Here’s a stat that has been under the radar (this is from a tweet by Greg Sharko):
Career #GrandSlam SF leaders:
.@RogerFederer 38
.@JimmyConnors 31
.@DjokerNole 28
Ivan Lendl 28
.@AndreAgassi 26

I can see Nole passing Fed at some point as he’s had so few early exits the last few years (although Fed keeps getting to at least 2 semis each year so he may be able to keep his lead).

Also, I was surprised to see Agassi so high up on this list.

September 14th, 2015 at 7:42 pm

good one rz…
another cool thing is how *early* he has clinched #1. staff could maybe confirm? but i think only fed in 06 and mac in 84 have wrapped up ye#1 in september?

September 14th, 2015 at 9:50 pm

Another tennis blog noted that Djokovic, with points awarded “normed” for the same event to be same for Nole as say Connors – has more points on the rolling 365 day ATP ranking points total than anyone in the Open Era.
Year end points will probably drop, unless he is really, really good, and really lucky – given he won 3 of the 4 remaining events (Beijing, Paris-Bercy, WTF) and made the semis of the other one. (Shanghai).

—————–
I once thought, a couple years ago, it would be impossible for Nole or Rafa to catch the group with the most weeks as #1, but this year has made me reconsider. Nole passes John McEnroe in early November to be 5th all-time with 171 weeks. But then it doesn’t seem farfetched to think Djokovic could have a few more years worth of weeks as #1. Then he would be in with Connors, Lendl, Sampras (268, 270, 286 – respectively).
And another half year would put him well past the record holder, Roger, who has 302 weeks.

September 14th, 2015 at 10:21 pm

Chris, as of now, there is no one on the tennis horizon who appears capable of challenging Novak for #1. 2016 certainly looks good for him. But any player can burn out at any time. It may be that Rafa has. It may be that Novak needs to diminish on his own before any current players can catch him.
I don’t see a single player on tour that is a threat to him for #1 at his current level. Wawrinka could beat him at a Slam, Fed or Murray might steal one as well. But no one on tour has is going to match him week in, week out the way he’s going.

September 14th, 2015 at 11:18 pm

Nice article and very fitting end of this article:

http://www.telegraph.co.uk/sport/tennis/usopen/11862952/Novak-Djokovic-beats-Roger-Federer-in-US-Open-final.html

“At the end, Djokovic climbed up to celebrate with his player’s box, which included the Scottish actor Gerard Butler. The two men went so far as to deliver a joint rendition of Butler’s catchprase from the film 300. “When I went to my box and I looked at him I said, ‘This is Sparta,’” Djokovic explained afterwards. “It felt great. That’s one of the most inspiring movies I watched.”

Put a sword in his hand, and you could certainly imagine Djokovic guarding the path to Thermopylae. Never has a tennis player so embodied the spirit of “Thou shalt not pass.”

September 15th, 2015 at 12:33 am

Great paragraph, WB!

Here is the latest NYT interview with Novak by Clarey and Rothenberg:

http://www.nytimes.com/2015/09/15/sports/tennis/novak-djokovics-winning-strategy-mind-over-chatter.html?_r=0

A few interesting quotes from it:

“What I was actually doing was trying to play a mind game with myself,” he said in an interview on Monday. “They would scream, ‘Roger!’ and I would imagine they were screaming, ‘Novak!’”
(Clarey’s comment: There may truly be no hope for the chase pack if Djokovic is able to use even one of the most hostile crowds in the recent history of Grand Slam finals to his advantage.)

“To a neutral observer, it was an extraordinary situation, with the New York crowd more interventionist than even the crowd at the Wimbledon final in 2013, which succeeded in helping Andy Murray end a 77-year drought for British men at the All England Club by beating Djokovic.”

“The sellout crowd in Arthur Ashe Stadium was cheering Novak Djokovic’s miscues and even disrupting his service motion on occasion, all with the common goal of trying to propel Roger Federer across the finish line.”

