Novak should embrace the role of the villain

Chip and charge please said:
He gets irritated for lack of crowd support. Be the villain Novak. The crowd will one day embrace you. But for now, you are the guy that is supposed to win. And it will take Fed retiring and maybe even Rafa before you win the crowd. I say be the villain. Embrace it. Rack up majors.
Click to expand...
Problem is that by his nature he is not villain... He cope with this situation quite well, I would already ****ed all of...

Would like to see Fedal in his shoes... It would be hilarious...
 
Nope man. Abusing the umpire and saying u will be famous after today then taking MTO? Worst sportsmanship.

If not for Thiem being nice guy to let down his guard. Djokovic getting broken in 4th would have smashed his racquet and abuse more.
 
Chip and charge please said:
He Can’t embrace the role right now because he still has this huge need to be liked. Reacting to the crowd for lack of support. What a dumb move.
Click to expand...
Its hard to stay calm when you don't get treated the way you deserve. I agree he should **** of all, but its not easy too... I think its not anymore about him wanting to be loved... He is just not treated as he deserves and it is painful for any person...
 
beard said:
Problem is that by his nature he is not villain... He cope with this situation quite well, I would already ****ed all of...

Would like to see Fedal in his shoes... It would be hilarious...
Click to expand...

In my opinion, he is clearly what people call a scumbag in football. The equivalent of a Sergio Ramos.
 
Novak should assume the heel role a la Hollywood Rock in WWE. One of the most entertaining heels of all time. When news came out that the Rock would leave WWE and try acting instead, the crowd booed him when he was a face against Brock Lesnar. They cheered for Brock even though he was a heel. When the Rock came back, he went hollywood heel on the crowd. Here's a clip of the famous heel ever


Novak should act like an eastern european villain of the 80s going against the western centric crowd. He should rile up USO crowd by saying NYC is not the center of the world and the subway smells like urine. Which is actually true by the way. It will generate maximum pop and bring the crowd back to face status. America like its faces and heels. After all it was america who came up with WWE as entertainment. Come to the dark side Novak. Embrace its power :happydevil:
 
beard said:
Problem is that by his nature he is not villain... He cope with this situation quite well, I would already ****ed all of...

Would like to see Fedal in his shoes... It would be hilarious...
Click to expand...
Federer had it in the 2005 US Open final, and he showed absolutely no reaction, even if he was down a break at 1-1 in sets. And he said that he accepted that the crowd was against him.

It’s not like Federer was loved by everyone the first time he hold a racquet in his hands.

Nadal has to accept he isn’t the crowd favourite against Federer and that never irritated him as well.

I think Novak should either be aggressive with the crowd OR trying hard to be liked. The problem is, he does BOTH. Permanently discussing and finger at the ear etc. is okay if he doesn’t make the "boob throwing" as well. Literally now his statement is somewhat: "I hate you all AND I love you all."

Just talking about yesterday, as strange as he acted during the match, his celebration after the match was nice and respectful though.
 
Novak "the thousand faces" Djokovic doesn't assume any one particular role.

smiley_emoticons_santagrin.gif
 
beard said:
Its hard to stay calm when you don't get treated the way you deserve. I agree he should **** of all, but its not easy too... I think its not anymore about him wanting to be loved... He is just not treated as he deserves and it is painful for any person...
Click to expand...

As he deserves?

The guy is a millionaire that gets paid to hit a ball over a net. If i pay for a ticket , & i end up watching the guy bounce a ball prior to serving for around 30% of the entire match . I'll yell @ him too . If i get ejected then so be it.

I shouldn't have to react in any way he or any other athlete would want me to react . If it weren't for the paying fans , these guys wouldn't earn a dime . @ least in my line of work , if everyone just stopped building houses we'd all be out living in the bush .

He can tell the crowd to shut the hell up if he wants to in response (he may get hit with that verbal abuse warning) . But that won't help his cause as wanting to be liked , actually things like that just show him to be a natural villain . Don't give me what i want? Ok i'm going to throw it in your face . True colours come out when we DON'T get what we want or what we feel we DESERVE. It's quite simple , if someone calls me an idiot for no reason , why would i get angry? That person's opinions is lowered to zero. If i get called an idiot with a reasonable cause , then fair enough i'll take the criticism.

