This seems like a fair enough assessment of Djoker’s situation (I posted something similar on the previous thread before I read this): he’s the deserving champion of the AO, and he’s in a new position now, so he will need to tone down his reactions in order to not alienate fans. And you know what? I am certain he will. This guy is smart enough to recognize already that he is emotional and needs to contain it more (I posted some of his interview comments on the matter on the previous thread). As Abe points out, obviously the Djoker comes by his emotional side honestly, that is to say, genetically.

I also think Abe is bang on here:

“All these three guys [Federer, Rafa, Novak] have big egos, but each one deals with it differently.”

And especially here:

” There won’t be a new No. 1 before the clay court season, but we’re in for one heck of a year now.”

No matter what people think of Novak’s personality, he has opened the door to something refreshing (along with Tsonga) by beating the world number 1 in straight sets and winning the GS trophy. He is now firmly in the race with Roger and Rafa and we will see how he defends his run last year; he’s also, I suspect, inspired a lot of the awestruck players below him as well as the frustrated ones - maybe Roddick, for example, will be newly inspired?

In any case, it’s a fresh start to the year.

I don’t like this Djokovich guy from last year US Open run and certainly dislike him even more after this AO tournament. From his mother’s comments to reporter Matt Cronin to his antics during the match all pointing to a self-absorbing brat reflection of his parents image.

The next 5 months are more about Nadal than anyone else. He has to defend a ton of points. Lets see how he does in the clay season (as well as American hard court events and Wimbledon) this year.

I think Fed might surprise everyone, now that the expectations on him are a bit lower, and a bit more realistic and human.

Lets hope djoker is not a one slam wonder.

Abe,
very nice post as always and you have great points.

I have to clarify that it is Djoko’s attitude that people started nit to like. No one has a problem with his game or his rise in the rankings. He deserves where he is and I am sure we will see more of him in the future. Of course people like ambitious , young champions, but now he has to be careful.

He was able to turn 15000 people in Rod Laver Arena against him. He needs to sit down and analyze the situation and find a solution.

I agree. He is smart. I did not see him take his shirt off or do any more imitations after the final. So, he is sensitive to what is going on around him and that’s a good sign.

Now Mama Djokovic has to make a decision to let her son go. It is not about Mama Djoko now, it is about Novak. He is the one that has to be in the spotlight. Mama Djoko has to take a step back.Why even give statements to the media? let alone silly ones!

To me the put off was his imitation of Rafa in the QF of a grand slam. and then he says he was doing it all the time, now that he is No 3, he feels free to do these in the open court!

I think Djoko will learn from the AO experience and hopefully we will see a more mature champion in the coming tournaments. (btw, what is Djoko’s PR doing?)

Well, Novak is 20 only, so , we can forgive this uprising kid some “cockiness”.About “Serbian domination”, notice Federer’s dramatic five-set escape against Serbian No.2 Janko Tipsarevic in the third-round - and subsequent loss to Djokovic six days later. And more : both defending champions for AU Open GS are outplayed by Serbs. Federer lost to Serbia Novak Djokovic and Serena Williams lost to Serbian Jelena Jankovic. And even more : both US women champions, i.e. sisters Williams , were knocked out from Serbian players : Ana Ivanovic took Venus and Jelena Jankovic outplayed Serena . Finaly for the Serbians: Novak Djokovic, men’s singles champion; Ana Ivanovic, women’s singles runner-up; Jelena Jankovic, women’s singles semifinalist. Could this country accomplish anymore? Actually, yes — Serb Nenad Zimonjic, along with Chinese partner Tiantian Sun won the mixed-doubles golden crown. Congrats to the young Serbs !

I like other playing styles compared to the djoker.I dont like djokers groundstrokes either.He plays like a robot.There is no natural feel to his game and he uses too much power.The players with the most natural games are federer,safin,gasquet,monfils even tsonga.I dont think djoker can domintate like fed has done.Somebody is going to stop him from taking it all.

Good grief, us tennis fans are a difficult bunch to please. We adored Djokovic 6 months ago. But he wins a slam and says something more than ‘Golly gee, I’m honoured to be here’ and suddenly we’re rushing to dissect his every word and gesture, and those of his family, for something to be critical of. What’s the word for people like us – Purists…? cynics…? assholes?

My take on this is a bit different. I thought the Federer-Novak match was very sloppy. It was perhaps the worst tennis i have seen recently at a semi-final stage. Both players played at a very poor level; Djoko just happened to play less poorly. What i could not believe was the expert commentators (Cahill, McEnroe..) repeatedly saying that Novak was forcing Fed to make mistakes. What a bunch of crap! If Djoko rewinds and plays back the match, he will realize that Fed pretty much handed it to him; perhaps it was the virus, i don’t know. As for the final, i predicted that Tsonga would not be able to replicate those cute drop shots that he did with Rafa. He got way too lucky on many of them. If you remove those from the equation, it was a square match. Bottomline, if Novak reviews these matches (which he no doubt will), he will perhaps realize that he got lucky in both matches. All said and done, he won, which is great, but he and his family need to put that in perspective.

Life isn’t a popularity contest. Djokovic seems to have a strong family and network of friend to support him. What more does he need? Your support Abe Kuijl? I don’t think so.

