Who is greater? Sharapova or Djokovic?

[powerangle]

Who is greater between the two? In terms of tennis statistics and their overall impact on the sport?

Maria has 4 slams to Novak's 6, but Maria has the career slam.
Both have been to #1, though Novak has had more time there.
Both wins 95% of the time (ish) but loses more often than not to fellow top players.

Pros for Novak: More weeks at #1, and 2 YE #1.
Pros for Maria: much higher endorsement value and household name, and let's face it, more tennis and non-tennis fans alike would watch her match just to look at her, very few would watch Novak aside from his tennis. (In the general media, vagina > penis, and Maria is a looker).

It's easy to see who is more marketable:

So what do you think?

 

[ripitup]

I think Djokovic would probably rank top 25 for men all time. Maria would rank barely top 50 among women. So tennis greatness Djokovic is above. Maria in her own era I would rank as only about the 7th best behind Serena, Justine, Venus, Martina Hingis, Clijsters, Davenport, and probably in the future Azarenka too.

Maria though by far has the brighter life post tennis waiting for her. She is a stunning beauty who will be in demand and rich for years. Djokovic will still be doing impersonations and desperately trying to be as popular as Fedal, even as an old man many years from now.

 

[ripitup]

That bottom pic makes my eyes bleed. Please take it off. I let out a yelp in fear when I first saw it.

 

[tennis_pro]

Djokovic has 6 Slams, 2 years at no 1, several Masters and holds his own against Nadal and Federer. Sharapova can't win more than 3 games in a set against Serena 90% of the time for almost 10 years now, she has achieved less than Djokovic even though Serena missed on several Slams.

Take Serena and whichever other female player out of the equation and Sharapova wins not more than an additional 2-3 Slams in her career. Take Federer and Nadal out and Novak is the flat out best player since 2007, winning 2-3 Slams (with a couple of seasons where he's got a shot at the CYGS) every year.

Besides, for whatever reason, 1 Slam won by a male player is worth more than 1 Slam won by a female player (the best female players of the open era have 22, 18, 18, 17 Slams respectively while the best 4 male players are at 17,14,13,11)

 

[ripitup]

I think Sharapova at her best is scarier though. Keep in mind she did beat peak Serena 6-4, 6-1 in a slam final, beat peak Henin 6-4, 6-0 in a slam quarterfinal, peak Henin in easy straight sets something like 6-4, 6-2 in a slam final. Djokovic has never beaten prime Federer or prime Nadal by scores like that in a slam match, only far more competitive ones.

Djokovic is just more consistent though. He plays at his best level all the time and for many years, while Maria cant sustain her more intimidating best which is almost unplayable for all but Serena.


This is peak Maria:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=c1K6oMW_tKE
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=3eAb36h5Rbc
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=WUtSK19Wyxo

IMO scarier amongst other women than even peak Djokovic is among other men. Even peak Djokovic at best has to grind out long wins vs a slowed down Nadal, has a tough time with Murray, and doesnt even face prime Federer. Peak Sharapova kills and crushes legends and all time greats in their primes with one of the all time best female power games as the above clips show.

 

[FrontHeadlock]

I don't even like Djokovic, but Djokovic >>>>>>> Sharapova

 

[tennis_pro]

I think Sharapova at her best is scarier though.
This is peak Maria:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=c1K6oMW_tKE
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=3eAb36h5Rbc
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=WUtSK19Wyxo

Unfortunately all 3 players she beat in those matches weren't even close to their best. Davenport was 32 and a good 3 years past her best, Lindsay should've just retired after 2005 or 2006 to be honest. Serena had a mediocre 2004 and Henin played a catastrophic 2008 to the point where she retired (for the first time) in May that year.

Djokovic never had the luck to face Nadal and Federer when they were completely out of form. He could probably take out Federer now easily which would mean just as much as Sharapova beating old Davenport in 2008.

 

[Backspin1183]

Maria Sharapova off court and Novak Djokovic on court.

 

[TERRASTAR18]

Djokovic has 6 Slams, 2 years at no 1, several Masters and holds his own against Nadal and Federer. Sharapova can't win more than 3 games in a set against Serena 90% of the time for almost 10 years now, she has achieved less than Djokovic even though Serena missed on several Slams.

