Why Do You DISLIKE so and so?

[Federberg]

Ah, so you differentiate between what kind of grinding play and heavy topspin forehands are fun to watch.

:laydownlaughing

 

[brokenshoelace]

Djokovic.
As some of you have seen, I do congratulate him, and post realistic predictions about him, but I just despise him. When he first made some noise in that 2008 AO (he made noise much earlier but I'm trying to be specific), I was amazed how the guy beat Fed. His "mood" is so bad it's off the charts. He is probably the only player who gets frustrated whenever he makes an error. When he attempts his pretentious dtl backhand and misses he almost routinely starts swearing, or in his match with Karlovic this year, pure cancer. It is easy to look cool when you are winning, but he is the worst sportsman out of the top guys imo. (Just remember one of his pressers from 2008 I think, he literally said Rafa was nothing special on clay, later losing in straights.) My dislike for him really took off from 2011 onwards, and you can guess why. And I don't just dislike Djokovic, I dislike his game. His forehand has gotten uglier over the years with the spin he added to it. I just fail to realize how such a nervous and arrogant person could have achieved so much. And he sometimes switches to his grinder play style that I really have trouble watching.

And yet you like Nadal :cover

It's no less ironic than a post on the first page saying they dislike Nadal cause he's narcissistic. It's fine. Let's be honest, most of our fandom is irrational, no matter how much we try to rationalize it.

 

[Billie]

The most natural reason to hate or dislike a player is because that player beat your guy and is a threat to him/her every time they meet. I hate anybody that Nole loses to for at least 2 hours, sometimes even longer and up to 2 days and then it passes me by.:laydownlaughing

 

[Billie]

I would also like a link to one of his pressers from 2008 I think, he literally said Rafa was nothing special on clay, as I missed that completely even though I've read his pressers since 2006.

 

[Front242]

I would also like a link to one of his pressers from 2008 I think, he literally said Rafa was nothing special on clay, as I missed that completely even though I've read his pressers since 2006.

Not in so many words but this is presumably what is being referenced.

[video=youtube]https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=plbomcLe1rI[/video]

 

[Fiero425]

The most natural reason to hate or dislike a player is because that player beat your guy and is a threat to him/her every time they meet. I hate anybody that Nole loses to for at least 2 hours, sometimes even longer and up to 2 days and then it passes me by.:laydownlaughing

That may be true for some, but I have players I couldn't stand before they even established themselves! Chang used an underhanded serve on Lendl when he upset him in '89 FO! With Agassi, it was all about "Image is everything" before he won anything! Becker played mind games on his opponents; probably elicited by Tiriac! McEnroe and Connors were just plain rude, obnoxious, and classless when tennis was supposed to be a gentleman's sport! Beside gamesmanship of Nadal, the constant refrain and drumbeat of him being "The Goat" is ridiculous with all his shortcomings! I could go on! :angel: :dodgy:

 

[bobvance]

Rafa - his barbaric, lefty topsin coupled with his ability to snuff out winners and prevent aggressive tennis has driven me insane for a while. To watch another player largely dominate a point against him only to have Rafa hit his floaty slice back over and over again and ultimately hit a passing shot for a winner is incredibly irritating. His "banana" shot annoys me too. Pretty much everything about him annoys me. I can't deny the guy is an incredible winner though.

Monfils - He's a moron and a waste of talent. He's never in great physical shape and frankly I don't find his game all that compelling. I think his athleticism is overrated and not on the level of Roger, Rafa, Andy and Novak.

Roberto Bautista Agut - He has a stupid name and looks like an emaciated cyclist who just competed in the mountain stage of the tour. Combine that with the big white baseball cap on his small head and his grinding, maximize-your-talent tennis and he's particularly obnoxious.

 

[Billie]

I would also like a link to one of his pressers from 2008 I think, he literally said Rafa was nothing special on clay, as I missed that completely even though I've read his pressers since 2006.

Not in so many words but this is presumably what is being referenced.

[video=youtube]https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=plbomcLe1rI[/video]

Ha ha, I was suspecting that...but come on: this was 2006 not 2008, Nole was 19 and he managed to win 8 games in 2 sets against the beast at the time. In his mind that was probably more success than he could have hoped for. He never said that he is nothing special on clay, just that he can be beaten...it just took him some 100 years to actually do it although still not at RG.:lolz:

If they are going to hold this against Nole...that is really pathetic. Anyway Rafa showed him that he is almost unbeatable at RG and Nole gave him plenty of compliments ever since then.

 

[Moxie]

I would also like a link to one of his pressers from 2008 I think, he literally said Rafa was nothing special on clay, as I missed that completely even though I've read his pressers since 2006.

Not in so many words but this is presumably what is being referenced.

[video=youtube]https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=plbomcLe1rI[/video]

Ha ha, I was suspecting that...but come on: this was 2006 not 2008, Nole was 19 and he managed to win 8 games in 2 sets against the beast at the time. In his mind that was probably more success than he could have hoped for. He never said that he is nothing special on clay, just that he can be beaten...it just took him some 100 years to actually do it although still not at RG.:lolz:

If they are going to hold this against Nole...that is really pathetic. Anyway Rafa showed him that he is almost unbeatable at RG and Nole gave him plenty of compliments ever since then.

A closer quote to the misquote would be "I realized today that don't have to play anything special" (to beat him.) And I'll give him some credit for the brashness of that. He showed confidence in his game early, and has borne a lot of that confidence out. OK, he was very wrong about not needing anything special to beat Rafa at RG. He has learned to temper his braggadocio, certainly with a PR team wrestling it to the ground. And certainly he is more mature. He hands out the hugs and compliments now, but not everyone finds that so sincere. And, given the point of this thread, that is an example of why some don't like him, I think, of those who have said they don't.

