's attempt. Medvedev gets the last opportunity 12 hours from now.

Tennis is dead if Djokovic wins tmrw (and he will) so tennis is dead lol.

20101024_kane_taker--2e43953fef01012111d3138eada44cdb.jpg
 

Texas Tennis Fan

Professional
Djokovic's game these days is one of maximum efficiency.He doesn't have to be the baseline juggernaut as he was back in 2011 or 2015-2016, he just pushes the pedal right when he needs to, he solves the problems in realtime as if he has a troubleshooter included lol, then the serve, as you mentioned; sometimes he servebots like Federer :D He hides the physical decline with adjustements but the crumble on big points displayed by his opponents surely gives him a helping hand.
I think these two back-to-back answers are excellent. He doesn't hit as many winners now because they are riskier and he knows in bo5 your legs will go and he has a big advantage. Zverev and others can serve extremely well for a set or two, but eventually their level drops and Djokovic starts to get their serve back at an incredible high rate even when they are stilll serving fast and to the corners.

The second break in the 5th set was done on a point where Zverev served a serve that no one else on the tour would have returned on a fast service. Then Zverev hit his plus one shot that no one else on the tour would have gotten. And then he became flustered and missed the overhead. I think Djokovic has become like a younger Nadal at RG where hitting a winner against him was almost impossible, but Djokovic does it on all surfaces when he needs to. It is part speed and flexibility, part analytics and anticipation, and partly determination at the most critical parts of the match.
 

Blahovic

Professional
Ultimately, 2021 Djokovic always plays his best when he needs it and doesn't have a single big hole in his skillset.

2011 Djokovic is the best player I've ever seen, in my opinion, but he somewhat choked the RG 2011 SF under the pressure of having the chance to finally reach #1 for the first time.

It's hard to see 2021 Djokovic having such a a mental drop off in the final stage of a slam like that. The combination of experience and confidence he's built up is unprecedented.

But who knows. Maybe the pressure gets to him tonight. Djokovic is still human. Medvedev can hang with Djokovic from the baseline and serve amazingly, so he has the tools to make it painful.
 

Start da Game

Hall of Fame
What is the game plan exactly? What do you attack? There is no exploitable weakness that lasts longer than a point or two. Seriously, how does one beat him anymore?

there are a lot of weaknesses in his game, just that next gen does not have the game to expose it........peak thiem would have dealt with this novak very easily.......if zverev with that crying face and lack of belief to move forward could take him to 5 sets, imagine what peak thiem or peak stan would have done to him.......just two years ago, stan destroyed him on this very court........as long as novak faces players with girly forehands, he will keep winning........
 

daddy

Legend
I think 2011 Djokovic would beat 2021 Djokovic pretty easily. His level in 2011 (and most of 2015) was higher than his current level. But his mental strength is far higher than when younger and that's what wins a player slams. I've never seen anyone, not even Sampras or Borg, have the mental reserves of Djokovic.


I disagree. The 2021 version would grind out the 2015 / 2011 version.
 

smalahove

Hall of Fame
He does get beat though.
Look at his season:
MC- lost Evans
Belgrade- Lost Karatsev
Rome- Lost Nadal
Olympics- Lost Zverev
Lost Busta

He has won 4 tournaments all season- AO, RG, Wim. Belgrade 2.

He's only played 10 events all season, and this USO is no. 10.

The issue is slams and five sets. He has a huge advantage there. He is the most motivated. The most experienced. The most confident. His game is going to hold up better over a five set match than anyone else and he is unrivalled. Look at his stats and the rest of the USO Semi-finalists. They have nothing on him.

So, I don't think that he is harder to beat than ever. He was winning more in 2011, 2015. And it's not that he is harder to beat at slams. It's more that the field going up against him just do not have the tool box and mentality to do it. However, put some of them up against him in a best of 3 somewhere and they have a much better chance. They can sustain their best level for 2 sets much easier than 3. They are also coming up against a less motivated player. Djokovic brings it to the slams and can afford to sacrifice a higher season winning percentage to do so due to where he is at in his career. These guys still can't do that. They are much further down the career and development line.

Since they only play Bo5 (max) 4 times each year, it's an uphill battle for the contenders to get the necessary experience needed to win the big matches, going against a big3-level opponent (Novak nowadays, Rafa/Fed until recently). Winning a few early rounds count for little imo, you need experience from the hard QFs/SFs/Fs.

To win against the best retriever, neutral player and counter-attacker of all times, you first need to acknowledge a Bo5 against Novak is at best a marathon that requires a rock steady performance with as little fluctuation as possible, that will be decided in the last sprint to the finish line.

