Novak Djokovic is the fittest tennis player on the planet

[Luxilon Borg]

Novak is fitter than Federer, Nadal, and Murray, by a mile.

Not to mention every other player on the planet.

Any doubters?

 

[Moxie]

I'm not really a fan of threads that mainly just want to proclaim a point. So I'll go for the contentious, since there won't otherwise be anything to say on this point: how about "mentally?"

 

[Luxilon Borg]

I'm not really a fan of threads that mainly just want to proclaim a point. So I'll go for the contentious, since there won't otherwise be anything to say on this point: how about "mentally?"

Mentally top tier. Total self belief. Exhausts all solutions.

 

[Moxie]

I'm not really a fan of threads that mainly just want to proclaim a point. So I'll go for the contentious, since there won't otherwise be anything to say on this point: how about "mentally?"

Mentally top tier. Total self belief. Exhausts all solutions.

He's top tier in all things. But would you disagree that he's a bit quick to get discouraged or down on himself before it's time, or thrown by the crowd, which can cause him to have to hang around too long, even when he eventually prevails?

 

[Luxilon Borg]

I'm not really a fan of threads that mainly just want to proclaim a point. So I'll go for the contentious, since there won't otherwise be anything to say on this point: how about "mentally?"

Mentally top tier. Total self belief. Exhausts all solutions.

He's top tier in all things. But would you disagree that he's a bit quick to get discouraged or down on himself before it's time, or thrown by the crowd, which can cause him to have to hang around too long, even when he eventually prevails?

On some occasions he gets thrown...but it generally is a short detour then he rights the ship.

What distinguishes him now is that he accepts nothing less than victory no matter the cost. His eye is on the prize.

 

[Moxie]

Obviously he "rights the ship" more often than not. And you've thrown several other cliches at it. I guess you just want us to say, "Yes, he's the fittest tennis player on the planet." No further discussion. So why the thread, then?

 

[Luxilon Borg]

Obviously he "rights the ship" more often than not. And you've thrown several other cliches at it. I guess you just want us to say, "Yes, he's the fittest tennis player on the planet." No further discussion. So why the thread, then?

I think the thread was warranted because we hear about how "good" Novak is and how driven he is and the old story about how he "defied" the odds...

This is a player who was known as weak in constitution and not even on the same planet as Nadal or Federer, or even Murray physically.

Now he is superior to them in fitness, and is out lasting them physically in every encounter of importance.

Even the WSJ article barely touched on his fitness...

 

[Moxie]

Obviously he "rights the ship" more often than not. And you've thrown several other cliches at it. I guess you just want us to say, "Yes, he's the fittest tennis player on the planet." No further discussion. So why the thread, then?

I think the thread was warranted because we hear about how "good" Novak is and how driven he is and the old story about how he "defied" the odds...

This is a player who was known as weak in constitution and not even on the same planet as Nadal or Federer, or even Murray physically.

Now he is superior to them in fitness, and is out lasting them physically in every encounter of importance.

Even the WSJ article barely touched on his fitness...

It's been a long time since Novak got past his health issues, so that's old news, and he's been #1 for a long time. He IS incredibly fit, and I really admire his yoga regime. I think it will serve him in the long term. As to your statement I bolded above, that's not completely true. And I'm assuming that you're counting from 2011.

 

[Luxilon Borg]

Obviously he "rights the ship" more often than not. And you've thrown several other cliches at it. I guess you just want us to say, "Yes, he's the fittest tennis player on the planet." No further discussion. So why the thread, then?

I think the thread was warranted because we hear about how "good" Novak is and how driven he is and the old story about how he "defied" the odds...

This is a player who was known as weak in constitution and not even on the same planet as Nadal or Federer, or even Murray physically.

Now he is superior to them in fitness, and is out lasting them physically in every encounter of importance.

Even the WSJ article barely touched on his fitness...

It's been a long time since Novak got past his health issues, so that's old news, and he's been #1 for a long time. He IS incredibly fit, and I really admire his yoga regime. I think it will serve him in the long term. As to your statement I bolded above, that's not completely true. And I'm assuming that you're counting from 2011.

Well, in reference to the bolded..the losses he took against rafa and murray from 2011 were not endurance tests IMO. He simply got outplayed, and was weighed down by the absurd heights of 2011.

He was not ground down in any of those matches that I can remember. And the several losses to Federer
were relatively quick, surgical dispatches.

 

[Murat Baslamisli]

Maybe...I mean, there might be a player ranked 500 who is fitter than everyone and can go 10 sets in a row without breaking a sweat but just does not have the shots or whatever. Who knows...But what I see from Nole is that even when he looks tired, he wills himself better than anyone to keep going. It was just the opposite at the first half of his career. He has figured it out.

