Thank you for another fine article, Cheryl, and for your candour.

I've been on a similar trajectory with Nole, liking him as time has gone by.

It was heart-warming to see him give everything and more at the US Open finals, as he has sometimes in the past. I really hope this motivates him to do so very, very often... for which his old/new rival is a fabolous example. If he does he will reap many rewards - not always tournament wins but those too, and a major or more.

It's almost like it was habit for me to say "oh, that guy's all excuses." I wasn't paying attention to the good stuff. Shame on me.

I'm not Djokovic's fan, but I like to watch his matches, because he is a good player and pretty too! I know that he has chronic breathing-problems and he is suffering from the hot weather and because of that I don't blame him for taking medical timeouts. I don't want players to collaps on the court, like it happens to Victoria Azarenka at US Open. I prefer to give them a possibility to recover.

I?ve heard Darren Cahill admit that he didn?t like Andy Murray, using the subtle phrase, ?I don?t like Andy Murray.?

hahahahahahahahahahahaha

VAMOS cheryl

The NY crowd doesn't hold USO 08 against Djokovic, coz tennis fans who knew what instigated it understand where he was coming from. Most of his imprudent moves and tactless quotes can be blamed on the fact that he was just a kid - come on, he was 20-21 then! He is much wiser now, and trained like the rest of them not to give the press any soundbytes.

cheryl,i wonder what guy forget has to say about monfils....im watching monfils vs nalbandian live right now...forget's the coach...and monfils is in his trademark sleeveless t shirt...rafa isnt the only one with construction worker arms...

what a two faced man this forget is!!!

cheryl, I was longing to see how you were going to explain yourself for ignoring Djokovic who has been in the top 3 for so long. You almost seemed to bye-pass him to favour your namesake Andy. However, whilst you touched on other commentators' likes and dislikes, I am still not quite sure who your favourite player is, well, I lie - I do know the answer, but if you want it to remain a secret, I'll go along with that.

I have to admit that I never used to like Nole, purely because he was Rafa's main rival at one time for the No 2 spot, and he came very close to taking it. My dislike was also compounded by the fact that after he won the AO he became very very cocky and big-headed and that put me off him completely, because as you know I tend to gravitate to the 'humble players'.

Recently, I have grown to like Nole, because he has sort of been ignored by most commentators, even though he has been in the top 3 much longer than Murray, and he seems to have grown up, and shed the cocky attitude. I think that now that he has proved himself at the USO, he would have gained the respect of loads of tennis fans, and I think he truly deserves it.

May I ask why you so dislike DelPo and Vince Spadea?

I only slightly dislike DelPo and it's simply because I don't care for his brand of tennis. I just don't often find myself pulling for him.

As for Spadea...well....he's a special case. He treats his teammates badly, has no respect for women and just generally behaves badly. Not much to like, really...though I suppose if I'm being honest, I WAS entertained (highly) by the Spadea as a Rap Star thing.....

Stu - I think part of it was his age, and part was just...him. Either way, I agree that he had provocation in that USO incident. Roddick shouldn't have mocked him.

Nadline - I haven't purposely ignored Nole for Murray. You seem to have a serious issue with my picking Murray to win things...I'm not sure why that is except that your own home press talks him up so much that you are just sick of him. I've only ever written 1 or 2 blogs about Murray.

And I don't see why it should matter who my "favorite" player is. I have a long list of players that I like for varying reasons.

vrael - Forget uses the "construction worker" arms as an excuse. He just hates Nadal. But that IS an excellent point....

cheryl, I think another blog on Murray is due.

Gonzalez gets an unfair knock for that incident. No other player in the game - except maybe Djoker, and CERTAINLY not Blake - would have given back that point. Blake is a hypocrite if he says Gonzo should have given him the point.

And you'd have to watch it 10 times with maximum zoom before determining the shot hit his racket.

And one thing about Djoker - he's the best loser in the game.

He's almost too good of a loser, its annoying. Another desperate way to get people to like him.

i agree Ricky, that very few people would have conceded the point in Forehando's place. he probably regretted it in retrospect, esp. after getting so much bad press...

Great post, Cheryl!
Nole has matured and become another shining example of sportsmanship, and as Rafa would say:
"I wish heem the vest four the wrest of de seeson"

I have admittedly followed professional tennis for years and I couldn't agree with your article more. Admittedly I am an ardent fan of those athletes that show grace under pressure, strength of heart, and play the game with a precision and athletism that leaves a mere mortal aghast. When Novak Djokovic first burst onto the scene I also found it hard to like him his boastful and confident manner sometimes came off as arrogant, his unusual losses left me with the same notion where is his will to win? Things started to change for me starting with the clay court circuit of 2008 with tough losses to Nadal in two clay court finals where honestly (I am a Nadal fan so this is hard to admit) the match was so close and the play so exquisite that Djokovic could just as easily had those titles. This higher opinion of him was further elevated with his phenomenal play in this year?s US open. True he did not start off well seeming to wilt under the heat in his first round match and leaving me I am sorry to say thinking he wasn't going to pull through. But his match against Federer in the semifinals was the stuff tennis dreams are made of. Athletism, strategy, heart, shot making, mental strength that turned the match from a loss (Federer had two set points against him in the fifth) to a win. His play in the final against Nadal has me thinking about how hard it would be to play for three years on the professional tour at a consistently high level without the attention and autoclades we dole out to the winner yet no less remarkable is his consistency at the top of ATP rankings. That as you say takes heart, guts, dedication and fighting sprit I wasn?t sure he had. Perhaps he just needed time to mature into his current form harnessing a raw talent to higher levels with peers that challenge him to improve his game. He will win more grand slam titles if he keeps putting his heart into it and as a bonus people will start to cheer for him. Keep it up Novak ??

@ grafight,

"I wish heem the vest four the wrest of de seeson"............c'mon!Thats aboslutely unacceptable.....hehehehe!!!!!.........ure too naughty!!

Cheryl, like you, I did not care for Novak much but I always found there was something about him that was quite likeable despite sometimes his corkiness. He is quite funny.........so much so that pple nik name him Djoker..........but he is a good lad and I think a lot of his not so good moments had a lot to do with influence from his parents!