“What he needs to work on, is control his emotions after winning those points.”

Why? What’s wrong with him expressing his joy at winning the big points. He should curtail his emotions so that people like you, Abe Kuijl, can feel more comfortable. Why? Who are you to him? Why should he give a damn what you think?

It is fantastic to have a player around who doesn’t play to the gallery, isn’t looking for friends on tour, doesn’t pay undue respect to Federer and Nadal, understands the psychological aspects of tennis and understands that he is there to play tennis to the best of his ability and take no prisoners and suffer no fools.

If that is arrogance, long live Novak Djokovic’s arrogance and may it get stronger.

Boy Kurt, talk about taking credit away from Djokovic. He was lucky to beat Federer? Truthfully, it’s Federer that’s lucky that he didn’t lose his last 2 major championship matches with Djokovic. Djokovic outplayed Fed for most of the first 2 sets at last year’s US Open Final and he did beat Fed at this year’s AO.

I’ve heard this nonsense about Nadal too. Somehow, there are people out there who’d like to argue that every time Fed plays Rafa and loses, he’s having a bad day. There couldn’t be any possible way, with Rafa’s ugly game, that he could beat up Federer. It’s just incomprehensible right? Wrong!!! Certain players just match up well with other players. Nadal and Djok do match up well with Fed and make him feel uncomfortable. Djok hits the ball early and deep and his serve troubles Federer. Rafa’s lefty forehand kicks up high to Roger’s backahnd. Federer doesn’t win by divine right and lose by accident. He loses for the same reasons he wins. Because the match up favors him or his opponent. It’s just that with Fed’s incredible game, very few have the moxy and he talent to step it up with him.

I remember Mac talking about a match between himself and Ramesh Krishnan. Krishnan was just patsying the ball about and it drove Mac up a wall at Wimbledon. And apparently, he almost beat McEnroe. To quote a boxing analogy, “Styles make fights”. Get two defensive guys in there and you’d might as well go to sleep. Put Irish Mickey Ward in the ring with Arturo Gatti and look out!!! Same thing in tennis.

I have to say that I agree with this point of M. Donaldson’s:

“It is fantastic to have a player around who doesn’t play to the gallery….{and] doesn’t pay undue respect to Federer and Nadal.”

In a way, it is Djokovic’s lack of pretense that makes him so refreshing; sometimes the tennis world of today seems a little too “professional”, like these 20 year olds are supposed to act with the knowledge and insight of 30 year olds.

I also wonder sometimes if Rafa doesn’t kowtow to Roger a little bit too much. Maybe if Rafa said openly that he’s NOT happy to be at number 2 forever, he’d snatch that number 1 spot, which he deserves for all of his hard work. Of course I could be completely wrong here, and each player handles himself differently, but Djokovic’s openly expressed confidence seems to work to his advantage on the court.

Kurt,

“As for the final, i predicted that Tsonga would not be able to replicate those cute drop shots that he did with Rafa. He got way too lucky on many of them.”

I don’t agree with your other comments about Djokovic’s luck, but I do agree with this one above.

But Tsonga didn’t necessarily get” lucky” against Rafa; he is, no doubt, a great volleyer. However, the fact that so many of Rafa’s shots hit mid-court made it easier for Tsonga to make all of those drop shots and volleys at the net. Rafa notoriously plays way too far behind the baseline on hardcourts and he needs to fix this. By contrast, Djokovic didn’t let Tsonga dominate the net; he kept him deep, and instead it was the Djoker who capitalized on 80% of his attempts at the net.

I couldn’t agree more, and am surprised it’s taken so long for the editorials to begin on the Cocky Djoker.

What bothered me we’re his comments after the Fed match…don’t quote me here but it was something like “He wasn’t sick…or unable to play his game because of the virus, but I was putting pressure on him, that’s all”.

That level of arrogance about Roger Federer? The best player in the world? C’mon, this guy has a lot to learn, and Mommy and Daddy should stay out of it.

true.. Djoker keeps repeating he beat Fed “in straight sets” and that he is “only 20″ .. as though being only 20 gives him the right to be arrogant.

I havent seen Fed or Nadal keep stressing the fact that they beat other player in straight sets or bagelled them.

Whatever… Djoker appears fake to me.. he is a great player, but rest of him is just fake.

Martin Donaldson:

***Life isn’t a popularity contest. Djokovic seems to have a strong family and network of friend to support him. What more does he need? Your support Abe Kuijl? I don’t think so.****

I disagree. Why do you think they have all the endorsements for? “popularity”, exactly!
However, Novak doesn’t need to be liked by everyone. I agree and I for one have no problem with him expressing joy after winning a point. I don’t like his imitations and I don’t like him dissing the crowd and I don’t like the attitude of his parents. But he doesn’t need to please everyone. That’s right.So, he or his supporters should not be offended if people express their opinions about him.

Martin Sonaldson;
You wrote:

“It is fantastic to have a player around who doesn’t play to the gallery, isn’t looking for friends on tour, doesn’t pay undue respect to Federer and Nadal, understands the psychological aspects of tennis and understands that he is there to play tennis to the best of his ability and take no prisoners and suffer no fools.”

