Cover photo – Novak Djorko-vic. His wife is a dork as well, but a very cute dork.

March 29th, 2015 at 10:56 am

^Some of us say that,and they get pounced upon by certain quarters,so i will say they are a beautiful looking couple,tennis does indeed have some very attractive couplings^….

March 29th, 2015 at 12:17 pm

@Chris Ford1…..Just curious why do you think both of them are “dorks”? He’s not my fav, but don’t think he’d be in the dork category. A dork in my estimation would be Radek S. He acts like a goofball…..but is a good player.

March 29th, 2015 at 1:26 pm

Hippie Chick & Okie-

Dork or nerd – thats part of those two. I chose dork only because it fit in his name best. Tell me that picture isn’t dorky. Novak never makes the fashion rag’s best dressed tennis player lists even if he looks the best in a tux of any male player even Fed – for all his past dorky “fashion crimes”.
Jelena is a 4-eyed academic with a Masters degree. Also had a full undergrad scholarship to a prestigious Italian school of economics in Milan back when the two were poor. Impressive in her own right.
They also easily can shift into a glam couple. Before Indian Wells, the tabloids ran some pics of the two looking awesome, turning heads, walking their dogs in W Hollywood – radiating star power.

Djokovic also likes to do dorky or goofy dances, skits, imitations for a laugh – and because he has the self-confidence to do that and dote on his little toy poodles he takes around the world to boot.

March 29th, 2015 at 3:54 pm

As i said though if those words had come from the virtual mouth of yours truely then i wouldve been surely pounced upon by certain quarters?….

March 29th, 2015 at 4:00 pm

Sorry, hippy, not hippie.
Nole also posted a beautiful pic or two of them at a ballet lesson on his website. You can be both a dorky/nerdish person and glamorous. Many movie stars and celebs with self assurance and a healthy inner nerd are open about that and putting out dorky/nerdy appearances at times. Scarlett Johansson comes to mind 1st.

March 29th, 2015 at 4:05 pm

CF1 said to Mat4 the other day call me what you want,spell it how you want,doesnt matter its entirely your choice….

March 29th, 2015 at 4:08 pm

Can somebody please tell me why is it that joker almost always has to contend with an anti- joker crowd? Why do they dislike him so much?

March 29th, 2015 at 4:11 pm

@Chic Ford1

OK, You weren’t really too serious regarding that remark. Having children can make parents do really silly things. The both of them always look knock out when they get all dressed up for a big extravaganza! Two of the beautiful people of the world!!

March 29th, 2015 at 4:52 pm

Time for Rafa and “Hot Sauce” gotta run!!

March 29th, 2015 at 4:57 pm

Battle of the spanish male eye candy,Nando takes the first set,both exchanging breaks of serve….

March 29th, 2015 at 5:36 pm

Rafa played like a complete nervous p—y towards the end of that set. Such wimpy stuff. Tuning out of that crap.

March 29th, 2015 at 5:39 pm

Rafa not playing well, in my estimation! As Rafa would say, the windy was very bad….. :(

March 29th, 2015 at 5:40 pm

He better pick it up a notch or he will be headed to the island faster than he may might want…..

March 29th, 2015 at 5:43 pm

Just tune in and Nadal broke back in first set just to lose 4 points after 30-0. Now Had 0-40 and missed a few strange balls. He is hitting too much in his racquet frame and don’t have depth in his shots.

March 29th, 2015 at 5:47 pm

Who says the crowd dislike him so much. Rewatch a bit bit of Rome, Beijing, Shanghai… He’s very popular in many parts of the world, from China to Eastern Europe, Germany, Italy, and South America. And even in the Anglo-Saxon world he has a lot of fan.

March 29th, 2015 at 6:04 pm

Verdasco with 4 awful mistakes. Nadal break and order restored.

March 29th, 2015 at 6:06 pm

Nadal at his pathetic best vamosing himself after every easy mistake by verdasco…how can someone like such behaviour?? Seriously ??

