Is Novak Djokovic taking advantage of one of the weakest seasons in tennis history?

[veroniquem]

Didn't Djokovic play the Serbian Open or some trash like that during his streak? And he skipped Monte Carlo :lol:

Monte-Carlo is an optional master, a lot of other top players skipped it. The Serbian event was the only 250 event included in the streak. In 2008, Rafa also had a 250 and a 500 included in his streak, same as Djoko.
Novak's streak includes 2 slams and 5 masters, that is 7 tier 1 events. To give some perspective on that, the most masters/slams won in 1 entire season is 8 (Fed in 2006) and only Fed ever did 7 (in 2004). Rafa had 6 in 2008 and 2010. Sampras had 6 in 1994. Fed himself had 6 in 2005 and 2007.
Now, you can always claim that it won't last and that Djoko will have a lousy 2nd part of the year but even if that happened, Djoko's streak as it stands would remain exceptional and one of the best ever. One can be a fan of another player and still give credit where credit is due.

 

[Clarky21]

You missed my point completely, did you even read my post or just come here to make a point about Federer being past prime and Nadal also being there too?

Nadal is 25 its like Roddick all over again when people were saying he was done at 24! Federer is declining but he is still the world number 3 and beating guys like Murray who are younger and fitter. He is the third best player in the world today.

You know realisticly if there was no Djokovic nobody would have questioned the abilities of Nadal or Federer.

They are the 2nd and 3rd best players in the world today. There for if Djokovic can hold an 8/1 year record against them he is clearly doing what he has to do, nothing has suggested that 3 years ago if Djokovic was playing at this level he couldn't have had this run because it just impossible to compare.Quit trying to discredit the achievments of someone who could quickly be heading to the title of GOAT just because you are a fan of another player


EDIT: I think saying nadal is past prime should now equal an instant 24 hour ban

Saying that Nadal is in his prime right now should now equal an instant 24 hour ban.

 

[Marius_Hancu]

guess not, he's just good

 

[Towser83]

Didn't Djokovic play the Serbian Open or some trash like that during his streak? And he skipped Monte Carlo :lol:

He had a problem with his knee. Good job he did skip it for your boy Nadal, or he'd have 3 beatings on the red stuff this year and no Masters titles in 2011, Novak would be on 6 in a row! :lol:

 

[Deleted member 77403]

You have to ask, why is this season being painted as weak, what makes it different from last season?

1. Nadal not winning as much. But he's making the finals of most tournaments, he's just losing to Djokovic. So that means Djokovic is better, no?

2. Federer on the decline. Yes, but after the AO last year he was on the decline. He didn't make another slam final that year. This year he made the french final. Plus Djokovic beat him last year in a major and also this year.

So there is no difference other than Djokovic playing much better. You can even say Del Potro being back on tour makes it have more depth.

Well said!

Novak has put on a superhuman effort this year. He wrestled the number one ranking away from Fedal, they certainly did not give it to him. Nadal made five straight MS finals, plus Barcelona, and RG-W. So he sucks because Novak has been beating him? Federer beat Djokovic, and was arguably the best player at RG, and he prevented Novak from getting the number one at RG in the match of the year. With Del Potro back, and rising rapidly, Fish breathing life into American tennis, Murray having his most consistent year in slams, and pushing Novak all the way in Rome, and Tsonga moving up, how is this season so weak?

If this season is weak, then last season was even more pathetic, if we use this logic.

Bottom line, imo, Novak has raised the bar.

 

[Towser83]

Your post shows you're lacking in judgement.

First off, I'm not a *******, not even close - I just give credit where credit is due.

Second, Of course most of Rafa's wins have come on clay; who would deny that. However, he has also dominated at Wimbledon in the last 4 or 5 years - winning more matches than anyone else (when he played). Nadal also has 2 hardcourt slams under his belt, which shows his versatility.

Third, and most important, you can't look at the stats and make qualitative judgements! The two acts are exactly inverse! Quality deals with 'how' someone is doing; quantity (i.e. stats) deals with 'what' someone has done.

Looking at this year vs last year; it is clear that the level of tennis in the ATP has dropped, except for Nole's level. I would have said this no matter what Nole's record would have been this year. I'm not saying the level is low, but just lower than previous years, and like I said before - Nadal's results speak more to this than Nole's does...

No it is clear the level dropped last year. After the AO Federer couldn't play well enough to reach a slam final, 2 quarters and a semi. This year he played well enough to reach the final of Roland Gaross. Djokovic was awful last year. He was serving 10 double faults a match and had to start serving like a girl to stop this. Even at the US Open his serving was weak.

Nadal got through last season playing worse on clay than he did in 2007, the previous challenges of Federer and Djokovic (remember how close Novak was getting in 2009) dried up and Nadal was left spanking Ferrer and Verdasco without breaking sweat. Wimbledon again featued him beating up on first time finalist Berdych who didn't stand a chance, the US Open was an easy draw til he met Novak but to be fair he was still struggling with rebuilding his game and a bit drained from his semi final.

