What is it with Nole and crowds?

[Legend of Borg]

why is it that most of the time he plays in grand slams and even some masters tournaments, there's always an element of antagonism and tension between Nole and the crowd?

it's almost like he's never quite the crowd favorite, never quite the guy that's being cheered for all

even today, notice the gesture he made towards the crowd after he double faulted on MP

he's always struggling to overcome not just his opponent but the antagonism of the crowd as well

i'm not sure if it's something about his behavior or if it's his nationality or what....

 

[Tenez101]

He's not from a western European nation, and in fact is from a nation much-vilified by the western media. Thus to a lot of tennis viewers he does not have a particularly likeable image.

 

[Rickenbacker4003]

Because he desperately wants the whole world to adore him and when he doesn't get that he becomes bitter. Like when the crowd was 100 percent for Federer in the USO SF 2011 he took a shot at them for "cheering against him". Then he does some stupid dance to win them over. He did the same thing against Roddick in USO 2008, crowd boos him because they were cheering against him and for their home grown American instead. He's always been like this. He can't handle it when the crowd goes against him. He should learn from Nadal on how to handle that.

 

[Rickenbacker4003]

Truth is, Federer and Nadal are tennis' golden boys. There's no room for Screech. The tennis world sees him as some dude who's crashing the Fedal party. Because the crowd wants this he takes offense. Nadal keeps quiet and goes about winning despite the public approval. Novak goes at them and only provokes them to dislike him more. You never win vs the crowd. Just keep your head down and be quiet. Winning is the only way to shut them up. Just like Nadal haters.

 

[JohnnyMac Fan!]

Because he desperately wants the whole world to adore him and when he doesn't get that he becomes bitter. Like when the crowd was 100 percent for Federer in the USO SF 2011 he took a shot at them for "cheering against him". Then he does some stupid dance to win them over. He did the same thing against Roddick in USO 2008, crowd boos him because they were cheering against him and for their home grown American instead. He's always been like this. He can't handle it when the crowd goes against him. He should learn from Nadal on how to handle that.

Maybe this time, they were mad because he could beat the Spaniard and end his reign? Not like the French seem happy with the bull dominance?

 

[EpitomeOfAwesome]

In early to mid 2000s when, tennis fans were ready for a new hero, Federer tantalized most of them and majority of Tennis fans became Fed fans.

The minority who did not convert to Fed camp mostly became Rafa fans.
In the beginning, even though Rafa wasn't very popular, he won over the respect of a lot of Fed fans with his extremely good behaviour and got a lot more popular.

That did not leave many fans who were open to taking Nole as their favorite player. That's why Nole has so few genuine fans. Most of them are recent tennis converts who probably were not into tennis when Rafa and Fed were scooping up their hearts.

Some Fed fans despise Rafa for the H2H pain caused by Rafa and the worry that he might surpass Fed's GS tally, so they also act as if they are Djoker's fans, but in reality, all they want from Djoker is to nullify/impede/neutralize/mitigate Rafa's achievements in that hopes that Federer's GOAT status may be protected.

 

[TheStranger]

Truth is, Federer and Nadal are tennis' golden boys. There's no room for Screech. The tennis world sees him as some dude who's crashing the Fedal party.

He likes to entertainment, but compare him to crowd-favorite Monfils. You can be a clown; but no one likes a party crasher.

 

[Rickenbacker4003]

In early to mid 2000s when, tennis fans were ready for a new hero, Federer tantalized most of them and majority of Tennis fans became Fed fans.

The minority who did not convert to Fed camp mostly became Rafa fans.
In the beginning, even though Rafa wasn't very popular, he won over the respect of a lot of Fed fans with his extremely good behaviour and got a lot more popular.

That did not leave many fans who were open to taking Nole as their favorite player. That's why Nole has so few genuine fans. Most of them are recent tennis converts who probably were not into tennis when Rafa and Fed were scooping up their hearts.

Some Fed fans despise Rafa for the H2H pain caused by Rafa and the worry that he might surpass Fed's GS tally, so they also act as if they are Djoker's fans, but in reality, all they want from Djoker is to nullify/impede/neutralize/mitigate Rafa's achievements in that hopes that Federer's GOAT status may be protected.

