Nadal is the best because Djokovic said so

triforce defender

triforce defender

Semi-Pro
Who cares what McEnroe and Connors think. Novak Djokovic is the true authority on who is the best. And in 2010, after losing to Nadal at the USO, Djokovic said during the trophy ceremony that Nadal is the greatest player ever.

Djokovic is not a man who gives out praises easily. Prior to this revelatory statement, Novak was best known for publicly telling everyone that Federer was declining and wondered aloud why Murray should be the favorite at 2009 AO ("Why Andy?"). Novak also told the USO crowd that Andy Roddick was not a nice person and that he was upset about Roddick's remarks. All negative statements about other players. But he gave the highest praise to Nadal. Rafa even tried to correct Djokovic and explain that Federer was still the best but Djokovic was having none of it. He reiterated that Nadal was the greatest.

I believe Djokovic's opinion over all other's opinions. What say you?
 
Djokovic2011

Djokovic2011

Bionic Poster
triforce defender said:
Who cares what McEnroe and Connors think. Novak Djokovic is the true authority on who is the best. And in 2010, after losing to Nadal at the USO, Djokovic said during the trophy ceremony that Nadal is the greatest player ever.

Djokovic is not a man who gives out praises easily. Prior to this revelatory statement, Novak was best known for publicly telling everyone that Federer was declining and wondered aloud why Murray should be the favorite at 2009 AO ("Why Andy?"). Novak also told the USO crowd that Andy Roddick was not a nice person and that he was upset about Roddick's remarks. All negative statements about other players. But he gave the highest praise to Nadal. Rafa even tried to correct Djokovic and explain that Federer was still the best but Djokovic was having none of it. He reiterated that Nadal was the greatest.

I believe Djokovic's opinion over all other's opinions. What say you?
Click to expand...

He was merely trying to lure Nadal into a false sense of security knowing what he had in store for him the next year. :twisted:
 
O

octogon

Hall of Fame
Djokovic has been pretty consistent about calling Nadal the greatest ever. And as the OP said, he doesn't hand out praise to players lightly (and he hasn't got humility down to a science like Nadal), so i think he's sincere in his belief.

Even after winning Wimbledon this year, I noticed that while Djokovic wanted to be complimentary towards Federer, he was using the sort of language that would indicate he didn't want to call him the greatest. I think he said Federer was the most succesful guy in the sport, who has won the most.....but that's not really the same as calling someone the greatest. So it seemed a bit shady.
 
powerangle

powerangle

Legend
Novak is a smart one. Claim Rafa is the best at 2010 USO, then go on a 7-run spanking spree, across all surfaces, and in 3 straight slam finals.

Well played Nole, well played. :lol:
 
Noleberic123

Noleberic123

G.O.A.T.
Nadal has also said djokovic is the best player in the world on several occasions. After RG 12, AO 12 and during an interview at MC 13. I think he also said it after nole won the WTF last year.
 
O

octogon

Hall of Fame
Noleberic123 said:
Nadal has also said djokovic is the best player in the world on several occasions. After RG 12, AO 12 and during an interview at MC 13. I think he also said it after nole won the WTF last year.
Click to expand...

Most of the times Nadal said that, Djokovic actually held the no.1 ranking, so he wasn't really doing anything other than stating the obvious and taking more pressure off himself.
 
Backspin1183

Backspin1183

Talk Tennis Guru
Noleberic123 said:
Nadal has also said djokovic is the best player in the world on several occasions. After RG 12, AO 12 and during an interview at MC 13. I think he also said it after nole won the WTF last year.
Click to expand...

Nadal said Novak is one of the best in the history of tennis.
 
powerangle

powerangle

Legend
Noleberic123 said:
yeah exactly. They both respect each other, unlike some fans in this forum. Even novak said nadal was the better player last year, but chico for example wont admit it.
Click to expand...

Saying Nadal didn't have the better year last year is a bit much.

I am glad there is much respect among the top players, as it should be.
 
Backspin1183

Backspin1183

Talk Tennis Guru
Noleberic123 said:
yeah exactly. They both respect each other, unlike some fans in this forum. Even novak said nadal was the better player last year, but chico for example wont admit it.
Click to expand...

Novak once said that Nadal was the greatest of all time which made Rafa laugh and he was like "no, no, that's not true"
 
O

octogon

Hall of Fame
Backspin1183 said:
Nadal said Novak is one of the best in the history of tennis.
Click to expand...

Again, that's sort of stating the obvious. Djokovic is one of the best in history. No one will dispute that. Nadal praises Djokovic, but he doesn't really go beyond the obvious.

Djokovic calling Nadal the greatest ever as far back as 2010, when the Federer bandwagon was in full flow, and anyone who said otherwise was considered a heretic to be burned at the stake....that's something else indeed.
 
