Simon Reed at it again: "Djokovic the greatest player I've ever seen"

sonicare

sonicare

Hall of Fame
http://uk.eurosport.yahoo.com/tennis/simon-reed/article/6938/

Some golden stuff from the article:

"Novak Djokovic is the greatest player that I have ever seen, without any doubt whatsoever."

"This is the greatest ever era of men's tennis and Djokovic has now moved to a level which surpasses what either Roger Federer or Rafael Nadal have reached."

"The Swiss is very close to his best, and Djokovic is consistently beating him.
"

What a ****!!
 
Hell, John McEnroe was saying that Djoker was the "greatest returner in the history of the sport". Please. IMO, Novak backs up his return with better foot speed than Agassi or Connors or maybe Rosewall (that's not a certainty).
 
Rabbit said:
Hell, John McEnroe was saying that Djoker was the "greatest returner in the history of the sport". Please. IMO, Novak backs up his return with better foot speed than Agassi or Connors or maybe Rosewall (that's not a certainty).
Click to expand...

Add to that, courts are slower
 
Laughable. A peak 04-07 Federer would be more than a match for the current 'peak' Nole. If 'old' 30 year old Federer was within a match point of dumping Nole out of USO 2 years running, the Federer 04-07 vintage would have had no problems closing the matches out.

Memo to Simon Reed: Wait till Novak win 16 slams first before labelling Nole the GOAT.
 
Sports journalists. I don't know why but they sensationalize everything.

Djokovic the greatest returner ever??? I could name about 30 players that were better, starting with Bjorn Borg. Let's see Djokovic grab a wood racquet and hit clean return winners off of McEnroe's serve.
 
I can't stand listening to McE from the booth. Everything to him is the best here and there, the greatest here and there or he has ever seen. The fastest, strongest, biggest and the list will go on and on. Like he has never been and seen other places beside US and Wimbledon. No wonder his last TV show failed. Boring. I rather torture myself watching Leno's.
 
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Hahah I was just about to post this same link. What a ridiculous sport writer Simon Reed really is! He has always been known as supporter of the player with the best form but this goes too long.. AND he claims that "Federer is not playing any worse than he was two or three years ago, and his shot-making is as brilliant as it ever was, but he's not winning Grand Slams anymore." This was the last time I read his article...yahoo: it shouldn't be hard to find an expert who really has something sensible to say
 
Oh no, once Simon Reed starts backing you...that's the beginning of the end!! :twisted:

Quick Nole... run and hide from this guy and his endorsements as fast as you can !! :wink:
 
edmondsm said:
Sports journalists. I don't know why but they sensationalize everything.

Djokovic the greatest returner ever??? I could name about 30 players that were better, starting with Bjorn Borg. Let's see Djokovic grab a wood racquet and hit clean return winners off of McEnroe's serve.
Click to expand...

Yeh, let's see it.:)
 
Rabbit said:
Hell, John McEnroe was saying that Djoker was the "greatest returner in the history of the sport". Please. IMO, Novak backs up his return with better foot speed than Agassi or Connors or maybe Rosewall (that's not a certainty).
Click to expand...

Without a doubt the best returner of all time, I remember even fed sayin when djoker catches the return right on the sweet spot it's like a bullet coming at you. He said that after they played at shanghai last year.
 
sonicare said:
http://uk.eurosport.yahoo.com/tennis/simon-reed/article/6938/

Some golden stuff from the article:

"Novak Djokovic is the greatest player that I have ever seen, without any doubt whatsoever."

"This is the greatest ever era of men's tennis and Djokovic has now moved to a level which surpasses what either Roger Federer or Rafael Nadal have reached."

"The Swiss is very close to his best, and Djokovic is consistently beating him.
"

What a ****!!
Click to expand...

I don't really have a problem with some of the things he's said, though I don't necessarily agree with them.

The thing that stands out though: "The Swiss is very close to his best..." Um....no. This is a Federer that has been in decline for a few years. A peak Federer in his prime would at least split wins with this peak Nole in his prime. If not more.
 
syc23 said:
Laughable. A peak 04-07 Federer would be more than a match for the current 'peak' Nole. If 'old' 30 year old Federer was within a match point of dumping Nole out of USO 2 years running, the Federer 04-07 vintage would have had no problems closing the matches out.
Click to expand...

Doesn't work that way. In tennis, only wins matter. Federer lost.
 