I've been saying this the whole time. Until today I had as my sig "There are no Djokovic fans outside of Serbia, just Nadal haters."

 

[bullfan]

why is it that most of the time he plays in grand slams and even some masters tournaments, there's always an element of antagonism and tension between Nole and the crowd?

it's almost like he's never quite the crowd favorite, never quite the guy that's being cheered for all

even today, notice the gesture he made towards the crowd after he double faulted on MP

he's always struggling to overcome not just his opponent but the antagonism of the crowd as well

i'm not sure if it's something about his behavior or if it's his nationality or what....

Well, I can only speak for myself, and think Novak comes across as a phoney.

 

[Maximagq]

Well, I can only speak for myself, and think Novak comes across as a phoney.

What an arrogant post to make.

 

[vernonbc]

He's not from a western European nation, and in fact is from a nation much-vilified by the western media. Thus to a lot of tennis viewers he does not have a particularly likeable image.

What a lame excuse. The western media doesn't vilify Serbia, it pretty much just ignores them. There are a whole lot of good reasons he doesn't have a particularly likeable image but his nationality is one of the least.

Well, I can only speak for myself, and think Novak comes across as a phoney.

He has Histrionic Personality Disorder. Look it up on Wiki. Fits Novak to a "T".

 

[Bud]

Well, I can only speak for myself, and think Novak comes across as a phoney.

Other players say the same thing about Novak being a phony.

He's never learned how to get the crowd behind him. He's too aloof and antagonistic toward the folks in the stands much of the time.

 

[ruerooo]

Truth is, Federer and Nadal are tennis' golden boys. There's no room for Screech. The tennis world sees him as some dude who's crashing the Fedal party. Because the crowd wants this he takes offense. Nadal keeps quiet and goes about winning despite the public approval. Novak goes at them and only provokes them to dislike him more. You never win vs the crowd. Just keep your head down and be quiet. Winning is the only way to shut them up. Just like Nadal haters.

It's ... tough to see him still struggle with that. I'm a FEDAL fan, and I feel like he's really made an effort to grow as a person and a media figure.

I have nothing but respect for how he made the effort to generate awareness about the Serbian floods ... and I was one of the ladies in the stands booing him heartily against A-Rod back in 2008, LOL.

But Rafa didn't say anything about having been surprised about being placed on Lenglen for his QF against Ferru, last year's quarterfinalist, till his final print interview before the final. And even then his remarks were mild. He just lets it all roll off his back and lets his racquet do the talking.

I mean ... I really don't think the schedulers and organizers are going to put him anywhere other than Chatrier next year, you know what I mean ...?

#DREAMIN9

#VAMOS

 

[Chico]

Sorry i didn't see it this time. There was only n incident with one classless jerk making noise while Novak was serving. The rest of the crowd was fine and many of them cheered for Novak.

Did you not see huge cheers he got while receiving runner up trophy? That is what actually made him cry during the ceremony.

 

[EpitomeOfAwesome]

I think Djokovic is the most gracious loser, there ever is, though. Once the match is over, if he is on the losing side, he acts very humble and never shows any signs of disgust or anger.

On the other hand, I also think his victory celebrations are very over-the-top and might be off-putting to some people.

 

[Firing Forehand]

Well, I can only speak for myself, and think Novak comes across as a phoney.

THIS.

Everyone can see he's not a genuine guy.

Everything he does seems previously planned somehow.

 

[TheMusicLover]

Strange thread. I heard many cheers from the crowd for Djoko today. At a certain point they were even chanting his name all over.

I think Djokovic is the most gracious loser, there ever is, though. Once the match is over, if he is on the losing side, he acts very humble and never shows any signs of disgust or anger.

Yep.

On the other hand, I also think his victory celebrations are very over-the-top and might be off-putting to some people.

I used to dislike him because of this for a long time, but I get the impression that he's been toning it down lately. I haven't seen those gorilla-shirt ripping-acts from him for quite a while now, which is an improvement for sure.

Also his gesture of donating his prize money to the victims of the flood in Serbia made a lot of fans warm up to him, at least that's my feeling.

 

[Outbeyond]

Novak's shirt-stripping, wolf-howling performance post-match years ago still rings in my memory...

