"Roger Federer, Rafael Nadal and Novak Djokovic lack emotion" Michael Stich

Frenchy-Player

Hall of Fame
I agree with him for for the lack of authenticity...

Former Wimbledon champion Michael Stich recently criticized Roger Federer, Novak Djokovic and Rafael Nadal, claiming the Big 3 lacked emotion. He contrasted them with American legends Andre Agassi and Pete Sampras, whom he said used to express themselves much more on court.

"In the past, with Agassi, Sampras or Ivanisevic, you had not only athletes, but personalities on the field,"
opined Stich.

"Players such as Lleyton Hewitt or Carlos Moya were excellent tennis players, but had revealed too little of themselves as individuals. Like Roger Federer, Rafael Nadal and Novak Djokovic: The fan wants to see emotions. With Federer, Nadal and Djokovic, undisputedly the greatest tennis players of all time, I sometimes miss that," added the 53-year-old.

In the same interview, Stich revealed that everything seems fake to him in tennis these days. He was of the opinion that players lack authenticity and don't want to express their real feelings and emotions on court.

"Personally, I miss the authenticity of the players on the pitch. What defines their character, real feelings and reactions," a
dded the 53-year-old player.
According to Stich, tennis seems a little boring these days. As a result, he wants all players, including Roger Federer, Rafael Nadal, and Novak Djokovic, to express their emotions more openly. :)


 
Nadal has given the must exuberant celebrations after winning points, of anyone in the history of tennis.
Way more than Agassi and Sampras ever did.
Agassi did more than Sampras, but Nadal did more than Agassi.
And in terms of anger, Nadal doesn't display much anger toward the umpires, but displays plenty of anger toward himself (albeit not a violent display).
So for positive emotion, I'd give Nadal 10/10.
For negative emotion, I'd give Nadal maybe 6/10, because he consistently displays anger but its low-key.
 
I agree with him for for the lack of authenticity...

Former Wimbledon champion Michael Stich recently criticized Roger Federer, Novak Djokovic and Rafael Nadal, claiming the Big 3 lacked emotion. He contrasted them with American legends Andre Agassi and Pete Sampras, whom he said used to express themselves much more on court.

"In the past, with Agassi, Sampras or Ivanisevic, you had not only athletes, but personalities on the field," opined Stich.

"Players such as Lleyton Hewitt or Carlos Moya were excellent tennis players, but had revealed too little of themselves as individuals. Like Roger Federer, Rafael Nadal and Novak Djokovic: The fan wants to see emotions. With Federer, Nadal and Djokovic, undisputedly the greatest tennis players of all time, I sometimes miss that," added the 53-year-old.

In the same interview, Stich revealed that everything seems fake to him in tennis these days. He was of the opinion that players lack authenticity and don't want to express their real feelings and emotions on court.

"Personally, I miss the authenticity of the players on the pitch. What defines their character, real feelings and reactions," added the 53-year-old player.
According to Stich, tennis seems a little boring these days. As a result, he wants all players, including Roger Federer, Rafael Nadal, and Novak Djokovic, to express their emotions more openly. :)


...and that's why there are still a million Andy Murray threads. The Big Three leave people cold.
 
This is bizarre.
Pete practically moped on court with a hangdog expression, occasionally releasing some petsonality on his "slam dunks". Fed became somewhat stoic, but lets fans in a bit more than Pete.

I guess Rafa should play with more exuberance, and Novak should emote more. Got it...
 
Sampras was criticized throughout his career for his lack of personality compared to previous greats like Connors/McEnroe and his contemporaries like Agassi and Becker. He hardly got any outside-of-tennis endorsement contracts considering his on-court record because of that. Ironic comment from Stich who sounds like another old guy who wants the kids to “stay off his damn lawn”.

To each his own. Part of why I don’t like watching Nadal matches is all the gratuitous fist-pumping after every second point. And I definitely don’t like the angry outbursts and racquet-breaking by Djokovic. Federer usually behaves well on court and that is part of why he is so popular and financially successful off the court as he is the perfect corporate pitchman.
 