Backspin1183

Backspin1183

Talk Tennis Guru
It's funny how some of us want our favorite player to be the best or greatest like if they weren't that's a problem. In football, former Spanish striker Fernando Morientes was my favorite player. Some of his fans would claim he was the best. He wasn't. But he was my favorite player even if he wasn't as good as Zidane or Ronaldo.
 
harryz

harryz

Professional
In other words..

triforce defender said:
Who cares what McEnroe and Connors think. Novak Djokovic is the true authority on who is the best. And in 2010, after losing to Nadal at the USO, Djokovic said during the trophy ceremony that Nadal is the greatest player ever.

Djokovic is not a man who gives out praises easily. Prior to this revelatory statement, Novak was best known for publicly telling everyone that Federer was declining and wondered aloud why Murray should be the favorite at 2009 AO ("Why Andy?"). Novak also told the USO crowd that Andy Roddick was not a nice person and that he was upset about Roddick's remarks. All negative statements about other players. But he gave the highest praise to Nadal. Rafa even tried to correct Djokovic and explain that Federer was still the best but Djokovic was having none of it. He reiterated that Nadal was the greatest.

I believe Djokovic's opinion over all other's opinions. What say you?
Click to expand...

Because YOU say so:)
 
Mayonnaise

Mayonnaise

Banned
Two facts:

1. Djokovic didn't call Nadal the greatest of all time at the 2010 US Open ceremony. He only called him the best player in the world, which he was at the moment.

2. Djokovic also called Federer the "greatest player ever" in his US Open presser after the 2011 semifinal.
 
Backspin1183

Backspin1183

Talk Tennis Guru
Mayonnaise said:
Two facts:

1. Djokovic didn't call Nadal the greatest of all time at the 2010 US Open ceremony. He only called him the best player in the world, which he was at the moment.

2. Djokovic also called Federer the "greatest player ever" in his US Open presser after the 2011 semifinal.
Click to expand...

3. Djokovic said Nadal was "greatest of all time" after the 2011 Indian Wells final.
 
Mick

Mick

Legend
oh-oh, i think Djokovic is going get some hateful messages for his praises of Nadal like Agassi, McEnroe, and Connors did :shock: :)
_____________________

Novak Djokovic: You (Nadal) are the greatest ever for me.

Nadal, who is well aware that he is barely past the halfway mark toward Federer's 16 Grand Slams with nine, laughed at the baseless praise and said, "It's not true."

But the Serb went on to defend his claim.

"I think he's the best ever because, even though he's 24 years old, he has done so much already," Djokovic said. "Many years in front of him too, I think even to overtake [Federer] in the Grand Slam trophies."

This was the first time Djokovic has called Nadal the greatest player ever, though he praised Nadal once before in similar terms, right before the US Open final 2010:

"I think already he's one of the best ever because he has won an Olympic gold medal, he has won Davis Cup, he has won every major except this one and so many tournaments," Djokovic said at the time. "He has the records of 1,000 events as well, and he's still only 24 years old. So it's just incredible what he has done so far in his career."

http://bleacherreport.com/articles/...t-ever-and-novak-djokovic-one-of-the-greatest
 
Mayonnaise

Mayonnaise

Banned
Mick said:
oh-oh, i think Djokovic is going get some hateful messages for his praises of Nadal like Agassi, McEnroe, and Connors did :shock: :)
_____________________

Novak Djokovic: You (Nadal) are the greatest ever for me.

Nadal, who is well aware that he is barely past the halfway mark toward Federer's 16 Grand Slams with nine, laughed at the baseless praise and said, "It's not true."

But the Serb went on to defend his claim.

"I think he's the best ever because, even though he's 24 years old, he has done so much already," Djokovic said. "Many years in front of him too, I think even to overtake [Federer] in the Grand Slam trophies."

This was the first time Djokovic has called Nadal the greatest player ever, though he praised Nadal once before in similar terms, right before the US Open final 2010:

"I think already he's one of the best ever because he has won an Olympic gold medal, he has won Davis Cup, he has won every major except this one and so many tournaments," Djokovic said at the time. "He has the records of 1,000 events as well, and he's still only 24 years old. So it's just incredible what he has done so far in his career."

http://bleacherreport.com/articles/...t-ever-and-novak-djokovic-one-of-the-greatest
Click to expand...

Djokovic called Federer the "greatest player ever" after beating him in the 2011 US Open semifinal.
 
cc0509

cc0509

Talk Tennis Guru
Mayonnaise said:
Djokovic called Federer the "greatest player ever" after beating him in the 2011 US Open semifinal.
Click to expand...

But this year after the Wimbledon final Djokovic clearly chose his words and called Federer the most successful player not the greatest.
 
O

octogon

Hall of Fame
Mayonnaise said:
Maybe he changed his mind between Indian Wells 2011 and US Open 2011 :)
Click to expand...

Evidence, as you like to keep asking others for. Where's the receipts?:)

Maybe he said Federer was "one of the greatest" or used some other caveat. We won't know unless you actually show us, instead of telling us.
 
xFedal

xFedal

Legend
powerangle said:
Novak is a smart one. Claim Rafa is the best at 2010 USO, then go on a 7-run spanking spree, across all surfaces, and in 3 straight slam finals.

Well played Nole, well played. :lol:
Click to expand...

