US Open SF: Djokovic vs. Zverev

[Sundaymorningguy]

Zverev is very fit... medvedev is one fittest on tour..

it’s a combination of mental strength, ahthleticism, ball striking, confidence, stamina, court vision/tactics

i don’t think conditioning had much to to with medvedev’s loss at ao final or zverev’s loss tonight... it’s more mental i think.

berretini also didn’t just get tired after 1 set

djokovic’s mental fortitude is uncanny, amazing how he bounces back after losing sets and goes up a break early... he’s like that mutant in x-men who feeds off other’s energy, gets empowered

Yes, those guys are fit, but let’s be honest they are not fit or conditioned at a level that Nadal, Djokovic, or even Federer at his peak are. The reality is that Djokovic knows his game holds up past the 4, 5, even 6 hour mark, and that does wonders for you in a match. I don’t think Zverev, Medvedev, or Tsitsipas game holds up at all at the thought of a match spanning that long. That is a luxury Djokovic has made as part of his arsenal his stamina and endurance. He knows he can be in a 30, 40, 80 stroke rallies and not bat an eye, now does he want to, I’m sure he doesn’t, but he knows he can more often than not. It certainly wouldn’t enter Zverev’s mind to prolong a match because I don’t think he has the mental or even physical conditioning to endure a 5 hour match with a player.

 

[the AntiPusher]

Yes, those guys are fit, but let’s be honest they are not fit or conditioned at a level that Nadal, Djokovic, or even Federer at his peak are. The reality is that Djokovic knows his game holds up past the 4, 5, even 6 hour mark, and that does wonders for you in a match. I don’t think Zverev, Medvedev, or Tsitsipas game holds up at all at the thought of a match spanning that long. That is a luxury Djokovic has made as part of his arsenal his stamina and endurance. He knows he can be in a 30, 40, 80 stroke rallies and not bat an eye, now does he want to, I’m sure he doesn’t, but he knows he can more often than not. It certainly wouldn’t enter Zverev’s mind to prolong a match because I don’t think he has the mental or even physical conditioning to endure a 5 hour match with a player.

The only players outside of the big 3 that has raised every aspect of their game to the mental and physical level is Dominic, Stan and yes Sir Andy Murray when he was healthy. Novak, Rafa and Roger are true masters of the game of tennis. They can change the pace and spin of the ball with little effort. They have perfected every aspect of the game of tennis including the mental. Really the physical is the easiest part because they know how to pace themselves whenever they are not injured. Novak's stretching and flexibility has prolonged his career which is why he will be at the top. At their very best, I still feel Roger was the most gifted, Rafa was the better competitor and Novak was the one who absorb and was the real beneficiary of playing against those to geniuses . IMO

 

[MikeOne]

Zverev’s post match interview is accurate..




First off, physically, he claims he was fine and could’ve played for hours. I don’t buy the BS that these guys are just not as fit... that’s rubbish. Medvedev at AO lost in straight sets, had zero to do with fitness. Zverev is very fit and could’ve played 6 hours. He was fresh coming in and even though 5 sets, was around 3.5 hours... something zverev can weather easily..

it’s easy to make excuses everytime, every dkoker, nadal, fed hater does it. The nadal haters are always claiming his opponents are mental midgets, the djoker haters that his opponents lack fitness or just mysteriously crumble when facing him, roger haters that his opponents lacked belief or were clowns.. same story..

Zverev is on point on his post match interview. He makes a few accurate observations. First, that djokovic is strongest mentally he has ever faced, that he came up with big serves on break points and that he brings his best when he most needs it. Zverev brings up how on set points, he needed a fh winner after a 53 shot rally to win point, got broken after.

second point he makes. That it is impossible to maintain perfect level for 5 sets, that both players will have ups/downs and there will be back and forth. It simply takes too much concentration and effort to produce perfect tennis. Many djoker haters here have this erroneous belief that zverev can play perfect every point and when he doesn’t, it’s somehow a disappointment. He cannot... and zverev doesn’t play perfect when beating others, he seldom does. The difference is that against others, he can play average and still win a set. As he states in his interview, he played two avg games in 5th set and was down 5-0 in a heartbeat, this is not something he faces vs other opponents.

zverev played at an extremely high level in 1st and 4th sets but you djoker haters need to understand that it is too much to ask for, for zverev to have 0 letdowns, 0 avg games, 0 bad points over 5 sets, not really possible. Could he have played even better? Maybe, but he’s human and in a 5 set match, cannot avoid dips in level.. no-one can.