March 29th, 2015 at 6:06 pm

i really dislike when crowds dramatically impact matches – especially yelling out on key points. it’s one thing to cheer on their favourite, which is obviously fine, but it’s another thing to cheer the opponent’s mistakes or try to distract him or her by yelling out. it just seems rude.

March 29th, 2015 at 6:10 pm

Nadal himself is making alot of easy mistakes….

March 29th, 2015 at 6:11 pm

Jane true,that match with Federer and Karlovic also springs to mind….

March 29th, 2015 at 6:12 pm

Looks like Rafa and Berych might be going out,hope Murray makes the final,although i cant see him beating Novak….

March 29th, 2015 at 6:50 pm

Because majority of the crowd are either Rafa or Roger fans, and have been for many many years! And most weren’t looking for a new player to support when Novak came on the scene.

It’s harder to break up the fan duopoly than the actual duopoly itself.

But it’s okay. He is getting more fans everyday.

Proof of this are the events schedules almost always have him playing primetime. :)

March 29th, 2015 at 6:50 pm

In Rafa’s older age, he’s getting nervous and more nervous…..confidence in his shotmaking waning…He gone!!

March 29th, 2015 at 6:57 pm

Okie true, but im happy to watch him win or lose….

March 29th, 2015 at 7:02 pm

Great win from Verdasco. His forehand was so good.

March 29th, 2015 at 7:07 pm

Well done Nando better player won on the day congratulations,onto clay for Rafa….

March 29th, 2015 at 7:10 pm

Mat4 you wont get no argument from me,Nando played very well,a player who IMO who quite never lived upto his potential….

March 29th, 2015 at 7:12 pm

Not a good day for seeds today, Wawrinka out, Nadal out and Berdych just saved a MP against Tomic. Open draw for Murray who could use another final in a big tourney,

As for Nadal, not good results at all in this IW/Miami swing. His last HC final was 2 year ago in Miami, and his best result since winning RG last year apart from Title in BA and semis in Rio was Quarter final in HC tournaments. Can’ t see him being much of a factor after Wimbledon as he doesn’t have good results there apart from 2013 (which was a completely different year than this one).

Good for him is that now he will play in his beloved European Clay Swing where he can rebuilt his confidence and go for a 10th RG, which deep down is the core of his season, Also turning 29 in less than 2 months.

Also if Raonic, Nishikori hold their points Nadal will drop to #6. Murray guarantee to move to #3 and Raonic or Kei could have a career high #4 seed depending on how they perform.

As for Djoko, knowing that he can win this tile without facing Fed, Nadal, Wawrinka, all players who can play him tough.

March 29th, 2015 at 7:13 pm

Apparently this was, somehow, the first match between these two since Madrid in 2012, which Verdasco also won. He played out of his mind today… So many balls hammered onto the line from crazy angles. Well done, although sad to see Rafa go out.

March 29th, 2015 at 7:13 pm

Hot Sauce finally delivered the Tabasco. Whats up with Rafa’s results in his prime? If Hot Sauce could play more aggressive and have a calmer mind he would be Force.
Wawa apparently partied 2 hard for his 30th, he is out also. Too much Cake?
Now for the Tomic show.

March 29th, 2015 at 7:14 pm

@Alison:

I watched the first and the end of the third set. There was a lot of wind, and I guess the conditions of play were difficult. Verdasco played better the key points. Glad you gave him credit, he deserved it.

But Rafa is obviously in a big crisis. I won’t write I hope it won’t last, but his results are not on par with the level of his game.

March 29th, 2015 at 7:16 pm

@Chick…….Yes, on to clay. The sauce was hotter today! Congrats to him and his fans….if he has any on this forum……not sure.

You are right, win or lose I still love to watch him play. Maybe Nando can go farther, but I doubt it. I would love to see Andy win it, but will be a tall order as Joker is at his best!!

March 29th, 2015 at 7:16 pm

Im not one of those fans thats in denial,i will see how the rest of the year pans out,and i hope for the best i know it sounds negative but i think Rafas going into a decline,hes not the player he was sadly….