However, i unlike the other tennis players (EXCEPT RAFA, of course!) who have never been able to grow on me, I kinda like Novak, not only bcos he is handsome (a bit underweight lately), not only bcos of his wise cracks like his immitations of Rafa and Sharapova (which were excellent by the way!!!), but he is a great player, esp on h/courts. You said in your post that he played better than Rafa...............funny that, i disagree! Rafa played the important points better, and if were not for his serves Rafa perhaps would have had A LOT more difficulty in pulling off the win. I think Novak is a better player technically than Rafa on hards, his ground strokes more sound. I think Rafa still has a lot more tweaking to do where his h/court game is concerned...........so i find Novak's game a bit more superior!!! I feel more at ease when i watch Novak play on h/courts than Rafa bcos I dont feel Rafa plays with as much depth and authority as Novak........imo!!.

However, it must be hard for such a good player like Novak to keep motivated when he works so hard (and he admits it) and yet cannot reap the rewards more consistently. He has been at #3 for forever and and only moves up when another player has underperformed and lost points. But I really feel for him, he is indeed a top player.........despite his health issues........works hard, cleary has the talent and skill and yet tends to fall under the radar! I cant inagine how frustrating it is for him, and perhaps thats why he tries so hard for pple to like him. But hopefully Novak is beginning to mature and grow out of this, and his performance at the US Open is no doubt the spring board he needs to finally get the attention AND affection he deserves!!!!

Adje Nole!!!!!!

I like Del potro

Forehando!! LOL good one

Ricky - I agree that Blake would surely not have conceded that point if their roles had been reversed, just as I'm sure Nole would have done.

Stu - I think you're right. It's not good to be TOO gracious when you lose. OTOH, it's obviously his "thing", just like the rituals are Rafa's thing. I have a hard time pointing fingers when it's clearly such an issue.

there may or may not be such a thing as being TOO gracious, but if there is, Djokovic doesn't qualify.

He is gracious after losses to opponents he likes/respects and/or amazing matches. He's not going to be all buddy buddy if he loses to Federer 6-0, 6-2.

I developed an intense dislike for Nole in 2008 when he started mouthing off about how he was going to take the #2 ranking from Rafa. He wins his first slam at the AO and all of a sudden, this guy thinks he the next big thing in tennis? I am not fond of players running off at the mouth and telling the world what they plan to do. It has a way of backfiring on you and it sure did with Nole. Rafa beat him in Hamburg to hold onto the #2 ranking. Then Nole ran off his mouth some more about how he was going to beat Fed at Wimbledon. Surprise! He got knocked out in the third round and Rafa was the one who went on to beat Fed in a historic final.

The low point for Nole was at the 2008 USO. He and Roddick got into a war of words and, after beating Roddick in the quarterfinals, Nole opened up his big mouth once too often in front of 20,000 New Yorkers. As my screen name says, I was born in New York and I could have told him that he was going to make himself look like a first class jerk! Lesson learned - do NOT make New Yorkers mad a the USO!

I have always admired his innate talent. He is a truly gifted player. However, I have been concerned about his mental walkabouts, suspicious MTO's, the histrionics on court and a lack of mental toughness and the ability to keep his emotions in check. In the last few years he seems to have matured considerably. The questionable illnesses and being on the brink of exhaustion and then suddenly coming on like gangbusters, still bothers me.

I think that I am of two minds about Nole. On the one hand, I respected his great play in classic matches with Rafa. That semifinal at Madrid in 2009 was unbelievable, physical, grueling and ultimately, quite costly to both players. We know that this match was the death knell for Rafa's already inflamed knees. It would cost him RG and Wimbledon. For Nole, it was a mentally and emotionally devastating loss that took him a long time to get over.

I just never know what to expect when he comes out on court. At Toronto, in his semifinal match with Fed, he was awol in that first set. Down 2-0 in the second set, seemingly from out of nowhere, he started playing outstanding tennis. Brilliant stuff! He gave Fed all he could handle, but then played a few bad points as he was serving to take it to a third set tiebreak. He had his chances to come back and win that match. What that match did do for me, was make me think that he had a real chance against Fed should they meet at the USO. It also made me remember and appreciate just how exceptional a player he was when he put his mind to it.

I have been extremely impressed by Nole's play in the semifinals and final at the USO. I had a feeling that his match with Fed was going to be tough. I still figured that Fed would find a way to get the victory in four or five tough sets. He almost did. I have to say that those two match points that Nole fought off, showed some of his most courageous shotmaking at its best. He fought and fought and showed some real grit and toughness and mental will in that match. I give him a lot of credit for pulling it off.

Rafa may not be the better overall hardcourt player, but he was better in the final when it counted. Nole showed me that he belonged in that final with Rafa. He earned it. Now I hope he can build on this and continue to thrill fans with a newfound confidence and belief. He has always had the game, now he just has to use it to full advantage to achieve greater success.

I will not offer any apologies, for I have nothing for which I need to apologize. I watch a player and just them by their actions. I am willing to reassess my opinion and have a change of heart. If Nole comes and out shows me great tennis consistently and fights with his heart and soul, as he did at the USO, I will be more than happy to give him due credit for his efforts.

Well done, Nole!

Sorry, yet again another typo in my previous post -

In the last paragraph, I meant to say - I watch a player and JUDGE them by their actions.

Nice work cheryl. I too have grown to like Djokovic over time. But even though I never liked his cockiness,he does seem to be quite charismatic.

I know this is a Nole thread, but I need to explain myslef.


Nadline - I haven't purposely ignored Nole for Murray. You seem to have a serious issue with my picking Murray to win things...I'm not sure why that is except that your own home press talks him up so much that you are just sick of him. I've only ever written 1 or 2 blogs about Murray.

cherylmurray , 9/17/10 7:37 PM


You are partly right about the over hyping of Murray in the British press, and they really do put me off with big headline news like this sort of hypothetical senario:

Andy Murray is poised to take his first GS title after dismissing Michael Berrer in straight sets, whilst it took Rafael Nadal 5 sets to overcome Gael Monfils.

Anyone who knows anything about tennis, would know this is like comparing apples to oranges.

You can see what I am trying to say here. I think that tipping someone who has won 1 title in 12 months over someone who had won 5, and had made GS finals on a regular basis, even forgetting about his tally of GS titles, but had only lost to Murray when hindered by injury or fatigue and not playing at his best is abhorent, it's actually not appreciating who Rafa is.

Even though Rafa has a great h2h against Djokovic and Federer, no one would routinely pick Rafa over them, because it could always go either way.