And much as Lebron's ill-fated "Decision" moment haunts him years later, Djokovic's feral moment haunts him, too. I certainly can't think of him without thinking of THAT. Years later, I deeply respect both guys. But they come with their baggage...

 

[Legend of Borg]

Novak's shirt-stripping, wolf-howling performance post-match years ago still rings in my memory...

And much as Lebron's ill-fated "Decision" moment haunts him years later, Djokovic's feral moment haunts him, too. I certainly can't think of him without thinking of THAT. Years later, I deeply respect both guys. But they come with their baggage...

i don't know much about the NBA, what did lebron do?

 

[happyloman]

In early to mid 2000s when, tennis fans were ready for a new hero, Federer tantalized most of them and majority of Tennis fans became Fed fans.

The minority who did not convert to Fed camp mostly became Rafa fans.
In the beginning, even though Rafa wasn't very popular, he won over the respect of a lot of Fed fans with his extremely good behaviour and got a lot more popular.

That did not leave many fans who were open to taking Nole as their favorite player. That's why Nole has so few genuine fans. Most of them are recent tennis converts who probably were not into tennis when Rafa and Fed were scooping up their hearts.

Some Fed fans despise Rafa for the H2H pain caused by Rafa and the worry that he might surpass Fed's GS tally, so they also act as if they are Djoker's fans, but in reality, all they want from Djoker is to nullify/impede/neutralize/mitigate Rafa's achievements in that hopes that Federer's GOAT status may be protected.

agree with this

 

[Outbeyond]

i don't know much about the NBA, what did lebron do?

LeBron (I corrected my spelling here!) was THE star of the Cleveland Cavaliers for many years and, thanks to him, Cleveland made a name for itself but could never win the NBA championship. LeBron eventually felt he had leave his home team to win that treasured ring and he finally got his chance in free agency. But he kept the public in the dark about his "decision" to accept an offer from the Miami Heat so that it could be announced on a trumped-up TV special that would be watched by millions. "The Decision," as it was unimaginatively called, was carried out in a Hollywood-like scripted "interview" that was so over-the-top phony and, ultimately, unflattering to LeBron to the nth degree.

Since then, LeBron has proven to be one of the greatest pro basketball players of all time, unquestionably. He's even proven to be one of the sweetest family-oriented guys in the league and attracts almost as much attention from the American public as Tiger Woods. Yet that dumb moment of his lingers on and on...

Witness an article in the NY Post just days ago when LeBron's Heat just lost its first game in the current NBA championship tournament:

http://nypost.com/2014/06/06/lebron-james-will-always-be-hated-for-one-bad-decision/

 

[.PhenomeNadal.]

Because the crowd can see through his fake antics. He tries too hard.

 

[Maximagq]

Novak's shirt-stripping, wolf-howling performance post-match years ago still rings in my memory...

And much as Lebron's ill-fated "Decision" moment haunts him years later, Djokovic's feral moment haunts him, too. I certainly can't think of him without thinking of THAT. Years later, I deeply respect both guys. But they come with their baggage...

Agreed. I stopped taking my shirt off after wins starting this year after I saw Novak stop doing it. Good for him.

 

[AtomicForehand]

why is it that most of the time he plays in grand slams and even some masters tournaments, there's always an element of antagonism and tension between Nole and the crowd?

it's almost like he's never quite the crowd favorite, never quite the guy that's being cheered for all

even today, notice the gesture he made towards the crowd after he double faulted on MP

he's always struggling to overcome not just his opponent but the antagonism of the crowd as well

i'm not sure if it's something about his behavior or if it's his nationality or what....

OP, did you not notice AT ALL today the very long, warm ovation the crowd gave Nole at the trophy ceremony? It was LONG. Majorly LONG.

 

[Legend of Borg]

OP, did you not notice AT ALL today the very long, warm ovation the crowd gave Nole at the trophy ceremony? It was LONG. Majorly LONG.

must of been the exception to the rule

 

[Chico]

Sorry i didn't see it this time. There was only n incident with one classless jerk making noise while Novak was serving. The rest of the crowd was fine and many of them cheered for Novak.

Did you not see huge cheers he got while receiving runner up trophy? That is what actually made him cry during the ceremony.