Mainad said:
Oh no, once Simon Reed starts backing you...that's the beginning of the end!! :twisted:

Quick Nole... run and hide from this guy and his endorsements as fast as you can !! :wink:
Click to expand...

:) Reed must be the biggest jynx ever! At least he let Djoker alone to win this one.

Eurosport in general is among the ****tiest sites. They were cheering for Djoker to drop until yesterday. Now they're right on the bandwaggon.
 
powerangle said:
The thing that stands out though: "The Swiss is very close to his best..." Um....no. This is a Federer that has been in decline for a few years. A peak Federer in his prime would at least split wins with this peak Nole in his prime. If not more.
Click to expand...

Um...no. The current Federer has a far more stable backhand than the old Federer. After repeated thrashings by Nadal, his backhand can now at least be termed passable when he plays against Djokovic. The Shankerer of old would be nowhere today.
 
powerangle said:
I don't really have a problem with some of the things he's said, though I don't necessarily agree with them.

The thing that stands out though: "The Swiss is very close to his best..." Um....no. This is a Federer that has been in decline for a few years. A peak Federer in his prime would at least split wins with this peak Nole in his prime. If not more.
Click to expand...
I disagree. A prime Federer would have straight setted this Djokovic. People seem to forget that on HC back in say 2007, you played tournaments just to lose to Federer in the final. The fact that 30 year old Federer was within a point of beating this prime Djokovic is proof enough of that.
 
powerangle said:
I don't really have a problem with some of the things he's said, though I don't necessarily agree with them.

The thing that stands out though: "The Swiss is very close to his best..." Um....no. This is a Federer that has been in decline for a few years. A peak Federer in his prime would at least split wins with this peak Nole in his prime. If not more.
Click to expand...

Agreed. Fed is way, way past his prime. Speaking as a proud 36 yo "old timer", you don't get better after 30. Smarter maybe but not physically better. The stylistic differences and match-ups between the three are interesting. Without the Fed choke a few days ago, we very likely could have seen Nadal once again overpowering Fed in a GS final. This after Fed beating Joker on RG clay (and don't start Nad and Joker fans-I'm a casual fan of all 3-still stuck on Goran :)). Like the old boxing saying, "styles make match-ups" certainly applies with the big 3.

Looking at the last 10 matches:

Joker is 8-2 vs. Nadal (13-16 overall)
Joker is 5-5 vs. past his prime Fed (10-14 overall)
Fed is 2-8 vs. Nadal (8-17 overall)

And if we bring the red-headed stepchild Murray into the mix, we see a pretty even record against Fed and Joker but a poor record against Nadal. At least Nadal can say he's the only one to own 2 of the top 4. :)
 
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sureshs said:
Um...no. The current Federer has a far more stable backhand than the old Federer. After repeated thrashings by Nadal, his backhand can now at least be termed passable when he plays against Djokovic. The Shankerer of old would be nowhere today.
Click to expand...


And the 04-07 Federer would lose 2 times to Tsonga, even in Wimbledon? Kind of agree with the backhand though, but it was only bad during that time when he constantly played Nadal on clay...What I remember of Federer, nobody could even come close to winning a set on hc against him when he was on the mood.
 
gamesetmats said:
And the 04-07 Federer would lose 2 times to Tsonga, even in Wimbledon? Kind of agree with the backhand though, but it was only bad during that time when he constantly played Nadal on clay...What I remember of Federer, nobody could even come close to winning a set on hc against him when he was on the mood.
Click to expand...

That is right - nobody came close because they were nobodies who had surrendered and worshipped Federer. When mentally strong guys like Nadal emerged, it changed.
 
edmondsm said:
Sports journalists. I don't know why but they sensationalize everything.

Djokovic the greatest returner ever??? I could name about 30 players that were better, starting with Bjorn Borg. Let's see Djokovic grab a wood racquet and hit clean return winners off of McEnroe's serve.
Click to expand...

But McEnroe, by his own admission, serves much better with today's racquets, so obviously Borg's returns were off inferior serves. Djoker certainly qualifies to be among the top returners of all time. He is perhaps not the most attacking ever, but he certainly returns serves that most players don't have a prayer of even laying a racquet to.
 
sureshs said:
That is right - nobody came close because they were nobodies who had surrendered and worshipped Federer. When mentally strong guys like Nadal emerged, it changed.
Click to expand...

Hmm, good point but Federer is still matching Djokovic and you can't claim that he is playing as well as he used to, just look at his footwork and serve...
 