Djovokvic is absolutely the opposite of what you wrote. He loves the attention, being in the limelight and so does mama and papa. His modus operandi is not only about playing and winning tennis matches, it’s also about the fringe benefits that come with it. It’s all about the almighty dollar. When he plays the parents’ cash register is working overtime.

Paying respect to your peers does not mean you bow down to them, it’s the reverse, you earn respect when you give respect. It’s a two way street. There’s a myth in some people’s minds that if you’re respectful you’re a fool/idiot/geek or weak, whatever word is suitable. However, you can catch more flies with honey than with vinegar.

“He should curtail his emotions so that people like you, Abe Kuijl, can feel more comfortable. Why? Who are you to him? Why should he give a damn what you think?”

The press can make you or break you. Djok cares and the press remarks anger him. If he didn’t care he would not have gotten angry with the crowd. Djoker has already eaten the fruit of his gesticulations and atrocious behavior and his over-candid remarks. I hope he can handle the repercussions in the locker room. From what I have read he likes to be the center of attention in the locker room. I wish I could be a fly on the wall to observe the players’ reaction to him the next time he goes into the locker room.

I don’t care what he says, neither do I agree with your statement. It’s a proven fact that deep down inside of us is a little child who wants to be accepted and loved by everyone. His behavior speaks volumes. How do children gain attention? By throwing a tantrum. Isn’t Djoker a paralell enfant terible’.

He had a problem in Hopman Cup whereby a fan mwntioned out loud about bis ball bouncing, he stopped what he was doing and yelled out something to the effect that if the person thinks they could do it better, why don’t they come down and try. Is this guy stupid or what. Not only was he making himself look stupid but he was representing Serbia.

SG:

You stated:

“Truthfully, it’s Federer that’s lucky that he didn’t lose his last 2 major championship matches with Djokovic. Djokovic outplayed Fed for most of the first 2 sets at last year’s US Open Final and he did beat Fed at this year’s AO.”

And, wasn’t it you who posted the following on a different thread, when Djok beat Fed in the semis.

“Watching the Fed-Djokovic match, it just seemed that Fed was out of sorts. I actually think it was mental more than physical. He can match Djokovic shot for shot. I think he is the better shotmaker.”

“The other thing is, Fed has been getting used to exiting tight spots with his serve in the last year or so. His serve would bail him out here and there when he was missing forehands. But, Djokovic was reading Roger’s serve pretty well. He basically forced Federer to play a lot more balls than he normally does on a hardcourt. The equivalent of what Nadal has done to Fed on clay the last few years.

“I don’t know if Fed needs a coach. But, I think that he didn’t really rest enought(sic) over the very short off season. Then there were the matches with Sampras. Fed just didn’t look mentally fresh in crunch time against a very determined Djokovic. Perhaps Djok still would have won even if Fed were a little mentally more rested. But, I don’t think Djok bounces Fed in straights.”

Posted January 26th, 2008 at 11:30 am

This is confusing to a non-Fed fan. I guess you have changed from a Fed fan to a Djoker fan. Wow.

i find this whole ‘the king is dead’ thing, and novak’s behaviour (in general) in very poor taste.

1) novak had already beaten roger federer back in montreal in ‘07. in fact, this was the first time he had beaten federer. and he did it in the finals to boot. you would consider this a more monumental event in his career. funnily enough though, i guess novak’s mother didn’t consider this event to be high profile enough to claim that her son was the second coming of the tennis gods.

beating a lackluster federer in the semi final of the AO is not the ‘end of an era’ as novak’s family so hypes. we all know roger had to lose at a grand slam at one point. novak and his family, since they so believe they are taking over the tennis world, must have also known this.

2) no one, not even roger, had ever claimed roger to be ‘the king’. yes, he’s had a fine run and while no one here will deny that he certainly seemed to be the anointed one (based on sheer talent and winning capabilities). to now claim that the ‘king’ is dead only further propagates the djokovics’ ridiculous spin doctoring.

are we to assume that now the ‘king’ is dead that a new ‘king’ (in the form of novak) will supplant him? that seems to be what they want the world to believe.

novak has won one grand slam. let’s take a breath and see what the rest of the year brings.

andrea, You wrote:

“…novak had already beaten roger federer back in montreal in ‘07. in fact, this was the first time he had beaten federer. and he did it in the finals to boot. you would consider this a more monumental event in his career. funnily enough though, i guess novak’s mother didn’t consider this event to be high profile enough to claim that her son was the second coming of the tennis gods.”

No. The check was not large enough.

Martin Donaldson:

Pleas excuse the typo in your surname from my previous post. No disrespect intended.

I came across the following on another site pertaining to Djok’s family’s behavior.

“You’ve got every right to your opinion about Novak and his family, but so do the rest of us. I’ve watched a lot of players come up through the years, and I’ve always had a bit of a problem when any player’s family seems to depend on their child’s earnings to sustain the whole clan. Their passionate support can sometimes feel like it’s about more than just pride in their offspring’s accomplishments, and IMO the player already has enough pressures on them… When the parents give a ‘thumbs down’ sign to a player their son has just beaten, or complain to tournament officials about the opposition’s fans cheering too loud, I think that behavior qualifies as ungracious, and hardly honorable. Djoko’s got a good game, but sorry, IMO humble he and his family are not…”

Zola you’re the best.Its one of the best arguments anybody has come up with recently.