I just think your expectations of Murray is over-rated, he simply hasn't done enough to convince me that he is better than Rafa on any surface. Just the mere fact that you are prepared to qualify Rafa's win over Murray as due to the conditions, but refuse to accept the mitigating circumstances when Rafa has lost to Murray, makes me feel that that you are totally biased towards Murray where the two of them are concerned.

I would be more likely to pick Rafa over Murray much more than I would pick Rafa over Nole inspite of their h2h. Murray gets beaten regularly by much lower ranked players, and I am not yet convinced that he is a threat to the others in the top 4.

Like you nadline, I would like to side track a bit. I do agree with you, that I'll consider Nole a more dangerous player(compared to Murray) for Rafa. Nole had played Rafa close on clay and grass (remember that final match at Queen's club 2008?) and had beaten Rafa seven out of eleven times they met on hard courts. Nole is always a bad match up for Rafa. Mind you, Nole had beaten Rafa on hard courts, even when Rafa was physically fit and healthy.

Murray was never close to threatening Rafa on clay; on grass the nearest he came was still a straight set defeat at Wimbledon this year. Out of his four victories over Rafa on hard courts, at least two of them were when Rafa wasn't at his physical best - at USO 08, Rotterdam 09. In his (Murray's) victory at the AO QF this year, Rafa was the one who broke serves first in the first two sets that they played, however, Rafa couldn't use his clutch serving to bail him out of trouble later on during the match and allowed Murray to break his serves. Rafa admitted that he was not with calm then and we his fans know that a confident Rafa would be able to bail himself out of trouble with his clutch serving down the T each time he gets into trouble. Yes, I think both Nole and Fed would pose more problems to Rafa than Murray would, even on the hard courts.

Now about Nole - I like Nole. To me, he is definitely a talented player. The fact that he can stay up there for three four years as the no.3 player in the world says a lot about his talent and his abilities. We watch him mature as a player since he shot into prominence in 2007; he too has been through some ups and downs in his career, and I'm happy that now he seems to be back on track where his career is concerned.

Yes, Nole is charismatic, in a different way from both Fed and Rafa. Sometimes, Fed and Rafa seem so 'unreal' to me, that they both are 'too' decent, and there are literally no negative news about their personal lives. They seem so well behaved on the tennis courts and hardly throw tantrums. While Nole is not a 'bad' boy, he seems to be one who likes to have fun, and one that wears his emotions on his sleeves. He is not afraid to show his emotions, show his anger but at the same time, he can be gracious in defeat. To me, he is someone I can identify with, while Fed and Rafa seem too perfect, and not many people can measure up to them. May be that's why I can like and appreciate Nole and hope that one day, he too can become a great player.

you raised some nice points luckystar...i agree with most of them except one..

"I think both Nole and Fed would pose more problems to Rafa than Murray would, even on the hard courts."

nole,certainly has the game to trouble rafa on hardcourts...he even pushed rafa on clay last year......federer would have posed a bigger threat to nadal when the swiss was at his peak but now it seems murray(when playing at his level) has more ammunition to hurt rafa...i just cant see federer now beating a healthy rafa on any surface...and most of it has to do with the mental aspect of the game...rafa is just ahead in that department now...more so now because of his recent triumphs on the faster surfaces(2 slams on grass,1 uso)....this USOPEN victory is not only significant in terms of tennis history but also for rafa's confidence which is sky high at the moment.....and thts just the mental aspect of it......we all know how rafa handicaps federer,with his serve,with his CC fh to his backhand...with superior movement(now)....its a bit sad actually...the rivalry may have some more glorious matches left...but its dying slowly..:(.....ITS THE FIRST TIME in 6 YEARS(05 to 09)...that rafa and roger wont be playing in a GS final...they have been regularly meeting in gs finals till 09....2010 is an exception

nole,murray,juan martin del potro(if he reaches his 09 level again) would be a much bigger threat to nadal on faster surfaces than federer imho.....the only surface where i feel we might see another FEDAL final is wimbledon...because there are not many who are that good on grass even now.....i really hope we have some more finals with rafa and roger playing in them...its just the best thing that can happen to the sport

May be you are right, vrael, about Fed. There is still one frontier that Rafa has not conquered, and that is the indoor hard court. Remember, the last two times that Fed had beaten Rafa on the hard courts were at the TMC in Shanghai, on the indoor hard courts. Rafa himself admitted that winning on the indoor hard courts is difficult for him, as the indoor courts seem to be the fastest surface. On grass and on clay, Fed is still a formidable opponent to Rafa and he is definitely better than Murray on both these surfaces.

yeah...indoor hard courts is where rafa hasnt been that succesful...but the good thing is rafa's willingness to improve....not to forget his improved serve....he will make his life a lot easier this year on the indoor hards with the help of his flatter,bigger serve alone...he has been more aggressive too....big serve,aggressive tactics...thts what you need to win on indoor hardcourts...i guess the results will come this year...rafa already has made it clear that his goal for the rest of the season is WTF..which also is an indoor event...im sure he will do better this year

i agree federer is a bigger threat to rafa on grass,more formidable than murray ofcourse at the green stuff.....regarding indoors,if roger's serve is ON(which has been off for quite a while)...i mean the way he used to serve in 06,07....he would be as formidable as ever....

I hope Rafa can win the WTF this year too. If that happens, that means he really can win big tournaments on all surfaces and there won't be arguments anymore. I actually hope that he can meet and beat Fed, Nole, Murray and Davy at the WTF ! Nice 'talking' to you vrael. We should hand this thread back for discussion about Nole.

Don't quite know why there's so much knocking of Andy in a blog praising Nole :(
Andy has had a mixed year but writing him off is very premature.

What I simply don't get is how people called Nole cocky for wanting to be no.1, or expressing his desire to win. He was young, was playing the tennis of his life and was looking at bigger things. The media really got on to him and his parents (they probably deserved a little bit of the stick) and effectively ruined a year of his career. And in the end, what's wrong with being a little cocky if there is no malice intended? Heck, I've seen Federer come across as way more than cocky when he was dominating and no one ever got on his case.

