What are your expectations from Novak Djokovic in 2022?

[Deleted member 748597]

I guess the better way to look at it is who are we going to choose if we are forced to choose only one player as the GOAT. That player isn't the GOAT, but is probably the closest to being the GOAT. That's when Nadal ends up below his two rivals.

 

[Sudacafan]

I expect that he takes the covid vaccine (or confirms that he took it). In the end, that is the only thing coming from him that I may appreciate, no matter what he does.

 

[Kralingen]

I guess the better way to look at it is who are we going to choose if we are forced to choose only one player as the GOAT. That player isn't the GOAT, but is probably the closest to being the GOAT. That's when Nadal ends up below his two rivals.

I can live with that. I just hate the anointing of “GOAT” when things are genuinely a hair thin margin between multiple candidates, I feel that it cheapens what it means to actually be the true GOAT.

 

[HelenCH]

CYGS at the very least.
Cannot see Novak being beaten on best of 5 on any surface.
He is just that good.

He lost US Open in straight sets. This is one surface gone.

 

[itrium84]

This 5. and 6. you added are probably true

 

[Visionary]

What are your realistic expectations from Djokovic in 2022, below are the questions regarding his season.

1. Will he win a grand slam?If Yes how many?
2. How many Masters 1000 titles?Mention the ones?
3. How many Grand slam Semis he will reach?
4. Year end ranking expectations?

Clicking on this thread, I thought I'd get a debate; I got outlined questions instead. My expectations haven't been met. Peace

 

[Nadal_King]

1. 1 Slam
2. 0-1 Masters 1000
3. 3 Semis
4. Year end No 3

 

[Nadal_King]

Clicking on this thread, I thought I'd get a debate; I got outlined questions instead. My expectations haven't been met. Peace

Ok you have a debate about it we are ready for that

 

[Nicklo22]

1) 3 slams , virtually he is a lock for 2 slams . its been the case since 2019 and i dont enough belief that it will change .he might win french if he gets lucky like 2021.
2) 1-2 masters 1000
3) all slams semis
4) year end no 1
he will become undisputed goat in 2022. people need to learn to accept him as goat and i think it will happen in 2022. I hope he will get crowd support like he did at us open this year.

 

[Tennis_Freak99]

He would have a good candidacy and likely does already have the best resume.

I just don’t believe in this silly ‘marginal GOAT’ stuff, it should be basically unanimous. He needs more Slams for it to be unanimous, simple as that. 1) If we are talking about the literal greatest tennis player ever, given that Laver, Rosewall, Pancho, Federer have all achieved massive success after age 35/36, Djokovic should be able to separate himself in his old age no?

2) Would you still be blowing the GOAT horn if he loses 10 straight times in Slams? 4 to Zverev, 3 to Medvedev, 2 to Sinner and 1 to Tsitsipas? Think about how much crap these guys eat on here and how awful they are supposedly. If they keep him from winning one single Slam, what does that say about Djokovic?

I don’t think I could look at him and say yeah this guy is GOAT for sure. His resume would still be the best but I need to have little doubt. This is more about my definition of GOAT than anything against Novak.

1) This seems quite arbitrary. Djokovic (and Nadal) have won slams till 34.5 at the very least. They have won the most slams since turning 30 in the history of the sport. How does it 'diminish' their status if they don't win any a couple of years later at 35-36, which is also a BIG if. As it stands, I don't see much difference between 34.5 and 35/36.

2) Exactly. They are ''supposed'' to be awful but are they really? If they do manage to beat him in the next 10 slams then good for them. Fed also lost a dozen time to his younger rivals, that didn't affect his GOAT status when he was at 17 or even 20, then why should it affect Djokovic's. This seems like a Fed Fan bias/rant but it's understandable, doesn't mean that it is correct.

 

[Kralingen]

1) This seems quite arbitrary. Djokovic (and Nadal) have won slams till 34.5 at the very least. They have won the most slams since turning 30 in the history of the sport. How does it 'diminish' their status if they don't win any a couple of years later at 35-36, which is also a BIG if. As it stands, I don't see much difference between 34.5 and 35/36.