Last edited:
On the other thread people were going for Med head for just showing little emotion.
As I said in that thread these were quite common in earlier eras
 
I agree with him for for the lack of authenticity...

Former Wimbledon champion Michael Stich recently criticized Roger Federer, Novak Djokovic and Rafael Nadal, claiming the Big 3 lacked emotion. He contrasted them with American legends Andre Agassi and Pete Sampras, whom he said used to express themselves much more on court.

"In the past, with Agassi, Sampras or Ivanisevic, you had not only athletes, but personalities on the field," opined Stich.

"Players such as Lleyton Hewitt or Carlos Moya were excellent tennis players, but had revealed too little of themselves as individuals. Like Roger Federer, Rafael Nadal and Novak Djokovic: The fan wants to see emotions. With Federer, Nadal and Djokovic, undisputedly the greatest tennis players of all time, I sometimes miss that," added the 53-year-old.

In the same interview, Stich revealed that everything seems fake to him in tennis these days. He was of the opinion that players lack authenticity and don't want to express their real feelings and emotions on court.

"Personally, I miss the authenticity of the players on the pitch. What defines their character, real feelings and reactions," added the 53-year-old player.
According to Stich, tennis seems a little boring these days. As a result, he wants all players, including Roger Federer, Rafael Nadal, and Novak Djokovic, to express their emotions more openly. :)


Inb4 @Picmun derails with his gifs of nole smashing everything in existence
 
It's another one of those times have changed deals. Ric Flair was saying Seth Rollins shouldn't have admitted he was afraid when a fan attacked him. Football players with their cringe apology on IG and co when they lose another game. Maybe not all positive changes.

The world have moved on, Michael Stich.
 
Sir Andrew Murray on the other hand tho
He's the calmest of them all.

rag.jpg
 
"In the past, with Agassi, Sampras or Ivanisevic, you had not only athletes, but personalities on the field," opined Stich.

Stich either is doing hard drugs or has early onset dementia if he remembers Sampras as having any personality on court. Pete let his racket do the talking, but his personality was as dull as dishwater. Pete would be the first person to admit it and has.
 
This is bizarre.
Pete practically moped on court with a hangdog expression, occasionally releasing some petsonality on his "slam dunks". Fed became somewhat stoic, but lets fans in a bit more than Pete.

I guess Rafa should play with more exuberance, and Novak should emote more. Got it...

Sampras is the ultimate emotionless player for me, too. Even Lendl showed more.

Borg was ice cold, yet he is probably the biggest star ever in tennis. So it's also about looks and demeanour, not just "feelings" - whatever that is.
 
I'm baffled. They all show emotion, and Nadal particularly so on court. Even Connors has complimented Nadal for inviting the audience to fight and struggle with him, through the highs and the lows, and that's what Connors did as a player. Off court, Nadal takes the strategy of being polite most of the time and not get involved in too many controversies. That's just smart really. As Alex Ferguson used to say "Don't go looking for trouble. It will find you".
 
There was a rumor that Pete once killed a venomous bug but it couldn't be confirmed. I think he kept the rage building up inside for the next slam dunk.

NBA-jam-dunk-on-fire-long-distance-dunk-slam-14338634710.gif
 
Sampras is the ultimate emotionless player for me, too. Even Lendl showed more.

Borg was ice cold, yet he is probably the biggest star ever in tennis. So it's also about looks and demeanour, not just "feelings" - whatever that is.
True. Sometimes, "it" is hard to define. But, I don't think that Stich defined it.
 