“Clearly resistant to SABR’s charms, but not openly critical, Djokovic appears to have figured out long ago that taking shots at Federer rarely gets you anywhere. Best to extol his evident virtues and beat him when it matters most.”

And my favourite part of the article:
“But look who has won three of the four Grand Slam singles titles again this season, losing only in the French Open final. Look who has a record total of more than 16,000 points in the computer rankings, the most since a new point scale was put into place in 2009. And look who has clinched the year-end No. 1 ranking in mid-September.”

September 15th, 2015 at 1:56 am

Apologies for intruding on Nole’s site

Re. Davis Cup:
James Ward has now been listed on GB’s Davis Cup team along with the previous 4. Australia are still only listing 4 names.

September 15th, 2015 at 4:00 am

There’s a popularity poll in The Telegraph on 5 players:

Roger 44%
Nole 39%
Rafa 9%
Andy 6%
Stan 1%

September 15th, 2015 at 4:28 am

the crowds at these finals are largely affluent posers and celebrities who tend to support federer simply because he has the bigger celebrity profile. it has nothing to do with his style or ‘persona’, these people don’t actually follow the tennis tour. that’s why djokovic’s ranking is irrelevant to these crowds and why no matter how successful he is or how he behaves they will continue to blatantly support the bigger celebrity simply out of muppetness.

September 15th, 2015 at 4:33 am

Tennis Vagabond – On the other thread, you asked where that awesome topspin lob Djokovic used to counter Roger’s “chip&charge” and “SABR” came from. Djokovic has had that ability and shot skill for a long time but rarely uses it as a baseline player, preferring precision passing shots. To shake off the rust, since it was to be his counter to SABR, he practiced for a couple hours before the match. With his old buddy Mario Ancic [in New York for business] playing Roger doing SABR and Nole defending, honing the lob and passing shots and counter net rushes.
A portion of the pros have learned various shots and added them to their quiver of weapons, but don’t use them much because those shots don’t fit into their normal game plan.
They exist on a “break them out when needed badly” basis. Roger, a true “tennis genius”, probably has half as many shots he can execute perfectly that he rarely or never uses outside practice and Exos, as the regular and “off-normal” shots he has for his regular game plan. And a dozen or more largely useless but flashy “trick shots”.
A few oddsmaking feeds noted Ancic was there, doing SABR with his old pal Nole, I don’t know if Roger’s camp picked up on that.
Ancic, Haas, Safin, and and Delpo – the true top talents of the last 15-20 years. It’s almost unfair how they ended up on the sidelines. I am a fan of all 4.

I really like, BTW, Roger having the courage to change up his game, go with a new racket, embrace new tactics. He gets it. He has to. Perhaps he can be taken to task for arrogance in the past in refusing to change his ways on duking it out on the baseline with foes a bit better and younger who ground him down – or just letting Rafa club him with high bounce forehands to Roger’s backhand. But not now. Fed shows willingness to change

September 15th, 2015 at 5:22 am

I made a remark that could be taken the wrong way. When I mention the 4 lost to injury and mental struggle – “the true top talents lost” – in no way did I mean them as “THE” true top talents better than the Big 4, better than Rafa, Nole, Roger and Muzz.
But it is not hard to imagine the impact each could have had if they had top health.

September 15th, 2015 at 5:31 am

Are we supposed to believe the popularity poll in the TELEGRAPH??? Probably rigged by some fedfan. 😡

September 15th, 2015 at 7:57 am

Good read for nolefans

http://secondserb.blogspot.rs/

September 15th, 2015 at 8:18 am

Congrats Nole for another year end #1, you deserved it!

September 15th, 2015 at 10:03 am

thanks for sharing mat4. that site uses a lot of stats which i like.

this was great to read:

“Djokovic has faced one of the toughest schedules in tennis history, racking 21 wins over opponents ranked in the top 10, which is the most by any player through this point in a season in the era.”

you’d think it’s natural if you go that deep in this many events to face that many top 10s, but it’s not always the case.