How anyone can seriously say this season is weaker than last is beyond me. Last season Nadal won everything by default (although he did play very well mostly) hardly any other top players showed up. By contrast this season the top 4 are going deep every tournament and are just getting beaten. Plus people like Tsonga, Monfils and Del Potro are on the way back and making improvements.

By the way, Nadal has not dominated Wimbledon in the last 5 years. Out of the last 5 years he's won it twice and lost 3 times. That's not domination.

 

[Towser83]

Well said!

Novak has put on a superhuman effort this year. He wrestled the number one ranking away from Fedal, they certainly did not give it to him. Nadal made five straight MS finals, plus Barcelona, and RG-W. So he sucks because Novak has been beating him? Federer beat Djokovic, and was arguably the best player at RG, and he prevented Novak from getting the number one at RG in the match of the year. With Del Potro back, and rising rapidly, Fish breathing life into American tennis, Murray having his most consistent year in slams, and pushing Novak all the way in Rome, and Tsonga moving up, how is this season so weak?

If this season is weak, then last season was even more pathetic, if we use this logic.

Bottom line, imo, Novak has raised the bar.

Thanks

You make a good point about Nadal doing everything he could, I mean he made the finals of about 7 tournaments in a row. He did everything he could except beat Djokovic.

 

[Manus Domini]

With that kind of logic, one could say that Fed took advantage of Rafa's injuries in 2009 and Nadal took advantage of Djoko hitting rock bottom with his serve in 2010 (while Fed is obviously aging). There is no difference between 2011 and other tennis seasons.

Oh, I completely agree that Federer took advantage of Rafa's 2009 season. He wouldn't have won the French if Rafa didn't have knee tendonitis (one of the few injuries I believe Nadal had/has in his career). No way in hell.

 

[Manus Domini]

EDIT: I think saying nadal is past prime should now equal an instant 24 hour ban

Yes, let's censor all of TT for Gunds' amusement :roll:

 

[Deleted member 77403]

Thanks

You make a good point about Nadal doing everything he could, I mean he made the finals of about 7 tournaments in a row. He did everything he could except beat Djokovic.

No problems. You make valid points.

Nadal has played very well this year, if Novak had not finally stood up to face him the way he has, Nadal would have swept everything from IW to W. The thing you notice about Nadal was, every match against Novak was taking something out of him mentally. Check out his first match at IW, he came out firing, but could not keep it up. In Miami, he played his heart out, and it was much more entertaining than previous HC battles between them. In Madrid you could see the effects of those losses, but he still tried, however Novak increased the gap, and it was more apparent in Rome and Wimbledon. Kudos to Rafa, he tried his best, meeting Novak in almost every final, but simply was not good enough to win. I am sure he will win against him, but Novak is now a better player than before.

Nadal fought like a lion, but the younger Lion eventually took the number one away from him. But, it wasn't without a fight.

 

[MichaelNadal]

Thanks

You make a good point about Nadal doing everything he could, I mean he made the finals of about 7 tournaments in a row. He did everything he could except beat Djokovic.

I agree with u guys. And yeah, can't blame him for trying. He really should have won both IW and Miami though.

 

[Towser83]

I agree with u guys. And yeah, can't blame him for trying. He really should have won both IW and Miami though.

Well you're a fair minded fan in that you don't just delude yourself despite what you want to see, so thumbs up to you

I think Miami was the one that really hurt. It's like matches that were close that he would always sneak, he's losing more of now, but that's mainly to Djokovic.

 

[Deleted member 77403]

I agree with u guys. And yeah, can't blame him for trying. He really should have won both IW and Miami though.

He should have won both, I agree. Did you see SS?

Well you're a fair minded fan in that you don't just delude yourself despite what you want to see, so thumbs up to you

I think Miami was the one that really hurt. It's like matches that were close that he would always sneak, he's losing more of now, but that's mainly to Djokovic.

MichaelNadal is one of the most reasonable fans here.

 

[Romismak]

Actually this season is not worse than previous seasons for sure. But always when some player is dominating everyone is complaining about weak era. Rafa is more consistent than ever, Roger is maybe declining, but the same was last year, actually his 1st half of season besides AO victory last year was far worse than this year pretty consistent always making SF, F, QF... Tsonga is great this season, Soderling not worse than last year, Delpo back is still not a threat but at least he is playing, last year he was out. Murray had best clay season ever, repeat his AO run, the same post-AO slump, same Wimbledon, now didn´t defend Canada Masters, but he is not ,,worse,, than last season for sure. NAdal in 1st half of the season was more consistent than 2010 first half of season. So until now Nadal, Federer and Murray are the same if not better than last year and Djokovic is by far better - other top 10 - Almagro has great season, Fish too, Tsonga too, Simon is coming back, Delpo. For sure this season is not worse than last one, when grandpa Ljubicic outserved everyone to get IW... actually when you look on slams and Masters who has won besides Djokovic ? Only Nadal... so tell me about weak season later....