2) Exactly. They are ''supposed'' to be awful but are they really? If they do manage to beat him in the next 10 slams then good for them. Fed also lost a dozen time to his younger rivals, that didn't affect his GOAT status when he was at 17 or even 20, then why should it affect Djokovic's. This seems like a Fed Fan bias/rant but it's understandable, doesn't mean that it is correct.

I need to be blown away. Some people are fine with a slight gust of wind. To each their own.

I think we use the word GOAT far too easily and the gravitas has been cheapened as a result.

 

[AO13]

What are your realistic expectations from Djokovic in 2022, below are the questions regarding his season.

1. Will he win a grand slam?If Yes how many?
2. How many Masters 1000 titles?Mention the ones?
3. How many Grand slam Semis he will reach?
4. Year end ranking expectations?

1. It depends on AO. If he wins it, he'll proceed to win at least one more, maybe two GS. If he doesn't win it, then at best he'll win one, probably W. If he doesn't play AO due to not being vaccinated, then it depends on RG. Same story if he wins RG as first played Slam in the year (one to two more Slams).
2. From one to two (Monte Carlo and Cincinnati).
3. Irrelevant.
4. Depends on performance on GS, nevertheless I'd say 2nd.

 

[aldeayeah]

I need to be blown away. Some people are fine with a slight gust of wind. To each their own.

I think we use the word GOAT far too easily and the gravitas has been cheapened as a result.

If your personal favorite had Djok's resume, would you be equally reluctant to crown him GOAT? If the answer is yes, I can respect that.

 

[The Big Foe fan]

What are your realistic expectations from Djokovic in 2022, below are the questions regarding his season.

1. Will he win a grand slam?If Yes how many?
2. How many Masters 1000 titles?Mention the ones?
3. How many Grand slam Semis he will reach?
4. Year end ranking expectations?

He will win Ao and wim
He'll probably win one or two masters. I guess miami & Paris
He'll reach 3 slam semis
He will end the year at #1.

 

[The Big Foe fan]

1. Will he win a grand slam?If Yes how many? Yes, 1 GS, maybe 2 if he's lucky. Order of likelihood: WIM, AO, RG, USO.
2. How many Masters 1000 titles? Mention the ones? 2. Madrid, Cincinnati.
3. How many Grand slam Semis he will reach? 3. Wimbledon, AO, RG.
4. Year end ranking expectations? Really depends on how well his competition does and how much he plays. If he plays more, I'd expect one last #1. If he plays the same amount, #2 or #3.

Djokovic won't play Madrid. He'll prioritise Rome where he has had great success in the past.

 

[Sputnik Bulgorov]

1) This seems quite arbitrary. Djokovic (and Nadal) have won slams till 34.5 at the very least. They have won the most slams since turning 30 in the history of the sport. How does it 'diminish' their status if they don't win any a couple of years later at 35-36, which is also a BIG if. As it stands, I don't see much difference between 34.5 and 35/36.

2) Exactly. They are ''supposed'' to be awful but are they really? If they do manage to beat him in the next 10 slams then good for them. Fed also lost a dozen time to his younger rivals, that didn't affect his GOAT status when he was at 17 or even 20, then why should it affect Djokovic's. This seems like a Fed Fan bias/rant but it's understandable, doesn't mean that it is correct.

Djokovic and Nadals slam success in their 30s is the direct consequence of playing in one of the weakest eras in history. Even winning at 35/36 wouldn't say much if all it means is beating Medvedev and Zverev.

 

[The Big Foe fan]

5 slams, 3 masters and n1.

Erm you means 3 slams 5 masters, right?

 

[GabeT]

Djokovic and Nadals slam success in their 30s is the direct consequence of playing in one of the weakest eras in history. Even winning at 35/36 wouldn't say much if all it means is beating Medvedev and Zverev.

Lol! Not this again!

 

[Jonesy]

Erm you means 3 slams 5 masters, right?

AO, Belgrade, RG, Wimby and USO = 5 slams
Miami, Rome and Bercy = 3 masters

 

[Kralingen]

If your personal favorite had Djok's resume, would you be equally reluctant to crown him GOAT? If the answer is yes, I can respect that.

Tbh the genesis of this thought was the late 00s/early 10s when I saw Fed who was supposed to be the undisputed GOAT getting consistently embarrassed by Nadal.

