How Worried Are We For Novak?

[El Dude]

Fans and non-fans alike. Obviously Andy's situation is more worrisome, but a lingering elbow issue is no small matter. How worried are you?

 

[Denis]

I honestly have no idea. It’s been a year and a half now since his last slam win. It’s not looking great but I’m still staying optimistic. He looked fit and prepared other than the elbow issue. Chung just played fantastic today too.

 

[Nekro]

I voted for quite worried, he looks broken and dejected.......

lol i saw Fiero's post in the other thread, i didn't want to argue with him cause i love his posts in general but the Chung beat him at his own game part is a load of horseshit.... This is not even the shadow of Nole, this is his ghost....

It's like me going back to some old computer game where i was legend after 6 years of break in tot shitty form, some noob beating me and making screenshots and then bragging he beat me...... for feck's sake, seriously .....

 

[El Dude]

@Nekro, I haven't watched Novak play much yet, except for a few highlights, but how is his overall level compared to last year? Last year he was still top 5ish, just not the Novak we saw from 2011-16...would you say he's in top 20 form?

 

[Nekro]

@Nekro, I haven't watched Novak play much yet, except for a few highlights, but how is his overall level compared to last year? Last year he was still top 5ish, just not the Novak we saw from 2011-16...would you say he's in top 20 form?

Mentally he wasn't even top 50 this match..... He was making bad decisions all match, sometimes forcing bad solutions just for the heck of it sometimes outright tanking points out of frustration..... But ofc he's still Nole so he made the match competitive but it's hard to tell what his overall level is..... And ofc we don't know how bad his elbow is, but to me it seems the head problems are the real problems like last year, maybe i'm wrong.....

 

[Denis]

^ I noticed the tanking of the points too. He also tried to pull off some of those grunting tricks at the end of the second set. Got broken in that game. Karma.

There is always a risk of expecting you have earned your spot already. He needs to fight just as hard maybe even harder as he did in 2007/2008.

The physical issue is a bigger worry for me though. Health comes first.

 

[El Dude]

It is hard seeing such a great player fall from such heights so quickly. I'm trying to think of comparable instances in the past and the thing that comes to mind is McEnroe, from his best year in 1984 to still very good but outmatched by Lendl, Wilander and others n 1985, to basically a top 20 player for the rest of his career. But with Mac, it was drugs, pressure, Tatum O'Neal, etc. With Novak it is, presumably, some combination of marital problems, maybe spiritual/existential issues, and the elbow.

Anyhow, he'll be interesting to watch this year. And I suppose his fans can look to Rafa and Roger and take heart that a comeback is possible.

 

[Federberg]

It's a convenient excuse that people trot out about Mac, but the fact is it was racquet technology that did him in. When the move was made from wood to graphite he was unable to cope with the power game. It just so happened that the other things happened coincidentally

 

[Denis]

It is hard seeing such a great player fall from such heights so quickly. I'm trying to think of comparable instances in the past and the thing that comes to mind is McEnroe, from his best year in 1984 to still very good but outmatched by Lendl, Wilander and others n 1985, to basically a top 20 player for the rest of his career. But with Mac, it was drugs, pressure, Tatum O'Neal, etc. With Novak it is, presumably, some combination of marital problems, maybe spiritual/existential issues, and the elbow.

Anyhow, he'll be interesting to watch this year. And I suppose his fans can look to Rafa and Roger and take heart that a comeback is possible.

Meh all the slander about Djokovic marriage.

Jelena was tweeting pictures of his daughter watching the match against Ramos.

 

[Denis]

Also, on your 'fall' point. Way too premature stuff. He was fighting an injury and took a long break. Seems like you are once again all to willing to predict the future with some kind of historic example.

 

[Nekro]

Meh all the slander about Djokovic marriage.

Jelena was tweeting pictures of his daughter watching the match against Ramos.

man, ofc she's not going to tweet pics of Djoko's thingy in some other chick's mouth...That's not what wives do....

but Djoko got tot pissed at mcenroe and obviously something serious is going on with him mentally???? You just admitted too he was doing funky shit on court... mentally stable people, especially professional athletes doing their best GS don't do that....

So tell me what it is then if the marriage issue is a "slander"

maybe as one of options Dude posted it's some existential issue, like Djoko's desperate how he will somehow transfer all that money to his next earthly incarnation or something?

Also, on your 'fall' point. Way too premature stuff. He was fighting an injury and took a long break. Seems like you are once again all to willing to predict the future with some kind of historic example.