Take Serena and whichever other female player out of the equation and Sharapova wins not more than an additional 2-3 Slams in her career. Take Federer and Nadal out and Novak is the flat out best player since 2007, winning 2-3 Slams (with a couple of seasons where he's got a shot at the CYGS) every year.

Besides, for whatever reason, 1 Slam won by a male player is worth more than 1 Slam won by a female player (the best female players of the open era have 22, 18, 18, 17 Slams respectively while the best 4 male players are at 17,14,13,11)

good post.
djoker all the way. maria barely has a winning record over venus and davenport. tbh maria is no all-time great, meanwhile djoker is beating greats like nadal,an aging fed and rising murray.

 

[Sid_Vicious]

I think Sharapova at her best is scarier though. Keep in mind she did beat peak Serena 6-4, 6-1 in a slam final, beat peak Henin 6-4, 6-0 in a slam quarterfinal, peak Henin in easy straight sets something like 6-4, 6-2 in a slam final. Djokovic has never beaten prime Federer or prime Nadal by scores like that in a slam match, only far more competitive ones.

Djokovic is just more consistent though. He plays at his best level all the time and for many years, while Maria cant sustain her more intimidating best which is almost unplayable for all but Serena.


This is peak Maria:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=c1K6oMW_tKE
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=3eAb36h5Rbc
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=WUtSK19Wyxo

IMO scarier amongst other women than even peak Djokovic is among other men. Even peak Djokovic at best has to grind out long wins vs a slowed down Nadal, has a tough time with Murray, and doesnt even face prime Federer. Peak Sharapova kills and crushes legends and all time greats in their primes with one of the all time best female power games as the above clips show.

LOL.

Comparing a handful of Sharapova's best performances to Djokovic's average performances. Hilarious.

As far as reality is concerned, Sharapova should not even be mentioned in the same sentence as Djokovic. Djokovic was an animal in 2011. He defeated Nadal 7 straight times. Nadal recently mentioned that towards the end of 2011 he was so shaken up that he did not believe he could beat Djokovic again. Djokovic managed to develop a psychological edge over perhaps the greatest competitor in tennis history. On the other hand, Sharapova's wins were flukes. Ever since 2004, Serena has shown us that she can half-*** her way to victory over Sharapova anytime she wants.

 

[tennisaddict]

Sharapova is equivalent to Nadal....


..

..

Equally abhorable.

 

[ripitup]

What are Djokovic's best performances to put up against Sharapova's though. Yes I pointed out Sharapova's best but what exactly are Novak's best in your view. Has he ever beaten Nadal or Federer 6-0, 6-3 or something like that, like Maria did to prime Serena in 2004 and absolutely peak Henin in 2008.

Keep in mind people Henin was coming off her most dominant year ever in 2007, a year she spanked the great Serena 3 times in slams, won 10 of 15 touranments, won 3 of 4 major events she was in, was #1 by miles. So this was peak Henin coming right off this season and Maria took her 6-4, 6-0.

Serena in 2004 lost in big events to only Sharapova and Capriati (her career nemisis). So she wasnt bad that year. From 2003-2005 she won 4 slams. We know now Serena has totally figured out Maria and totally pulverizes her, I dont dispute that, but it doesnt take away from what Maria did against the great Serena in 2004.


I acknowledge Djokovic is still overall far better due to his CONSISTENCY which is far beyond Sharapova. His achievements are much better at this point too- 6 majors, 2 year end #1s, 3 slams in one year, no contest with Maria at this point there. Djokovic is the 3rd best player of his own era and top 25 all time. Maria is only 7th or 8th best of her era and top 50 all time (for women). Just wanted to give Maria her due and point out her absolute best is probably more scary among the women than Djokovic's is amongst the best. Djokovic is Mr. Consistency though and almost always brings his very high level, while Maria has trouble mantaining her absolutely terrifying (to all but Serena) best level even in her best years.

 

[Midaso240]

If not for 2011,then Sharapova but that single year catapulted Djokovic from one slam wonder to potential legend so it has to be him at the moment. Sharapova is much more famous and I'd almost bank on her name being remembered more than Djokovic in the years to come. Djokovic will be like a Wilander,Lendl - legends to people in the know but viirtually unknown to the general public

 

[90's Clay]

Seriously??? Sharapova sucks. Nole is close to all time great status

 

[SystemicAnomaly]

Seriously??? Sharapova sucks...

