A lot of people overlook Novak's failure to close out Murray in sets 3 and 4 in that French Open semifinal, forcing him to play that extra day. That definitely played a role in Novak's 2015 French Open final loss. If Novak closes it out earlier and doesn't play the extra day, maybe he pulls out the final in 4 or 5. (Just look at the 2021 French Open. It was huge for Novak to close that out in 4. If he had to go 5 with Rafa, even if he had won, Novak probably doesn't have enough juice in the finals against Tsitsipas judging by the way he came out.)
Novak doesn't have that excuse for the 2016 US Open. His draw was straightforward, and even won the first set of the final. He just choked, like he did in the Wimbledon final to Alcaraz. Every great player has a few of them. Even Federer choked the 2014 and 2019 Wimbledon finals. It happens, but it doesn't reduce Novak or Federer's greatness.
I'm not clear on how you define a "choke." I think it's fair to say that Roger choked in the 2019 Wimbledon final, when he had 2 consecutive Championship points on his serve, though even that was hotly debated here at the time, between Fed fans and Djokovic fans. (For Novak's fans, he just saved them.) The others just sound like matches that you thought the other player "should" have won. The 2014 Wimbledon final was a hard-fought 5-setter, against an estimable opponent. Roger won a tight first set, but Novak the next 2.
You say Novak "doesn't have an excuse" for the 2016 US Open, but that completely negates how Stan played. I also don't see how Novak choked in this year's Wimbledon final v. Alcaraz. Because he netted some shots in the 2nd set TB that he wouldn't normally miss? There was still a long way to go at that point, and, IMO, he got outplayed in the end.
To me, choking a match is when you have the clear advantage, or the match on your racquet, as in Federer in that 2019 final. To me, Tsitsipas losing the RG final v. Djokovic in 2021 wasn't exactly a choke because he clearly doesn't have the cojones to close. Nadal d. Medvedev in AO 2021 also wasn't a choke, because it was Rafa who choked that 2nd set, having had advantages twice in the set.
IMO, it can rarely be said that a player "choked" a match, because it downplays the efforts on the other side of the net. I don't think a few poorly-played points here and there can cut it. I definitely don't think that being the player that "should" have won it on paper justifies it, at all. Federer fans like to point to his loss to del Potro at the USO in 2009 as a "choke." I don't believe that it qualifies.
I'll tell you one that does, IMO: Nadal d. Medvedev, YEC 2019. Medvedev was up two breaks and serving for the match at 5-1. He played an absolutely terrible game to drop serve, but still had that E-surance break. Lost that one, too. Nadal got it back on serve and eventually won in a TB. You know I'm a huge Nadal fan, but even I will say that all Rafa had to do was mostly participate in that 3rd set to win that match, so badly did Medvedev crater.
But I'd love to hear how you define a "choke."