 

[Clarky21]

Actually this season is not worse than previous seasons for sure. But always when some player is dominating everyone is complaining about weak era. Rafa is more consistent than ever, Roger is maybe declining, but the same was last year, actually his 1st half of season besides AO victory last year was far worse than this year pretty consistent always making SF, F, QF... Tsonga is great this season, Soderling not worse than last year, Delpo back is still not a threat but at least he is playing, last year he was out. Murray had best clay season ever, repeat his AO run, the same post-AO slump, same Wimbledon, now didn´t defend Canada Masters, but he is not ,,worse,, than last season for sure. NAdal in 1st half of the season was more consistent than 2010 first half of season. So until now Nadal, Federer and Murray are the same if not better than last year and Djokovic is by far better - other top 10 - Almagro has great season, Fish too, Tsonga too, Simon is coming back, Delpo. For sure this season is not worse than last one, when grandpa Ljubicic outserved everyone to get IW... actually when you look on slams and Masters who has won besides Djokovic ? Only Nadal... so tell me about weak season later....

This post is full of so much fail I don't even know where to begin. Nadal has not played well all year long. I do not care how many finals he has made because even though he made them,he played badly to get there. Plus the fact that he has made so many finals playing as lousy as he has is a testament to how weak the field is this year. He has not been fully engaged since last years USO. Everybody who isn't blinded by ****ism or hate is able to see that.

Federer also had a much better year last year,except for his RG loss to a goating Soderling. He made the final at Roger's Cup and Won Cincy. He also goated at the end of the year last year and won a ton of titles. He isn't anywhere close to the form he showed this time last year. Federer looks checked out on court anymore,and has definitely shown his age this year. To suggest otherwise is nonsense.

Murray has also been mia all year long except for the AO,where he mentally collapsed in the final,and practically his whole season has followed suit. He has floundered badly on his best surface this year,losing to the likes of Donald Young,and Bogomolov. He has been in a funk all year long.

Soderling is another one who definitely had a much better year last year. He has been injured on and off since the beginning of the year,and has not even come close to playing any tennis at all at the level he showed last year. He too is in a funk,along with the rest of the top 5 except Novak.

Delpo may be back,but he hasn't played consistently well yet this year. The best match he has played this year was his match against Nadal at Wimbledon. He clearly isn't back up to speed yet,and it will take him some more time to get there.

Tsonga is one the most inconsistent head cases on the tour,so you cannot count on him most of the time.

That's just some of the players who have underperformed this year,making what Novak is doing look way better than it actually is. I am not saying he doesn't deserve his wins,but I am saying I highly doubt he would have only lost 1 match this whole year if he actually had some decent competition to go up against.

 

[Towser83]

No problems. You make valid points.

Nadal has played very well this year, if Novak had not finally stood up to face him the way he has, Nadal would have swept everything from IW to W. The thing you notice about Nadal was, every match against Novak was taking something out of him mentally. Check out his first match at IW, he came out firing, but could not keep it up. In Miami, he played his heart out, and it was much more entertaining than previous HC battles between them. In Madrid you could see the effects of those losses, but he still tried, however Novak increased the gap, and it was more apparent in Rome and Wimbledon. Kudos to Rafa, he tried his best, meeting Novak in almost every final, but simply was not good enough to win. I am sure he will win against him, but Novak is now a better player than before.

Nadal fought like a lion, but the younger Lion eventually took the number one away from him. But, it wasn't without a fight.

Yeah the thing that people don't get is whenever a player raises the bar other players can come along and raise it further.It's especially relevant in this case because whereas Federer and Nadal play vastly different styles so there is the possibilty of tactics coming into play (which allowed Federer to beat an improved Nadal last year at the WTFs) Djokovic has a more similar game to Nadal, it's different but he likes baseline rallies too and he was always a very good defender and a good mover - just not as good as Nadal. He also had other areas where he was ahead of Nadal - backhand, more agressive, more natural on hardcourts, better serve.

Now if you look back to 2009 on clay and especially the Madrid match, you could see Djokovic was rallying with Nadal on clay. He went toe to toe for 4 hours and for most of the match was the better player. His endurance was much better than previous years and he was closing the gap in terms of movement and defence.

A few people on another sports forum took this improvement as nothing to suggest Djokovic could beat nadal on clay, and yeas he went backwards in 2010. But this year he proved it, because now his defence and movement is better than Nadal. Nadal has improved his serve and become more agressive, but playing agressive isn't natural to him, I get the feeling he HATES making errors which happens when you play agressive. Someone like Federer will be happy to go for the winner time after time even if he misses a few shots. But I think Nadal slips back into defensive mode.

