True, and as I recall, in the '20 RG final, Novak tried a slew of droppers versus Rafa, perhaps none of them successful. Especially in the opening set.
Djokovic hit 26 dropshots in 2020. Very high number.
Part of me wants to watch the whole (epic) match again, buy I also watched from the dropshot point Hitman cited to the end of the breaker. Interesting that on the next point, Rafa hit his own dropper to regain a match point...but on serve.
Good stat...do you know what his success rate was for just the first set.
Thanks. ( Watching it, and now trying to recall it, I thought that it had been even less successful than that.)
Djokovic tactics to me looked sound in RG 2020. He was also physically fit. The problem was the temperature dropped to 14 degree celcius (57F) making the surface super slow. So whatever Djokovic can dish out, Nadal could run down. Even Djokovic ran down some impossible shots I have never seen before.
Yes. Nadal and Federer had shared the last 6 majors between them. Djokovic had not won a major in over two years, and his losses at 2018 Rome (to Nadal), 2018 French Open (to Cecchinato) and 2018 Queen's Club (to Cilic, from championship points up) saw Djokovic increasingly cracking up. After losing to Cecchinato, Djokovic held his post-match press conference in a quiet room and mumbled one-word answers. If Nadal wins 2018 Wimbledon, the same dynamic carries on, with Djokovic cracking up more, and Nadal and Federer keep winning majors between them. Djokovic winning 2018 Wimbledon changed the dynamic, saw him out of the genie's bottle and going on a surge of winning 3 majors in a row. Djokovic knew the importance of that 2018 Wimbledon match. Watch Djokovic's reaction in the fifth set when he suddenly starts roaring at his box in a very strange manner. It was like a primal desperate roar.
That's not how tennis works. Top 100 players are at the same physical level. It's all about the mental game.
Hahahahaaa
Lol
You have Jelena Djokovic statements where she said that Novak had already given up tennis after his unsuccessful return to the tour after surgery. Without relevant successes (slams and victory over Fedal), Novak would certainly not play tennis after 2019.
Expect that statement was contradicted by oh idk…reality, lol. If Joker had given up tennis, then why did he continue to play…tennis?
USO18 wouldn't win for sure,lol.
Yes as others have stated.
Based on what, lol? You haven’t posted anything remotely coherent to back up that claim. RAFA got injured and had to retire in the SF and Ol’ Rog got knocked out in the 4R. Who was there to stop Joker from winning? And if you honestly think Joker would have quit tennis had he not won Wimby 2018 then that says a lot about his mental toughnessUSO18 wouldn't win for sure,lol.
AO19 would be the only chance to return, if he blew it, goodbye to tennis.
lol, you convince me that he would win a tournament where he has a score of 2:5 in the final (2:3 from 2011 to 2016).
I didn't say that he would have given up on tennis if he had lost WB18, but that he would have given up on tennis over time (after 2019 almost certainly, since covid also coincided fantastically with that) if there were no satisfactory results (slam title and victory at the slams against Fedal). AO19 would be a turning point for a fresh start and traditionally WB19 (but who knows how he would play against Federer there in a potential final without a Slam title since 2016 and with a big worm of self-doubt), if he failed there, then it would be over.And if you honestly think Joker would have quit tennis had he not won Wimby 2018 then that says a lot about his mental toughness
Well let’s see, for starters he didn’t have to go through any of RAFA, Ol’ Rog, MurrayGOAT, or Stanimal so 4 guys who’re responsible for kicking his butt there the most times, lol. He had a really easy draw overall that culminated with a guy who he has matched up with well over the years, hadn’t won a GS since the 09 USO, and had way more injuries and surgeries than him in the F. That’s far more convincing than anything you’ve said here, lol.
This feels a little like revisionist history. I remember Novak being awful for a whole year and a half. He showed glimpses of his old self during the clay season, but ultimately he lost to Cecchinato in the RG QF. Wimbledon really was a massive turning point for him, just as AO 2017 was for Federer. Sure, if they'd lost they might've still gained confidence and had their comeback later. But there's no denying that his career came back from the dead in 2018.
Slay bestie
I never said otherwise. I know how down Novak was. His return wasn't inevitable, but once he got the surgery and showed he could still play it was inevitable. He won, what, 10 slams in 2019-24? That wasn't all hinging on winning Wimbledon 2018. He was getting back no matter what the outcome of that single match was.