The parallel was fine, he's not predicting anything, he's just making guesses and playing around with the similarities these two players have.... You should read scoop's stuff, he writes much wilder things and it's still damn cool....

Just relax Denis, no one buried Djoko yet....

 

[Denis]

man, ofc she's not going to tweet pics of Djoko's thingy in some other chick's mouth...That's not what wives do....

but Djoko got tot pissed at mcenroe and obviously something serious is going on with him mentally???? You just admitted too he was doing funky shit on court... mentally stable people, especially professional athletes doing their best GS don't do that....

So tell me what it is then if the marriage issue is a "slander"

maybe as one of options Dude posted it's some existential issue, like Djoko's desperate how he will somehow transfer all that money to his next earthly incarnation or something?

The parallel was fine, he's not predicting anything, he's just making guesses and playing around with the similarities these two players have.... You should read scoop's stuff, he writes much wilder things and it's still damn cool....

Just relax Denis, no one buried Djoko yet....

I've seen players doing crazier things and still win matches and even GS titles.

Novak has his walkabouts during matches, but I admit I did not like the point tanking, this was new. I would rather attribute it to the elbow than the family slander.

 

[El Dude]

Also, on your 'fall' point. Way too premature stuff. He was fighting an injury and took a long break. Seems like you are once again all to willing to predict the future with some kind of historic example.

Huh? This is silly. I am not predicting Novak's future. If anything, I am contrasting him to Mac - his situation is quite different.

 

[El Dude]

It's a convenient excuse that people trot out about Mac, but the fact is it was racquet technology that did him in. When the move was made from wood to graphite he was unable to cope with the power game. It just so happened that the other things happened coincidentally

Either way, you miss the forest for the trees just so you can get a shot in at me. How predictable.

The point that I was making was that you have to go back 30+ years to find a great player who dropped off a cliff and didn't recover.

 

[Federberg]

Either way, you miss the forest for the trees just so you can get a shot in at me. How predictable.

The point that I was making was that you have to go back 30+ years to find a great player who dropped off a cliff and didn't recover.

You have serious issues mate. Not least paranoia. I presented a statement of fact. Are you so deeply insecure that you have to perceive such a thing as a shot at you? Truly pathetic. I didn’t even challenge your nonsensical attempt at a historical parallel. Get over yourself

 

[El Dude]

Haha, you are too easy to rile. I can almost see the froth at the corner of your mouth as you angrily type. Relax, Federberg, it is all fun and games. Take a deep breath (and, for the love of all that's holy, own your projections!).

 

[brokenshoelace]

It's his first tournament back, let's cut him some slack. Not saying everything will be alright, but we can't possibly know. His body language was worrying but he can be often like that. I think he'll improve as the year progresses. He's too good not to.

 

[Nekro]

Haha, you are too easy to rile. I can almost see the froth at the corner of your mouth as you angrily type. Relax, Federberg, it is all fun and games. Take a deep breath (and, for the love of all that's holy, own your projections!).

lol Federberg is just jealous you made good convo topic and just wants to disrupt your thread, to turn it into a neverending personal fight like always.... He's been doing the same shit with other people's threads... Just look at the obvious lack of effort even to support his shit.... like, it was the racket, that's a fact, now let's go back to personal fight and disruption.....

Like what about what mac himself said, that the 84 hamstring injury totally wrecked his movement..... and what kind of idiocy is it that we're supposed to ignore the problems in his personal life? :S

Seriously, Trollerberg is like the most primitive troll ever..... just skip his posts imo

It's his first tournament back, let's cut him some slack. Not saying everything will be alright, but we can't possibly know. His body language was worrying but he can be often like that. I think he'll improve as the year progresses. He's too good not to.

I hope ur right....

 

[Federberg]

Haha, you are too easy to rile. I can almost see the froth at the corner of your mouth as you angrily type. Relax, Federberg, it is all fun and games. Take a deep breath (and, for the love of all that's holy, own your projections!).

You really are the weakest of individuals. Why would I be angry? Surprised and a bit exasperated by your response perhaps. But I repeat you’re a seriously insecure individual. And your persecution syndrome is getting a bit hysterical.

By the way, even that would probably only elicit an eye roll from me. But it’s your juvenile inability to admit your errors and misperceptions that leave me feeling slightly contemptuous of you

 

[Denis]

Guys no need to get that personal. Let’s stick with anonymously warring words on tennis.