 

[Luxilon Borg]

Maybe...I mean, there might be a player ranked 500 who is fitter than everyone and can go 10 sets in a row without breaking a sweat but just does not have the shots or whatever. Who knows...But what I see from Nole is that even when he looks tired, he wills himself better than anyone to keep going. It was just the opposite at the first half of his career. He has figured it out.

"when he looks tired, he wills himself better"

Exactamundo.

 

[Moxie]

I think the thread was warranted because we hear about how "good" Novak is and how driven he is and the old story about how he "defied" the odds...

This is a player who was known as weak in constitution and not even on the same planet as Nadal or Federer, or even Murray physically.

Now he is superior to them in fitness, and is out lasting them physically in every encounter of importance.

Even the WSJ article barely touched on his fitness...

It's been a long time since Novak got past his health issues, so that's old news, and he's been #1 for a long time. He IS incredibly fit, and I really admire his yoga regime. I think it will serve him in the long term. As to your statement I bolded above, that's not completely true. And I'm assuming that you're counting from 2011.

Well, in reference to the bolded..the losses he took against rafa and murray from 2011 were not endurance tests IMO. He simply got outplayed, and was weighed down by the absurd heights of 2011.

He was not ground down in any of those matches that I can remember. And the several losses to Federer
were relatively quick, surgical dispatches.

Oh, come on, LB. But just for the fun of keeping this going: you originally said that Novak "outlasted them in every encounter of importance." Now you seem to have qualified that. I'm sure you don't want to say that Djokovic wins because he merely outlasts opponents. That denigrates his game. Surely he has out-played them, as well. But there have been matches, since 2011, when Novak has seemed gassed. The Wimbledon 2013 was one. I absolutely agree that he is an incredibly fit player, and the most fit for now, but I won't give you that he's won every encounter versus the Big Four by out-lasting them, physically. Endurance comes into play in 4 and 5 set matches. Djokovic has come at the short end of some of those, but so have the opponents. When you get to 4-5 sets it's about a lot of things, and not just physical fitness.

 

[Luxilon Borg]

It's been a long time since Novak got past his health issues, so that's old news, and he's been #1 for a long time. He IS incredibly fit, and I really admire his yoga regime. I think it will serve him in the long term. As to your statement I bolded above, that's not completely true. And I'm assuming that you're counting from 2011.

Well, in reference to the bolded..the losses he took against rafa and murray from 2011 were not endurance tests IMO. He simply got outplayed, and was weighed down by the absurd heights of 2011.

He was not ground down in any of those matches that I can remember. And the several losses to Federer
were relatively quick, surgical dispatches.

Oh, come on, LB. But just for the fun of keeping this going: you originally said that Novak "outlasted them in every encounter of importance." Now you seem to have qualified that. I'm sure you don't want to say that Djokovic wins because he merely outlasts opponents. That denigrates his game. Surely he has out-played them, as well. But there have been matches, since 2011, when Novak has seemed gassed. The Wimbledon 2013 was one. I absolutely agree that he is an incredibly fit player, and the most fit for now, but I won't give you that he's won every encounter versus the Big Four by out-lasting them, physically. Endurance comes into play in 4 and 5 set matches. Djokovic has come at the short end of some of those, but so have the opponents. When you get to 4-5 sets it's about a lot of things, and not just physical fitness.

Yes, thanks for the opportunity for clarifying my position and adding a few twists...

First, of course not all of his wins are based on just grinding down his opponents (at least physically).

The win in IW over Murray is a perfect example. I would be the last one to denigrate Novak's game. I marvel at it and I am even copying certain parts for my self. I took dozens of pics at IW of his sessions. (Free tennis lessons!). One could discuss what he does well for weeks on end not cover it, and spend a very short period on his weaknesses.

Agree on RARE occasion, Novak has seemed gassed..but that USUALLY happens after a grueling Davis Cup tie, which I think takes a LOT out of him.

Here is another MAJOR point. He often has gotten opponents to quit after tough physical first sets because they KNOW they can't outlast him, even if they tough out a second set. He has an extraordinary amount of second and last set bagels and breadsticks.

What I was ultimately saying is IF the match gets physical, and becomes an endurance test...he is superior, and will win the vast majority of time because of his fitness. The one asterisk would be a 5th set on clay against you know who.

In the end he is the ultimate nightmare opponent...no weaknesses, and fit beyond belief.

 

[nehmeth]

Agree on RARE occasion, Novak has seemed gassed..but that USUALLY happens after a grueling Davis Cup tie, which I think takes a LOT out of him.

Here is another MAJOR point. He often has gotten opponents to quit after tough physical first sets because they KNOW they can't outlast him, even if they tough out a second set. He has an extraordinary amount of second and last set bagels and breadsticks.

What I was ultimately saying is IF the match gets physical, and becomes an endurance test...he is superior, and will win the vast majority of time because of his fitness. The one asterisk would be a 5th set on clay against you know who.