OP, did you not notice AT ALL today the very long, warm ovation the crowd gave Nole at the trophy ceremony? It was LONG. Majorly LONG.

Thank you. Exactly as I said. Crowd was not adversary to Novak at all today, with the exception of a single classless jerk. On the contrary they were quite pro Novak - at least big portion of it.

And that huge long ovation when he received runner up trophy was great and quite unusual and unexpected and literally brought Novak to tears. That is why I was surprised to see this thread here today and all this manufactured hate and bashing, based on pure fiction rather than facts? Where is that coming from? Why?

 

[Maximagq]

What upsets me is the lengths people would take to bash Novak. I follow Rafa on FB and Twitter and like all of his posts and status updates. Be classy people like the Novak fans

 

[heninfan99]

OP you perfectly well know why. You've seen his obnoxious celebrations of shirt ripping and howling. When he does it, it comes across was off-putting whereas the Nadal fist pump is cool.

 

[bullfan]

What upsets me is the lengths people would take to bash Novak. I follow Rafa on FB and Twitter and like all of his posts and status updates. Be classy people like the Novak fans

Lol, don't see this. Sorry, not see how Novak fans are classy. One got banned for anti Semitic comments during the tournament.

Huge amounts of trash talk by Novak fans, who like to claim they are classy.

 

[Maximagq]

Lol, don't see this. Sorry, not see how Novak fans are classy. One got banned for anti Semitic comments during the tournament.

Huge amounts of trash talk by Novak fans, who like to claim they are classy.

I don't know which poster you're talking about. Most Novak fans like me FreeBird, Chico, and Djokovic2011 gave Nadal a lot of credit for his win today, and we are generally very humble,

 

[heninfan99]

Chico didn't not give full credit he made an excuse saying your man wasn't there. Well, he was there and was bested by a better player today.

Let's not pretend you lot are angels. Keep it real.

I don't know which poster you're talking about. Most Novak fans like me FreeBird, Chico, and Djokovic2011 gave Nadal a lot of credit for his win today, and we are generally very humble,

 

[Maximagq]

Chico didn't not give full credit he made an excuse saying your man wasn't there. Well, he was there and was bested by a better player today.

Let's not pretend you lot are angels. Keep it real.

Okay, fine. I'm an angel though. I don't call Nadal names like a doper or cheater and I respect his game and his greatness.

 

[CrazyTennisFan]

I disagree that his nationality plays a role in the crowd disliking him.

The crowd loves Ana ivanovic who comes from the same country.
I think it is more his over-confidence that makes people iffy about him.
He has to get more down to earth.
I accidentally bumped into him at a M1000 and he made me feel awkward with his stares!! The guy almost looks rude if you meet him in person.

Yes he is a celebrity but not everyone is dying for his autograph!

 

[tipsa...don'tlikehim!]

Because he cares too much.

Sampras didn't give a crap if he had the crowd for him or against him.

But yeah the crowd was definitely cheering for him in the 4th set from what I saw.

-

 

[Michael Essien]

I don't think being Serbian has anything to do with anything. I've never heard any particularly widespread ill-feeling towards Serbia or Serbians. In any case I think Novak handles himself well, I think he can someone get a bit rattled on court and too easily affected by the crowd on occasion but athletes deal with things in different ways and for the most part he is a monster on court, in the positive sense of the word.

 

[6-1 6-3 6-0]

I accidentally bumped into him at a M1000 and he made me feel awkward with his stares!! The guy almost looks rude if you meet him in person.

Yes he is a celebrity but not everyone is dying for his autograph!

What did he do exactly? What kind of stare was it? Always nice to get to know the real Dj.

 

[Bdarb]

LeBron (I corrected my spelling here!) was THE star of the Cleveland Cavaliers for many years and, thanks to him, Cleveland made a name for itself but could never win the NBA championship. LeBron eventually felt he had leave his home team to win that treasured ring and he finally got his chance in free agency. But he kept the public in the dark about his "decision" to accept an offer from the Miami Heat so that it could be announced on a trumped-up TV special that would be watched by millions. "The Decision," as it was unimaginatively called, was carried out in a Hollywood-like scripted "interview" that was so over-the-top phony and, ultimately, unflattering to LeBron to the nth degree.