Hence Novak has kept the edge in most areas where he always had the edge (Nadal has maybe closed it a bit which is why he came closest to beating him on hardcourt) but also gained the edge in areas where Nadal was the best in the world. Novak can't keep up his best form forever, but I don't believe it's just a matter of form, the improvements he's made are part of his game now.

 

[Romismak]

This post is full of so much fail I don't even know where to begin. Nadal has not played well all year long. I do not care how many finals he has made because even though he made them,he played badly to get there. Plus the fact that he has made so many finals playing as lousy as he has is a testament to how weak the field is this year. He has not been fully engaged since last years USO. Everybody who isn't blinded by ****ism or hate is able to see that.

Federer also had a much better year last year,except for his RG loss to a goating Soderling. He made the final at Roger's Cup and Won Cincy. He also goated at the end of the year last year and won a ton of titles. He isn't anywhere close to the form he showed this time last year. Federer looks checked out on court anymore,and has definitely shown his age this year. To suggest otherwise is nonsense.

Murray has also been mia all year long except for the AO,where he mentally collapsed in the final,and practically his whole season has followed suit. He has floundered badly on his best surface this year,losing to the likes of Donald Young,and Bogomolov. He has been in a funk all year long.

Soderling is another one who definitely had a much better year last year. He has been injured on and off since the beginning of the year,and has not even come close to playing any tennis at all at the level he showed last year. He too is in a funk,along with the rest of the top 5 except Novak.

Delpo may be back,but he hasn't played consistently well yet this year. The best match he has played this year was his match against Nadal at Wimbledon. He clearly isn't back up to speed yet,and it will take him some more time to get there.

Tsonga is one the most inconsistent head cases on the tour,so you cannot count on him most of the time.

That's just some of the players who have underperformed this year,making what Novak is doing look way better than it actually is. I am not saying he doesn't deserve his wins,but I am saying I highly doubt he would have only lost 1 match this whole year if he actually had some decent competition to go up against.

First of all i´´ve been comparing seasons until now if you read my post you should see that - so about Roger he is not better - maybe about the same, most likely he will not have such great 2nd half of the seson like last year, but at this moment it is similar to last year- besides AO which i wrote there. About Nadal- only MC and US open i think he played great tournaments last year, all other tournaments weren´t much better than his performance this season.. he is consistently good on HC - now he lost to Dodig - but without Canada - before Canada his HC was good, if not better than last year´s HC until now- the same time of year we are talking about JAN- to Canada. His clay game was ok- was beaten only by Djokovic, won MC, Barca just like every year and RG - ISner could take him down, but it was only 1st match.. overall i don´t see him much worse, Wimbledon was even better from him than last year- Haase and Petzsnecher almost beat him last year... So really he is not worse than last year from JAN to August at this time in year. About Murray- the same how i said - better clay season, same AO, same Wimbledon, same stupid Iw, Miami like last year only difference is Canada right now. but we can say the same - similar to last year now. Soderling - won more tournaments than before, only he looks worse, because of RG where he faced Nadal this time in QF and lost... Tsonga is better, Delpo at least playing and other - it is not much, but you must admit from JAN- to AUG in this time last season wasn´t better with old Ljubicic winning IW and Rafa dominating clay season and Wimbledon - he wasn´t so great - not much better for sure - only MC was spectacular from him last year- Wimbledon was far far worse and won , because there was nobody to stop him, but Djokovic this year won, because , he is better than rest, because he made him better, last year Rafa won, because others were lower. That is difference.

 

[Towser83]

Federer also had a much better year last year,except for his RG loss to a goating Soderling. He made the final at Roger's Cup and Won Cincy. He also goated at the end of the year last year and won a ton of titles. He isn't anywhere close to the form he showed this time last year. Federer looks checked out on court anymore,and has definitely shown his age this year. To suggest otherwise is nonsense.

So a Masters final is more important than the French Open final? Also apart from the AO he's done better in the early part of the season this year, Semis at Indian Wells, Miami, Madrid, final of Dubai and the FO. You can't talk about the latter half of the season last year because we haven't come to that point in the season this year. I also like how Nadal reaching finals shows how weak the rest of the field is, but Federer losing earlier than last year doesn't mean the field is stronger this year, it means Federer is weaker. You're just bending the results to suit your point, changing your tune back and forth.

Murray has also been mia all year long except for the AO,where he mentally collapsed in the final,and practically his whole season has followed suit. He has floundered badly on his best surface this year,losing to the likes of Donald Young,and Bogomolov. He has been in a funk all year long.

Erm, remember last year? Lost the AO final went into freefall. He may have lost at Canada, but he also had a much better claycourt season this year. But wait I forgot, if someone loses early it means they are playing bad = weak season, and if they get far it means everyone else is playing bad = weak season :lol:

Soderling is another one who definitely had a much better year last year. He has been injured on and off since the beginning of the year,and has not even come close to playing any tennis at all at the level he showed last year. He too is in a funk,along with the rest of the top 5 except Novak.