”
Zola Says:

I don’t like his imitations and I don’t like him dissing the crowd and I don’t like the attitude of his parents. But he doesn’t need to please everyone. That’s right.So, he or his supporters should not be offended if people express their opinions about him ”

And there are many fakes out here.They always find excuses to support whoever the hero is at this moment.Now its the djoker.So these fakes are onto him.

A refreshingly charming person and a great player. No wonder he is a target

Wow! Don’t you kick up a storm if you use the word ‘luck’? After seeing some of the comments, I rewound my tivo last night and once again saw parts of the sub-par Fed-Dkojo semi. And, tell you what: I am now convinced beyond doubt that the Fed i saw was a shadow of the guy i saw 2 months back in the Shanghai Masters beating Rafa and Ferrer back to back. And i am equally convinced that his sub-par performance had little to do with how Novak was playing. Fact of the matter is that there *is* a BIG factor called luck. How do you explain Agassi’s semi final loss in Wimbledon to Pat Rafter on a completely mis-hit lob? Or Roddick’s loss to Schuttler in the AO semi after that ridiculously long match he played with El-Aynaoui? Attributing a win to some ‘lucky points’ or a lucky draw, especially in a tight match is called humility. How many times have we heard Fed say ‘I was lucky to win a few key points’. That having said, there is no question that Novak has arrived. He is legit, plays a terrific game, and in my mind, will no doubt be the future #1. At 20, he is world #3 in his chosen profession. He probably has a right to be a bit arrogant. Perhaps i am the one who is clueless.

While you’re all getting on Djoko for his parents’ bad behavior (and I agree it was atrocious), let’s not forget Sharapova’s father with his intimidation tactics directed toward Henin, e.g. trying his best to look like an assassin in his hoodie and dark glasses, then giving the throat-slitting sign. The man needs heavy duty psychiatry, and his daughter shouldn’t be joining in by saying it was just a joke.

Fed is certainly off his peak of 2006, and may never get there again, but is still by far the best player today.

Fed lost 3kg due to his stomach illness for which he had to go to the hospital. That ruined his preparation for the event. Not being 100% and fully in touch led to tipsarevic stretching him to 4.5 hours. After that it was over anyway -has anybody in grand slam history come back from a 4.5 match to win the tournament, especially not being physically 100%? It just takes too much out of the body, especially the legs.

So this was nowhere a case of a peak Fed losing to djoker. It was a case of a peak djoker beating an off peak Fed. Djoker is no Nalbandian or Nadal - the only two players to have consistently troubled Federer (Nadal mostly on clay). Remember, Fed is still 5-2 on djokovic - when Nadal was that ahead of Fed head to head, everyone said that Nadal “owned” Fed (of course, he doesn’t anymore, since Fed is 6-8 vs Nadal).

I agree with Abe Kuijl. O.K. Djoker is arrogant. O.K. he is only 20..But has he not been around sports enough to know that his behavior is shameful.
But, his parents are not 20 and should know better. They really got into it with the Tsonga fans and the Australian secuity actually chastised the fans! When you pay to attend a match, it is sporting courtesy to choose sides and root for your person or team.
As for Djoker’s Mother, she is simply ridicuous…What about her yelling at her son to stand up and root (for one point). What is this about?
Remember Mama Djoker’s comment following the U.S. Open final that Novak will win the next time he plays Federer.
Now on to Novak…he must change his attitude and behavior or he will be all alone in his victories.

Novak is a great tennis player, you could talk and talk, he is a very nice guy. You talk about his mother, it’ s patetic.

I think Djokovic is a refreshing new face on the tennis scene. I am constantly surprised how ungracious Fed fans can be when he loses. Novak played a great match and Roger lost. Facts are facts. So get over it and wait to see what the rest of the year brings. Time will tell.

Djoko’s box IS really annoying to watch. I wish they wouldn’t put the camera on his box during his matches. I started out cheering for Djoko, and then his box just turned me right off. They look like a bunch of psychos. After a few camera shots of his box-members cheering with their eyes bulging out of their heads, I switched allegiances to Federer. Then, the same during the Tsonga match. I couldn’t cheer for a player with a box like that.

Kurt,
I read that Fed was in the hospital for 2 days and visited the hospital for 6 days. He took a bathroom break in Blake match and had to throw up. Dyring Tipsy match he was under medication. So, I guess that has to do something with him not being able to move in his match with Djoko. I think their next match will be interesting to watch.

abe brings up some good points, although i dont completely agree that federer has a big ego. he obviously doesnt show it on the court or the press conferences. you are right of course that djokovic has to control his emotions like nadal does and learn some court etiquette to become more respectable. federer would rather lose his ranking to nadal because he has no respect for djokovic and his attitude.

What’s with top players becoming so ill either during or just before a big match? Roddick, then Haas, then Fed? Hmmmm.

Zola said:
“He took a bathroom break in Blake match and had to throw up.”

Is that true, Zola (I mean that thing about “throwing up”)???

