By the most obvious of measures, Novak Djokovic had the closest thing to a free ride into the quarterfinals of the U.S. Open. But the truth is different.
It is becoming more obvious why Novak is unpopular with his actions around covid. Very suspicious to claim he got covid right at the time he would need it for a vaccine exemption.
I’m a big Roger and Rafa fan. But have to admire Djokovic for his accomplishments. And I think most of us have kind of forgotten that 4-5 years ago he kind of fell off the scene. He had a hurt elbow and wasn’t competitive at all for about a year. Lot of people thought he had faded for good.
"getting himself disqualified from the U.S. Open by hitting a linesperson with the ball"- Please, Joe, didn't expect this from you as well. You make it sound as if Novak set out to do damage to the line judge, when it was entirely inadvertent, an action motivated by frustration albeit with very unfortunate consequences.
Would you say that "Tim Henman got himself disqualified by hitting a ball girl"?
I'm not a big fan of tennis, although I have to admit that it has to be the most mentally gruelling sport. Relly liked Agassi's biography, which clearly demonstrates this.
Your article on the Del Potro vs. Djokovic match is one of my favorite articles you’ve written. Obviously as a Rafa fan, it probably helped that Del Potro won the match. Here’s hoping you write another great article about Novak losing in the coming days. But…sigh…I’m not counting on it.
Great read! I love when you write about Djoker and point out his greatness... Put me in the camp that always roots for Federer and loves Nadal too... but articles like this help to root for greatness. It is so very hard to get to the very pinnacle of anything and Djoker has certainly done it and should be loved and appreciated for crashing the party and continuing to find ways to win. It's a great third act to an all-time great career
A couple other things Joe pointed out brilliantly:
Novak being the villain, its interesting and accurate that its mostly because he isn't Fed or Rafa. However, Novak seems so likable in his own right. He is nowhere near someone like Ille Nastase, or Connors or McEnroe at their worst. The lack of a "home field advantage" is a great observation.
i watched the last 3 sets of the 4th round match, caught in in the middle of the crazy-long game in which Brooksby finally broke him and thought hmmm this could be interesting. But then I saw Brooksby serve and realized this wasn't going to end well for him.
Joe is right, Novak isn't playing at his highest level consistently. However, without a peak Federer or Rafa (which we likely won't see again sadly), few can match him and no one can compete with his fitness level. Especially in a 5 set grand slam match.
One thing that's been noticeable during this U.S. Open run is that Djokovic's slow starts have been error prone (last night, 11 unforced errors in the first set, three apiece in the next two, when he took control of the match), especially with respect to his forehand. Last night, that was the biggest change -- the forehand was no longer a liability, but a weapon, and with that, the Italian Hammer was cooked.
There's no doubt that Djokovic is beatable, and having to potentially go through the 6th, 4th, and 2nd seeds to win this Open may prove to be too much. But Djoker is not yet washed. If he can't make it happen here, I'd still be very surprised, presuming he avoids injury, that he doesn't get major #21 and probably another couple.
In some ways Djokovic reminds me of Ivan Lendl. At his prime virtually unbeatable, always seemed to be in the semis of the major tournaments, and by all accounts a nice guy. He was implacable, but his style was to have no style. Worse, he wasn’t Jimmy Connors or John McEnroe, and the crowds never warmed to him until late in his career. But one hell of a tennis player.
Lendl was his favorite player. And I remember a post that Joe did years ago about his experience playing with or against Lendl at some charity type event.
I love getting the tennis from Joe. I play 2+ hours of tennis (almost always doubles now) almost every day now that I’m retired. Recent Mayo Clinic study suggested that tennis added 9.7 years to life length- as opposed to running, bicycling, swimming all of which all added about 3.5 years. Lucky me!
That's the post I remember - nice. Hmm, tennis requires a bit of skill to enjoy - I wonder if folks either don't play tennis at all, or if they've stuck to it until our age, tend to play longer/harder (like you!). Whereas anybody can (and does) try to get out and jog a bit now and then. In other words, the average tennis player might compare to what we would think of as an elite or master's lever runner, for example. (Not quibbling - you can see I suspect there's another factor that might explain/level things a bit - thanks!)
The researchers speculate that the social aspect of tennis- as opposed to solitary exercises may account for the longevity difference. On the theory that social interactions also seem to contribute to longevity. So the 2 together may be why tennis is so beneficial. I certainly get a lot of social interaction. In fact in this pandemic it has been most of it for me.
Thanks Joe, for what feels like a “bonus” column, considering all the other things we know you are in the middle of. Your perspective on tennis is always appreciated, especially during this amazing reign of 3 GOATs all in the same incredible era.
Such a pleasure reading Joe writing about Tennis. I am definitely more of a Baseball & Football fan, but i'm mostly a tennis fan because of Joe. I was a relatively bigger fan in my youth watching Connors, Borg, McEnroe and Lendl, then still into the Edberg & Becker days and a little less with Sampras & Agassi - but Joe's tennis coverage of Rafa, Fed & Novak keeps my tennis fandom alive. Hoping he writes the definitive book about that big 3 someday, although honestly he could probably just gather all his articles, posts about those 3 and sell it.