For all of Nole's competitive attitude when he was young, he was always refreshingly charismatic and honest. It might be a difference in cultures that makes the west-dominated media see things differently, but then again, the media has always been the media. Quick to over-hype and exaggerate.

deuce, I don't mean to knock on Murray (if you include me as one of those), I'm just comparing him with Nole, Fed against Rafa. As vrael had pointed out, Nole, Murray and Delpo may offer some formidable challenges to Rafa going forward.

deuce, I'm not knocking Murray, I just feel it is demeaning for a great player of Rafa's greatness to be dismissed out of hand and say he will always lose to Murray on hard courts. In spite of Rafa's prowess on clay, for instance, and however many times he has beaten all of the other top 4 players, however many titles he has won on the surface, I would never assume that they stand no chance of ever beating him on clay.

No one can tell me that Murray is that much better than Rafa on hard courts, that it is always a no contest. I simply cannot swallow that.

nadline: whose said he will ALWAYS lose to Andy on hard?? That is as foolish as saying Andy will ALWAYS lose to Rafa/Fed?Novak/Delpot etc. on hard.
Andy's had a mixed year, as I've already said but is still no4 and has few points to defend, owing to a wrist injury this time last year, so we'll see how things go.
Sorry to comment on Novak's blog, Novak fans, But Andy's name came up in, what I felt, was a disparaging way.

most rafans love andy....you know...sorry if our discussion annoyed you

deuce, I don't want to clog this thread with a topic about Murray and Nadal, so go to the USO part 1 - Rafa Shines blog for my response.

vrael: you're such a star! One of many Rafa fans I like v (vrael!) much. Hugs :)
probably feeling raw at mo., cos of Andy's US meltdown. And that's the last time I'll mention him here, promise! We're just off to watch "The Girl Who played with fire" so can't anyway!

thanks for the warm words deuce...

all rafans wish andy the best...that i can gaurantee...rafa admires andy,so do we...we all try to copy rafa,no???

i hope he finds a coach quickly...he has started practising already(according to his tweets)......we will see him overcoming his demons soon..:)

last post on andy here...this blog is novak's

In a thread related Rafa, I found complaints of Djokovic's fan that there are too few articles about Djokovic in TT. Now I am wondering why ONLY 2 Djokovic's fans (stu & samprallica) have commented here.
I know myself that I suffer after Rafa's loss for a quite long time and then I don't want to see&read anything that reminds me of that. If Djokovic's fans do not comment here because of the same reason, then I understand them.

I don't want to argue... especially in a positive post about Nole... but...
...I would like to ask NativeNY and Cheryl about insults of NY crowd....
He had simply answered to Rodick...
What would you say if they have changed places... if Nole was one with the list of Andy's diseases ... Andy was bad boy in that story... and then what??? ...he was joking... c'mon, no way... those are such double standards...
Tell me Native pls...where was insult... when he was speaking honestly, when he is the guy who was hurt by big mouth of another player...
I was watching the match ok UK EuroSport and remember very well comments ...it's very brave but not wise... proud serbian... and so on...
So I really don't see the "insult"... unless he just sent NY favorite out of USO...
He payed big price... with Fed, next match, Nole just wanted to run away from crowd to locker room...
As I said before I am not starting discussion here, maybe it's cultural difference ... so I would like to hear different opinion here...
Otherwise... I am so happy that Nole is finally getting the credit he deserves...
Guy who can play like him...with problems... he had asthma as kid... tried to operated nose to make his breathing easier...and stayed so long at the top of the game...

I forgot to say... I appreciate your post here Native... have feeling that you know a lot about tennis. ...and you definitely know how to write post...
Cheryl...your post are always good, original and interesting... I am so glad that you have changed your opinion about Nole:)))

samprallica: you hit the nail. the event in ny changed him profoundly. he and his family were crushed by media, and it took him some time to recover and learn how to please the public eye. if you add his (own) decision to switch the racquet vendor, which i sincerely believe, forced him to change his play style slightly (flat fh, serve, bh slice), you get what we have pretty much now.

should he want that #1 one day, he definitively needs to improve on few elements in his game and above all, needs to make sure his fitness is unquestionable.

zare,

Thanks for your kind words. I wasn't commenting on who started this whole business between Nole and Roddick. There is enough blame to be shared by both of them. However, the point I was making is that Nole's timing was quite poor. The New York crowd was obviously disappointed to see their own favorite knocked out by Nole. So their feelings were a big raw at that moment. Nole may have said what he felt, but it didn't go over well with a partisan crowd that wanted Roddick to win. It's not about who was right or wrong. The people in that stadium weren't going to analyze things and be open to hearing Nole's feelings at that time. It was just bad timing. Nole does wear his heart on his sleeve. It's how he is. Unfortunately, the New York crowd took it as an insult. They felt that it was adding insult to injury. A player is also expected to be gracious in victory.

You cannot expect a partisan crowd to be in any kind of mood to listen to a player justifying their belief that they were right and the hometown favorite was wrong. Tennis fans aren't necessarily diplomatic. They react instinctively. Can you imagine what would happen if he was at RG, with those impossible French crowds who cheer passionately and fanatically for players from their country? It's just the way it is when you are playing a favorite son in his own country.

I think it's best to leave this in the past. Nole and Roddick have put this behind them. I do think that Nole learned from that experience. This year he showed the New York crowd how gracious he can be in defeat. He thanked them for giving him inspiration to keep on fighting.

I think you should focus on the good things that came out of this tournament for Nole. He found his game again, managed to beat Fed in a tough five setter, made the finals for the first time since 2007 and showed that he deserved to be there. He seems to have learned a lot. You should be looking ahead to good things from him. I don't hold any grudges anymore. I respect how he conducted himself at the USO and how brilliantly he played. The crowd showed that they don't hold grudges either.

All's well that ends well! :)

that Roddick-Djokovic thing (especially the Djokovic post-match interview) was one of the most epic things ever

I read an article after that debacle, and according to that source, there was a big brouhaha after that post match interview in the locker room between those two. I'd have liked to be a fly on the wall to hear what was said. LoL.

VERY VERY GOOD ARTICLE Cheryl!..... Cheesy as it may seem, but I felt every word... and I realized I'm guilty of feeling the SAME to Novak!

Throughout his break-out year in 2007 I watched Nole with awe and admiration and applauded when he won the AO. And like many other people here, I found the bragging and cockiness which followed insufferable. But more than anything I disliked his manner of celebrating - the aggressive warlike gestures, the terrifying manic glares and the chest thumping - never more inappropriate than when he did it during his Olympic matches. However, he redeemed himself during the medal ceremony and I recall commenting on his dignity even though his pride had been badly wounded that it was the silver and not the gold he had won for his country.