Yeah he was better last year. But who cares, not like he's going to win a major.

Delpo may be back,but he hasn't played consistently well yet this year. The best match he has played this year was his match against Nadal at Wimbledon. He clearly isn't back up to speed yet,and it will take him some more time to get there.

Still better than most players last year.

Tsonga is one the most inconsistent head cases on the tour,so you cannot count on him most of the time.

That's just some of the players who have underperformed this year,making what Novak is doing look way better than it actually is. I am not saying he doesn't deserve his wins,but I am saying I highly doubt he would have only lost 1 match this whole year if he actually had some decent competition to go up against.

Maybe he wouldn't have lost only one match, but last season was sure as hell not any stronger than this year. Where it was Nadal playing well and no-one else even turned up.

 

[heftylefty]

What is with this "Weakest season" nosense?

Every year the ATP Tour have more and more athletic Tennis Players. Hell, Johnny Mac is more athletic now than in his prime and he's over 50.

Djokovic is kicking arse this season and in the mode he's in there is little reason to think he wouldn't in any other era.

 

[Gaudio2004]

I know this topic isn't the most favourable topic for many Djokovic fans/****s but it's time someone says what everyone is thinking out loud already: this season is weak. Players outside of the top 5 have been even muggier than usual and even the ones who are known for their domination have fallen in their so called quality. Nadal for starters, someone I totally dislike, doesn't seem to be the same, past-his-peak Federer is even slower than usual lately and murray is quite inconsistent as always.

But don't get me wrong, it's not that Djokovic hasn't improved. He clearly has. But to attribute his spectacular success to his 'sheer talent' or to 'his diet' or to his 'dedication to the game' is just way too limited and narrow-minded. It is my opinion that this year happens to be one of the weakest seasons in tennis history in what already was a pretty weak era to begin with.

Many said the same (about the season being very weak to explain for a huge success for a player) in 2004 and then in 2005, by 2006 and 2007, these idiots finally learned the players were not mugs or in a weak generation; one player was just was playing consistently amazing tennis.

Same with Nadal in 2010, many questioned the weak generation.

So you are making a post that many, many before you have made - and they all usually discover that, get ready for it...

Djokovic is not taking advantage of a weak season, he is making everyone around him look weak because he has improved so much.

Nadal would have had 5 Masters Shields by now if he had beaten Nole in all of those finals.

This destroys your view about Nadal not being at his best; he has been superb in all the Masters tournaments he's played in, apart from Montreal, he has reached the final in 5 others this year. This, again, goes completely against your view, had he won those 5 finals against Djokovic, in 2011 he would have:

2 Majors and 5 Masters Shields, which is PHENOMENAL for half a year.

Nadal is playing very well - and it must be said, goes against your view.

Lesson learned?

 

[Achilles82]

I know this topic isn't the most favourable topic for many Djokovic fans/****s but it's time someone says what everyone is thinking out loud already: this season is weak. Players outside of the top 5 have been even muggier than usual and even the ones who are known for their domination have fallen in their so called quality. Nadal for starters, someone I totally dislike, doesn't seem to be the same, past-his-peak Federer is even slower than usual lately and murray is quite inconsistent as always.

But don't get me wrong, it's not that Djokovic hasn't improved. He clearly has. But to attribute his spectacular success to his 'sheer talent' or to 'his diet' or to his 'dedication to the game' is just way too limited and narrow-minded. It is my opinion that this year happens to be one of the weakest seasons in tennis history in what already was a pretty weak era to begin with.

People are having trouble to accept that Novak, just might be the GOAT. Those people are largley Federer fans. The fact is Novak is playing in era with both Federer and Nadal.

And you might say Federer is old, but Nadal is not, and he beat him 5 times this year, all in final.

When someone had won every match but one, that is insane. He beat Federer and Nadal 8 times for gods sake, I mean come on guys...

 

[Achilles82]

Right now you have FOUR superstars. In 2004-2005 you had none. Federer had no real competition what so ever. Yeah sure Agassi played, but it was 34 year old Agassi.


Espacially if you consider Nadal. If Nadal was injured, and Novak had all this success, then you can say something. This way, he beat Nadal 5 freaking times dude, all in finals, and 2 times on clay, and DON'T GIVE ME bulls*it how Nadal isn't his best. Nadal had INSANE good year last year, and this year he won GS, won monte carlo masters, and probably would have won almost all what Novak did, if there wasn't for Novak, and then people would call him GOAT. But now all of the sudden Novak is doesn't have any real competition. Have some respect dude, history is being made. Just injoy it, and respect the new GOAT!

 

[5555]

Bottom line, imo, Novak has raised the bar.

Fedal fans can't face the reality, so they bury their heads in the sand

 

[RF_fan]

But don't get me wrong, it's not that Djokovic hasn't improved. He clearly has. But to attribute his spectacular success to his 'sheer talent' or to 'his diet' or to his 'dedication to the game'....