March 29th, 2015 at 7:18 pm

Berdych fighting back form 0-4 down second set. But another MP Tomic

March 29th, 2015 at 7:19 pm

Mat4 no problem,i agree and your free to root for and against whomever you wish….

March 29th, 2015 at 7:20 pm

Checked out in the 2nd set, not surprised to see the result. Rafa looked mentally poor to me and knew this could happen. Congrats to Fernando and also the rafa haters who per usual are here without being a second too late.

March 29th, 2015 at 7:25 pm

Okie actually he is one of the Spaniards i have always enjoyed watching apart from the obvious one,i fell in love with him when he almost/shoulve beat Rafa at the AO in 2009….

March 29th, 2015 at 7:25 pm

Okie i cant say i would be all too thrilled at the idea of another Andy/Novak final….

March 29th, 2015 at 7:27 pm

didn’t get to watch the last set; i am surprised rafa went out but we all know hotsauce can catch fire. he and novak played some punishing tennis at the AO.

“As for Djoko, knowing that he can win this tile without facing Fed, Nadal, Wawrinka, all players who can play him tough.”

daniel, you do realize this is usually when nole loses? lol.

hippy, andy has beaten novak before at miami, at least once. it’s the closest thing to andy’s “home court” other than queens/wimbledon.

anyhow, yes; a bad day for seeds.

March 29th, 2015 at 7:28 pm

If Raonic beats Kei in Quarters, Murray #3, Raonic #4, Kei #5 and Nadal drop to #6.

This clay swing will be Nadal’s ultimate test as for “decline” goes. If he wins RG, and no other title he would have achieve the main goal. if He doesn’t win RG, than is red light for him.
He is just not having results on par with his caliber and so far this is his worst year since 2004. He will enter clay with his worst rankings in a long time and outside top 8 in the race for the year.

March 29th, 2015 at 7:30 pm

Jane your been very polite,but i just dont see it happening,so i wont hold my breath,and im sorry but i dont relish the idea of yet another Novak/Andy final with Andy getting another beatdown sorry i know its negative,but one cant help the way one feels….

March 29th, 2015 at 7:34 pm

Rafa goes down! Rafa goes down!!
Sigh! Perhaps there will be the Nole-Rafa, Rafa-Fed, Nole-Fed matches I’m hoping for on clay. Rafa’s Clay Bastion…where he gets most of his points and Masters/Slam victories from…with Nole trying to break down the Bastion’s main gate again.

As for Miami, I was hoping we might see Rafa or Nole or (very low chance) Fed get the Master’s sweep. It will not be, for Rafa, another year of getting skunked in Miami.A few years, he played good enough to win it – he just ran into Fed or Nole playing a bit better.

Novak needs Cincinnati for the sweep, Rafa needs Miami, Paris and the Masters Year End Championship.
Fed would have to win Monte Carlo and Rome. A pretty tall order given who he would have to beat, and age is becoming a factor.

March 29th, 2015 at 7:35 pm

it seems to me, rafa can gain some points this year in the clay swing. he went out earlier than expected at monte carlo and barcelona, so as long as he gets his mojo going on clay, he will be okay.

daniel, don’t rule him out for wimbledon yet! i wouldn’t anyhow. go look at 2010; he didn’t win AO, IW or miami then either, but we all know how he did the rest of the year. obviously much time has passed for him since then, but i still think he can and will come back into good form especially heading into clay.

March 29th, 2015 at 7:36 pm

@Alison:

I rooted for Verdasco, it’s true. I watched that match to see of him, because I thought that he played well at the AO, was very dangerous in the match against Novak, and wanted to see what was happening with him. Otherwise, I don’t watch Rafa’s matches.

I do not agree that Rafa is not the player he was — the game is here, but he always has problems with Hot Sauce, since there is no “lefty advantage”, and today, he just lost the key points. The end of the first set (4-5, 30-30) was bad. Lots unusual of UE in important moments.

I am not a hypocrite and I won’t say I am not glad Rafa lost — a crisis lasting until… the end of the clay season would give a good opportunity to Novak to, perhaps, win that elusive trophy RG is for him.

