Rank these 3 versions of Djokovic.

[Nadal_King]

Djokovic doha final 2016(Nadal)
Djokovic aus open semi 2016(Federer
Djokovic aus open final 2019(Nadal)
Are these 3 dead even or you find some difference

 

[HetTheGreaterer]

AO 16 SF imo.
Fed wasn't as terrible as doha 2016 nadal or AO 2019 nadal, in fact he would have trounced Murray to win the title if not for nole. He was at a decent level, and still got 6-1 6-2 ed in 1st 2 sets, the gave everything he had to snatch the 3rd..

 

[Towny]

Difficult to rank because Federer played better than Nadal did in either of the other matches. All 3 some of the highest level Djokovic has ever played.

I think he reached the highest heights in the AO SF against Fed. Those first 2 sets were just crazy good. But he let Fed back into the match in the third set. Admittedly, Federer had to play really well to get that set. The other 2 matches he completely shut Nadal down.

Probably about even. Against Nadal he was slightly more consistent across the whole match, but he was at a slightly higher level in the Federer match IMO

 

[NatF]

Hard to rank as BO3 vs BO5. Maybe the highest heights in the 2016 AO SF, but Doha had like zero dips where as Djokovic definitely lost a bit after set two. I also think Federer was just as bad as Nadal was in Doha for the first two sets.

Going with Doha because watching that live probably gave me the most awe.

 

[kevaninho]

I just remember Doha v Nadal was as perfect a performance as ive seen from Djokovic, or maybe even anyone in my time.
Admittedly it wasn't the best version of Nadal, but Nole hit almost every shot perfect, and I believe Nadal said himself after the match, that he just played against the most complete player ever there.
Djokovic has done similar V Federer in the AO too. Looked untouchable, although his level dropped off a little eventually, but still got the win.
He was on another level at that time to Fedal.
2019 AO, Nadal just didn't turn up. Djokovic done what he knew would work versus Nadal, but it wasn't even a match.

 

[Sport]

His performance in the AO 2019 final was so scarily good that I thought he would win the 4 Slams in 2019. Now with perspective I understand that Djokovic is a different beast in the AO than in other Slams.

 

[Third Serve]

The first two sets of the AO 2016 SF were the best sets of his career, imo. However, he did let Fred back into the match in the third set so we have some problems rating it at the top.

 

[NoleFam]

Difficult to rank because Federer played better than Nadal did in either of the other matches. All 3 some of the highest level Djokovic has ever played.

I think he reached the highest heights in the AO SF against Fed. Those first 2 sets were just crazy good. But he let Fed back into the match in the third set. Admittedly, Federer had to play really well to get that set. The other 2 matches he completely shut Nadal down.

Probably about even. Against Nadal he was slightly more consistent across the whole match, but he was at a slightly higher level in the Federer match IMO

Federer is harder to shut out like that too, especially for Djokovic, and the obvious reason is because of his great serve. It's much harder for Djokovic to break him than it is for him to break Nadal. For that reason, I probably would rank AO 2016 1st as well, then AO 2019, then Doha. Doha was crazy good but it was against a less confident Nadal who had been out of form for a while.

 

[Towny]

Federer is harder to shut out like that too, especially for Djokovic, and the obvious reason is because of his great serve. It's much harder for Djokovic to break him than it is for him to break Nadal. For that reason, I probably would rank AO 2016 1st as well, then AO 2019, then Doha. Doha was crazy good but it was against a less confident Nadal who had been out of form for a while.

This is a very fair point which I had considered. It could be extrapolated further that with Fed having the better seve, breadsticking him in such a manner is even harder, further highlighting the supreme level Djokovic displayed in their 2016 match.

Although Rafa was out of form in their Doha match, I think Nadal's level dropped in the AO final as opposed to the rest of the tournament. Much of that might be due to Djokovic's fantastic play though.

Overall, I would say there are good arguments for any of the 3. As such, they're pretty much even in my eyes

 

[King No1e]

2016 Doha #1. Never seen him play better.
2016 AO #2. Federer was playing quite well himself, but Djokovic was on another level.
2019 AO #3. A destruction job, but Nadal wasn't really playing well.

 

[Sport]

Federer is harder to shut out like that too, especially for Djokovic, and the obvious reason is because of his great serve. It's much harder for Djokovic to break him than it is for him to break Nadal. For that reason, I probably would rank AO 2016 1st as well, then AO 2019, then Doha. Doha was crazy good but it was against a less confident Nadal who had been out of form for a while.