It is becoming more obvious why Novak is unpopular with his actions around covid. Very suspicious to claim he got covid right at the time he would need it for a vaccine exemption.
I’m a big Roger and Rafa fan. But have to admire Djokovic for his accomplishments. And I think most of us have kind of forgotten that 4-5 years ago he kind of fell off the scene. He had a hurt elbow and wasn’t competitive at all for about a year. Lot of people thought he had faded for good.
"getting himself disqualified from the U.S. Open by hitting a linesperson with the ball"- Please, Joe, didn't expect this from you as well. You make it sound as if Novak set out to do damage to the line judge, when it was entirely inadvertent, an action motivated by frustration albeit with very unfortunate consequences.
Would you say that "Tim Henman got himself disqualified by hitting a ball girl"?
I'm not a big fan of tennis, although I have to admit that it has to be the most mentally gruelling sport. Relly liked Agassi's biography, which clearly demonstrates this.
Your article on the Del Potro vs. Djokovic match is one of my favorite articles you’ve written. Obviously as a Rafa fan, it probably helped that Del Potro won the match. Here’s hoping you write another great article about Novak losing in the coming days. But…sigh…I’m not counting on it.
Great read! I love when you write about Djoker and point out his greatness... Put me in the camp that always roots for Federer and loves Nadal too... but articles like this help to root for greatness. It is so very hard to get to the very pinnacle of anything and Djoker has certainly done it and should be loved and appreciated for crashing the party and continuing to find ways to win. It's a great third act to an all-time great career
A couple other things Joe pointed out brilliantly:
Novak being the villain, its interesting and accurate that its mostly because he isn't Fed or Rafa. However, Novak seems so likable in his own right. He is nowhere near someone like Ille Nastase, or Connors or McEnroe at their worst. The lack of a "home field advantage" is a great observation.
i watched the last 3 sets of the 4th round match, caught in in the middle of the crazy-long game in which Brooksby finally broke him and thought hmmm this could be interesting. But then I saw Brooksby serve and realized this wasn't going to end well for him.
Joe is right, Novak isn't playing at his highest level consistently. However, without a peak Federer or Rafa (which we likely won't see again sadly), few can match him and no one can compete with his fitness level. Especially in a 5 set grand slam match.
One thing that's been noticeable during this U.S. Open run is that Djokovic's slow starts have been error prone (last night, 11 unforced errors in the first set, three apiece in the next two, when he took control of the match), especially with respect to his forehand. Last night, that was the biggest change -- the forehand was no longer a liability, but a weapon, and with that, the Italian Hammer was cooked.
There's no doubt that Djokovic is beatable, and having to potentially go through the 6th, 4th, and 2nd seeds to win this Open may prove to be too much. But Djoker is not yet washed. If he can't make it happen here, I'd still be very surprised, presuming he avoids injury, that he doesn't get major #21 and probably another couple.
the kids still seem so rusty on grass
In some ways Djokovic reminds me of Ivan Lendl. At his prime virtually unbeatable, always seemed to be in the semis of the major tournaments, and by all accounts a nice guy. He was implacable, but his style was to have no style. Worse, he wasn’t Jimmy Connors or John McEnroe, and the crowds never warmed to him until late in his career. But one hell of a tennis player.
He also was accused of not caring about winning like Djokovic was.
Didn't Joe write something about how much he liked Lendl?
Lendl was his favorite player. And I remember a post that Joe did years ago about his experience playing with or against Lendl at some charity type event.
I love getting the tennis from Joe. I play 2+ hours of tennis (almost always doubles now) almost every day now that I’m retired. Recent Mayo Clinic study suggested that tennis added 9.7 years to life length- as opposed to running, bicycling, swimming all of which all added about 3.5 years. Lucky me!
That's the post I remember - nice. Hmm, tennis requires a bit of skill to enjoy - I wonder if folks either don't play tennis at all, or if they've stuck to it until our age, tend to play longer/harder (like you!). Whereas anybody can (and does) try to get out and jog a bit now and then. In other words, the average tennis player might compare to what we would think of as an elite or master's lever runner, for example. (Not quibbling - you can see I suspect there's another factor that might explain/level things a bit - thanks!)
The researchers speculate that the social aspect of tennis- as opposed to solitary exercises may account for the longevity difference. On the theory that social interactions also seem to contribute to longevity. So the 2 together may be why tennis is so beneficial. I certainly get a lot of social interaction. In fact in this pandemic it has been most of it for me.
Thanks Joe, for what feels like a “bonus” column, considering all the other things we know you are in the middle of. Your perspective on tennis is always appreciated, especially during this amazing reign of 3 GOATs all in the same incredible era.
Such a pleasure reading Joe writing about Tennis. I am definitely more of a Baseball & Football fan, but i'm mostly a tennis fan because of Joe. I was a relatively bigger fan in my youth watching Connors, Borg, McEnroe and Lendl, then still into the Edberg & Becker days and a little less with Sampras & Agassi - but Joe's tennis coverage of Rafa, Fed & Novak keeps my tennis fandom alive. Hoping he writes the definitive book about that big 3 someday, although honestly he could probably just gather all his articles, posts about those 3 and sell it.
Great read, even for the non-tennis fan.