Djoker's biggest peeve in the match was that he was getting bullied around by Theim , going down 1-2 in sets. These top guys just never want to admit when another player is getting under their skin when the match isn't going their way.

Basically what i am saying is , if you want to be adored by the fans & masses , don't tell them to shut the hell up or whatever he said. Yeah that 1 'idiot' in the stands will make you be disliked by the majority of the crowd that you wish to be adored by. That's just the way it goes.


Actually for the most part , I've always inherently believed that Djoker feeds off of the animosity & plays better as a result. He gives me that natural Serbian vibe of enjoying "sticking it" to people . He has that comical Eastern Euro charm that if you're @ a party with him enjoying smalltalk , he'd be a nice & funny guy. But , say something he doesn't like & expect a bit of an 'alpha' moment lol. This is the impression that i've always had of him dating back to his good times with A-Rod @ the U.S open , he cannot run away from his past as much as he'd like us to forget about it also ...


Moment of the the match however . The 'Foot Pat' haha!
 
ChrisRF said:
Federer had it in the 2005 US Open final, and he showed absolutely no reaction, even if he was down a break at 1-1 in sets. And he said that he accepted that the crowd was against him.

It’s not like Federer was loved by everyone the first time he hold a racquet in his hands.

Nadal has to accept he isn’t the crowd favourite against Federer and that never irritated him as well.

I think Novak should either be aggressive with the crowd OR trying hard to be liked. The problem is, he does BOTH. Permanently discussing and finger at the ear etc. is okay if he doesn’t make the "boob throwing" as well. Literally now his statement is somewhat: "I hate you all AND I love you all."

Just talking about yesterday, as strange as he acted during the match, his celebration after the match was nice and respectful though.
Click to expand...
I hated Fed back in 05 and was rooting for anyone to beat him. Roddick was my fav back then. I also stopped watching tennis for a while when it got boring that he kept on winning until Rafa appeared. In the 2007 USO final, he was called Darth Federer with his all black outfit. USO crowd was rooting for Novak would you believe it. The same crowd that booed him later on when he made a sly statement on home favorite Roddick. Both Federer and Nadal never reacted to crowd going against them. Djoko feels insecure about not being the crowd favorite. He has to either accept it or go heel. Lol at boob throwing :-D
 
Chip and charge please said:
He gets irritated for lack of crowd support. Be the villain Novak. The crowd will one day embrace you. But for now, you are the guy that is supposed to win. And it will take Fed retiring and maybe even Rafa before you win the crowd. I say be the villain. Embrace it. Rack up majors.
Click to expand...
He doesn't need to bcs he isn't one.
Only ones who are portraying him as such are insane Fedal fans that visit his matches to boo and provoke. Hate is strong in them.
 
Chip and charge please said:
He gets irritated for lack of crowd support. Be the villain Novak. The crowd will one day embrace you. But for now, you are the guy that is supposed to win. And it will take Fed retiring and maybe even Rafa before you win the crowd. I say be the villain. Embrace it. Rack up majors.
Click to expand...

This. If he just gave up the "face" schtick, and came out as a heel, accuse the crowd of crazy stuff, give WWE type interviews, he'd be epic, because he could back it up
 
OhYes said:
He doesn't need to bcs he isn't one.
Only ones who are portraying him as such are insane Fedal fans that visit his matches to boo and provoke. Hate is strong in them.
Click to expand...
When I say embrace the villain role, I mean be the badass who wins majors without caring if anyone likes you. He doesn’t need to be mean about it. Just rack up the wins without trying to please the crowd.
 
Didn't we have this thread before?

Anyway... I very much agree. He needs to stop trying to be liked because it is a lost cause. The Rolex mafia has vilified him with successful propaganda, and besides which he doesn't simply have the charisma of a... no, not Federer. RF has little charisma, Rolex gave him "charisma", I mean someone like Safin, Agassi or Monfils. Novak just doesn't have that kind of likability.

Lendl is hugely respected today, not just because he turned a loser into a slam winner (as a coach) - which seemed like mission impossible in 2011 - but because he was so indifferent about popularity back in the 80s. He just considered the fans a bunch of braying donkeys, and that is a great attitude to have.