March 29th, 2015 at 7:38 pm

2010 was five years ago though,he aint getting any younger,just hope we dont get posters p*ssing on his achievements,or the inevitable retirement talk….

March 29th, 2015 at 7:40 pm

chris ford1,

That’s why Novak has the best realistic chance of getting the Masters sweep. He’s been to 4 Cincy finals. Fed got a golden chance in MC last year but maybe he can get 1 of tose two f everything falls into place but both? If he could;t do it in his glory years, not now.

Nadal winning Paris and Shangai is a tall order. He won only a couple (9 total if I am not mistaken) of titles after Wimbledon in his entire career and doesn’t look like that trend will change. Miami could be his best shot.

It would be odd, neither Fed nor Nadal would have the clay sweep but most likely Djoko. And if he manages a RG before his career is done, he would have won all 4 Slams, WTF and 9 Masters. A nice feet of his own if indeed happens!

March 29th, 2015 at 7:42 pm

@Alison:

So you think it is time he retires? ;-)

March 29th, 2015 at 7:43 pm

In the mean time, Berdych fought back form 0-4 down second set, saved at least 2 MP’s, won second set breaker and now has BP to go ahead in the third. This could be an opening for Berdych who could play Murray in semis and even go to finals.

March 29th, 2015 at 7:44 pm

Mat4 the only time i root against Novak is against one of my favorites,i look for my favorites to suceed not for their rivals to fail as i think its quite negative,i just think its good for competition to see all the top players at their best,just supposing niether Rafa nor Novak win RG what then?no offence….

March 29th, 2015 at 7:45 pm

Mat4 no i dont,and hes stated as much on his website he loves tennis and is looking forward to Rio in 2016,so i wont even go there….

March 29th, 2015 at 7:48 pm

I one of those posters that doesnt firmly believe never has means never will,whos to say Rafa will or wont ever win Paris or Shanghai in his career?….

March 29th, 2015 at 7:54 pm

Jane,

I think Nadal will win at least 2 clay tourneys, but not sure or grass or HC anymore. Grass he is just too vulnerable and HC, there eis just too many players who can beat him. And even if he mages to go through the draw he will most likely face Djoko, or Fed, or Murray, or Kei, in the end of tourneys,players who are on better form than him.

His game relies on confidence. Even today Verdasco serving for the set he won a awesome BH passing host to level the game 30-30 and he was still motivating himself, knowing that if Verdasco faltered he could return in the set and win the match. But he is just losing too much and sing only hampers your confidence in yourself. Clay is there and he can regroup, but even after winning RG all this last years did;t propel him to Wimpy success.
I wonder what will happen if he does’t win RG?! How he will recover and play after. That is the benchmark for champions.

March 29th, 2015 at 7:55 pm

If Rafa does not win FO, then there should be cause for concern. Otherwise these blips are really the same ole stuff from him.
Have to admit the once best warrior of all time looks mentally weak. His results are very poor by his fans possible GOAT standard, and now is looking like he is king of Clay but nothing else. Vilas was very simular. Some big wins now and then outside of Clay, but his game was really built for one surface, and one surface only. This is just imo, but if Rafa really wanted to win on more surfaces he should have dumped Uncle awhile ago. He needs to change his style of game on Hard courts, and I believe he can. When he is aggresive and hugs the baseline he can dominate. Problem is, he wants(or thinks) to take to big a backswing to hit the ball, and chroniclly will hit it late. Standing 20-30 behind the baseline is a defensive mode, not offensive. This typically works well on Clay, but not on other surfaces. And where was that serve of 2010?
All that said, if he gets over the mental stuff, he should be fine enough to take titles again. His loss today against a known mentally weak opponet was just more prrof he is not there yet. But the “Rafa” season is coming up, so his fans should rejoice.

March 29th, 2015 at 7:59 pm

@Alison:

Come on… When I see him play that bad, I don’t want him to retire before Novak gets a better H2H. That would make him the GOAT.