Not improving you credibility score with this kind of response.
.

 

[90's Clay]

relative to Djokovic, Sharapova is a complete ZERO. Every time she seemed to go up against Serena she was completely EMBARRASSED Off the court.

While Nole has continuously beat the best this era has to offer time and time again and dominated to a degree, SharaScreetcher could only dream of

This is a bash on Djokovic being compared to that nut job that fires coaches like its a bowel movement

 

[tennisaddict]

This thread is a joke...

The only thing Sharapova is better is her endorsements and that too, is not because of her tennis.

 

[SystemicAnomaly]

Sharapova is equivalent to Nadal....

Equally abhorable.

relative to Djokovic, Sharapova is a complete ZERO. Every time she seemed to go up against Serena she was completely EMBARRASSED Off the court.

While Nole has continuously beat the best this era has to offer time and time again and dominated to a degree, SharaScreetcher could only dream of

This is a bash on Djokovic being compared to that nut job that fires coaches like its a bowel movement

Objectivity scores diminishing as well. The hyperbole is really over the top. Sure Maria has her flaws and really should not be compared to Novak as the OP has, but she is not without accomplishments.

 

[Midaso240]

This thread is a joke...

The only thing Sharapova is better is her endorsements and that too, is not because of her tennis.

Clown comment. Oh,so you think if she was a nobody player who never won a slam she'd have the same level of endorsements?

 

[THUNDERVOLLEY]

OP: Djokovic.

Sharapova has too many negatives in her career to even make this particular comparison correct. ...and to think, some used to think Sharapova was going to mop the courts with the competition, just based on their fan worship of her.

Amusing.

Sharapova is equivalent to Nadal....


..

..

Equally abhorable.

Stop crying over you-know-who.

 

[tennisaddict]

Clown comment. Oh,so you think if she was a nobody player who never won a slam she'd have the same level of endorsements?

Remember a player called Anna Kournikova ?

 

[TMF]

Sharapova won a career grand slam and will sure to make the Hall of Fame. In addition to her tennis success, she's even more successful of court and is the highest female athlete.

Anyone who said she has too many negative is delusional hater of the highest order.

 

[TMF]

Clown comment. Oh,so you think if she was a nobody player who never won a slam she'd have the same level of endorsements?

Being a tennis great would sure help, but you have to be beautiful to reach that level of endorsement. If Maria was a plain looking and win 20 slams, she still wouldn't be where she is today.

Remember a player called Anna Kournikova ?

Exactly.

 

[Midaso240]

Remember a player called Anna Kournikova ?

Yes,she earned a lot but was never the top earning female athlete as Sharapova has been for the last 9 years. Had Kournikova had more success on the tennis court,she would have gained more endorsements. It's the combination of looks and talent,not looks alone. Because then,why are Kirilenko,Ivanovic etc. not among the top earners in female sports?

 

[ripitup]

Maria made Anna irrelevant. Maria is even hotter than Anna, and is actually a great tennis champion too as opposed to a nothing player who won 0 tournaments (not slams, tournaments) like Anna.

 

[tennisaddict]

Maria made Anna irrelevant. Maria is even hotter than Anna, and is actually a great tennis champion too as opposed to a nothing player who won 0 tournaments (not slams, tournaments) like Anna.

It could also be the other way.. Anna paved the way for endorsements that were unimaginable before, Maria has to thank Anna.

 

[THUNDERVOLLEY]

Because then,why are Kirilenko,Ivanovic etc. not among the top earners in female sports?

Talent / advertising agencies also play off of their own perceptions of appearance (which can be wholly constructed instead of coming from the natural public response), so there's no across the board standard for what is appealing. This can explain why Kirilenko may not have the same level of endorsements (with or without the on-court success).

Still, this thread is about Djokovic v. Sharapova, and there's no comparison where she comes out on top, particulary when the latter spent several years in between each of her few majors titles, indicating a less-than-stellar presense as a force in the sport.

 

[ripitup]

It could also be the other way.. Anna paved the way for endorsements that were unimaginable before, Maria has to thank Anna.

This isnt entirely true. Sabatini was a huge endorsement getter before Anna and Maria. She even had a doll in Germany that was sold at close to 5 figures each, and which she received 60% of profits for each sale, and which beat out Barbie as the top selling doll in Germany. And she isnt even as pretty as Anna or Maria.

