Is Djokovic better on grass than on hard court?

What is Djokovics best surface?

  • Hard

    Votes: 39 73.6%
  • Grass

    Votes: 14 26.4%

  • Total voters
    53

Hyde

Semi-Pro
He is unbeaten on grass since 2018. He wins Wimbledon ever year. On hard court, he seemed to have a lot of „upsets“ (by his standards) in the last years: Olympics, World Tour Finals, US Open…of course he also wins a lot on hc, but on grass he wins everything he plays (which is basically Wimbledon). No upsets.
 
It is more of the grass competition being a lot weaker than HC than anything else. Novak has a clear distance between himself and everyone on grass right now.
I wanted to say about the same, but then I asked myself if this isn't exactly the reason why we should vote "grass".

In the end it's about the relative distance to the field what makes something the best surface for a player. And yet it might be true that just EVERYONE plays better on hardcourt because it's the dominant tour surface and therefore the one they all try to peak on.

It's almost a philosophical question where both answers are "right" in a way and personal preference decides the vote.
 
I wanted to say about the same, but then I asked myself if this isn't exactly the reason why we should vote "grass".

In the end it's about the relative distance to the field what makes something the best surface for a player. And yet it might be true that just EVERYONE plays better on hardcourt because it's the dominant tour surface and therefore the one they all try to peak on.

It's almost a philosophical question where both answers are "right" in a way and personal preference decides the vote.

Well, I am comparing his performance on HC to Grass, so really Novak vs Novak.

Novak himself just recently said that while he has had a lot of success on Centre Court and grass, he still feels the best court for his game and where he feels he plays his best tennis is RLA.
 
No, because Djokovic definitely isn't better on faster surfaces than slower surfaces. Like the other user said it's due to the weak field (very weak) on grass
 
Well, I am comparing his performance on HC to Grass, so really Novak vs Novak.

Novak himself just recently said that while he has had a lot of success on Centre Court and grass, he still feels the best court for his game and where he feels he plays his best tennis is RLA.
That's definitely true. As a single tournament AO is above all. The question is only the average hardcourt compared to grass. The problem is that we actually only have Wimbledon to compare with. There should be 2 or 3 grass masters, so that we would also have an average on grass to compare with.
 
Can’t really compare grass and HC as surfaces since grass is really just one tournament. If we compare WB and AO we see similar success since Novak’s “return”. Novak is very, very, very good at both. May end up as the GOAT at both as well
 
He is unbeaten on grass since 2018. He wins Wimbledon ever year. On hard court, he seemed to have a lot of „upsets“ (by his standards) in the last years: Olympics, World Tour Finals, US Open…of course he also wins a lot on hc, but on grass he wins everything he plays (which is basically Wimbledon). No upsets.
given he cannot play any hard court grand slams, yes, he plays better on grass.
 
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Not at all. He just happens to be the only top player who plays great on grass. No more Murray, no more Federer, no Delpo, no Grassdal (declined Dustined Nadal instead).

He is doing exactly what he should, win when the competition isn't strong. It would look bad on him if he didn't take advantage of the weak field.
 
Can’t really compare grass and HC as surfaces since grass is really just one tournament. If we compare WB and AO we see similar success since Novak’s “return”. Novak is very, very, very good at both. May end up as the GOAT at both as well

well he is already goat at ao.
 
He is unbeaten on grass since 2018. He wins Wimbledon ever year. On hard court, he seemed to have a lot of „upsets“ (by his standards) in the last years: Olympics, World Tour Finals, US Open…of course he also wins a lot on hc, but on grass he wins everything he plays (which is basically Wimbledon). No upsets.
He's better at vulturing in what is a vacuum of a field on grass courts.
 
I love all the “but the field is weak’ posts. So the field is only weak for Novak? No one else finds it weak? :unsure: ;)
 
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Despite having more AO titles, he’s still better on grass. Djokovic has completely owned everyone on grass, whereas he has a little competition on hard courts.
 
Guy hasn't lost on Centre Court in 9 freaking years.

His 3-6 USO Finals record losing to 5 different players no less I voted grass.
 
Guy hasn't lost on Centre Court in 9 freaking years.

His 3-6 USO Finals record losing to 5 different players no less I voted grass.
But he has a stellar record in Australia, and generally does very well indoors

One of Djokovic's problems is the heat and humidity in Flushing Meadows. It's absolutely brutal, and ever since they built the roof, it's become worse. I was there in 2018 (when it wasn't even that hot) and I was sweating buckets just walking around. Yes, this is a fitness issue. Yes, everyone else has to deal with it too. But some people are naturally going to suffer more with heat than others
 
But he has a stellar record in Australia, and generally does very well indoors

One of Djokovic's problems is the heat and humidity in Flushing Meadows. It's absolutely brutal, and ever since they built the roof, it's become worse. I was there in 2018 (when it wasn't even that hot) and I was sweating buckets just walking around. Yes, this is a fitness issue. Yes, everyone else has to deal with it too. But some people are naturally going to suffer more with heat than others

I'm not a tennis pro but I work outside. I live Bern to Flushing more than once. Any pro should be able to play there for 3 hours without issue.
 
I'm not a tennis pro but I work outside. I live Bern to Flushing more than once. Any pro should be able to play there for 3 hours without issue.
He is visibly bothered by the heat, this has been going on since he started

It's one thing to work outside in the heat, it's quite another to play against someone else in the heat. If you work a little slower than your normal, you won't lose your job or be judged by millions for it. At the very top level, the margins are pretty thin. You only need to be a little worse than your opponent to lose
 
The gap between him and other players is higher on grass than on hard courts. That’s mainly because very few players know how to move and play well on grass.
 
I wish people here would stop saying "grass" as if Djokovic plays 30 matches on it a year. It is obvious that it is harder to meet him and beat him in 7 total potential matches per year, than it would be in all the hard court matches scattered in the calendar.
 
I would say grass. He plays 7 matches per year on grass and 40-50 matches per year on HC. Imagine it would be the other way around. So much more opportunities to improve his game on grass.
 
If we separate properly, he was never better on grass than slow HC (AO, IW, Miami, Beijing, Paris, 2012-2015 YEC).

However, since hiring Becker in 2014 and with some natural loss of his explosiveness and attacking game, he became better on grass than fast HC.
 
His lack of a Queen's or Halle title always strikes me as a bit odd. Except for Borg (who never played grass tune-up events) he is the only multiple Wimbledon champion in the Open Era never to win either of the 2 chief Wimbledon warm-up tournaments (losing finalist at Queen's 2008,2018 and Halle 2009).
 
Wow....Wonder why the Weak Era arguments don't apply to Nadal on Clay? Since when and how many are legit challenges to him on Roland Garros since Time BC except Novak occassionally?
 
I think it's time to accept Novak's level on Grass is simply leagues above anyone else on Grass just as Nadal is on Clay rather than the field being weak
 
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