The debacle in NY which followed, and the unfortunate reputation for strategic MTOs and retirements, were the final nail in his coffin. I never stopped enjoying watching him play because his matches always have that extra special quality to them, and I continued to appreciate his sporting behaviour in defeat. But I was no longer routing for him when he played anybody other than Rafa.

I cant pinpoint my change of heart but suffice to say that before the US final I knew I would be able to cope with the disappointment if I had to watch Rafa lose to him. In the event that theory was not put to the test!

Welcome back Nole.

i think the kid has shown he has grown.

surely gonzalez is one of the sorest losers in the game

only player to give that point back to blake would have been mats wilander! but that was another generation...

I am 100% convinced that Nole would do so... like he has done it so many times...
He gave a point to Rodick...BREAK point!!! He looked to mark and said "Challenge it!!!"
Comments on ATP sites were that his sportsmanship is almost auto destructible!!

For the record, I have NO problem with Nole's sentiment BEHIND the US Open incident. Roddick was a jerk for sure. But his decision to vent his spleen on the audience was a dreadful one. He should have saved it for the locker room...or even the presser.

well, SHOULD in terms of what would have been politically correct

but for sheer entertainment purposes, he did what we all wanted him to do

Well...yeah, it was more entertaining. But I surely didn't think he'd do it after he WON for crying out loud.

It was a bit like a train wreck, actually. Michael Barkann was completely useless, standing there with his mouth hanging open like a guppy.....

IMO Nole paid a bigger price than Roddick after that incident. Not only was he listless the following match, but he also cannot allow himself to beat Roddick anymore. But yes, a lot of fodder was provided for the press/ blogs/ forums that's for sure!

The comments on this blog (and other articles) are pretty intense.

I agree with Samprallica that the comments on this blog are pretty intense.

Cheryl: Roddick was not the only jerk in that scenario. It's obvious the TT writers don't like Roddick, and this is not the only instance where I've seen statements referring to him as a jerk by you guys. It's discouraging to a Roddick fan to post here. I've seen instances where many other players behave like jerks, but they are not bad-mouthed and criticized so much as Roddick. Why?? Reporters should write without bias.

If you want to put blame where it's due, it was Robredo who hurled the accusations with reference to Djokovic's injuries, as they played the match prior to Roddick's match vs. Djokovic, in which the joker feigned several injuries with his foot and stomach. Barkhan asked Roddick about Tommy's statements, to which Roddick replied by using humor. However, it was taken further, and the rest is now history... but it still continues.

Von, (un)fortunately, it still continues among the fans. I said "fortunately" because fans can interpret things however they like whereas the two of them put that behind long ago. And that's how it should be.

"IMO Nole paid a bigger price than Roddick after that incident. Not only was he listless the following match, but he also cannot allow himself to beat Roddick anymore"- EXACTLY.

Well, I was always a fan of Nole, so that hasnt changed. And tbh I never found him arrogant and cocky, for me that was self confidence. Besides, Ive always found Fed way more arrogant.

I've read this long thread, and I am glad that Novak finally got attention he deserves. This is the perfect time for summing Rafa achievement, making history, predicting about GOAT title, statistic vs Federer etc... But, something happened out there at USO, more than completing career GS. And that is something that only true tennis fans noticed. That explains why this is such a long thread and that I am on the right place.

For most people Novak career started with 2008 AO title. And it is his career breakthrough and most important moment, but not something that come out from no where. He had excellent run in 2007, when he had close lost from Federer in final at USO. Even then it wouldn't be such big surprise, because month earlier he beat Federer in Montreal. But somehow, press and media felt that AO is his career breakthrough, and that he got momentum to run across Federer and Nadal like they never existed. I guess that Djokovic was surrounded with such pressure from media that he never got chance to step back. At that age, he didn't had calm and experienced uncle Tony, instead he had much sillier family, which even went step further from all that post AO media inferno. And trust me, as much as Novak is emotional, he is the one who is calming down his team. Numerous number of time he shown them to leave loge during his matches.

But in order to understand such a character, and his "crazy" family, you have to know him/them before AO. You will easily understand that his every action has story behind and that is actually reaction. Somehow he was heavily criticized, judged and punished on his reactions. And as a person which is under that radar of press and interests of media, his media space is tied to only peaks of his career or when his path crosses with player who had much more media attention.

Here is the most misinterpret events in his career:

1) "The king is dead, long live the king", from his team (mother) after Federer lost at AO 2008

Most of you have to realize that if you are coming from third world country, by default you are coming on stage as outsider. There is no big base of fans, even if you count all 8 millions of Serbs. You are not interesting to sponsors, even if we all wear Sergio Tacchini, Addidas, Head. That is one of the first problem Novak faced. Actually, his family took that bullet for him, putting everything on him. After win at in Davis Cup over Britain in 2006, indecent offer came from Brits. They wanted to have Novak in UK team, knowing that Novak has financial problems and no money to pay coach to travel with him. They were ready to pay to him to move to Britain and gain UK citizenship and help him to be able to finance his career. His family decided to be proud and keep Serbian citizenship. It was really tough decision, to eventually ruin your son career to stay loyal to your country and it was really tough time for them to finance his ATP tour. Next step and one of the most important matches was Davis Cup match against Switzerland. Novak won match against Wawrinka 6-4 3-6 2-6 7-6(3) 6-4 in exhausting 5 setter, and than came match with Federer which he lost in straight set (Swiss went trough with 4-1 score). Federer wasn't just satisfied with decisive win, he was so harsh about Novak instead. He was arguing about Novak medical time outs (he was falling apart with blisters from previous match) and he told that with such attitude he can't never be top player (don't have quote but it was someting like that). I believe that was turning point when Novak team couldn't wait for moment to show Federer that he is wrong. From then there is tense animosity between them, and the most shocking Federer moments came almost exclusively from their matches ("Be quiet!" yelling, racket smashing etc..).

2) Medical timeouts.

To continue on top of above explanation. When you are financing your ATP tour, the most important way of self supporting is to be healthy. Once when you are down of the court, you are not having just to worry to get back in form and recover. You have to finance your way out, and when you barely have money to travel you know that you are done if you skip month of your early career. It takes more time to get money than to heal wounds. That is why 99% talented players fail. I think that Novak is actually doing very well. He didn't had major injuries with such cautionary approach.