Maria is probably the most beautiful female tennis player in history, and is a great tennis champion and all time great (a very low tier one, but still one to a minor extent) which none of the previous stunning beauties are. I am sure even if Anna never existed Maria would have become very rich in her own right.

 

[SystemicAnomaly]

Maria made Anna irrelevant. Maria is even hotter than Anna, and is actually a great tennis champion too as opposed to a nothing player who won 0 tournaments (not slams, tournaments) like Anna.

Wrong on a couple of counts. While Maria is a solid 9, Anna was a 9.9 (since it is generally accepted that there are no perfect 10s). Also, many ppl overlook the fact that Anna had a very decent career as a doubles player. She managed to win ~ 3/4 of her doubles matches to garner 16 WTA titles. She got to 3 slam finals at the French and AO and earned slams titles at 2 of those. 2 slam finals in '99 helped to earn her a #1 doubles ranking for '99/'00.

Altho' she never won a WTA singles titles, she did well enough in '99 and '00 to reach the top 10. She managed to reach the semis at Wimbledon and quarters at the AO. Also got to the 2nd week 4x at the other 2 slams. This is hardly the resume of a nothing player. This is a lot more than most players on tour ever achieve.

 

[Midaso240]

Wrong on a couple of counts. While Maria is a solid 9, Anna was a 9.9 (since it is generally accepted that there are no perfect 10s). Also, many ppl overlook the fact that Anna had a very decent career as a doubles player. She managed to win ~ 3/4 of her doubles matches to garner 16 WTA titles. She got to 3 slam finals at the French and AO and earned slams titles at 2 of those. 2 slam finals in '99 helped to earn her a #1 doubles ranking for '99/'00.

Altho' she never won a WTA singles titles, she did well enough in '99 and '00 to reach the top 10. She managed to reach the semis at Wimbledon and quarters at the AO. Also got to the 2nd week 4x at the other 2 slams. This is hardly the resume of a nothing player. This is a lot more than most players on tour ever achieve.

Glad you said 'was'. She was mindblowingly hot in the early 2000s but has aged badly and her body is terrible now...

 

[adil1972]

djokovic is likely to get also career slam after nadal down fall

 

[Graf=GOAT]

Sharapova won a career grand slam and will sure to make the Hall of Fame. In addition to her tennis success, she's even more successful of court and is the highest female athlete.

Anyone who said she has too many negative is delusional hater of the highest order.

It's too bad Djokovic doesn't have the luxury of facing Errani level opponents in the finals of French.

 

[THUNDERVOLLEY]

It's too bad Djokovic doesn't have the luxury of facing Errani level opponents in the finals of French.

hmm.................

 

[mbm0912]

This one

 

[FrontHeadlock]

This isnt entirely true. Sabatini was a huge endorsement getter before Anna and Maria. She even had a doll in Germany that was sold at close to 5 figures each, and which she received 60% of profits for each sale, and which beat out Barbie as the top selling doll in Germany. And she isnt even as pretty as Anna or Maria.

Maria is probably the most beautiful female tennis player in history, and is a great tennis champion and all time great (a very low tier one, but still one to a minor extent) which none of the previous stunning beauties are. I am sure even if Anna never existed Maria would have become very rich in her own right.

To each his own, but to me Maria isn't nearly as hot as Anna or Gabriela.

 

[bahamasboy32]

To each his own, but to me Maria isn't nearly as hot as Anna or Gabriela.

Gabriela isnt hot. She is quite butch I find. It just shows how extremely low the standards of glamor and beauty for women tennis players and athletes in general were then that someone like that made so much money for supposably being super hot.

 

[FrontHeadlock]

Gabriela isnt hot. She is quite butch I find. It just shows how extremely low the standards of glamor and beauty for women tennis players and athletes in general were then that someone like that made so much money for supposably being super hot.

Idk bro, she's pretty attractive, though clearly behind AK:

 

[bahamasboy32]

is that a recent picture? She looks better now if it is. When she played I never found her that attractive, although she was compared to her competitors like Graf, Seles, Navratilova, Sanchez, Martinez, Novotna who were majorly fug women. I always thought it was the ugliest group of women in history that made Gabriela seem so glamorous and sexy when she played.