 

[Red Rick]

Expect him to bottle Laureus award.

 

[Red Rick]

Tbh the genesis of this thought was the late 00s/early 10s when I saw Fed who was supposed to be the undisputed GOAT getting consistently embarrassed by Nadal.

It's just ****ing grating tbh. I'd be fine if we never mention it again I just realise it annoys me wayyy too much when casual peasants go all "i don't care about the numbers Feder pretty backhand so goat"

 

[BeatlesFan]

Limit his schedule. Win 2 slams. Grow a beard.

Of the big three, he looks BY FAR the worst with a beard and has the worst beard.

Beard Sweepstakes:

#1

#2

#3

 

[Red Rick]

Of the big three, he looks BY FAR the worst with a beard and has the worst beard.

Beard Sweepstakes:

#1

#2

#3

#1

 

[RaulRamirez]

Of the big three, he looks BY FAR the worst with a beard and has the worst beard.

Beard Sweepstakes:

#1

#2

#3

Rog looks surprisingly good in the beard there.
Which Beatle had the best beard game?

 

[TripleATeam]

Djokovic won't play Madrid. He'll prioritise Rome where he has had great success in the past.

You're probably right, but I'm hoping he plays as many M1000s as possible. I think he goes to play both, but once he wins Madrid he just plays a few rounds in Rome before allowing himself to go out in the QF.

 

[TripleATeam]

Of the big three, he looks BY FAR the worst with a beard and has the worst beard.

Beard Sweepstakes:

#1

#2

#3

Fed looks like Berrettini in that pic! I think the beard suits him well, it adds texture to his face.

 

[big ted]

i think his only sure thing is wimbledon, the others are a toss up

 

[Aabye5]

Two Slams...

 

[ihitlikeagirl]

i saw something on social media last week where he's confirmed for playing AO--which would mean he's got/going to get vaccinated. I agree with whomever said he'd be sort of silly to miss this moment where he's on top and can gather more slams by refusing the vaccine. That said, he's pretty hard-headed so I was surprised by this news. So on one hand I sort of predict he thinks he's got a way around the rules and will try that and might get caught.

If a person believes that strongly in not taking the vaccine for health reasons then I don't see why he would take it, even if he has a chance to win more slams than the others. Though to be fair, it really doesn't stop other athletes from taking PEDs (dominance >>>> future health risks). If I were to do a personality analysis haha my guess is he really would believe he can get away with breaking the rules in some way and would probably try that so he can stick to his guns AND have his chance. I wonder what he will say when he's undoubtedly going to be asked the question for reversing his stance? Ought to be interesting.

I think he will continue to do really well, maybe 2 slams this year provided he can play all. But he's fallible, I think this year might be it and that young ones can give him a run for his money. Wondering also if the GOAT debate really involves the X factor of fan support? Whereas he can rack up more slams than the others but fans will never adore him in the same way so they won't consider him the GOAT. Some people probably look at that debate objectively and others subjectively. It's sort of interesting to see him chasing it that hard to get the adoration--that I think will never come. He'll have the objective respect like you got the number but not the love. He'll always be mentioned but the other two will get more tributes etc.

 

[Sputnik Bulgorov]

Lol! Not this again!

So tell me.. do you honestly believe Novak wins 8 slams and Rafa wins 6 slams after 30 if they were facing peak ATGs? Imagine a scenario where they run into 24 year old Sampras or Fed instead of Medvedev and Berrettini late in slams. You think they would win as much as they did?

 

[Djokovic2011]

He is just expressing himself, dude.

I think perhaps that Madonna song is his inspiration.

That song should be everyone's inspiration.

 

[Crocodile]

Most important question:
Which vax will he take?

Hopefully a traditional protein based vaccine.

 

[Sudacafan]

Hopefully a traditional protein based vaccine.

Gluten free, please

 

[daggerman]

Slams: 1.5 (Wimbledon the safest bet)
Masters: 2 (Rome, Bercy)
Slam SFs: 4
Year-End Ranking: 1

 

[Kawasaki Kanagawa]

What are your realistic expectations from Djokovic in 2022

The usual BS: energy tunnels, passive-aggressive anti-vacination stance, dozens of racquets broken, advocacy for himself disguised as advocacy for all players, etc.