Imo, the two teens yesterday showed the type of game needed to win against such a player: you have to be constantly pressing, but just as willing to defend as attack, and ready for any type of shot. These young women managed to defend superbly through most of the match, but when in the driver's seat they also made sure to constantly keep control. The latter is much harder than it seems, bc in the men's game, it seems many try to just hit trough Novak. Since Zverev has solid groundstrokes from both wings, it seems like a plausible approach, but it backfires since he likes to stay behind the baseline and Djokovic has a great dropshot and the wheels to back it up.

If a player like Alcaraz learned to mix it up better, and open up wider angles, he would be very hard to beat, as his stock FH forces the opponent to stand way behind the baseline. But so far, he seems, just like Sinner, only interested in bashing huge groundstrokes ...

The losses Novak's suffered the last year or so, have been in B03 against offensive-playing "sprinters". That's just not possible in a Bo5 against a healthy Novak.

Otoh, a great playing Medvedev on HC is the kryptonite for any player on the ATP; he just has a way of producing awkward shots his opponents struggle to hit comfortably. Some of the passing shots he came up with against FAA were absolutely incredible and hard to fathom. If you look at his body and arm movement and rotation, it's mind boggling to me, he can place the ball exactly where he wants at times.
 

daddy

Legend
What is the game plan exactly? What do you attack? There is no exploitable weakness that lasts longer than a point or two. Seriously, how does one beat him anymore?


Actually I think Med has the game to beat him. Novak never liked playing guys who can hang in there as long as he can, even lesser players like Simon, PCBusta who were constantly running down and returning everything. We all talk about him being physically capable but everything has it's limit and if you push him two or three points in a row you may tire him enough to drop a break. Med has a decent serve and service game which helps a lot.

Having said all this, Med needs to show up. Actually show up, not like the last time around when he was there only physically.
 

ForehandRF

Legend
The unbeatable Djokovic has faced 48 break points at the USO. A healthy Nadal or Wawrinka would chew him up.
Let's be honest here, Fedal are more guilty than the youngsters.Again, what's their shameful record vs Djokovic in slams, since 2015 ? No amount of Federer was past his prime and older will cover up the inexcusable loss of the 2019 Wimbledon Final and no amount of Nadal was past his prime/injuries arguments will ever cover up his abysmal record vs Djokovic outside of clay in the last 7 years or so.I mean, what's his excuse for the loss in the 2018 Wimbledon Semifinal for example ? They were the first to fail and I won't give Federer a free pass because of his age because it wasn't 100% due to physical disadvantage.We will be having a different conversation had he won the 2019 Wimbledon Final because the implications were huge.That wasn't peak Djokovic.He single handedly helped Djokovic towards the Goathood and he has been doing so since the 2011 USO SF.
So, before blaming Zverev, Medvedev and co for their failure, let's not forget Fedal because they are far from being innocent.Wawrinka did the dirty work for quite some time, but nothing lasts forever.
 

RF-18

Talk Tennis Guru
I disagree. The 2021 version would grind out the 2015 / 2011 version.
I disagree. The 2021 version would grind out the 2015 / 2011 version.

Djokovic nowdays has a much bigger toolkit than 2011 version. I mean its not not even close. He can adjust to his opponents much better and do much more things on the court to win. Against Zverev he was mixing up the play all the time when Zverev was impossible from the baseline. So much in his game that he can rely on and do different. He is a way more competent player these days.
 

ghostofMecir

Hall of Fame
TTW goes about peak this and prime that. But the reality is Novak IS playing the BEST Tennis of his life.
He is HARDER to beat than EVER.
He has improved his SERVE (drastically), forehand, drop shots, net play, variety etc. There are no holes in his game. You beat him one way - he will get you a different way.
Plus his mental strength and will to win is superhuman.

Everyone would struggle against this Novak. Nadal and Fed included.

Peak Djokovic just got wiped off the court by Medvedev of all people.
 

Zetty

Hall of Fame
There is nothing called perfect tennis in this world.

Younger guys are supposed to be faster than old guys in 30s, should produce higher levels and those levels should be sustained over 5 sets. More speed of youth and more power gives less reaction time to the old and hence errors from them will come. That is the rule of tennis and life.

If this is not happening then something wrong with youngsters.
Or the oldsters *insert needle and squirt emoji*
 

Backspin1183

Talk Tennis Guru
Djokovic nowdays has a much bigger toolkit than 2011 version. I mean its not not even close. He can adjust to his opponents much better and do much more things on the court to win. Against Zverev he was mixing up the play all the time when Zverev was impossible from the baseline. So much in his game that he can rely on and do different. He is a way more competent player these days.

Do you still think 2021 Djokovic is better? Medvedev routined him in a Grand Slam final.
 
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