Just kidding, once again. Just joking. :-)

March 29th, 2015 at 8:02 pm

Skeezer great post very honest assessment….

March 29th, 2015 at 8:03 pm

Mat4 im fine with him losing,its all part and parcel of the game,i just get annoyed with people who p*ss on his achievements or push him off to the retirement home,if Novak wins RG then power to him,if not then what?im off to bed work in the morning goodnight….

March 29th, 2015 at 8:08 pm

@skeezer, Alison:

Now, I am not joking, I am serious, while I was teasing a bit Alison in my last two posts.

I think that this is the end of the road for Rafa.

First, because Jamie wrote it first last year on this very blog. No more slams. And I always believe what Jamie says.

Then, his sneakers were so ugly that I can’t imagine somebody winning with something like this on his feet.

Finally, the weather forecast for France predicts a rainy summer.

March 29th, 2015 at 8:10 pm

@jane:

Alison took it badly…

Did I go a bit over the line?

March 29th, 2015 at 8:12 pm

Mat4 no it was a knee jerk reaction, i need another interest i think,and i spend too much time on this forum,now i really am going to bed,speak soon Zzzzz….

March 29th, 2015 at 8:17 pm

mat4, no i don’t think so; i am sure alison/hippy gets that you were just teasing her.

daniel, i understand what you’re saying but now with the extra week, don’t you think this will help rafa? part of the issue with him on grass has been the quick turn around from clay, where he extends such a strong effort. on the one hand, perhaps this year, it was alleviate some of that tension. on the other hand, it would indeed be interesting to see how rafa played out a year where he did not win RG since he’s won it for a decade!! O_O how would that change his approach and efforts after roland garros? it would be fascinating to see that just out of curiosity. and especially if novak won RG instead, ha ha. ;) just kidding!!

March 29th, 2015 at 8:44 pm

@Chick, I feel the same, if Rafa isn’t playing I really don’t care one way or the other who wins. I used to get all into that a few years ago….but found it to be too nerve wracking to get all worked up over players that I could care less about for the sake of worrying over a record……when in 30, 40, 100 yrs from now, who cares?? I enjoy watching Rafa play and tennis in general, when he hangs it up, it won’t be the same for me, but I’ll live through it just like I do when he loses. On to clay!!

March 29th, 2015 at 9:45 pm

@mat4,
I do not believe you meant Rafa is done yet, but I do believe your intent…. And yes his sneakers need a redo.
vous ne pouvez pas tromper un Irlandais.

March 29th, 2015 at 10:10 pm

SG1:

An answer to your last posts on the Sampras thread:

In 1984, JMac was in great shape, he had a winning streak, he was 25 years old, at the height of his powers. But that year he played with a graphite racquet himself, in a time when other players were making the transition too. The game didn’t change yet. Connors even reverted to his old Wilson T-2000.

But by 1986, the transition was over: Wilander, Becker, Edberg, Chang, Agassi, Sampras all the young stars were formed with a graphite racquet in hand and exploited his full potential, all using western or semi-western grips. JMac was overpowered: he couldn’t win a tournament in 1987. He was one the last player playing with an continental (perhaps eastern) grip, both FH and BH, and that limited the power of his shots.

How do I know he had problem in 1985 and 1986? I read l’Equipe, and it seems that I haven’t forgotten everything.

March 29th, 2015 at 10:27 pm

Un irlandais? Un écossais vous voulez dire!

Question for you: did JMac use a continental or an eastern grip? I just read that he used a continental grip, like Connors, but I am still not sure.

March 29th, 2015 at 10:33 pm

pas irlandais à l’os.
Continental.

March 29th, 2015 at 11:09 pm

Found a clip on youtube with slow motion in the meantime. Clearly continental.

March 29th, 2015 at 11:27 pm

Also found a match between Borg and Connors from 1994… Very interesting. Connors already using the Prince precision mono racquet.

March 29th, 2015 at 11:31 pm

Borg was not as steady as he used to be when he played, but here we can see how much a modern racquet helped his game, not to mention that he was much mature and his shot selection was better.