Fortunately, Novak the villain is able to to motivate himself from the negative energy. Imagine RF playing against the crowd EVERY time he plays a big match against a crowd favourite!!! I mean, Federer wouldn't have won one slam under such conditions - except perhaps against Baghdatis or Roddick...
 
GoldenMasters said:
How many times will this be repeated. He isn't a villain so he won't fake being one.
Click to expand...
Yes, the western media (mostly Britain, but others too) has turned him into a villain for daring to dominate the Holy Swiss One, hence he is one. He should take this role with RELISH. In movies, actors love playing villains because that's a lot more fun than being bland and popular. Considering he has a good sense of humour he could make a HUGE show out of it, just like Nasty and Connors.

Just picture Novak mocking the crowd after winning a set against RF!!!!!

That would be so awesome... Better than any comedy.
 
Chip and charge please said:
When I say embrace the villain role, I mean be the badass who wins majors without caring if anyone likes you. He doesn’t need to be mean about it. Just rack up the wins without trying to please the crowd.
Click to expand...
Such player doesn't exist yet. But if such person would, it would be really maniacal one.
 
Arak said:
In my opinion, he is clearly what people call a scumbag in football. The equivalent of a Sergio Ramos.
Click to expand...
Pretty much this. Same as his tennis style is like 2012 Chelsea vs Fed (2011 barca/2012 Bayern)

As a tennis fan, Wimbledon and AO were the worst results that could have happened.
 
beard said:
Its hard to stay calm when you don't get treated the way you deserve. I agree he should **** of all, but its not easy too... I think its not anymore about him wanting to be loved... He is just not treated as he deserves and it is painful for any person...
Click to expand...

He should play Commodus role from the movie Gladiator

COMMODUS: And what of my nephew and what of his mother? Shall they share her lover's fate or should I be merciful? Commodus the merciful. Lucius will stay with me now and if his mother so much as looks at me in a manner that displeases me, he will die. And if she decides to be noble and take her own life, he will die. And, as for you, [looking at Lucilla] you will love me as I have loved you. You will provide me with an heir of pure blood so that Commodus and his progeny will rule for 1,000 years. Am I not merciful? [He gets close to her face and tries to kiss her but Lucilla turns away. Commodus grabs her by the jaw and turns her face towards him screaming] AM I NOT MERCIFUL? [Tears slowly come down Lucilla's face.]
Courtesy:https://sfy.ru/transcript/gladiator_ts
Click to expand...

 
It's hard to take a thread - or various comments on it - seriously, when people refer to faces and heels, pro wrestling and actors.
Are these really your reference points to human beings playing competitive matches at the highest levels?! of sad.

I find Novak complex, and sometimes I do wish he were wired to be more indifferent to the (often) lack of crowd support, skewed media, and the occasional heckler. He's wired a little tight, and he can give into negative emotions. He's far from the "robot" that his detractors paint him as.
I think that he is a genuinely great person - highly intelligent (would be a success at anything), and interested in the world around him and making a difference. His press sessions are usually extraordinary for how intelligent, witty and articulate his answers are. Occasionally, the chip on his shoulder does appear on court and off, but nobody's perfect - any of The Big 3, other players, and people in general.
 
UnderratedSlam said:
Nadal plays the villain?

Only in Fedfanfantasyland disneyworlds.
Click to expand...
He has to deal with his fair share of bad crowds just like Djokovic. He's even said himself that he sees crowd antagonism as just another obstacle, just one more element to fight. And he clearly relishes that fight. He gets more animated with the in-your-face celebrations and cries of VAMOS when he's up against Federer or Djokovic, usually with the crowd against him. Best examples are the Wimbledon finals vs Federer and the USO finals vs Djokovic (although the crowd was much more neutral/pro-Nadal in 2011).

Nadal gets energized by it, Djokovic gets enervated by it.
 
Cabeza del Demonio said:
He has to deal with his fair share of bad crowds just like Djokovic. He's even said himself that he sees crowd antagonism as just another obstacle, just one more element to fight. And he clearly relishes that fight. He gets more animated with the in-your-face celebrations and cries of VAMOS when he's up against Federer or Djokovic, usually with the crowd against him. Best examples are the Wimbledon finals vs Federer and the USO finals vs Djokovic (although the crowd was much more neutral/pro-Nadal in 2011).