 

[bahamasboy32]

Novotna literally looked like a 75 year old nun with the way her hair was and the way dressed, and her facial expressions. It was scary. I honestly felt she needed a knitting kneedle in her hair.

Graf's nose was a scary sight and Seles was shaped like an odd looking pear whether she was fat or thin, and had a scrunchy face like a rodent.

Conchita resembled a cow or another farmer animal, a chubby hog perhaps.

Just the ugliest group of women at the top of the game ever in that period.

 

[heftylefty]

Idk bro, she's pretty attractive, though clearly behind AK:

Ms. Sabatini is the Gold Standard, the High Watermark of female athlete hotness.

 

[RafaIsBack]

sharapova is hot

 

[swizzy]

novak is not my favorite.. but he is at least a real champion amongst other greats.. sharapova is only okay

 

[ripitup]

Wrong on a couple of counts. While Maria is a solid 9, Anna was a 9.9 (since it is generally accepted that there are no perfect 10s). Also, many ppl overlook the fact that Anna had a very decent career as a doubles player. She managed to win ~ 3/4 of her doubles matches to garner 16 WTA titles. She got to 3 slam finals at the French and AO and earned slams titles at 2 of those. 2 slam finals in '99 helped to earn her a #1 doubles ranking for '99/'00.

Altho' she never won a WTA singles titles, she did well enough in '99 and '00 to reach the top 10. She managed to reach the semis at Wimbledon and quarters at the AO. Also got to the 2nd week 4x at the other 2 slams. This is hardly the resume of a nothing player. This is a lot more than most players on tour ever achieve.

Maybe I am overly influenced by how Anna looks now which is not as attractive as she used to be. I looked at an old match of hers for a bit just today and you are right, she was more attractive than Sharapova in her youth, although not anymore now.

You are right Anna was a very good doubles players, but didnt almost all her doubles success come with Hingis? Hingis was an amazing doubles player, one of the best ever.

I do remember watching Anna play doubles with Zvereva, another of the doubles greats. They played the Wimbledon semis vs the Williams and lost in a tight 2 set match. Natalia had to step in in front of Anna to take some of her volleys since Anna couldnt punch them hard enough to put them away. Chris Evert called her "the weak link" on court. Had Anna played up to Natalia's level they probably would have won that match, especialy as their teamwork was pretty good. I also remember a French Open doubles final where it was Anna/Martina Hingis vs the Williams and once again Anna looked like and was called by Evert in the booth "the weak link" of the contest. I was generally not impressed with her skills, even in doubles, the times I did see her, and surmised she benefited from having some very strong partners. Perhaps I just didnt ever seen her on her best days though.

 

[SystemicAnomaly]

^ Yes, I think that about 2/3 of Anna's titles (10, I think) were with Martina H. Her 2 slam titles at the AO were with Martina as well. Time for another comeback of the "Spice Girls".

.

 

[Omega_7000]

Sharapova is equivalent to Nadal....


..

..

Equally abhorable.

Sharapova is extremely good looking...Please don't compare her to that butt picker.

Also, Sharapova does not waste time, gets illegal coaching...

 

[Graf=GOAT]

How's this even a debate? Djokovic has more slams and tougher competition. Sharapova had to beat Errani to get her CGS, tells you all you need to know about WTA's level today. Sharapova with French open title is just hilarious

 

[MichaelNadal]

LOL.

Comparing a handful of Sharapova's best performances to Djokovic's average performances. Hilarious.

As far as reality is concerned, Sharapova should not even be mentioned in the same sentence as Djokovic. Djokovic was an animal in 2011. He defeated Nadal 7 straight times. Nadal recently mentioned that towards the end of 2011 he was so shaken up that he did not believe he could beat Djokovic again. Djokovic managed to develop a psychological edge over perhaps the greatest competitor in tennis history. On the other hand, Sharapova's wins were flukes. Ever since 2004, Serena has shown us that she can half-*** her way to victory over Sharapova anytime she wants.

Sometimes I'm glad when threads get bumped because this post is full of so much win.

Sharapova is extremely good looking...Please don't compare her to that butt picker.

Also, Sharapova does not waste time, gets illegal coaching...

You should be so proud of the things you say about Nadal . And you have the nerve to play the victim too.