March 29th, 2015 at 11:34 pm

@Mat4
You are quite wrong about the style of Rafa’s awful sneakers being responsible for his losses. Jo-W has the best shorts in the tournament and look, he just lost ;)

March 30th, 2015 at 1:23 am

What’s the deal about Rafa’s sneakers?? Did I miss
out on something? Don’t want to do that! Lol

I watched the match live stream on the computer and didn’t have sound on……was the crowd for Nando today? I got the gist from another website that there was some hollering out from the crowd during service games…..but don’t know who was on the receiving end of it. Just curious. That is so rude regardless who it was directed to.

March 30th, 2015 at 2:01 am

Okie dont get me wrong winning and losing is all part of the sport,but i dread to think what it will be like here the day Rafa doesnt win the FO,i think it was the worst thing i ever did posting here TBH,it really spoils my enjoyment of the game sometimes….

March 30th, 2015 at 5:08 am

@Margot:

JWT had no chance: Lamonf had also a good shorts, and his haircut was unbeatable… ;-)

March 30th, 2015 at 7:05 am

Mat4 yes i get you were teasing its all good,i do admit to been quite bitter,your favorite is riding the crest of a wave and appears unbeatable,where my two favorites are getting beat by all and sundry just lately,so not all of us are feeling euphoric and happy sorry….

Jane just wondering why the lol when you said about this been the time Nole loses,and the ha ha about him winning RG,no harm or foul just curious?….

March 30th, 2015 at 7:17 am

What goes up must come down! Waiting …..

March 30th, 2015 at 7:30 am

Verdasco has always been dangerous and maybe those missed match points against Milos last week got to Rafa a bit? I’m surprised Rafa was very open about his nerves b/c that shows a definite chink in the armor (though Novak was clearly nervous during the IW final).
Like most people here, I think he’s waiting for the clay and that confidence builder. Now Novak is the powerhouse and it’s hard to get around him, and I don’t think Murray is the guy to do it (though Miami seems like one of his favorite tournaments).

I agree w/ Hippy that once your favorites are out, it’s hard to be as enthusiastic, though I’m a lot less nervous. I’ll still watch the rest of the tournament though. I don’t root against people necessarily, but I may fall one side or the other in a semi or final. Great tennis is great tennis, and it will be another 2 weeks until Monte Carlo, which is always a really interesting tournament (not that I have a very vested interest this year or anything, re. the defending champion).

March 30th, 2015 at 8:38 am

rafa itching for clay to court no doubt.

not sure what’s up with genie bouchard. felt very promising last year but mentally, even though she talks a tough game, she’s still not there.

March 30th, 2015 at 11:30 am

@Alison:

Don’t forget that from 2008 to 2011, the situation was quite the opposite. And, it is not certain that “wave” will continue…

March 30th, 2015 at 12:32 pm

Mat4 i dont understand what your reffering to sorry?…

March 30th, 2015 at 6:05 pm

@Alison:

In that period, Rafa won many slams, many titles, while Novak had problems. It was a bit difficult to be a Novak fan.

Then, you never know what tomorrow brings. I have to be satisfied with Novak’s successes. You never know when a slam win is the last one, a tournament win is the last.

March 30th, 2015 at 6:14 pm

Mat4 its Novaks time and he deserves it,he was in the shadow of Fedal for a long time before his career blossomed,now the shoes on the other foot,i dont exactly enjoy the way i feel as ive never had myself down as a bitter person,but i somehow cant help feeling quite resentful,however thats not Novaks fault its mine and me with the problem,no holds barred im laying myself out there and bare,i guess we are all human….

March 30th, 2015 at 6:20 pm

@Alison:

It’s OK. I think it is a very normal feeling for a fan. It doesn’t define you as a person.

To quote jane: “Fandome is a strange country.”

March 30th, 2015 at 6:30 pm

Meanwhile, yesterday’s story is repeating in Novak’s match against Darcis…

March 30th, 2015 at 6:31 pm