Since then, LeBron has proven to be one of the greatest pro basketball players of all time, unquestionably. He's even proven to be one of the sweetest family-oriented guys in the league and attracts almost as much attention from the American public as Tiger Woods. Yet that dumb moment of his lingers on and on...

Witness an article in the NY Post just days ago when LeBron's Heat just lost its first game in the current NBA championship tournament:

http://nypost.com/2014/06/06/lebron-james-will-always-be-hated-for-one-bad-decision/

yeah right.. guy gets carried off the floor for a leg cramp in the NBA finals and wears "king James" on the back of his jersey. Biggest schmuck in a game full of sissy's.

 

[AudreyBlue]

I think Djokovic is the most gracious loser, there ever is, though. Once the match is over, if he is on the losing side, he acts very humble and never shows any signs of disgust or anger.

On the other hand, I also think his victory celebrations are very over-the-top and might be off-putting to some people.

AO 2012 is when he lost my support and respect.

 

[CrazyTennisFan]

What did he do exactly? What kind of stare was it? Always nice to get to know the real Dj.

I accidentally went into a court where he was practicing with another Serbian player.
There were very few people and he was getting ready to serve. I was not expecting to be a few feet away from the Djoker (I thought it was no-star practice as the court was far away from centre court) so I did not know how to react. He kept looking at me until I found my seat which was awkward and uncomfortable.
It looked like he expects fans to go crazy when they see him and if they don't he tries to intimidate them...
I get it he is confident but I am afraid a little over...

 

[maruzo]

OP you perfectly well know why. You've seen his obnoxious celebrations of shirt ripping and howling. When he does it, it comes across was off-putting whereas the Nadal fist pump is cool.

If you are referring to the fist pumping Nadal exhibited gleefully when Nishikori was slowing down and barely moving on court after his back injury, I would say it's NOT so cool.

Remember Nishikori won the first set easily, had momentum going into the second set before his injury crept up.

Nada did a huge fist pump on one of his forehands where Nishikori barely got his racquet on.

The poor guy played through the match barely moving. Yet Nadal celebrated like he was the fxxking underdog! Like he was being deprived of his rightful title and justice has been served coz the other guy faltered under injury.

This happened during the final match 2014 Madrid.

 

[mightyrick]

AO 2012 is when he lost my support and respect.

To me, that was the moment when most people lost respect for Djokovic.

I have no issue with gamesmanship and high emotions during a match. All players do it. Federer cheers "c'mon!" while an opponent's ball is about to fly out. Nadal fist pumps when his opponent forces an error. Djokovic talks to himself as if almost every point he loses is his own fault as opposed to his opponent's good play.

They all do it. It's fine.

However, after a match, you don't show up and disrespect your opponent. That was horrendous what Djokovic did. Not even Ilie Natase would have done that.

When Federer won that grueling match against Roddick at Wimbledon in 2009 -- imagine if he would have ripped off his shirt and screamed like a madman. All of this while a dejected Roddick sits on his bench watching. Federer would never have lived it down -- and rightly so.

Federer was quiet and somber in his celebration. He was quiet in the locker room and admonished his team not to celebrate. I'm not a Federer fan, but I will say this much... it shows how much class the guy has when winning.

Roddick always said how much he appreciated how Federer and his team behaved after that win.

Djokovic was horrendous after a terrific match. He never apologized for it. I think that is the problem most people have with him.

 

[norbac]

To me, that was the moment when most people lost respect for Djokovic.

I have no issue with gamesmanship and high emotions during a match. All players do it. Federer cheers "c'mon!" while an opponent's ball is about to fly out. Nadal fist pumps when his opponent forces an error. Djokovic talks to himself as if almost every point he loses is his own fault as opposed to his opponent's good play.

They all do it. It's fine.

However, after a match, you don't show up and disrespect your opponent. That was horrendous what Djokovic did. Not even Ilie Natase would have done that.

When Federer won that grueling match against Roddick at Wimbledon in 2009 -- imagine if he would have ripped off his shirt and screamed like a madman. All of this while a dejected Roddick sits on his bench watching. Federer would never have lived it down -- and rightly so.

Federer was quiet and somber in his celebration. He was quiet in the locker room and admonished his team not to celebrate. I'm not a Federer fan, but I will say this much... it shows how much class the guy has when winning.