September 15th, 2015 at 10:39 am

Giles – Usually I’d say with a tablespoon of salt – but it was attached to the article which gave a view on the way Nole was treated at the US Final – by the fans – and having read the article I dipped into the poll and was amazed that after everything he had to go through he wasn’t that far behind Roger on popularity….

September 15th, 2015 at 10:43 am

http://www.telegraph.co.uk/
sport/tennis/novakdjokovic/118630761
“Novak Djokovitch beats Roger Federer in US Open final – but where is the love for the Serb?

September 15th, 2015 at 10:59 am

‘where is the love for the Serb?’:

This rubbish needs to stop! The following:

1. Novak probably does not care:

He did not come into the sport to gain fans. Be a popular personality: he came for titles. He played the USO final for the title and he won it: outside that he probably could not care less.

2. What does it matter?

So he’s not popular as Federer or Nadal: boo hoo. What a tragedy. Such a sad fact of life. LOL: let’s get over it. It hardly matters. Today:

Djokovic is more popular than any retired player. He’s more than likely more popular than any active player.

Just Federer and Nadal exceed him. We knew that in 2007. And we know it today. It’s extremely old news, nor a big deal nor a tragedy.

This begging for love needs to stop since IF he ain’t getting it already: he likely won’t with such pity articles. And ultimately he’s a multimillionaire. His life is made. People need to feel pity, sorry for far more worthier causes since ultimately when it comes down to it:

ALL Novak cares about (like they all do) is himself and his loved ones.

They don’t give a rat’s arse one way or the other about fans. Why should they? LOL.

September 15th, 2015 at 11:15 am

i agree: i am tired of those articles. they only perpetuate a certain perspective anyhow.

i am glad that the tennis media acknowledged the poor behaviour of the crowd – yelling out btwn points, cheering errors, and that sort of thing.

but he prevailed.

so let’s talk about novak’s ACHIEVEMENTS not his popularity. wrong sense of focus. even if unsurprising from the largely ridiculous tennis media.

September 15th, 2015 at 11:19 am

@jane
TBH I like Andy’s minority appeal. It makes him quite special to his discerning fans…..;)

September 15th, 2015 at 12:03 pm

Got it in ONE Margot!
I’d never could go along with the hoi polloi, esp for Federer!
Andy has an Indie vibe which when counterpointed to his INCREDIBLE ball skills and on court awareness/tactical nous makes him, for me, the `Special One`
Even if he had NO SLAMS.
The rest and their fans can generally get stuffed really.

September 15th, 2015 at 12:10 pm

I remember before the 2012 USO final, a co-worker of mine was saying how Murray was the big favorite or something of the like. I asked how he could be a big favorite against Djokovic? Bear in mind Djokovic was number 1, defending champ, post crazy 2011 run, etc. Murray, meanwhile, had a few slam finals and an Olympic gold, but no slams.

His reply? “I’ve never even heard of Djokovic.”

That’s where the conversation ended. That pissed me off like crazy. Literally the only justification I can think of for Murray being more recognizable than Djokovic is the name itself. Murray is simple and pretty common. Djokovic has a silent D in the beginning. NY “fans”.

September 15th, 2015 at 12:15 pm

@Margot:

LOL, good that you feel that way. You should. At the end of the day:

These guys are here. They will eventually go. They set records. They all will get broken. Even Rafa said his RG record will go since IF one man can, surely another will. And he’s right.

It’s just best to enjoy the entertainment for YOURSELF whilst it lasts. Just kick back, relax and have some fun watching whoever gives you the most fun.

As for Djokovic:

I think it was a unique situation in which he got a unique treatment. Because many think any slam final fed now plays could be his last chance: some, NOT all, of his fans go OTT v the opponent.

So i don’t think it’s personal v Novak. It’s strictly the ill side of the business.

