skip1969
G.O.A.T.
Probably. The stress must have been insane.
Most nervous performance of all time?
- Thread starter Checkmate
- Start date
A little bit of both. But then, Medvedev played a near perfect game, both serving and ground game.
ghostofMecir
Hall of Fame
Yes...he was shocked at how Meddy wasn’t choking as per usual but the reverse. Down 0-40 to start the second set and he came back to hold...that never happens to Djoko.
She was so good at Wimbledon. The last real grass specialist on either tour. A shame she never won the title there.
Sampras-Bruguera 1993
Legend
No legs at all. completely gassed. zverev beat him essentially.
Towards the end yes. Medvedev served great the whole match. I think there was a handful if chances djokovic missed but Medvedev was fantastic
Autodidactic player
Professional
Couldn't have been nerves. Just ask Novak, he'll tell you:
Djokovic says ‘pressure is a privilege’ that he can handle
“Pressure is a privilege, my friend,” Djokovic said in answer to a reporter’s question after winning both of his matches at the Ariake Tennis Park on Wednesday, beating Alejandro Davidovich Fokina of Spain to reach the quarterfinals in singles then teaming with partner Nina Stojanovic for another victory in the opening round of mixed doubles.
“Without pressure there is no professional sport,” Djokovic added. “If you are aiming to be at the top of the game you better start learning how to deal with pressure and how to cope with those moments — on the court but also off the court.” ...
“All that buzz and all that noise is the thing that, I can’t say I don’t see it or I don’t hear it, of course it’s there, but I’ve learned, I’ve developed the mechanism how to deal with it in such a way that it will not impose destruction to me. It will not wear me down,” Djokovic said. “I feel I have enough experience to know myself how to step on the court and play my best tennis.”
ivanisevics chokes were not that big, he also played against great players, and he always played well in the first set.
Bubcay
Legend
Yes, his return of serve was atrocious. His biggest weapon failed him big time.
He just didnt dig deeper like he usually does..spraying out errors..Just gifted slam to Medvedev..After all those comebacks he must have been emotionally empty...But FFS, if you are playing for history just throw your heart and soul on the court..
Like Rome 2019, when he was physicality exhausted but not mentally...
Disappointing he gifted a slam just like RG 2020..Should have gone for blow to blow like he did against Zverev..
Am I the only one who thinks Zverev >> Medvedev ..
Like Rome 2019, when he was physicality exhausted but not mentally...
Disappointing he gifted a slam just like RG 2020..Should have gone for blow to blow like he did against Zverev..
Am I the only one who thinks Zverev >> Medvedev ..
terribleIVAN
Hall of Fame
Novak was comically at times.
But still Serena's 2015 choke was of epic proportions; she just couldn't put the ball in the court for more than 2 exchanges after the first set.
It's was like she had just started playing tennis 6 months ago.
But still Serena's 2015 choke was of epic proportions; she just couldn't put the ball in the court for more than 2 exchanges after the first set.
It's was like she had just started playing tennis 6 months ago.
Laver got by two next gens in winning The U.S. Open in 1969, it can be done.
I Am Finnish
Bionic Poster
Djokovic had lot of crowd support that killed him mentally
BeatlesFan
Bionic Poster
Watch Agassi's first three slam final losses - he was literally shaking. Lendl's first slam final against Borg at the 1981 French Open was another nervous performance.
I didn't see nerves from Novak at all, he was just mentally and physically done in. And no wonder, he's 34! Probably a big mistake to play the Olympics, but we'll never know.
I didn't see nerves from Novak at all, he was just mentally and physically done in. And no wonder, he's 34! Probably a big mistake to play the Olympics, but we'll never know.
Nadalgaenger
G.O.A.T.
Exactly. Knee jerk TTW response is to never give an iota of credit to a guy for playing lights out.
TennisLurker
Professional
I think Djokovic should have lost to Tsitsipas and could have lost to Shapovalov and Zverev, they displayed tennis good enough to do it (if they had a better mind they could have done it, mental toughness for the Greek, intelligent shot selection and placement for Shapovalov, better focus for Zverev)
Medvedev happened to be the current generation player that could play good enough to beat Novak, with a mind good enough to beat Novak.