Another problems are his asthma and allergies. Major problem is that he is too sensitive in spring, especially this year. The way normal people treat this is forbidden to athletes because it triggers doping test. So there is not much he can do about it. Heat and nose deviation are deadly combination for him, making his breathing problems major concern during day matches on 40+ degrees Celsius. But commonly they are wrongly interpreted as lack of form. Novak contributed to that belief because he don't hide emotions, when he is physically down with breathing problems he is emotionally drained as well, looking really lethargic and uninterested. That is something to expected when you don't hide emotions on court. I would rather choose to see walkout than collapse of any player, not just Novak.

Medical timeouts are always tactical except in rare cases when injury is severe and need immediate attention. To anyone who actually play tennis, even for fun it is obvious that many things can go wrong without seeing blood on court. The purpose of MT is to help player to recover and heal and it is understandable that player will pay better after that. It is also understandable that before MT, injured player will play worse and it would look like the another one is play the best tennis of their life. So it is ridiculous to say that Novak is calling MT to break good run of opponent. And if Novak says in presser that MT helped him stay in match, and that is decisive moment after which he won match, that for me means that he could either walk over or stay. And he is criticized in both cases, except if he stayed and lost.

3) Booed at USO.

It is pretty covered here. It started before Andy, by Robredo. He sent both of them home. It was a big loss for Novak, he was heavily punished in next match. But if that didn't happened it would be the biggest loss for tennis. Most of you are from US, and it will take time to accept what he said. But that guy show guts he and shown what he is made of. There is no title, money, ranking or anything that is bigger than his heart and what he is up to do. He is getting pounded by Andy since than, but he always go of the court with smile... For Novak, his fans and probably everyone in US it is ... PRICELESS

I am tired of writing.... But I just wanted to tell something more about this great player. He may not get attention he deserves. But he will find way to your heart. It is nice to hear that that on of the writers changed mind about Novak. It was hard for us Novak fans to read little unbiased articles which were to harsh for Novak. He is far from perfect, but not just perfect gems deserves attention. This one, heart shaped gem really knows to find way in world tops collection and you have to love it. Hopefully he will be polished by the time, but his fans will always accept him even this way as he is truly unique and it is something that tennis need... PERSONALITY...

Typo: everyone EXCEPT ones in US it is ... PRICELESS

that was a great post, atg. i hope that Novak has learnt not to let these things affect him emotionally, to the extent that it hampers his game. all sportsmen have cringe-y moments, it comes with being in the limelight all the time. however, i believe that if Novak had not let these things get in his head, he would have had even better results than he did in 2009/10. in the long run, the only thing people remember are achievements. Novak has already lost enough time, he needs to start making up for it now if he wants to live up to his potential. once he starts raking up titles, these stories will automatically disappear from our collective memories.

its great to see novak having loyal fans like you atg...welcome to TT

atg, it's great to see someone defending their player like you just did. I can absolutely relate to the breathing and asthma symptoms, because I am a sufferer as well, and I know from experience that people who do not suffer from it cannot empathise with a sufferer. It's worse for Nole, because he is restricted as to remedies he can take to alleviate the symptoms, and even if they found one that is legal for athletes, it might work for a couple of years, then you have to look for something else, and that's not easy to do when you are operating within strict rules.

All the years I have been watching tennis during the spring and summer, I have often been amazed that players never seem to suffer from these symptoms until Nole came along, then I realised that they are human after all.

I think most players are accused of using MTOs to gain advantage, most are probably guilty of it, that's not restricted to Nole, so I don't see why that should get to him, he should be man enough to shrug his shoulders and get on with his game. Rafa has been accused of that and much worse, but he doesn't let it stop him working hard to achieve his goals.

I knew that Britain had offered him citizenship, but I thought it was more asylum because of the war, I did not know it was because of his financing. It's good to know the background of these stories, and it must mean tons to his family that he has done so well, considering he has done it all on a shoe string.

I understand that Anna Ivanovic started playing in a disused swimming pool because she did not have access to any tennis courts, and she went on to be No 1 in the world, it shows that success is not just to do with money, it's also the will to do well. Like the Williams sisters who came from nothing to leading women's tennis.

Whatever happened in the past belong to the past, so I hope Nole really can concentrate on his tennis career, now that it looks like he is back on track. I'm happy for him and his family that they are finally out of tight financial situations. Come to think of it, credit has to be given to Nole, for working hard and shouldering the responsibility of supporting his family. I'm glad that now he is earning millions both from prize money and from sponsorships, and I wish for him a bright future. Nole please continue to improve and show us some good tennis, especially when you are playing against our Rafa.

Danica: You've always been a fair Joker fan, and for that I've respected your opinions. You were the voice of reason, when Duro was blasting me for absolutely no reason at all. Also, recently at the USO, others were saying that Djoko played superbly vs. Monfils, however, you said not it wasn't anything that grand. I said, Monfils gave the match away by being a clown, and I honestly felt that way, it was not because of any dislike towards the Djoker. Others, on this site felt I was being critical, however, it's what I saw and if anyone wants to be honest, Monfils played like an amateur, plain and simply put.

Re: The USO incident, as I stated, it was Robredo who started the whole thing about Djoko's timeouts and other stuff in his press conference. Sad to say, Tommy wasn't lying, it was true, it did happen with the MTO and the feigning of injury. Then Barkhan took it further by asking Roddick prior to the match vs. Djoko, about what Tommy said, and Andy, being the humorous guy he is, added some stuff jokingly, which caused Djoko to become angry. Barkhan, started the nonsense, and both guys fed into it. But, as I said previously, it was mentioned before by Robredo, who was angry, and felt that the MTOs and other stuff in their match (Djoko/robredo) is what caused him to lose, as the histrionics distracted him. I have to agree with tommy, as I saw that match, it wasn't at all easy to concentrate, and he was very angry, which hindered his game.

I know there's a poster here who keeps harping that since that incident, Djoko can't beat Roddick. I'd like to point out, that Roddick beat Djoko before that incident at Dubai. Andy beat both Djoko and nadal enroute to the finals and won the title. Therefore, it's not like Roddick couldn't beat djoko prior to the USO -- he could and he did.

Truthfully, I belieieve that incident hurt Roddick, and it caused him to lose that match at the USO. Andy went into his match with Djoko expecting to play someone who's tired and hurting, but when he realized that there was nothing bothering Djoko, he began playing like he should, but it was too, late, he was already two sets down. He won the third set, and had set points in the fourth, until he duffed a ball into the net. Therefore, I'd say Roddick paid a huge price also.