It's basically impossible to reach your potential as a tennis player if you have a "colorful" personality. It takes such a dogged focus and one track mind to have the mentality to maximize your abilities, having a more outward and multifaceted personality just means you can get distracted more. The training and discipline needed at the top level can be very isolating and not everyone has the mental makeup to handle that. Fed, Sampras, Nadal, Djokovic, Borg are all fairly boring guys personality wise, and they are the 5 most accomplished players of the open era. Becker, Agassi, and Mac were more colorful personalities and all of them had big periods of underachievement and everyone agrees they should have a few more slams than they do.
 
Sampras is the ultimate emotionless player for me, too. Even Lendl showed more.

Borg was ice cold, yet he is probably the biggest star ever in tennis. So it's also about looks and demeanour, not just "feelings" - whatever that is.

Pretty much this.
It's all about nostalgia + looks. Everything were always good back then. Even cold war so imagine...
 
This guy is crazy, did he lived under the rock? Novak doesn't show emotions? And who is saying, Stich who was worst in that department than Sampras... Sometimes I just can't believe who is commenting the sport...
 
https://www.**************.org/tenn.../stich-the-big-3-should-be-more-spontaneous-/

During a long interview with Tennis Magazine, former German champion Michael Stich highlighted how much tennis has changed since his time, focusing on the Big 3 Roger Federer, Rafael Nadal and Novak Djokovic. Stich said: "When I was a child, I remember that tennis was considered a fairly elite sport.

We didn't have the money to buy a nice tennis suit, but we all loved John McEnroe's headband or Bjorn Borg's bracelets. We didn't have our own racket, as the cost was high, so we swapped them. How has tennis changed compared to my times? Well, I think there is less authenticity on the part of the players today.

Fans don't just want to know who is number 1 in the world, which records have been broken and who has won the most games. People hunt for emotions. Tennis players today are quite introverted and do not bring out their character.

Roger Federer, Rafael Nadal and Novak Djokovic are three extraordinary champions, but once upon a time there was more spontaneity. In this regard, Bjorn Borg changed our sport. If social media existed, he would have had an incredible following."
 
There's a lot of truth to this. If Medvedev had a flashy game with his personality then he would've been perfect.
 
What is this nonsense? Nadal does over-the-top celebrations after every point, Djokovic breaks his racket every match, and Federer cries like a baby after half his matches. Off the court, Federer and Nadal are boring, but Djokovic is definitely not- he has an interesting origin story and is not afraid to go against the grain when voicing opinions.
 
There's a lot of truth to this. If Medvedev had a flashy game with his personality then he would've been perfect.
Not really. Medvedev’s target group is young lone men. He has a character of a 15 years old. Tsitsipas would fit much better as a front runner with his pretentiousness. He is a male Osaka in a lot of ways.
 
I don't really understand Stich's point. Even Connors has praised Nadal for inviting the audience to fight the tennis battles with him while on court, like Connors used to do with the audience. Who razzles and dazzles like Connors and Nadal on court? Not many. Connors was the first guy, unless we count a few earlier professionals like Pancho Gonzales, who was different from the traditional elitist country club atmosphere. Connors was very different, and mainstream. He wanted to smash up that old atmosphere completely.
 
Is he high? Nadal is one of the more expressive players ever. He doesn't pout like Mac, but he's ALL emotion. That's what's so fun about him. Novak throws the biggest tantrums since Mac. Fed is stoic, but so was Sampras.

Nothing he says makes sense at all
 
The flashy entertainers who show emotion never achieve anything (Monfils, Kyrgios, Shapovalov etc.). So if you want more emotion, that also means less consistency, less winning and ultimately worse quality tennis.
 
What is this nonsense? Nadal does over-the-top celebrations after every point, Djokovic breaks his racket every match, and Federer cries like a baby after half his matches. Off the court, Federer and Nadal are boring, but Djokovic is definitely not- he has an interesting origin story and is not afraid to go against the grain when voicing opinions.
Rafa lives an interesting life off the court, you just are not aware of what the Spanish media writes, says, shows.
In Spain, he was voted as the best bar partner to spend time drinking beer each year from 2011 to 2019.
 
Back
Top