I don't think Novak is peaking right now at 34 years old, that would be ridiculous. It just happened that the people who could challenge him were his age or older than him, and this year he was mostly left with the youngster to compete against.
The case of Berrettini is different, because he simply is not good enough, his game has huge holes Novak can take advantage of.
It isn't written in stone that Novak will win more slams. Time is a tyrant you can't defeat. But he should be the favorite for wimbledon because Medvedev, Zverev and Tsitsipas are not a threat there.
Medvedev happened to be the current generation player that could play good enough to beat Novak, with a mind good enough to beat Novak.
I don't think Novak is peaking right now at 34 years old, that would be ridiculous. It just happened that the people who could challenge him were his age or older than him, and this year he was mostly left with the youngster to compete against.
The case of Berrettini is different, because he simply is not good enough, his game has huge holes Novak can take advantage of.
It isn't written in stone that Novak will win more slams. Time is a tyrant you can't defeat. But he should be the favorite for wimbledon because Medvedev, Zverev and Tsitsipas are not a threat there.
ghostofMecir
Hall of Fame
No excuses.
The Harkleroad
Rookie
Dementieva-Myskina
Both players were nervous as f*.
Worst match I've ever seen.
Both players were nervous as f*.
Worst match I've ever seen.
Kind of funny but absolutely true ...
For the first time EVER he had the support of at least 75% of the crowd more than in any of the GS finals !
and then ...
Big disappointment
ghostofMecir
Hall of Fame
Strangely this might be true. He was ready to roar and fight the crowd but then because they wanted to see history, they gave him the love he‘s lined after for so long and seemed out of it.
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MeatTornado
Talk Tennis Guru
You think he should've gone 2 full months without playing?
I Am Finnish
Bionic Poster
Exactly especially in the us
Djokovic is getting the least support there, in the final they stood behind him that shocked him that cause him a black out and Medvedev took advantage of it
I Am Finnish
Bionic Poster
Thiem sucks in big finals and Zverev is 0-23455676 against top 10 players
Mainad
Bionic Poster
Suspect a bit of both.
I Am Finnish
Bionic Poster
Nerves
Federer has to deal with more pressure while he was in his 30s facing two younger ATGs who were physically stronger than him.
Novak went in to the match with 7-5 6-2 6-2 crushing of med in AO Final...its medvdev who should have felt more pressure as if he would have lost this god knows when he could have got another chance
That is actually less pressure because people expect you to lose. Also Federer has never been in the position to win the CYGS.
The vast majority of people expected Novak to win though. I guess the fact that Novak also beat Zverev might have cooled Medvedev down a little because it took a little pressure off him
WarrenMP
Professional
I felt like I wasted my time preparing for and watching this match. Djokovic was competitive they way I am use to. Regardless of who wins, I always want to watch a strong competitive match. Djokovic didn't have the energy that he usually posses. This is probably due to staying on the court longer than he needed. I still think that there should be two rest days between the semi finals and finals.
Djokovic_is_the_best#1
Bionic Poster
Djokovic just got outplayed by medvedev. A changing of the guard on hard courts happened.
wang07
Semi-Pro
It wasn't physical, but mental exhaustion. You don't miss routine volleys by a country mile because you're tired, it's because you're just not there mentally. On Djokovic's terms, this is probably the most nervous he's ever been through an entire match, but overall we have seen worse. All the credit to Medvedev, he played really well.
Bartelby
Bionic Poster
Of course it was physical rather than mental. And you can miss vollleys because you are tired. I'm sure this argument is there to comfort those who want to believe Djokovic is finished.
There's no evidence for the view that Novak was mentally crushed by the idea of the CYGS.
There's no evidence for the view that Novak was mentally crushed by the idea of the CYGS.
Bartelby
Bionic Poster
This is the simple and uncomplicated reason for Djokovic's failure to even be competitive.
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