Novak Djokovic: Australian Open 2018 Tribute

King No1e

G.O.A.T.
The Djoker exploded on the scene in 2008. When playing World No.1 Roger Federer at the peak of his powers, he said into the mic "I'm taking you down, Roger." And he proceeded to deliver a masterclass performance to inaugurate a new era of Australian Open dominance.
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In 2011, Djokovic had become fitter, faster, and stronger and wasted no time in storming past Federer and Murray to lay his hands on the trophy once again.
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The following year, Djokovic was pushed to the extreme by Rafael Nadal, and dug deep to produce scintillating tennis and break the limits of physical possibility in arguably the Greatest Match Ever Played to lift his 3rd Norman Brookes Challenge Cup.
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The dominance seemed like it would never end. Djokovic fought off the stern challenges by Stanislas Wawrinka and Andy Murray in commanding fashion to claim his 3rd consecutive Australian Open, the first man to ever do so in the Open Era.
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In 2015, Djokovic returned to Australia, determined to regain the title from Stanislas Wawrinka, who had deposed the king a year before. In a thrilling 5-set match Nole showed Wawrinka and the capacity crowd at Rod Laver Arena why he was the 4-time champion. He defeated Andy Murray to recapture the Australian Open crown and the World No.1 ranking.
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The World No.1 ensured a permanent spot in the history books in 2016 as he held off Federer and Murray, in dominant fashion to claim championship #6 and tie the record for the most titles won at the Australian Open.
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But last year, Djokovic suffered a massive disappointment at the hands of Denis Istomin, in one of the greatest upset matches of all time. Since then, his ranking fell and he sustained injuries which forced him out of competition for 6 months.
Until now.
He is back, and his eyes are set on one goal..........the Norman Brookes Challenge Cup.
The Djoker has come back.
G E T R E A D Y
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MeatTornado

Talk Tennis Guru
OP: Fed was most certainly not "at the peak of his powers" in January, 2008. He was suffering from mono.
I think it was the peak in the sense that Roger was still the undisputed dominant #1 at the time. We didn't know in Jan 08 that 2007 was the end of his peak. No one (including Roger) knew he had mono at the time, so that match shocked the world.
 

clayqueen

Talk Tennis Guru
Rafael Nadal and Stan Wawrinka ready for Australian Open comeback... while Novak Djokovic refuses to rule out surgery on elbow ahead of return
  • Novak Djokovic brought his 2017 season to a premature end after Wimbledon
  • The World No 14 was suffering with an elbow injury and hasn't competed since
  • Stan Wawrinka also hasn't played since SW19 after undergoing knee surgery
  • Rafael Nadal has missed the season's early tournaments through injury
  • The trio have committed to competing at the upcoming Australian Open
  • Djokovic claimed he is 'excited' by the prospect of returning to action
By Eleanor Crooks, Press Association Sport

PUBLISHED: 15:55, 13 January 2018 | UPDATED: 15:58, 13 January 2018

Tennis' walking wounded have all committed to making the Australian Open but serious question marks remain about Novak Djokovic and Stanislas Wawrinka in particular.

Neither man has played a competitive match since Wimbledon, with Djokovic taking the remainder of last season off to rehabilitate a troublesome elbow problem and Wawrinka undergoing knee surgery.

Djokovic has remodelled his serve under the guidance of coaches Andre Agassi and Radek Stepanek in a bid to ensure the injury does not resurface.

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+7
Novak Djokovic is 'excited' to return to the tennis court for the first time since Wimbledon

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+7
The Serb has been nursing an ongoing elbow injury but is ready to make his comeback

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+7
Djokovic admitted the area isn't 100 per cent fit but hopes it will be for the Australian Open

Now World No 14, the six-time Australian Open champion admitted he is unsure how his body will hold up to the rigours of best-of-five-set Grand Slam tennis and hinted he might still need to go down the surgical route.

Djokovic said: 'It hasn't been 100 per cent yet. But right now it's at the level where I can compete, and every day it is getting better.

'I'm hoping that it can be 100 per cent at the start of the tournament. Throughout the tournament, I don't know how it's going to behave. Even if it's 100 per cent healed, after six months of no competition, you never know how you're going to react.

'There are some other options, long-term options, that I will obviously revisit and address post-tournament.'

Read more: http://www.dailymail.co.uk/sport/te...eye-Australian-Open-return.html#ixzz545QU1sAa
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BeatlesFan

Bionic Poster
Seriously, look at the loss of muscle mass on his frame. And no, Djoker fans, I am not "hating," I am pointing out something that will have significant consequences on his results in 2018.
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This is nowhere remotely near this body, the difference is enormous:
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Sorry @King No1e , but this thread is kind of a failure if you ask me :confused:
Just a bunch of pictures that show Novak's course at the AO.
I mean we all know how awesome he used to be, but let see how he progresses this year before saying he is back.
If AO was in the middle of the season there would have been a reasonably good chance for a 7th cup, but right now I don't feel confident, especially not with Federer looking so threatening and so many random players that can knock Djoko out.
 
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