Skorocel
I read that in a thread i tennis.com, which was copied from a translation ( I guess a swiss paper) in rf.com. I saw the origial post in rf.com, but I can’t find it right now.I’ll try to find and post thelink here.

***Amelia Says:

What’s with top players becoming so ill either during or just before a big match? Roddick, then Haas, then Fed? Hmmmm. ****

that’s a very good question!

here you go:
this is the tennis.com copy but I have seen the exact same post in rf.com
********************
From RF .com

More info on “The Illness”….couldn’t resist:

From USENET Group (rec.sport.tennis):

“However, this story got me curious and I dug around to find some
Luzern and other respectable Swiss papers. These newspapers also
mentioned Roger being in the hospital for 6 days, but they claim he
only stayed overnight for 2 nights. He was on an IV drip because the
diarhhea dehydrated him. The other 4 days he came into the hospital
for tests, but didn’t spend the night. The Luzern paper said he took a
bathroom break between sets when playing Blake and threw up. I don’t
recall Fed taking a bathroom break during that match. They also said
during his Tipsy match he was on a non-drowsy form of Dramimine, which
prevents nausea and vomitting.”

ttp://tennisworld.typepad.com/tennisworld/2008/01/ao-day-14-crisi.html
post at 6:03 pm

Interesting, since even Federer himself did not make excuses for his loss or close matches at the AO; he said maybe his illness affected his movement against Novak, but overall, he thought Novak played very well, took away his time (which is the same thing Tsonga said) and that his illness was not a determining factor in his play at the tournament. And if it was, why would he have played so well in his first two rounds? His post-match interview makes it clear.

Jane,
I am just writing something I read. I am not making excuses for Federer. But it is very probable for a stomach flu not to weaken a player and not let him play at 100%. And you seriously think Fed would come and say I had medication and I was ill , that’s why I lost?
He said somethink like this was not his best game. And sice his movement was so off, I think this article might be true.

I guess we have to wait till Dubai or IW!

oops, I meant:

** But it is very probable for a stomach flu to weaken a player and not let him play at 100%.*

Zola,

I was questioning the validity of the article, not you. I know you’re a sincere & thoughtful poster.

I don’t think Federer would come out and blame the loss on his illness, no, but I do think if he thought it was an issue he would not be afraid to admit it. But he didn’t seem to think his flu was an issue. Plus, as I said, how do we explain his fantastic play in the first two rounds. For example, he’s had trouble with Santoro in the past but this time he pummeled him.

Novak is only 20 and with time he will learn to behave and to keep his emotions under control.

But his mother need to stop givin interviews !
Novak said to Serbian papers that he admires Federer and Nadal !

I am happy that we have 2 man chalenging for No.1.
Novak and Nadal !

I want Federer to win, but after what I saw from the 19 year old Djokovic, I’m exceptionally afraid and worried now.
I might have to start rooting for Djoker now. Everyone that understands tennis knows that he is the unofficial #1.

Thanks,

Von Says:
SG:

You stated:

“Truthfully, it’s Federer that’s lucky that he didn’t lose his last 2 major championship matches with Djokovic. Djokovic outplayed Fed for most of the first 2 sets at last year’s US Open Final and he did beat Fed at this year’s AO.”

And, wasn’t it you who posted the following on a different thread, when Djok beat Fed in the semis.

“Watching the Fed-Djokovic match, it just seemed that Fed was out of sorts. I actually think it was mental more than physical. He can match Djokovic shot for shot. I think he is the better shotmaker.”

“The other thing is, Fed has been getting used to exiting tight spots with his serve in the last year or so. His serve would bail him out here and there when he was missing forehands. But, Djokovic was reading Roger’s serve pretty well. He basically forced Federer to play a lot more balls than he normally does on a hardcourt. The equivalent of what Nadal has done to Fed on clay the last few years.

“I don’t know if Fed needs a coach. But, I think that he didn’t really rest enought(sic) over the very short off season. Then there were the matches with Sampras. Fed just didn’t look mentally fresh in crunch time against a very determined Djokovic. Perhaps Djok still would have won even if Fed were a little mentally more rested. But, I don’t think Djok bounces Fed in straights.”

Posted January 26th, 2008 at 11:30 am

This is confusing to a non-Fed fan. I guess you have changed from a Fed fan to a Djoker fan. Wow.

————————————

Quite frankly, I’m not a big fan of either player. It did seem that Federer was a little uneasy out there. I don’t know if others watching the match saw it that way too. But, Djokovic made him pay for it. And he did look poised to beat Fed in last year’s USO as well. But, Djok was a little overwhelmed by the moment.

My only point was, Fed has to be at his best to beat Djokovic if Djok is playing well. There has been many a guy that Fed has beaten with less than his A game largely because of the intimidation factor. I do still believe that if Fed brings out his best stuff against Djok’s best stuff, Fed would win 7 or 8 times out of ten. His game is surreal when he’s hot. But, it is hard to maintain that kind of playing level. Especially when you’ve been No.1 for 4 years running and you are the defacto definition of excellence. That has to wear you out mentally and physically.