Roddick always said how much he appreciated how Federer and his team behaved after that win.

Djokovic was horrendous after a terrific match. He never apologized for it. I think that is the problem most people have with him.

The same Federer that was wearing a jacket with a 15 on it after said match?

 

[EpitomeOfAwesome]

If you are referring to the fist pumping Nadal exhibited gleefully when Nishikori was slowing down and barely moving on court after his back injury, I would say it's NOT so cool.

Remember Nishikori won the first set easily, had momentum going into the second set before his injury crept up.

Nada did a huge fist pump on one of his forehands where Nishikori barely got his racquet on.

The poor guy played through the match barely moving. Yet Nadal celebrated like he was the fxxking underdog! Like he was being deprived of his rightful title and justice has been served coz the other guy faltered under injury.

This happened during the final match 2014 Madrid.

Yes, I felt that was bad. Big Rafanatic here, but that moment made me very uncomfortable.

 

[mightyrick]

The same Federer that was wearing a jacket with a 15 on it after said match?

I was a huge Roddick fan. I had no problem with the 15 on Federer's jacket.

Why? Because every other major sport I know of has a clothing manufacturer pre-make championship hats and shirts for the players to wear in their celebration ceremony. I don't see anybody complaining about that. For all you know, Lacoste may have had something for Roddick to wear in the event that he won the tournament.

But the reality is that was not just Federer winning a great match against two great players. That was a defining moment in Federer's career when he bypassed Sampras having the most slams. That is a monumental achievement.

I don't see anything wrong with celebrating monumental tennis achievements in post-match ceremonies.

Did anyone complain about Pete Sampras showing up at the AO Final this year ready to give Nadal the trophy? I know I didn't care at all.

Again, Borg giving Nadal the FO trophy to respect the monumental achievement of a monumental player. Did that disrespect Djokovic?

People need to relax a little. We don't get enough monumental achievements in tennis. When one happens, it should absolutely be celebrated.

EDIT: If Djokovic achieves the career slam, I think it would be appropriate for Agassi or Nadal or Federer to give him the trophy to celebrate that achievement.

 

[Chico]

Unbelievable. This bashing is still going on????
Would you please stop.

OP still owes us an explanation why did he open this thread when Djokovic had no problem with crowd during the final. On the contrary, they were cheering for him and gave him HUGE, unusual for runner up, ovation during the trophy presentation. So why was this thread than necessary, when it is not true?

 

[SoBad]

why is it that most of the time he plays in grand slams and even some masters tournaments, there's always an element of antagonism and tension between Nole and the crowd?

it's almost like he's never quite the crowd favorite, never quite the guy that's being cheered for all

even today, notice the gesture he made towards the crowd after he double faulted on MP

he's always struggling to overcome not just his opponent but the antagonism of the crowd as well

i'm not sure if it's something about his behavior or if it's his nationality or what....

Just low-hanging fruit for the kids to throw rocks at...:lol:

 

[Chico]

Just low-hanging fruit for the kids to throw rocks at...:lol:

But the point is, there is not fruit to throw rocks at.
Crowd was pro Novak on RG final and gave him a HUUUUUUUGE ovations at the end. So what the hell is this thread about?

 

[reaper]

Crowd attitudes to Djokovic are changing from hostile, to lukewarm and now affection. The truth is many high quality young tennis players start their careers as complete jerks. They've spent their whole lives being told how wonderful they are and are badly stung by the hostility. As they get a bit older they become less self absorbed, learn to cope with defeat (something millions in the bank helps with), and the public warms to the development in their character. Djokovic has been consistently gracious in defeat, so much so the public from now will want to see him chalk up some GS wins.

 

[SoBad]

But the point is, there is not fruit to throw rocks at.
Crowd was pro Novak on RG final and gave him a HUUUUUUUGE ovations at the end. So what the hell is this thread about?

Is that why Djokovic flipped off the crowd after double-faulting on match point? Oh yes, there is fruit.

 

[Djokovic2011]

Is that why Djokovic flipped off the crowd after double-faulting on match point? Oh yes, there is fruit.

Can't really blame him for feeling angry when some ***** in the crowd calls out just as he's about to serve at match point down. I think most people would've felt exactly the same.