To me, it’s the intensity and mental strength djokovic brings, plus his physical and ball striking abilities. It is very hard to maintain such concentration and intensity...it’s almost super human

 

[Moxie]

You and antipusher having one of your djoker hating nights... haha

ya know.. this looks sooooo familiar

remember when medvedev was on fire, seemingly unbeatable, winning everything... makes AO final against the GOAT and what happened? ‘He played badly, all of a sudden’

zverev, same exact situation... on a hot streak, winning everything... then, all of a sudden, played badly..

Never gets old huh?

here’s the reality.. when they face novak in a slam, it’s just a completely different ballgame boys and girls.

novak is 1. Defending like no-one else can 2. Constantly attacking, hitting deep and taking ball early 3. Returning like no other can 4. Serving very wel 5. Mentally stronger than anyone except maybe nadal 6. Physically a monster - stamina, speed

So guess what, not so easy to look good against novak. You think zverev played any better bs lloyd harris? Harris almost took first set, choked actually as he had set point on his serve. Zverev didn’t play better.. harris is just expontentially a lesser player than novak

same for medvedev, he faced something formidable...

vs djokovic, any little ufe, double fault or weakness is exploited whereas when these players make same mistakes vs others, doesn’t matter

So moxie, just coicindence that medvedev and zverev, during impressive hot streaks, didn’t look as good vs novak? They just happen to play badly? Hehe

Dude, I have never occulted the fact that I can't stand Djokovic, for plenty of reasons. But neither have I ever said that he's not a great tennis player. But I do think the fact that these young guys don't step up to the plate better is not ALL about him. Try to tell me Medvedev had a coherent game plan in the AO final. Try to tell me that Zverev's one made any sense last night? Of course Novak is one of the GOAT, and certainly the greatest men's player right now. However, I've always said there will never be a definitive ONE, (which there is a thread for, before you go off.) So I guess, after having 3 "once in a generation" tennis players (tongue firmly in cheek) in a 17+ year span, we're not due for another one for a while. But currently that is handy for Djokovic, isn't it?

 

[Moxie]

Zverev is very fit... medvedev is one fittest on tour..

it’s a combination of mental strength, ahthleticism, ball striking, confidence, stamina, court vision/tactics

i don’t think conditioning had much to to with medvedev’s loss at ao final or zverev’s loss tonight... it’s more mental i think.

berretini also didn’t just get tired after 1 set

djokovic’s mental fortitude is uncanny, amazing how he bounces back after losing sets and goes up a break early... he’s like that mutant in x-men who feeds off other’s energy, gets empowered

I agree with you that it's not fitness on the part of these other guys. That it IS mental. I don't completely agree about Novak's mental fortitude, however. Sure he out "X-man's" these mental midgets and grows in strength and confidence within a match, but he's also capable of ridiculous outburst of anger and frustration which send him into walk-abouts. Sometimes for a set, once for nearly 2 years. Last year it got him tossed out of the USO. I think it is facile and inaccurate to exclaim Novak's mental fortitude. When he's on, he looks unbeatable, and it's so easy to exclaim that. But look at the history. He's got issues with his mental strength. We could revisit the recent Olympics, for example.

 

[BratSrbin]

But neither have I ever said that he's not a great tennis player.

You said Nole (The GOAT) is an asshole. Enough.

 

[Moxie]

You said Nole (The GOAT) is an asshole. Enough.

No, I think I said he was a "stronzo." It's not the same. And I'm happy to debate it with you.