Nadal gets energized by it, Djokovic gets enervated by it.
Click to expand...
Nadal gets energized by a loud negative crowd, doesn't mean he LIKES it. He fights them because he has to. Medvedev enjoys it.
 
UnderratedSlam said:
Nadal gets energized by a loud negative crowd, doesn't mean he LIKES it. He fights them because he has to. Medvedev enjoys it.
Click to expand...
Medvedev ended up handling it quite well at last year's US Open, but will he enjoy this "treatment" many times every year for over a decade, and even after proving that he's a very good guy and the best player over the last decade? Not so easy.
 
RaulRamirez said:
Medvedev ended up handling it quite well at last year's US Open, but will he enjoy this "treatment" many times every year for over a decade, and even after proving that he's a very good guy and the best player over the last decade? Not so easy.
Click to expand...
You are assuming he will always be the bad guy.

And assuming all crowds are as bird-brained aggressive as NY crowds.

False assumptions.
 
There have been multiple threads on this subject before.

It’s too late for Novak to change his public persona, he’s been on tour for 14 years and outside Serbia (and to a lesser extent, China), he’s not liked. He’s the least popular great player since Lendl, who handled his unpopularity with the proper attitude of not giving a damn. This desperation of Djoker and many of his fans to be adored just exacerbates the problem.
 
UnderratedSlam said:
You are assuming he will always be the bad guy.

And assuming all crowds are as bird-brained aggressive as NY crowds.

False assumptions.
Click to expand...
Not really. The thread is about Djokovic, and you used an example of Medvedev, whose career is just getting started, and made a general statement based on (mostly) last year's US Open when he seemed to get the (bird-brained) NY crowd somewhat on his side. I don't know what the trajectory of his career will be, but we've seen how it's played out with Novak. I won't say that Novak hasn't been a part of exacerbating the situation at times, but by and large, he's had to deal with being the "third wheel" and the unpopular champion (or dangerous challenger) for many years. I think that it hits him hard because he's genuinely a good, caring person...and again, this ain't pro wrestling or acting.
 
RaulRamirez said:
Medvedev ended up handling it quite well at last year's US Open, but will he enjoy this "treatment" many times every year for over a decade, and even after proving that he's a very good guy and the best player over the last decade? Not so easy.
Click to expand...

Medvedev was really smart to get over his ego to get the crowd on his side after the tournament. He probably didn’t want to end up like a Djokovic. It’ll pay huge dividends in the future. Something Djokovic unfortunately learnt that hard way.
 
ChrisRF said:
Federer had it in the 2005 US Open final, and he showed absolutely no reaction, even if he was down a break at 1-1 in sets. And he said that he accepted that the crowd was against him.

It’s not like Federer was loved by everyone the first time he hold a racquet in his hands.

Nadal has to accept he isn’t the crowd favourite against Federer and that never irritated him as well.

I think Novak should either be aggressive with the crowd OR trying hard to be liked. The problem is, he does BOTH. Permanently discussing and finger at the ear etc. is okay if he doesn’t make the "boob throwing" as well. Literally now his statement is somewhat: "I hate you all AND I love you all."

Just talking about yesterday, as strange as he acted during the match, his celebration after the match was nice and respectful though.
Click to expand...
Thing is, a lot of these crowds are overtly cheering for Novak’s opponent, whereas Fedal never had an entire crowd actively pulling against them to that extreme.
 
rhoder said:
Medvedev was really smart to get over his ego to get the crowd on his side after the tournament. He probably didn’t want to end up like a Djokovic. It’ll pay huge dividends in the future. Something Djokovic unfortunately learnt that hard way.
Click to expand...
Agreed, but it's such a small sample size.
(but) What if - each and every year - no matter what he does (wins epic matches and tourneys there, or entertains the crowd, or climbs the mountain, slaying other giants and being the top player for years), he is still the player who is not supported by the masses. Maybe, he is wired to handle it better than Novak has, but we don't know that yet.
 
ChrisRF said:
Federer had it in the 2005 US Open final, and he showed absolutely no reaction, even if he was down a break at 1-1 in sets. And he said that he accepted that the crowd was against him.

It’s not like Federer was loved by everyone the first time he hold a racquet in his hands.

Nadal has to accept he isn’t the crowd favourite against Federer and that never irritated him as well.