This loss by Fed may have been an aberration. Maybe the stomach illness took the slightest edge off him. Who knows? I’m not premiere athlete so I don’t know. But make no mistake, time catches up to all athletes. There is going to be a time when Fed starts to lose matches he is use to winning. And for great tennis players, they usually play their best from 24 to 26. Borg, McEnroe, Sampras were most dominant in that age span. Federer has begun to enter that age where he might be more vulnerable on a day to day basis. And that’s when the people nipping at his heels cease the opportunity to define their own greatness. It’s the law of the jungle.

Jane,
thanks a lot. You know I value your comments too.
I think the first two opponents may not have been much of a competetion anyway. Even the match with Djoko or Tipsarevic were not very lopsided.
I hope Fed’s team release a statement and talk about this. I know Haas had to withdraw from a tournament because of similar problems.

I guess we will find our answers next time Federer and Djoko play. Right now the it is a fact that Djoko won the AO championship and Fed didn’t and that the three guys at the top are very close. will be a very exciting 2008.

Martin Donaldson, GOD BLESS YOU.

Lots of jealous people around here.
Djokovic already has enough supporters and doesn’t need any kangaroos on his side. He also can celebrate his points however he wants to. Tilting your opponent is one strategy to win the match.

Goodbye!

Djoko - Legend!

SG:

“But make no mistake, time catches up to all athletes. There is going to be a time when Fed starts to lose matches he is use to winning.
Thanks for the explanation..”

Thanks for the explanation. I was a little confused about your statement. I thought you had switched sides. However, the problem with time catching up and losses is absolutely true. It’s not just athletes it’s all humans as we age we become a few steps slower. For athletes I think it happens faster because of the pounding their bodies have to endure.

I don’t know if you remember in a previous post when Fed lost I mentioned that fact. Borg just left the US Open after the match and never returned. He had enough. This could probably be the reason for Fed’s urgency to break all of the records before his peak begins its descent. However, you know it’s a difficult situation for his fans to accept and the same goes for him also. Denial.

well..Von..i dont think there is urgency in Fed breaking all records before his peak begins to descend. He has always maintained that he wants to play atleast till London olymics 2012 @ wimbledon. He always stresses the fact that its not easy to win a GS because there are lots of factors that has to go your way. But since he has been winning almost every other GS, it might have looked easy .. but surely wasnt. He knows it and thats what he tried to convey in his interview that he had created a ‘Monster’ by winning every other slam. I remember him saying last year that winning 3 slams is out of ordinary and he doesnt expect winning 2 or more every year. He would be happy to win atleast one (Wimby) every year till 2012.

Fed knows its tough to win Slams.. and one thing he relishes most is paying back and turning the H2H records. He did it against Hewitt, Nalbandian, Agassi and lately catching up with Nadal. Even though hez 5-2 against Djoker.. he would probably treat it as 1-2 since Djoker becaome the world no 3.

And i agree…he wouldnt mind losing his No 1 ranking to Nadal than to anyone else cuz he know Nadal does deserve that period in limelight as No 1. And he was pretty impressed with the way Nadal fought with him on the wimbledon grass the last 2 years.

All this anti-Djokovic thing started after he beat Federer. Nobody really cared about his arrogance, about his tennis, about his personality before he beat Federer. After that match everybody started to pay attention to every bit of Djokovic surrounding, including his family.

I agree Djokovic has to improve many things:
- Umpire should be respected. The last big champion who really disrespected 80% of umpires was John McEnroe. It wasn’t nice. That look to umpire during Federer match was just wrong.
- His gestures to crowd… If he has problem with crowd go talk to umpire and explain the problem. He should play match and use crowd only his favor. If crowd does something to annoy him, he should ignore the crowd, or the crowd will annoy him even more.
- His mom is annoying, very annoying. I can’t stand her for some reason. It seems to me that her ambitions are higher than Novak’s. She should be very careful when speaking to the media or anyone else who matters in World of Tennis.

But:
I don’t understand how people can say that he disrespects Federer or any other player. I mean Djokovic (it seems to me) honestly cheers every nice point of every opponent. How many times I have seen him applauding after amazing shot/move from his opponent. He even said to Federer: Nice shot, both during US Open, and during AU Open. He always gives credit to opponent. After the final that he won, he said that if Tsonga won, it would be deserved, and it looked to me like he was honest. Before he started the speech he thought clearly what to say, and he said it from the heart. Or he is very good actor?
His tennis is unbelievable. Shot selection is amazing. He misses drop shots very often, but it seems to me that he always tries to do it at right time, because whenever his drop shot goes through he wins the point. Ball bouncing and medical timeouts are not cheating. If he cheated, he would get punished. You think tennis association would let cheat win grand slam? Don’t think so.

Tejuz Says:

“..well..Von..i dont think there is urgency in Fed breaking all records before his peak begins to descend. He has always maintained that he wants to play at least till London olymics 2012 @ wimbledon.”

I think that Fed has come to terms with the fact that he cannot win every GS. As I stated previously that this loss should be viewed by him in a positive way, he won’t feel so pressured to deliver a win every time he gets on the court and in this way, perhaps, the wins will be more enjoyable. His fans will not be unrealistically inclined to expect him to win everything either. From every dark cloud there comes a silver lining.