Don't forget his doctor :twisted:

 

[mcr619619]

no, rafa is playing well, though fed declined already, he's still great...

 

[juanparty]

weakest seasons 2003-2006, the proof is Agassi at 35 reached GS final.

 

[mcr619619]

weakest seasons 2003-2006, the proof is Agassi at 35 reached GS final.

LOL..did you watch tennis from 2003-2006?...saw Agassi played? how good he was back then? age is just a number, though he's slow, he just beat most other with his superb groundies....nahhh, i don't like explaining obvious things...but yeah, guess you need to know that...

 

[mcr619619]

Many said the same (about the season being very weak to explain for a huge success for a player) in 2004 and then in 2005, by 2006 and 2007, these idiots finally learned the players were not mugs or in a weak generation; one player was just was playing consistently amazing tennis.

Same with Nadal in 2010, many questioned the weak generation.

So you are making a post that many, many before you have made - and they all usually discover that, get ready for it...

Djokovic is not taking advantage of a weak season, he is making everyone around him look weak because he has improved so much.

Nadal would have had 5 Masters Shields by now if he had beaten Nole in all of those finals.

This destroys your view about Nadal not being at his best; he has been superb in all the Masters tournaments he's played in, apart from Montreal, he has reached the final in 5 others this year. This, again, goes completely against your view, had he won those 5 finals against Djokovic, in 2011 he would have:

2 Majors and 5 Masters Shields, which is PHENOMENAL for half a year.

Nadal is playing very well - and it must be said, goes against your view.

Lesson learned?

nice....most people who says an ERA is "WEAK" only based their opinions by Statistic, wins, loss, titles...they mostly don't regularly watch tennis...

The Chicago Bulls won 6 titles from 91-98, so does it mean that the all the other teams were weak? no.
it's just that we have the so called "Dominance" by one player or team, they make look other weak..


---------
i still don't think that Djoker has raised the bar, if he dominates another year or two, then it will be

 

[celoft]

This year it appears that Federer, Nadal, Murray are slumping and under performing. Some would say even declining. Murray has lost his first match at IW, Miami and Montreal and hc masters series are traditionally his bread and butter. Nadal almost lost to Isner at RG, something that would not have happened in the past. Federer lost for the first time ever being 2 sets up at a major. Not even a young and green Fed in his teens lost being 2 sets up at a major... These top players are not playing to their usual standards this year. Make of it what you will.

 

[SLD76]

This year it appears that Federer, Nadal, Murray are slumping and under performing. Some would say even declining.

I dont call 7 straight finals spanning 3 surfaces slumping. Nadal is just getting beaten by one player repeatedly(aside from a red hot Tsonga at Queen's).

Fed is declining and underperforming not slumping.

Murray is legitimately in a slump.

 

[celoft]

I dont call 7 straight finals spanning 3 surfaces slumping. Nadal is just getting beaten by one player repeatedly(aside from a red hot Tsonga at Queen's).

Fed is declining and underperforming not slumping.

Murray is legitimately in a slump.

Nadal is not playing to his usual standards on clay anymore. He has clearly declined on clay, his bread and butter. Almost losing to the likes of Isner and struggling and being outplayed by the likes of Lorenzi and Andujar proves it.

 

[Clarky21]

This year it appears that Federer, Nadal, Murray are slumping and under performing. Some would say even declining. Murray has lost his first match at IW, Miami and Montreal and hc masters series are traditionally his bread and butter. Nadal almost lost to Isner at RG, something that would not have happened in the past. Federer lost for the first time ever being 2 sets up at a major. Not even a young and green Fed in his teens lost being 2 sets up at a major... These top players are not playing to their usual standards this year. Make of it what you will.

I have been saying this,too. What Djokovic has been doing is great,but he is a very lucky beneficiary of the entire top 5 slumping and declining,except for him. The weak play of other players this year has definitely helped him,and I really doubt that if everyone was playing up to their standard he would have only lost 1 match this year.

 

[Clarky21]

Worst? Number 2 and 3 in the world have a total of 26 Grand Slam's bw them.

Being number 1 ahead of 2 of the best players of all time (Nadal and Federer), is an achivement.

PS-> What you see on television is much harder than it seems!

It would be an even greater achievement if Federer and Nadal were playing anywhere near their peak/prime. Neither of them are,and arguing that is pretty much just sticking your head in the sand.

 

[jokinla]

I was wondering when someone would put this thread up. I would say of course not, with the depth of field and talent at the top, Djoker has been able to rise high above the rest, but all things must come to an end, he will come back down, although he looks to be quite comfortable maintaining his form, so it might be a little bit before he returns to earth.

 

[celoft]

I think what we see this season is a combination of Djoko improving his stamina and the other top 4 players under performing for different reasons.