It would be nice if some posters before talking, would delve more deeply into the facts urrounding that USO debacle, before calling Roddick a jerk and saying he can't beat Djokovic. That's simply misinformation being perpetuated and an opinion being given without looking at the whole picture.

Von, your posts would have a lot more credibility if you accepted Roddick's mistakes the way we accept Nole's. It's okay to be a fan despite the flaws.

Hey atg, nice post about Djokovic. Thanks for reminding us of his history.
I think he is very smart with the way he uses his medical TO's. He knows when to stop, and does ... he understands his own body limits. Each player has their own special talents and gifts and ... yes also their challenges. Djokovic has been relatively healthy and maintaining the #3 spot for quite some time now. He doing it right. :)

roddick is a dirtbag, the lowest form of scum out there.

the fact that roddick won a slam is a stain on tennis history.

always a great day when federer destroys roddick.

roddick is a bully that tries to intimidate opponents and umpires with verbal abuse to win matches. remember how he abused umpire enric molina at the aussie open and got that call going his way vs gonzalez?

roddick makes me puke.

I can't imagine what it would be like to suddenly find yourself on the world stage and have to immediately be aware of the way you act and speak so as to not upset or insult ANYBODY.

Federer did not show up the perfect gentleman, far from it in fact. He has, however, developed his skills and learned how to deal with the public and press (although he still makes statements which in hindsight he probably wished he hadn't).

Andy R still struggles to keep his emotions and outbursts in check, its the way he has and always will be. I personally don?t like the way he abuses some officials, yell and scream all you like but it shouldn?t be directed at individuals. They are there doing a job and mistakes are made, they are human, get over it - that's life.

Saying that, I have always like Novak. His family did him no favours in the beginning but they too are learning how to best support their son/brother. I think what I like most about him is what you see is what you get, similar to Rafa and Andy M. There are no heirs and graces, no pretences and I believe him to be respectful and honest. I think his performance both on and off the court at the USO endeared him to many people.

The way he congratulated Rafa at the USO showed me that although he was not happy to have lost the match, he was genuinely happy for Rafa. To cross the net at the end of a match and embrace your opponent to me shows great respect and admiration.

Finally, when Rafa goes to your chair after a match AND in his acceptance speech calls you ?amigo? you can't be all that bad.

That is a lovely tribute to Nole by 'atg' above. And puts a number of things into perspective for those of us who often were quick to be critical.
The first time I really focused hard on Nole was when he stormed into the SF at Roland Garros in 2007 and pushed Rafa to a tie break in the first set. I recall the talk then about his financial struggles and how he had even arrived at RG without claycourt shoes and been lent some by another player!

In spite of such a disappointing year for him up until the USO, he has still managed to regain the No.2 ranking and, what's more, I imagine he is well placed to end the year as No.2 as well.

stu: "Von, your posts would have a lot more credibility if you accepted Roddick's mistakes the way we accept Nole's."

Whatever, I don't expect you to see anything fair in my posts, as you have on blinders. Anyway, this thread is in praise of Djokovic, so I'll just bow out. My first post, was merely to clear up some important details with respect to the USO debalce, which I feel, many seemed to have forgotten.

this von is a roddick nuthugger.
she constantly talks up roddick and bashes nadal in a typical haters way.

she is always on the website tennis-x.com spewing her anti-nadal hatred.

LOL, ATR, now I know you've lost it. Anyone who posts on Tennis.x, knows that I'm very neutral towards Nadal and Fed. There are many Nadal fans who posts on Tennis.x from this site, and they can attest to what I say to be the truth.

I just wonder though, why would you care if I *spew hatred* as you call it toward Nadal, since you do that all of the time. Is there any player that you actually like??

thats a great post atg, i enjoyed reading it very much. welcome to TT, we could always use more nole supporters here!

The response to this blog is testimony to the admiration many fans feel for Nole, whoever their particular favourite maybe. It's a pity a handful of people are hellbent on trying to turn it into a battlefield.

roddick is disgusting.
he is a bully, a fraud, a loser and a cheat.

lol ATR,

Not that I am a Roddick fan, but curious to know why such a deep hatred towards Roddick??

anti-jinxing

ATR: Von doesn't badmouth Rafa on tennisx, nor does she badmouth Fed, for the record.

why would she, when we have nole for that purpose?

I didn't get to watch this match. I read somewhere that Federer didn't wait at the net for Djokovic to finish with his celebration after he beat him. He packed up his bags and left the stadium without shaking hands with Djokovic. Can anyone verify if this was true.

gamesetmatch, that's not true. Djokovic stood stunned at winning, meanwhile Federer went to put his racquet down by his chair, then he met Djokovic, who was by the umpire's chair by this time, and shook his hand, then Federer went to finish packing his bags and leave the court.

Thank you nadine, I didn't think Federer would do that.

Sorry, I meant to say 'left the court'.

for the record, Novak didn't spend all that much time celebrating. he just put his hands in the air looking stunned, and spent 30 secs trying to catch his breath after the long rally that was match point.

Roger was fine, he walked back to the net when Novak got there and even had a half-smile on.

stu, it was long enough for Federer to be able to go and put his racquet down before Nole got to the net by the umpire's chair. I was just relating what happened as I was watching the whole sequence whilst typing.

No one was saying Nole took too long, this happens frequently, as in the final when Nole had to go and meet Rafa in his half of the court, because Rafa too was overwhelmed by his win, and did not go to the net immediately.

http://tinyurl.com/arodjerkagain

http://personalmoneystore.com/moneyblog/2009/10/16/credit-cards-fix-te nnis-damage/

http://tinyurl.com/yourpointbeing ?

Good article.

I've been a Djokovic fan since I watched him and Nadal on grass at Queens (?07). The tennis was so superior that the result depended on who hit the best shot. (Nadal). The second best match I ever saw played was on clay -- again Nadal and Djokovic - with the same result. Nadal won. But that was in 2008 and both guys ended up spent. Nadal went on to lose to Federer, then the French, then withdrew from Wimbledon. Djokovic crashed, too, and didn't recover until months later.

Nole shouldn't have shot off his mouth about Roddick, but he was 20 or 21 years old and had been dissed seriously by Andy (who has a habit of being nasty when under pressure). I think Nole's learned his lesson. He's matured. He showed his mettle at the US Open. I only wish he'd get a coach who could help him with his serve and his volley. I think he can improve both.