As his pain and shock diminishes he will have a different perspective on his future goals. Maybe he’ll adjust his schedule and enjoy more down time until 2012. He definitely wants that gold Olympic medal, and 2012 is just 4 years away, by then he’ll be 30 and retirewment would be a welcome event.

Branimir, I agree with most of what you’ve written. Djoker definitely has some stuff to on which to work now that he’s been thrust onto the scrutiny of a world stage and won a GS. He will work on it, I am sure. But what does he do about that mum of his? Oy~!

Branimir:

If you think Djoker is not a good actor.. you should look at some of his videos on You tube.. alos the way he mimicks other players. isnt that a trait of an actor.

Ah, but all actors are not “fake” in their emotions; some really cry or laugh, recalling memories, using the Stanislavski method, rather than pinching themselves or cutting an onion to force phoney tears. In fact, one could argue that the best actors are the most honest, emotional, and self-aware people who are in touch with their feelings. I like to think that Mr. Djokovic is just that, an honest young man who wears his heart on his sleeve and gets in trouble for it, rather than a calculated professional who says and does what he’s supposed to when he’s supposed to. He’s a breath of fresh air, even in his bravado. And he’s opened a door. Good on ya, Joker!

“Tejuz Says:
Branimir:

If you think Djoker is not a good actor.. you should look at some of his videos on You tube.. alos the way he mimicks other players. isnt that a trait of an actor.”

I would say he is a good imitator which is a different thing from good actor. He has a very extroverted personality, to the point that many start to bash him for that. The spot light is on him so it is the most obvious target choice. There is something about the way champions are “supposed to” behave, something that Federer does to perfection. For me actualy Federer seems a good actor, not Djokovic.

Tejuz:

“If you think Djoker is not a good actor.. you should look at some of his videos on You tube.. alos the way he mimicks other players. isnt that a trait of an actor.”

He’ll stop, just wait until another player starts doing his ball bouncing and shirt imitations. I know that Roddick does very good impersonations, in fact, Roddick has been doing imitations for quite a few years, and then the Djoker took over. Roddick made fun of him at the TMC conference when they were all together. So just give it time.

Branimir,
I think you have good points. I just want to say that this discussion started after Djoko’s US Open imitations.
*****

I want to congratulate all Djokovic fans. Please don’t take offense at these points. These are not directed at you and I am sure Djoko will take note.He is a smart guy.

He won the Australian Open deservedly and has taken the big leap towards a much more successful career. We like it or not, he is now the third significat person in men’s tennis. so, congratulations again to Djoko and his fans.

I agree with the statement since Federer’s loss at AO, a lot of people starts to dislike Djokovic and to go after him and his family. Curt’s statement on bad match quality are just a bus*&. It is not just my oppinion, rewind the tape again and check Patrick’s comments, he is definitly more knowledgeble that Curt..
On his family, beaviour, where you are blind to notice thouse three faggots who where insulting Djokovic in front of his family and that is why they were moved five rows back. The organiser brought Serbian fans to create buffer zone, so Djokovic can concetrate on a match not on what is happening with his family. One is to cheer for a player that is beneficial to a sport event but it is not acceptable to do what has been done to his family.
I have question to Federer’s fans. Do they have any recolection what sportmanship is? Federer does not have any quality of good sportmanship behaviour. His statement after the match proves it. Roots of sport are in amaterizam not in profesionalism and money. The main success of any sportman is to be a part of an cometative event, respect others! This use to be one of main driving forces in olympic sport up to Los Angeles olympic games. After that event where olymic organiser was for the first time able to make profit, were devastating… but this is for some other discussion.
Going back to Federer and his behaviour, did anyone notice the pattern? Just go back and check the match against Tipisarevic. In the instance where Federer was convinced that Janko’s serve was good even thought it was called out, he never intervened before the challenge and give a point to Tipisarevic. On other side Tipisarevic did intervene before hte challenge, as he corrected linesman’s mistake and gve the point to Federer, without ever need ing to play the challenge. If he did not lose the match against Djokovic, we would never know that he had food poinsoning. Again this is just one of examples where he is using excuses to explain why he was beaten. He is incapable to accept the fact that at this moment, he is not number one. If you knew anything about medicine, you would be aware that at the commencement of the match, there would not be any traces of food poisioning in his system. Therefore, Federer does not display any class whatsoever, and not nearly enough to reach the expected amount of a professional of his stature.

Dear Branimir, I agree with almost everything you said, except:

“Ball bouncing and medical timeouts are not cheating”

Are you kidding me? The guy receives a time violation for this and you don’t consider it as a cheating? As for those medical timeouts - well, go watch the Monte Carlo 2006 final, if you don’t know what an intentionally requested MT can do with the opponent!

Skorocel:

Any news?

To Von:
About what?:-)

Skorocel:

About what?:-) Emails.

To Zola:
I’ve almost forgot it: Thanks for that info!!! I maybe have that Blake match on tape, but since I only recorded the actual play, I can’t quite remember if he had that “bathroom break” or not… Anyway, thanks!!!