 

[DRII]

No it is clear the level dropped last year. After the AO Federer couldn't play well enough to reach a slam final, 2 quarters and a semi. This year he played well enough to reach the final of Roland Gaross. Djokovic was awful last year. He was serving 10 double faults a match and had to start serving like a girl to stop this. Even at the US Open his serving was weak.

Nadal got through last season playing worse on clay than he did in 2007, the previous challenges of Federer and Djokovic (remember how close Novak was getting in 2009) dried up and Nadal was left spanking Ferrer and Verdasco without breaking sweat. Wimbledon again featued him beating up on first time finalist Berdych who didn't stand a chance, the US Open was an easy draw til he met Novak but to be fair he was still struggling with rebuilding his game and a bit drained from his semi final.

How anyone can seriously say this season is weaker than last is beyond me. Last season Nadal won everything by default (although he did play very well mostly) hardly any other top players showed up. By contrast this season the top 4 are going deep every tournament and are just getting beaten. Plus people like Tsonga, Monfils and Del Potro are on the way back and making improvements.

By the way, Nadal has not dominated Wimbledon in the last 5 years. Out of the last 5 years he's won it twice and lost 3 times. That's not domination.

Nadal has won more matches at Wimbledon than anyone else in the last 4 to 5 years, winning two consecutive years that he played or reaching the final!

I do agree that Nole has certainly raised his level from last year, but he is the only top player to have done so, everyone else is at least a notch or two lower...

 

[DRII]

I agree with u guys. And yeah, can't blame him for trying. He really should have won both IW and Miami though.

The way Nadal was serving at IW, he did not deserve to win, he didn't even deserve to get to the final!

 

[DRII]

This post is full of so much fail I don't even know where to begin. Nadal has not played well all year long. I do not care how many finals he has made because even though he made them,he played badly to get there. Plus the fact that he has made so many finals playing as lousy as he has is a testament to how weak the field is this year. He has not been fully engaged since last years USO. Everybody who isn't blinded by ****ism or hate is able to see that.

Federer also had a much better year last year,except for his RG loss to a goating Soderling. He made the final at Roger's Cup and Won Cincy. He also goated at the end of the year last year and won a ton of titles. He isn't anywhere close to the form he showed this time last year. Federer looks checked out on court anymore,and has definitely shown his age this year. To suggest otherwise is nonsense.

Murray has also been mia all year long except for the AO,where he mentally collapsed in the final,and practically his whole season has followed suit. He has floundered badly on his best surface this year,losing to the likes of Donald Young,and Bogomolov. He has been in a funk all year long.

Soderling is another one who definitely had a much better year last year. He has been injured on and off since the beginning of the year,and has not even come close to playing any tennis at all at the level he showed last year. He too is in a funk,along with the rest of the top 5 except Novak.

Delpo may be back,but he hasn't played consistently well yet this year. The best match he has played this year was his match against Nadal at Wimbledon. He clearly isn't back up to speed yet,and it will take him some more time to get there.

Tsonga is one the most inconsistent head cases on the tour,so you cannot count on him most of the time.

That's just some of the players who have underperformed this year,making what Novak is doing look way better than it actually is. I am not saying he doesn't deserve his wins,but I am saying I highly doubt he would have only lost 1 match this whole year if he actually had some decent competition to go up against.

Excellent and accurate post!

I would say that Nole's competition has been 'decent' just not as good as previous years.

 

[5555]

I would say that Nole's competition has been 'decent' just not as good as previous years.

How many experts claim that competition in 2011 is not as good as in previous years?

 

[Tony48]

Federer and Nadal have deluded most tennis fans. To see someone else dominating the field is almost blasphemous to them. They can't believe it so in order to compensate for the psychological imbalance, a litany of excuses are created.

Tennis existed before Federer and Nadal and it will continue to exist after they are long gone.

Jesus Christ.

 

[Gaudio2004]

nice....most people who says an ERA is "WEAK" only based their opinions by Statistic, wins, loss, titles...they mostly don't regularly watch tennis...

The Chicago Bulls won 6 titles from 91-98, so does it mean that the all the other teams were weak? no.
it's just that we have the so called "Dominance" by one player or team, they make look other weak..


---------
i still don't think that Djoker has raised the bar, if he dominates another year or two, then it will be

I agree with you, if he can keep this up for 2 more years, it will be raising the bar from what Federer achieved, and also what Nadal achieved (Masters shields, generally winning a lot).

The only player to beat Djokovic this year isn't going to get better as he ages; removing Federer out of the equation, he must look at Nadal and Murray as his main rivals. If he can keep it up, he can really get a good shot of winning a lot of Majors in his career.

Federer and Nadal have deluded most tennis fans. To see someone else dominating the field is almost blasphemous to them. They can't believe it so in order to compensate for the psychological imbalance, a litany of excuses are created.

Tennis existed before Federer and Nadal and it will continue to exist after they are long gone.

Jesus Christ.

Great quote by Albert Einstein -> "There are only 2 things infinite, the universe and human stupidity"

You get the same posts, by the same morons, year after year after year.