His gritty performance in Davis Cup against Berdych shows what he's made of.

I'm appalled at the antipathy Gilbert, McEnroe (Patrick) show toward Djokovic when they call a match he's playing. If they can't be objective, they should just shut up. If they're commentating to a Nole match, I turn off the sound. I get too mad otherwise.

I'm a Murray fan, like DelPotro, Soderling, Rafa and admire Federer's game tho' am not a fan of his.

Rafa showed even the No 1 player can improve. I hope Djokovic takes a cue and gets himself a coach who can help him improve serve and volley. When he finds himself at the net, he's helpless.

So far as sportsmanship, there is none better than Nole. I've seen him go against the linesman against himself and signal the other player to challenge, losing the point. I've also seen that same player (not saying who) NOT return the courtesy when the linesman called a ball in that was out and he did not show the same sportsmanship.

GO NOLE

My point being, same as yours. You wanted to show up roddick, so I found something to show your fave can go balistic and tear up a whole court in Shanghai.

Of what valid reason is there for posting that "arodjerkagain" tiny url? None whatsovever? But, as usual, you can't stop being nasty. The thread is about your fave, and everyone had their bit to say about Roddick, (no opposition on this thread in Roddick's favour, as he's hated here, and there aren't any Roddick fans here, I wonder why??) who's supposed to be the bad guy in that whole USO fiasco, even though it was Robredo who initiated the complaints. There was a sequence of events leading up to all of that stuff, which many choose conveniently to ignore. That was covered several posts ago, but here you go again, digging, and digging -- you must really enjoy perpetuating this kind of stuff. I wouldn't want to meet you in a dark alley on any night.

As for your fave being the most gracious, well, that isn't really so is it? He does a good snow job of covering up his behaviour, (hence thee aricle I posted) and some are fooled by it. He's made a 360 degree turnarouind, and more power to him, but I'm sorry, I don't buy it. And, before you go crazy, I'm entitled to my opinion, just like everyone else here.

Some of you guys certainly have a way with words and how to place emphasis on anything, e.g., *and had been dissed seriously by Andy*. Well, it was both ways, wasn't Roddick dissed by the Joker also?

I read a post where a poster on this site claimed that the only competition Fed got was from the *clown* Roddick. Lovely, it just goes to show that Roddick's got tons of heart. How many would keep putting it all out there, knowing fully well that they'll lose when they meet with Fed?? Roddick did, and I commend him. He wasn't a clown,he took his beating like a man, not retiring when the going got too tough, like some often do.

As for the challenges, etc., people do such stuff when they want to ingratiate themselves and turn their image around. Is it genuine? Maybe, maybe not, but only the one doing it would know whether his intentions are true and meant in the best of sportsmanship. Roddick has done that a few times in the past. he did it one time for Verdasco, which caused him to lose the match, so big deal about such stuff.

AS for Davis Cup, and his gritty performance, many seem to forget how the Joker bailed out vs. Davydenko a couple of years ago and left his team hanging. He got on a plane to play in a tourney in France.

No one likes Roddick on this site, but Roddick has played with unselfish devotion to his country in Davis Cup.

Tell me this, if the Joker is the most gracious, et al., why hasn't he been voted as the best sportsman, instead of Federer. Now chew on that.

roddick withdrew from davis cup match against croatia 2009 citing the hip injury even tho after the match he shrug off any injury speculation. my guess is that he was hurting from the loss to federer.

http://tinyurl.com/q2p2w7

novak lost to rafa and the week later he beat rested berdych in belgrade.

I didn't have to "go digging, and digging" for that video Von, it just happened 2 days ago and was in the news! That's what tennistalk is, a website where we discuss _current_ tennis-related events. BTW, did you click my link?

"Tell me this, if the Joker is the most gracious, et al., why hasn't he been voted as the best sportsman, instead of Federer. Now chew on that."
Since nobody on this thread, or any other that I have read, has made that claim, your entire argument is moot.

Anyone watching that Wimby match intently, would have seen Roddick dive for a ball and pulled up hurting with his hand on his hip. After that, his level of play dropped.

He shrugged off the injury because, get this, he isn't a cry baby. Roddick always plays down his injuries, not like some who cry for even a headache and a nose run, boo hoo. The flu didn't stop the joker from going to play in Marseille when he ditched DC and Serbia.

Can anyone with any tennis savvy compare the USO final to the Wimby '09 final?? The Joker disappeared in the 4th set -- he checked out -- check out time. Roddick played to the bitter end. Come on, the Wimby '09 final was the longest final in history, get it.

And, even if he was hurting from the loss to Federer, why not talk about the Joker hurting from his loss to nadal in madrid in '09. It was just a Masters tourney and he bemoaned it for months. Can you say an MS loss is the same as a GS loss like the one Roddick suffered? No way Jose.

Someone did make the argument, that the Joker is the most gracious player on the tour. Read the post above. It wasn't stated as most gracious, verbatim, but none better when it comes to sportsmanship. And, I ask again, why isn't he voted as such, if that's what he really is???

Anyway, whether you didn't go digging for that video, this thread was not the place to post it. To refresh your memeory, this thread pertains to Djokovic's warm and ever so gracious, noble, and generous personality. The one with the biggest heart on the ATP tour, isn't it?..

Beating Berdych in Belgrade is a big deal, oh yeah, it is. Home soil always gives the home team an advantage, ask any player. It's not rocket science.

This silly nitpick, picking, is making me sick. It's time for me to check out.

well i guess we have double standards in place for different players ... anyhow, checking out too.

The best sportsman title was one of the most interesting debate on TT. But I really can't remember anyone on this tread mentioned that. If you were saying most interesting, probably, but sportsman... no way... Number of broken rackets and umpire warnings works against him :) That doesn't make him bad as Von want's, not bad at all to be precise. He simply is not good enough in all aspects of sportsmanship to pick up that title.

But I found that he is the one of the most interesting players of all times and he certainly can pick title of best sportsman in that group :) since it is crowded with "bad" boys ...

atg, unfortunately, I think that makes him the least interesting among the most interesting bad boys :)

how cute was Novak in Beijing, trying to dry the court with his towel :)

I know this blog is about Djokovic, but in response to the hubbub above, Roddick is my favorite player too and I've never really picked up that he's hated here.