You know... The usual.

 

[Bartelby]

This is unfortunately very accurate.

The usual BS: energy tunnels, passive-aggressive anti-vacination stance, dozens of racquets broken, advocacy for himself disguised as advocacy for all players, etc.

You know... The usual.

 

[Bartelby]

You like your proteins, I see, feed the man meat!

Hopefully a traditional protein based vaccine.

 

[The Big Foe fan]

You're probably right, but I'm hoping he plays as many M1000s as possible. I think he goes to play both, but once he wins Madrid he just plays a few rounds in Rome before allowing himself to go out in the QF.

Why would he want to win Madrid when he has a bigger chance in Rome?
And tbf I don't want him to play more than 4 masters, or else he'll suffer from burnout. The guy is a tour veteran nowadays, not the physical beast he used to be in early 2010s.

 

[The Big Foe fan]

AO, Belgrade, RG, Wimby and USO = 5 slams
Miami, Rome and Bercy = 3 masters

Bruh you okay?

 

[socallefty]

It would be really ironic if he gets caught for taking steroids or other PEDs in the future while he tries to justify not putting ‘vaccines’ or other ‘unnatural‘ substances into his body. Would be a rerun of the Barry Bonds saga who was supposed to be another athlete careful about what he put into his body before the whole BALCO drama with the steroid ‘clear’ and the ‘cream’.

 

[Bender]

What are your realistic expectations from Djokovic in 2022, below are the questions regarding his season.

1. Will he win a grand slam?If Yes how many?
2. How many Masters 1000 titles?Mention the ones?
3. How many Grand slam Semis he will reach?
4. Year end ranking expectations?

yes

 

[Crocodile]

You like your proteins, I see, feed the man meat!

Better than having genetically modified supplements.

 

[Kralingen]

It would be really ironic if he gets caught for taking steroids or other PEDs in the future while he tries to justify not putting ‘vaccines’ or other ‘unnatural‘ substances into his body. Would be a rerun of the Barry Bonds saga who was supposed to be another athlete careful about what he put into his body before the whole BALCO drama with the steroid ‘clear’ and the ‘cream’.

Tennis would literally die if this happened, to him or any of the Big 3, so rest assured it will not.

 

[socallefty]

Tennis would literally die if this happened, to him or any of the Big 3, so rest assured it will not.

Did baseball die after the Barry Bonds PEDs debacle - not to mention other superstars like Roger Clemens, Alex Rodriguez being caught for PEDs etc. Sports entertains us tremendously and we will keep watching even if the cast of characters keeps changing - beats script-written shows and movies where you pretty much know what the ending will be. Who can script-write the finals of 2008W, 2012 AO, 2017AO, 2019W, 2021FO or many of the epic semis? The show must go on!

 

[Kralingen]

Did baseball die after the Barry Bonds PEDs debacle - not to mention other superstars like Roger Clemens, Alex Rodriguez being caught for PEDs etc. Sports entertains us tremendously and we will keep watching even if the cast of characters keeps changing - beats script-written shows and movies where you pretty much know what the ending will be. Who can script-write the finals of 2008W, 2012 AO, 2017AO, 2021FO or many of the epic semis?

Ask a cycling fan.

 

[ihitlikeagirl]

with due respect, baseball not = to tennis. I love tennis more personally but baseball have far bigger numbers and is a team sport. Its image also isn't what tennis' image is. Sure that PED are going on in tennis, they just sweep in under the rug, much more so than baseball. And both are a lot higher than one would imagine. Like really high

 

[Kawasaki Kanagawa]

It would be really ironic if he gets caught for taking steroids or other PEDs in the future while he tries to justify not putting ‘vaccines’ or other ‘unnatural‘ substances into his body. Would be a rerun of the Barry Bonds saga who was supposed to be another athlete careful about what he put into his body before the whole BALCO drama with the steroid ‘clear’ and the ‘cream’.

Djoke is too big to fail, he'll never get popped. Same with other high-profile players.

Besides, everyone knows that doping, like match-fixing, is a problem of players that are outside the top-200 in the World.

 

[aldeayeah]

Rog looks surprisingly good in the beard there.
Which Beatle had the best beard game?

George IMO

 

[RaulRamirez]

George IMO

Probably so