 

[DRII]

I agree with you, if he can keep this up for 2 more years, it will be raising the bar from what Federer achieved, and also what Nadal achieved (Masters shields, generally winning a lot).

The only player to beat Djokovic this year isn't going to get better as he ages; removing Federer out of the equation, he must look at Nadal and Murray as his main rivals. If he can keep it up, he can really get a good shot of winning a lot of Majors in his career.



Great quote by Albert Einstein -> "There are only 2 things infinite, the universe and human stupidity"

You get the same posts, by the same morons, year after year after year.

Speculation much?

Vapid conclusions must be your speciality.

 

[ruerooo]

Worst? Number 2 and 3 in the world have a total of 26 Grand Slam's bw them.

Being number 1 ahead of 2 of the best players of all time (Nadal and Federer), is an achivement.

PS-> What you see on television is much harder than it seems!

Truly. I wonder frequently if I'm watching the same sport as some people.

:-?

 

[MaiDee]

For sure this season is weakest than the season 2003:
1 Roddick, Andy USA no slam (won later that year)
2 Ferrero, Juan Carlos ESP 1 slam
3 Federer, Roger SUI first slam
4 Coria, Guillermo ARG 1 slam
5 Agassi, Andre USA 34 years old 8 slams
6 Schuettler, Rainer GER
7 Moya, Carlos ESP 1 slam
8 Nalbandian, David ARG
9 Philippoussis, Mark AUS
10 Grosjean, Sebastien FRA

How the Wibledon look like 2003:
1. round Fed-Hyung-Talk Lee
2. round Fed-Stefan Kobek
3. round Fed-Mardy Fish
4. round Fed-Feliciano Lopez
Quoter Fed-Sjenk Schalken
Semy Fed-Andy Rodick
Final Fed-Mark Philippousis

No slam winners in the draw.

 

[TennezSport]

Actually...........

Nadal has won more matches at Wimbledon than anyone else in the last 4 to 5 years, winning two consecutive years that he played or reaching the final!

I believe that Fed has won more matches at Wimbly in that time period winning 6 of 8 attempts. Also Rafa has never defended any non clay court title and did not win consecutive Wimblys (winning 2 of 5 titles attempts).

Cheers, TennezSport

 

[Shady_Sawyer]

Cant believe this nonsense....he beat all round player n close competitor Murray twice, US open 2009 slam champ del potro once, 16 slam winner Federer 3 times and beat 10 slam winner former world no.1 Nadal the toughest competitor of all time in this sport 5 times this year consecutively....something that Nadals rivals like Murray, Del Potro and the supposedly invincible GOAT Federer can only dream of. And people have the nerve to say Nole lacks competition despite all these acheivements...human stupidity has no limits like einstein said.

 

[Towser83]

Nadal has won more matches at Wimbledon than anyone else in the last 4 to 5 years, winning two consecutive years that he played or reaching the final!

I do agree that Nole has certainly raised his level from last year, but he is the only top player to have done so, everyone else is at least a notch or two lower...

I don't care if he has won more matches that anyone else, winning twice in 5 years is not dominating. Even if you don't count the year he decided not to play, that's only 2 from 4. You need to at least win the majority - 50% isn't the majority.

Would you say Federer has dominated the US Open and Auastralian Open in the last 3 years? He's won 1 title at each but won more matches that anyone in the last 3 years. In 2008-2009 did Federer dominate the French Open? He won more matches these two years combined than anyone else.

Domination needs to be more than winning more matches than anyone else, especially when you lose more than you win - 5 years = 2007, 2008, 2009, 2010, 2011. That's 2 wins, out of 5 years, not counting 2009 tht's 2 losses and 2 wins.

 

[DRII]

I believe that Fed has won more matches at Wimbly in that time period winning 6 of 8 attempts. Also Rafa has never defended any non clay court title and did not win consecutive Wimblys (winning 2 of 5 titles attempts).

Cheers, TennezSport

Nadal won two consecutive Wimbledons in the years he played ... 2008 and 2010! He did not play in 2009 due to injury. Lets get the facts straight.

And yes, I would say if a player has either reached the final or won a tournament in the last 4 or 5 years they've played, I would say they have dominated that tournament! Unless they played the same opponent every time in the finals.

 

[Towser83]

Nadal won two consecutive Wimbledons in the years he played ... 2008 and 2010! He did not play in 2009 due to injury. Lets get the facts straight.

And yes, I would say if a player has either reached the final or won a tournament in the last 4 or 5 years they've played, I would say they have dominated that tournament! Unless they played the same opponent every time in the finals.

Don't see the logic in that? What does it matter if they played the same player all the time? I guess from 2006-2008 Nadal did not dominate the French Open because he was always playing Federer?

 

[Ben Hadd]

Everyone calls it a week field, saying the top 4 always dominate, and then complain when one of them lose in early rounds. Which is it, can't be both ways.