Well played Nole for hiding under rock for 18 months.
 
xFedal

xFedal

Legend
Greats of the game: Agassi, Connors, Jmac, NOVAK DJOKOVIC all get pelted with hate whilst praising Nadal.
 
T

torpantennis

Legend
triforce defender said:
Rafa even tried to correct Djokovic and explain that Federer was still the best but Djokovic was having none of it. He reiterated that Nadal was the greatest.

I believe Djokovic's opinion over all other's opinions. What say you?
Click to expand...

Djokovic has no clue! Federer's ground game was already declining in 2007, it was so obvious when you watched his matches. His serve saved his butt that year results wise. Djokovic has only played Federer ONCE outside of clay in Federer's ground-game-peak 2004-2006, in a Davis cup match that Federer won 6-3 6-2 6-3!

Clearly, Djokovic is comparing 2008-2010 Federer to PEAK 2008-2011 Nadal. I agree, PEAK Nadal is better than 2008-2010 declined Federer. But really, DJOKOVIC HAS NO CLUE how well peak Federer played.
 
Thriller

Thriller

Hall of Fame
Nadal was asked, at the peak of his rivalry with Federer, who is your toughest opponent?

His answer surprised me at the time but I guess Nadal could foresee the potential that would be unleashed in 2011:

"Djokovic. When he is inspired there is nothing you can do".

I agree. I have never seen better tennis played by anyone than Novak at his best, and I have been watching tennis for 40 years. When he is inspired and confident he is the closest I have ever seen to unbeatable.

But if I had to pick a player to play for my life ... it's a no brainer ... peak Sampras on lightning fast surfaces, peak Nadal on everything else.
 
Mayonnaise

Mayonnaise

Banned
veroniquem said:
Murray said so too :)
Click to expand...

Murray called Federer the greatest ever after the 2008 US Open final. When did he call Nadal the greatest? I only remember him saying Nadal has the potential to be the greatest, and that an argument could be made for him.

But what does this matter when Nadal himself calls Federer the "best in the history"? :)
 
D

Deleted member 3771

Guest
The general consensus now is that Rafa is the greatest, while Fed is the most achieved but isn't even the best of his own era.
 
veroniquem

veroniquem

Bionic Poster
Mayonnaise said:
Murray called Federer the greatest ever after the 2008 US Open final. When did he call Nadal the greatest? I only remember him saying Nadal has the potential to be the greatest, and that an argument could be made for him.

But what does this matter when Nadal himself calls Federer the "best in the history"? :)
Click to expand...
Murray said Nadal was the best player he's ever played.
 
T

torpantennis

Legend
TheNatural said:
The general consensus now is that Rafa is the greatest, while Fed is the most achieved but isn't even the best of his own era.
Click to expand...

Physical prime of top tennis players is age 22-28. Federer won 14/24 slams within that time frame, and spent 242/312 weeks at #1. Who was the best player of HIS ERA??
 
mbm0912

mbm0912

Hall of Fame
triforce defender said:
Who cares what McEnroe and Connors think. Novak Djokovic is the true authority on who is the best. And in 2010, after losing to Nadal at the USO, Djokovic said during the trophy ceremony that Nadal is the greatest player ever.

Djokovic is not a man who gives out praises easily. Prior to this revelatory statement, Novak was best known for publicly telling everyone that Federer was declining and wondered aloud why Murray should be the favorite at 2009 AO ("Why Andy?"). Novak also told the USO crowd that Andy Roddick was not a nice person and that he was upset about Roddick's remarks. All negative statements about other players. But he gave the highest praise to Nadal. Rafa even tried to correct Djokovic and explain that Federer was still the best but Djokovic was having none of it. He reiterated that Nadal was the greatest.

I believe Djokovic's opinion over all other's opinions. What say you?
Click to expand...

I would also take Novak's opinion over a couple geezers', who could only dream about playing tennis at the level of Novak, Roger and Rafa.
 
T

torpantennis

Legend
T

torpantennis

Legend
Djokovic2011 said:
Are you saying that 2011 RG wasn't PEAK Federer? :shock:
Click to expand...

PEAK is defined by age. You cannot break the laws of aging, he was well past his prime, but did indeed play a great single match.

EDIT: For any player, peak is 23-26, and prime is 22-28. So for the Big 3:

Federer: Peak 2004-2007, prime 2003-2009
Nadal: Peak 2009-2012, prime 2008-2014
Djokovic: Peak 2010-2013, prime 2009-2015

Matches perfectly for performance of Federer and Nadal. I estimate Nadal to win max 1-2 more slams. Djokovic still has one more great year left in him.
 
Last edited:
Chico

Chico

Banned
torpantennis said:
Djokovic/Murray have no clue, they haven't played against PEAK Federer. Ask Roddick, he has played against PEAK Federer/Djokovic/Nadal.
Click to expand...

Novak beat PEAK Fed in Montreal 2007 and AO 2008 and had 7 set points in USO final 2007. Something that PEAK Roddick was never able to do.
So yes YOUNG BABY Novak was holding his ground very well vs PEAK Fed.
 
Last edited:
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