 

[GameSetAndMath]

There is really nothing wrong with what Novak said. But, he should have said it before the
match and not after losing the match though. :cover Just as a matter of basic principle,
one should not indulge in thrash talk AFTER losing the match.

 

[Fiero425]

There is really nothing wrong with what Novak said. But, he should have said it before the
match and not after losing the match though. :cover Just as a matter of basic principle,
one should not indulge in thrash talk AFTER losing the match.

He was a kid and I always give more "benefit of the doubt" when there's a cultural divide! I'm not going to attach my sensibilities to Nole at that age! He was probably quite spoiled, accustomed to winning, and needed time to think it through before answering! All I know is he always says the right thing now so we should be happy with his representing our sport with so much class and aplomb! :clap :angel:

 

[Front242]

He sounds a bit robotic though these days with his speeches at times. They seem very forced to me. If you listen to that video above, it's him really speaking and not his PR camp.

 

[brokenshoelace]

He sounds a bit robotic though these days with his speeches at times. They seem very forced to me. If you listen to that video above, it's him really speaking and not his PR camp.

True but you can't have it both ways. Has a player ever spoken his mind without backlash? Federer, Nadal (and you've been a huge critic whenever he speaks), Murray, Djokovic... Tennis is a PC sport to the point of boredom. And we as fans are major hypocrites. We criticize players for saying the right cliched things and get on them when they speak their minds if we don't agree with what they say.

 

[Kieran]

The big Isner types never really bothered me. We always had them, going back to Victor Amaya and beyond. I remember Slobodan Zivojinovic, a bloke who could serve a sack of cement at 200k. These blokes present a particular challenge to the best, and of course, nobody watches them otherwise...

 

[Puppet Master]

I would also like a link to one of his pressers from 2008 I think, he literally said Rafa was nothing special on clay, as I missed that completely even though I've read his pressers since 2006.

Not in so many words but this is presumably what is being referenced.

[video=youtube]https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=plbomcLe1rI[/video]

Ha ha, I was suspecting that...but come on: this was 2006 not 2008, Nole was 19 and he managed to win 8 games in 2 sets against the beast at the time. In his mind that was probably more success than he could have hoped for. He never said that he is nothing special on clay, just that he can be beaten...it just took him some 100 years to actually do it although still not at RG.:lolz:

If they are going to hold this against Nole...that is really pathetic. Anyway Rafa showed him that he is almost unbeatable at RG and Nole gave him plenty of compliments ever since then.

You simply don't comprehend (or don't want to comprehend) what he tried to say here. This is some Gulbis-level trash talk.
"Today I realized that I don't have to do anything special to beat him."
If this doesn't prove my point, I have nothing more to say to you.

 

[Great Hands]

I genuinely don’t dislike any player because when I’m watching tennis, I’m so happy to be watching tennis, rather than, you know, working. Just the fact that I’m watching tennis, whoever is playing, as opposed to working, makes me very happy. Even players’ antics on court – it all adds to the intrigue and the fun, really.

 

[Billie]

I genuinely don’t dislike any player because when I’m watching tennis, I’m so happy to be watching tennis, rather than, you know, working. Just the fact that I’m watching tennis, whoever is playing, as opposed to working, makes me very happy. Even players’ antics on court – it all adds to the intrigue and the fun, really.

Your post makes me feel a little better as I was starting to think that I was really weird for not having to say anything about disliking or hating others. Sure we like some more than others, but that's a different issue.

 

[Billie]

There is really nothing wrong with what Novak said. But, he should have said it before the
match and not after losing the match though. :cover Just as a matter of basic principle,
one should not indulge in thrash talk AFTER losing the match.

He was asked about his experience playing the defending champion and somebody who was starting to make some serious impact on clay courts, I don't even see it as trash talk, really. Without having much experience in pressers at this level, maybe his attempts to explain what he really meant failed with some people.

Anyway, it's OK to dislike him for whatever reason, I am just annoyed when untrue facts are stated, like what year it was and what was said. I still claim that his intent wasn't to trash Rafa, he just wanted to rationalize the match and how he stuck up with him in tennis terms. And I highly doubt that when Nole says: Rafa is the best ever on clay and the ultimate challenge at RG that he is just being polite. I would think 6 defeats and 9 titles that Rafa has would do it and that he really means it, but whatever, he might be that cunning and not think it at all. It's not like people were not being accused of being falsely modest before.

And funnily enough a couple of years ago I was listening to Darren Cahill commenting on Hopman Cup matches. Serbia was getting ready for their match so they talked about Nole. Guess what Darren said: Agassi met Nole in 2006 in an exhibition match just before Wimbledon (which is exactly after this famous FO "trash talking"), they shared a ride in a cab and Agassi was amazed at this 19 year old nobody talking so seriously about tennis and tactics. He even tried to give him tips on how to defeat Rafa. :lolz: Silly boy. Anyway it was an amusing story and Darren tells it better, but I did find a reference to it online, just in case somebody doubts my words.

http://www.theaustralian.com.au/sport/tennis/andre-agassi-formed-the-view-in-2006-that-novak-djokovic-would-become-a-great/story-fnbe6xeb-1226562171891

 

[I.Haychew]

I genuinely don’t dislike any player because when I’m watching tennis, I’m so happy to be watching tennis, rather than, you know, working. Just the fact that I’m watching tennis, whoever is playing, as opposed to working, makes me very happy. Even players’ antics on court – it all adds to the intrigue and the fun, really.

I'd much rather work than watch Folks win.