To Von:
Yay! I will send you some soon - just be patient! As for that promised letter about the US, it’s already finished, but I also want to write you something re: the whole Djokovic theme & also add something re: A-Rod’s chances vs Fed (as I’ve already promised you some 15 threads ago, if you remember that), so please be patient… You know, I could write you about these things via these comments here at tennis-x.com, but since there are so many articles, you quickly lose track of it… Stay tuned!

Skorocel:

“You know, I could write you about these things via these comments here at tennis-x.com, but since there are so many articles, you quickly lose track of it… Stay tuned!”

I thought you had forgotten about the A-Rod stuff and I did not want to be a pest to remind you about it. It would be better to send it to my personal email address. By the time I get on this site so many things have been posted — I understand what you mean by losing track. Thanks.

Skorocel,
Djokovic never received any “violation” for ball bouncing, he just received the warning in the match against Federer.
The rule is: You have 20 seconds between points. 1 bounce take less time than 1 second, and he usually makes 15-20 bounces. Most of the time… Sometime he does more, but rarely. It’s umpire’s job to monitor 20 second rule, not Djokovic. If he gets points removed or something like that, then it might become Djokovic concern too. All this bullshit from some players really doesn’t make any sense to me. From the time player tosses the ball in the air, to actual hit there is enough time to prepare for return. Nobody complained about Djokovic bouncing in 2005 and 2006 cause he was getting beaten more than he won, but now when he is winning, his ball bouncing is somehow the issue?

Branimir,
you are absolutely right. It is the umpire’s job to monitor that time. Although Tsonga warned many times, the umpire did not do anything. That’s a shame.
The 20 seconds is counted from the time the score is announced.

It is not BS. Rules are there to be observed. You can’t say I am going to pass the red light until someone gives me a ticket! It may not be intentional. That’s why the umpire is sitting there. The player has no business intimidating the umpire for warning.

Djoko has been bouncing the ball like that since last year and was always criticized for that. A warning was due in the final and the useless umpire didn’t do his job.

“I don’t care what he says, neither do I agree with your statement. It’s a proven fact that deep down inside of us is a little child who wants to be accepted and loved by everyone.”

An adult understands that it is not possible to be accepted and loved by everyone and trying to be all things to all people is a fruitless task and a complete waste of energy.

An adult ultimately decides to be himself. People will either like you or they won’t and if they don’t, well that’s just too bad.

“He had a problem in Hopman Cup whereby a fan mentioned out loud about bis ball bouncing, he stopped what he was doing and yelled out something to the effect that if the person thinks they could do it better, why don’t they come down and try. ”

Great. The perfect response. Why should Djokovic have to tolerate spectators trying to influence play. To spectate means that you watch the match, not try to participate in it. The idiot “fan” should have been thrown out of the stadium if he doesn’t know how to behave at a tennis match.

Branimir,

Actually, players have 25 seconds between points; and this tournament especially I noticed that Djokovic was bouncing the ball much less (only 7-10 bounces sometimes - I was counting!) except on big points. He has recently spoken about this habit of his, and that he’s trying to work on cutting the bouncing down because it hurts his back to bend over like that. It is not some kind of “trick” of his; it is a habit. Just like Rafa with his water bottles and short-picking. Players, like all of us, have habits.

About medical timeouts - Djoker had less of those at the AO too. He took a medical timeout in the final when he was up 3-2 in the 4th set. It was a fair and valid timeout; he tweaked his hamstring stretching for a volley and had it worked on for 3 minutes so it wouldn’t impede his movement. Tsonga still had two chances to take the match to a 5th set - when Djok was down 30-40 at 5-5 and during the tiebreak. But in each case, Djoker was the better player, holding his serve and staying calm. Tsonga, like he did in the 2nd and 3rd sets, made a lot of unforced errors at these crucial moments in the match, especially in the tiebreaker. The deserving player won the final match, and it wasn’t due to ball-bouncing or medical timeouts.

Is it 20 or 25 seconds between points? I thought 25. I know the commentators were talking about it during the Rafa v. Mathieu match as Rafa was taking sometimes 40 seconds or more between serves.

Martin Donaldson,

You make a good point about spectatorship; the fans are sometimes out of control, yelling out things right when a player is about to serve. At the AO they seemed particularly rowdy; the atmosphere at some of the matches was compared to that of a football game. That’s tough for players who are trying to concentrate. The umpires should pipe up a little more in this regard as well.

Tejuz Says:
And i agree…he wouldnt mind losing his No 1 ranking to Nadal than to anyone else cuz he know Nadal does deserve that period in limelight as No 1. And he was pretty impressed with the way Nadal fought with him on the wimbledon grass the last 2 years.

—————————–

I really doubt Fed would be even the slightest bit OK with giving up his No.1 ranking to anyone. And why should he be? If you want to be known as the best ever, don’t you want that to be reflected in your world ranking? From this time forward, I think Fed would trade one major a year to keep the year end No.1 ranking. He is going to beat Sampras’ major record anyway. And at this point, it’s unlikely he’ll ever win the calendar slam. I’m certain that keeping his No.1 ranking is of the utmost priority. Even sliding to 3 means playing much tougher semis in tournaments. That No.1 ranking is important because it keeps your draws easier and allows you to save energy.

“That No.1 ranking is important because it keeps your draws easier and allows you to save energy.”

That’s way too broad - this year Federer (as the