I think Novak should either be aggressive with the crowd OR trying hard to be liked. The problem is, he does BOTH. Permanently discussing and finger at the ear etc. is okay if he doesn’t make the "boob throwing" as well. Literally now his statement is somewhat: "I hate you all AND I love you all."

Just talking about yesterday, as strange as he acted during the match, his celebration after the match was nice and respectful though.
Click to expand...
I'm not arguing that Roger should not have great crowd support - he's an amazing player and champion. I like him - I just prefer his two greatest rivals.
I'm also not arguing that a player "deserves" to have the majority of the crowd support him.

But, there are lines of fan conduct that should not be crossed, and often (in my opinion) they are crossed to root against Novak.
It happens often, and perhaps he should be more stoic when that happens, but he just isn't wired that way - nor does he want to be the "villain", as if playing a role.

How often has Roger faced a hostile crowd (not that he should, either)? One match? At the US Open in 2005 versus an aging "home player" Agassi, who defied the odds by getting to the final - and he would only play in two more majors after that? Out of more than 400 matches at slams and another 1,100 more overall? I'd have to watch that 2005 final again to see if the crowd was hostile to Fed or just a little overly exuberant in supporting Agassi.
 
RaulRamirez said:
It's hard to take a thread - or various comments on it - seriously, when people refer to faces and heels, pro wrestling and actors.
Are these really your reference points to human beings playing competitive matches at the highest levels?! of sad.

I find Novak complex, and sometimes I do wish he were wired to be more indifferent to the (often) lack of crowd support, skewed media, and the occasional heckler. He's wired a little tight, and he can give into negative emotions. He's far from the "robot" that his detractors paint him as.
I think that he is a genuinely great person - highly intelligent (would be a success at anything), and interested in the world around him and making a difference. His press sessions are usually extraordinary for how intelligent, witty and articulate his answers are. Occasionally, the chip on his shoulder does appear on court and off, but nobody's perfect - any of The Big 3, other players, and people in general.
Click to expand...
/thread
He is himself. He has great aspects of himself and flaws too. His flaws endear me too him because I feel I have similar ones. Yes he may be frustrated he doesn't get support but that's a human reaction. Everyone wants Fed level support and pretending that you don't is inauthentic. Above all I want the players I root for to be authentic and good people. I think Novak is mostly both as are Rafa and Roger.
 
There are always villains and heroes -- and a few other types in between. Every sport needs both. I think McEnroe was the ultimate villain.

But Djokovic to me seems much more like Jimmy Connors was. Connors had a "nice" side to him, but he was very dooshey with his over-the-top point-for-point celebrations, shirt-ripping, playing to the crowd, and frequently rudely yelled at the chair and linespeople. Djokovic reminds me so much of Connors attitude-wise that it's not funny.

As players, guys like Lendl, McEnroe, Nastase, or Kyrgios are just impossible to like universally. True villains. All you can do is respect their genius and roll your eyes and cringe when they aren't hitting a ball.

Federer is the classic, perfectly manicured "golden boy". Like a male version of Chrissy Evert.
 
He just doesn't have it in him.He is quite good at going villain mode when crowd turns against him,it really seems it motivates him I just think he would be way more marketable if he accepts being bad guy of tennis.He is genuinely good guy of the court but so was Charles Barkley who is great dude but was perfectly comfortable being villain on the court.
 
Since he is already a clown for so many years, he would have to be a clown villain, the most grotesque of all villains. I don't think he want's that, especially with Federer playing the role of gentleman and Nadal being the nice guy.
 
You must log in or register to reply here.

Similar threads

O
Inside the mind of Novak Djokovic by VICE
Replies
10
Views
1K
OhYes
O
Lleytonstation
  • Poll Poll
What if Djoker accepted the villain role? What then?
2
Replies
79
Views
4K
BGod
BGod
tennisaddict
  • Poll Poll
Popularity Check - Novak and Fed
Replies
43
Views
4K
spinovic
S
Jackuar
Players should embrace the media - Words of wisdom
Replies
0
Views
352
Jackuar
Jackuar
D
Djokovic needs to fully embrace the villain role of the Big 3
Replies
9
Views
798
Antonio Puente
Antonio Puente
Back
Top