Rabbit said:
Hell, John McEnroe was saying that Djoker was the "greatest returner in the history of the sport". Please. IMO, Novak backs up his return with better foot speed than Agassi or Connors or maybe Rosewall (that's not a certainty).
Click to expand...

So what did Agassi or Connors or maybe Rosewall do better than Djoker?
 
If Federer would have won one more point in the semis we would never had this kind of article.It would be more like Federer is the only one to beat Djokovic etc etc etc.
These journalists can jump from one boat to the next in no time whatsoever.
If Djokovic would have an average year in 2012 then everyone would say he is washed up and go from there.
 
gamesetmats said:
And the 04-07 Federer would lose 2 times to Tsonga, even in Wimbledon? Kind of agree with the backhand though, but it was only bad during that time when he constantly played Nadal on clay...What I remember of Federer, nobody could even come close to winning a set on hc against him when he was on the mood.
Click to expand...

Never mind sureshs. I just read all of his posts....he's just trolling, nothing else.
 
sonicare said:
http://uk.eurosport.yahoo.com/tennis/simon-reed/article/6938/

Some golden stuff from the article:

"Novak Djokovic is the greatest player that I have ever seen, without any doubt whatsoever."

"This is the greatest ever era of men's tennis and Djokovic has now moved to a level which surpasses what either Roger Federer or Rafael Nadal have reached."

"The Swiss is very close to his best, and Djokovic is consistently beating him.
"

What a ****!!
Click to expand...

One glaring limitation of this endorsement is the "that I have ever seen" condition. So, who has he seen? Bill Tilden, Don Budge, Jack Kramer, Pancho Gonzales, Lou Hoad, Ken Rosewall, Roy Emerson, Rod Laver, Bjorn Borg, Jimmy Connors, John McEnroe, Ivan Lendl . . . ? Who?

PS: The other obvious question is, is this guy a player? How valuable is his opinion?

Bottom line, it's way to soon for any thoughtful analyst to make that kind of declaration.
 
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edmondsm said:
Sports journalists. I don't know why but they sensationalize everything.

Djokovic the greatest returner ever??? I could name about 30 players that were better, starting with Bjorn Borg. Let's see Djokovic grab a wood racquet and hit clean return winners off of McEnroe's serve.
Click to expand...

On the flip side, let see those classic players try to return a serve with more pace and spin, where today's players are vastly superior server than them.
 
sonicare said:
http://uk.eurosport.yahoo.com/tennis/simon-reed/article/6938/

Some golden stuff from the article:

"Novak Djokovic is the greatest player that I have ever seen, without any doubt whatsoever."

"This is the greatest ever era of men's tennis and Djokovic has now moved to a level which surpasses what either Roger Federer or Rafael Nadal have reached."
Click to expand...




Novak is the best we have seen since the likes of Laver, Pancho, etc. Dude, is playing super hero tennis right now.
 
I'm sure OP is either in hibernation now, or must be fuming all over the forum making ad hominems :-D
 
Good on Simon Reed to have had very accurate foresight at least. :)He might not like it that much now, but he certainly did call it right!
 
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Novak's always moved so early on the ROS it's absurd to read some of these takes.

2011 was a reckoning and it was clear Novak ascended to the next level of his game. I'll never forget the scars he left Rafa that year :X3:
 
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sonicare said:
http://uk.eurosport.yahoo.com/tennis/simon-reed/article/6938/

Some golden stuff from the article:

"Novak Djokovic is the greatest player that I have ever seen, without any doubt whatsoever."

"This is the greatest ever era of men's tennis and Djokovic has now moved to a level which surpasses what either Roger Federer or Rafael Nadal have reached."

"The Swiss is very close to his best, and Djokovic is consistently beating him.
"

What a ****!!
Click to expand...

Exactly, he has seen tennis only after 2011

/thread
 
pj80 said:
https://twitter.com/x/status/1302723430077341696
Click to expand...
For all that our society vouches to stand for 'preserving mental health' and treating others with kindness, this is the exact opposite which is in fact the reality. Reed recently came out saying encouraging words to Osaka that her mental health issues should be priority and how media can sometimes go over the line. But look at him here, kicking a guy when he is down with pathetic words. Novak's will of taking such deplorable criticism in his stride is very rare. I genuinely though that the linesperson incident would break him completely. Boy I was so wrong!
 
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