September 15th, 2015 at 12:20 pm

‘Djokovic has a silent D in the beginning’:

And like Django in the film he went out shooting off in glory! p

That film was a trip!

September 15th, 2015 at 12:22 pm

How long have you all been posting on this site Margot?
I remember you were talking about the above as maratsafinforever or something
But wait a moment Safin hasn’t played since the early noughties!
Now he is in the Duma sucking up to a disgusting dictator that is destroying his peoples country.
So, anyway, is tennis-x like 15 years OLD?!

September 15th, 2015 at 12:24 pm

margot i am the same: i never like mainstream things – in film, fashion, music, etc. much prefer “indies” ;)

the same goes for tennis; rarely have i found myself cheering for a top dog, except for steffi. although now novak’s been at the top for a while, but i was happily cheering him 2007-2010 when he had one slam and – for a time – was the double fault king. lol. now, he never ceases to amaze me in part because he overcame all that.

good luck to andy with davis cup b.t.w.; i see tennis.com has done a big piece on it.

around here there is not much of anything; usually you see videos of media tours, tweets from other players, etc. but i guess the “wrong” guy won?? :O

September 15th, 2015 at 12:29 pm

Django Unchained was awesome.

No one’s getting more French Opens than Nadal.

I think I started posting on Tennis-x around 2006? Maybe 05? But it’s been around since like 04 or something. There’s a way to go back all the way to Sean’s first article but I don’t remember how.

Safin doing Safin things. Putin doing Putin things. Russia is ass-backwards.

September 15th, 2015 at 12:29 pm

@CDP
Dunno how long tx has existed. I’ve been posting since 2010-11 possibly earlier , can’t remember.
Ben indeed was “Sensational Safin” back in the day but I could call myself “Legendary Mac” and I don’t think even tx was around then when he was on the main circuit. ;) Did computers EVEN exist then? How shocking is that?

September 15th, 2015 at 12:39 pm

Mergot you were posting here when I first joined tennis-x after the US Open 2009. I didn’t know that you were ‘deuce’ for awhile but not not long after maybe a week? – can’t mistake your unique clever minimalist and to the point style.

September 15th, 2015 at 12:57 pm

Margot, not mergot…sorry!

September 15th, 2015 at 12:58 pm

@jalep
EEK!! Was it really 2009? Was never “deuce” on here but was “deuce” on tennistalk….where I “met” you…;)
Ta 4 compliment.

September 15th, 2015 at 1:04 pm

`mergot` sounds like Margot crossed with `Merlot`
And judging from her time lines here it might just be a pretty decent one by now :)

September 15th, 2015 at 1:06 pm

Oh CDP, you are awful…but I like you…;)
Chateau Margaux please, as you’re buying :)

September 15th, 2015 at 1:10 pm

Yes, exactly Margot. We were both on TT. Not exactly ‘friends’ there either since I was such a nutter for defending Federer.

Actually wanted to try for a new start on Tennis-x. Realized I was a misfit fan because cheered for Delpo for the win USO and much of the time cheered against Federer after FO 2009.

Even if we weren’t “friends” on TT, you’d make me laugh hard (i’m sure you weren’t meaning to) so no way could I not like your posts…therefore, you.

September 15th, 2015 at 1:13 pm

Have learned to be suspicious of ‘new’ posters. Usually say nothing and ju st read their posts for awhile. At first I had CDP down for maybe two or three posters but finally concluded, either rightly or wrongly, that calmdownplease was indeed, new to tennis-x. Not ‘new’ in the naive sense, but quite experienced, lets say ;)

September 15th, 2015 at 1:23 pm

`Chateau Margaux please, as you’re buying :)

Mais oui Madam :)

September 15th, 2015 at 1:27 pm

@jalep
I remember once you told me I’d made you snort, with laughter, your coffee all over your PC. Or was that on here maybe?
I’ll draw a veil over your activities….;) Only trolls endlessly regurgitate the past.
I got into awful trouble on there for criticising Uncle T so, in the end, it was hard work and not fun any more and I stopped posting a couple of years ago.
Really liked Cheryl Murray tho. Main reason I joined that site. I wonder what happened to her.