Completely false. Djokovic defeated Federer in 3 at the AO 2008 and the AO 2011, while he defeated Nadal in 3 at RG once and at the AO once. In other words, Novak has defeated Federer and Nadal, respectively, twice in Slams in 3 sets. Federer may be a better server but Nadal is a better returner, he breaks more return games than Federer both on hard and clay. In the same way that for Djokovic it is easier to break Nadal's serve than Federer's serve, for Nadal it is easier to break Djokovic's serve than for Federer (the AO 2019 final was an exception).

Also, if it were "harder to shut out Federer like that for Djokovic" we would expect Djokovic to have a better H2H against Federer than agaisnt Nadal. Yet, we get to observe how Nadal leads the H2H over Djokovic in Slams 9-6 (including 2-1 at the US Open), while Federer has a losing H2H against Djokovic in Slams. Federer doesn't lead the H2H over Djokovic in any single Slam.

 

[NoleFam]

Completely false. Djokovic defeated Federer in 3 at the AO 2008 and the AO 2011, while he defeated Nadal in 3 at RG once and at the AO once. In other words, Novak has defeated Federer and Nadal, respectively, twice in Slams in 3 sets. Federer may be a better server but Nadal is a better returner, he breaks more return games than Federer both on hard and clay. In the same way that for Djokovic it is easier to break Nadal's serve than Federer's serve, for Nadal it is easier to break Djokovic's serve than for Federer (the AO 2019 final was an exception).

Also, if it were "harder to shut out Federer like that for Djokovic" we would expect Djokovic to have a better H2H against Federer than agaisnt Nadal. Yet, we get to observe how Nadal leads the H2H over Djokovic in Slams 9-6 (including 2-1 at the US Open), while Federer has a losing H2H against Djokovic in Slams. Federer doesn't lead the H2H over Djokovic in any single Slam.

What is the meaning of any of this? Djokovic has more matches where he beat Nadal badly than he did Federer. He beat him twice 7 times in a row. He never had a run like that against Federer. This is mainly because Federer is more evenly matched with him on hardcourt for one, has a better serve, and is tougher to break. I know it's easier for Nadal to break Djokovic's serve than it is against Federer. That's the point. Federer has been bageled 4 times in his career. Nadal has been bageled 15 times, and that's beside the fact that Federer has played many more matches.

Citing a Slam head to head for the thousandth time and a meaningless 1 match lead at the USO which happened 6 years ago, has nothing to do with what I am talking about especially since once again, half the matches happened at RG. Reverse that and the Slam head to head is reversed without much doubt.

 

[Poisoned Slice]

Doha was pure tennis elbow incredible 10 mode.

 

[rUDin 21]

Completely false. Djokovic defeated Federer in 3 at the AO 2008 and the AO 2011, while he defeated Nadal in 3 at RG once and at the AO once. In other words, Novak has defeated Federer and Nadal, respectively, twice in Slams in 3 sets.

Actually that's false.Djokovic defeated Fed three times in straight sets(AO 08,AO 11,RG 12)

 

[Doctor/Lawyer Red Devil]

Love it.

 

[upchuck]

I'm going with AO 2019 because it was such a thoroughly dominant, God-mode level of tennis. The match against Federer in 2016 was extraordinary too, but I can't look past the fact that Federer won a set.

Completely false. Djokovic defeated Federer in 3 at the AO 2008 and the AO 2011, while he defeated Nadal in 3 at RG once and at the AO once. In other words, Novak has defeated Federer and Nadal, respectively, twice in Slams in 3 sets. Federer may be a better server but Nadal is a better returner, he breaks more return games than Federer both on hard and clay. In the same way that for Djokovic it is easier to break Nadal's serve than Federer's serve, for Nadal it is easier to break Djokovic's serve than for Federer (the AO 2019 final was an exception).

It is unquestionable that Djokovic has a tougher time against Federer then Nadal. Stop arguing just to prop up your favourite.

 

[BeatlesFan]

Poll fail. Any pre-October 2011 version of Novak that year blows doors off any option listed. And all of 2015 Novak beats anything listed.

 

[danglarND2010]

In all this 3 matches his opponent played poorly, so novak wasn't really tested. I would say that in doha nadal played short and weak balls so novak had a practice session more than anything, in his smei with federer the first to sets he was incredible(his ballstriking was on par with his doha performance) but then his level dropped and he let federer back in. In 2019 AO final, he played great but nadal made too many errors(he wasn't as passive as in doha, but on the other hand made more mistakes). Anyway, some of his 2011 performances were better than any of these(like Us Open final).

 

[junior74]

His performance in the AO 2019 final was so scarily good that I thought he would win the 4 Slams in 2019. Now with perspective I understand that Djokovic is a different beast in the AO than in other Slams.

I thought Nadal was close to the 2015 Finnish edition. Zero belief, fear in his eyes, no depth on the ball. Like a 2.5 hour choke.