In the end he is the ultimate nightmare opponent...no weaknesses, and fit beyond belief.

Rafa Nadal has been the guy to adjust his game, commitment and perspective to get back into the win column against Novak. Outside of the nagging injuries that have plagued his career, he has always been either above or equal to Novak in fitness/stamina.

But I do see your point about Novak making his opponents pay. Just last week, he made Isner fight for his first two service games, taking the first one to 14 points and the second one to 12 points. Even though John won them, he had that look on his face as if to say, "Is it going to be like this all night?"

Dolgopolov cramped up and went away in the last set. Ferrer who is probably one of the other fittest guys out there looked gassed after a number of their points. I still have no idea how he finds a way to regroup so quickly. Then there was that one point when Andy looked at his trainer and thanked him - acknowledging that the tank was empty. Novak ran away with that last set.

L.B., I believe you have valid points.

Lastly, the other guy who wins with regularity against Novak - Fed. To me, he is excellent at the way he picks his spots, knows when/where he has the best opportunity and makes the most out of them. I hope the two play each other at Wimbledon and the U.S. Open this year.

 

[Murat Baslamisli]

He is fit and he has class as well. Good for him to apologize to the ball/towel kid that got caught in the middle when Nole was shouting something at his box.

 

[Luxilon Borg]

Agree on RARE occasion, Novak has seemed gassed..but that USUALLY happens after a grueling Davis Cup tie, which I think takes a LOT out of him.

Here is another MAJOR point. He often has gotten opponents to quit after tough physical first sets because they KNOW they can't outlast him, even if they tough out a second set. He has an extraordinary amount of second and last set bagels and breadsticks.

What I was ultimately saying is IF the match gets physical, and becomes an endurance test...he is superior, and will win the vast majority of time because of his fitness. The one asterisk would be a 5th set on clay against you know who.

In the end he is the ultimate nightmare opponent...no weaknesses, and fit beyond belief.

Rafa Nadal has been the guy to adjust his game, commitment and perspective to get back into the win column against Novak. Outside of the nagging injuries that have plagued his career, he has always been either above or equal to Novak in fitness/stamina.

But I do see your point about Novak making his opponents pay. Just last week, he made Isner fight for his first two service games, taking the first one to 14 points and the second one to 12 points. Even though John won them, he had that look on his face as if to say, "Is it going to be like this all night?"

Dolgopolov cramped up and went away in the last set. Ferrer who is probably one of the other fittest guys out there looked gassed after a number of their points. I still have no idea how he finds a way to regroup so quickly. Then there was that one point when Andy looked at his trainer and thanked him - acknowledging that the tank was empty. Novak ran away with that last set.

L.B., I believe you have valid points.

Lastly, the other guy who wins with regularity against Novak - Fed. To me, he is excellent at the way he picks his spots, knows when/where he has the best opportunity and makes the most out of them. I hope the two play each other at Wimbledon and the U.S. Open this year.

You eloquently laid out my line of thinking, with even better, solid examples.

Every match you referenced I remember vividly, and I remember the exact moment in those matches where Novak got the mental and physical surrender. If he was a boxer he would have a hell of a lot knocks out his record this year.

Federer is and will always be a different animal. He is about precision and surgical strikes. He took fitness completely out of the it in Dubai, and he has to do that again at Wimbledon if they play.

 

[Luxilon Borg]

He is fit and he has class as well. Good for him to apologize to the ball/towel kid that got caught in the middle when Nole was shouting something at his box.

Agree completely and his actions should be acknowledged.

 

[Moxie]

He is fit and he has class as well. Good for him to apologize to the ball/towel kid that got caught in the middle when Nole was shouting something at his box.

Agree completely and his actions should be acknowledged.

They were...by the chair umpire.

 

[nehmeth]

He is fit and he has class as well. Good for him to apologize to the ball/towel kid that got caught in the middle when Nole was shouting something at his box.

Poor kid caught the blowback from a very frustrated tennis player who had just let the 2nd set slip through his hands. Even though he was shouting at his box, an apology to the young man was necessary. Glad he stepped up.

 

[Moxie]

He is fit and he has class as well. Good for him to apologize to the ball/towel kid that got caught in the middle when Nole was shouting something at his box.

Poor kid caught the blowback from a very frustrated tennis player who had just let the 2nd set slip through his hands. Even though he was shouting at his box, an apology to the young man was necessary. Glad he stepped up.

Yes, the kid did catch the blowback of Novak's frustration. And Djokovic was right to make an apology. I'm sure he doesn't see himself as a person who would frighten a kid, and therefore made an apology based on his own standards, and for an offense that was inadvertent.

However, it's interesting how everyone on these forums was ready to forgive Novak, and give him a medal for the apology, when they would surely have hung Andy up by the short hairs for the same behavior, had it been him. Nehmeth, you're the only one who even deemed an apology necessary.