September 15th, 2015 at 1:34 pm

Remember doing that and posting it…snorting coffee… not sure which tennis site it was.

The thing is: lots of posters in real life can alter their minds about players and ideas about the players and tennis – so…even if I do recognize someone’s writing style and voice, it’s worth it and interesting to simply read posts for a bit.

September 15th, 2015 at 1:51 pm

an echo in here? repeating myself..

September 15th, 2015 at 1:54 pm

jalep: I think it’s quite difficult to hide your “voice” long term anyway. Generally something slips, vocabulary, syntax, player preference even. Of course there are “players” on the net, whatever rocks your boat, I guess.

September 15th, 2015 at 1:56 pm

The issue is not Novak’s popularity but hate towards him. People don’t need to like him and cheer for him but they might as well let the guy serve and not cheer his mistakes.

It’s the hate that I don’t get, not the lack of popularity (much easier to explain, I’m not a fun of some of his actions in the past myself although he’s one of my 2 favorite players). Not everyone who booed the other night was drunk or psycho (some guys on this very site are definitely latter).

September 15th, 2015 at 2:02 pm

I started here in 05′ and very few remains form that era. Those virtual fights were insane LOL

Don’t know if this is the place but there is a few matches I still want to see this season:

1 – Wawa x Kyrgios;-) (drama)
2 – Nadal x Fognini (see if Fabio will still bother Rafa)
3 – Fed x Nadal (haven’t played in a while)
4 – all other between Fed x Djoko and Murray (Fed x Djoko; Fed x Murray, Djoko x Murray), at least 1 more of each.

Guess in London pretty are many of this matches will happen.

September 15th, 2015 at 2:07 pm

Daniel you could never “hide,” your phone would give you away in two ticks. Still laughing over “loobies” and waiting for you to explain this unique shot to me. :)

September 15th, 2015 at 2:13 pm

LOL Margot, usually at work I check my writing, but here is just type and go.

September 15th, 2015 at 2:59 pm

Thoughts –

1. Djokovic is by no means calling 2015 a wrap. He says Beijing, Shanghai, Paris and WTF-Barclays await him after his USO victory over Fed. ( and the Fedtards in the NYC audience). 4 to go. It is possible to beat Fed’s 2006 year end adjusted points record..

2. Popularity matters. Records don’t pay millions a record. Endorsements pay 3X or more than prize money for a coveted, globally popular coterie of tennis stars. Novak is scooping up endorsements right and left due to his global popularity and hard work as a pitchman. I prefer the cocky free spirit goofy comic Mole of the early years with nipple tassels and awesome impersonations and riding on top of planes – but if a blanded down corporate Djokovic is worth 20 million more a year, its a no brainer choice for someone like Nole.

3. Couple weeks off, then back at it. Oct 2 in Thailand is Nole and Rafa’s Exo event before the Beijing 500..Looking forward to that.

September 15th, 2015 at 3:19 pm

I luv U – please don’t calmdownplease. (12.10pm)

September 15th, 2015 at 3:25 pm

CF1, thanks for that story, I hadn’t heard that. It was very interesting.
I though I remembered Novak having a poor lob historically, but probably my memory is off, or I was lumping it with his overhead.

September 15th, 2015 at 4:37 pm

Don’t talk about Nole’s overhead please, I close my eyes whenever he is about to hit one.

September 15th, 2015 at 4:41 pm

CF1, but he still dance with that crazy guy on courr and wear the I Love NY shirt. Think this part of his personailty is still there. It’s just that he is more mature now, a father, so he grew up. But I agree, the more you are loved by most the better the sponsors and contracts off court. His time to buck the most he can now. With increase in proze money he may very well end as the most well paid tennis on prize money. Because I don’t see anyone winning 10+ majors in at least in a long time.

September 15th, 2015 at 5:57 pm