NOVAK DJOKOVIC: The Fan Club

Having seen the second set with Haas, it showed following. Nole suffered the second loss practically played with the same opponent tactics. Both Haas and Delpo kept Nole with backhand slices on the BL and just to slow down the game on this wing and forced him to make a game. I must say Nole has no as great patience and looked a bit restless. Nole looks on slower hc obviously more fragile than on faster ones. These days his serve quite fluctuates and his timing is not that perfect. He seems to be in mind already on clay in a match with Mori. IMO on slower hc Nole just does not have enough body weight to make a pace for hitting through an opponent. So that, some additional couple of kilos would not go a miss, which would also help on the serve. Ideally the tennis player body weight would add some kilos for hc season and then to lose for the clay season. I must repeat Nole's slice is played late, therefore from a lower height. Not sure if he can rework it. Vajda, watch out. All predictions for clay season leadership must be based only on the comparison between Nole and Mori. I think who will win their first match then will reign for the whole clay season. Let's see how the things are going to happen.

Yes, not the best day (or middle of the night) for Nole fans....as you could see too, he really needs to put a bit of weight on now. Despite the new racquet and heavier balls coming off it, Haas came out as physically superior although he is both older and slower.
I thought Nole's tactics were wrong esp in the 1st set, good job you didn't see it.
He didn't play badly, but never got comfortable in the match and allowed himself to be rattled and rush the game a bit as if he had stg to prove to Haas.

Yes, his BH slice is probably the next area of improvement, I'm sure he's aware of it especially as he's been on the receiving end of it recently as you pointed out. Fed's always used it well against him, and so has to some extent Tomic. Not all the player have it as a weapon, though.

Davis Cup next and then clay and battles with the physically stronger than ever Kneedull.

Great win over Isner on the ultra fast surface just showed that Nole feels and is much better on faster surfaces, where he can utilize his early a ball taking and his amazing speed. I have not seen any player who can hit a ball from such a fast split step as Nole does. What an amazing mover and hitter with such a great feeling. In this respect Nole is one level above other players atm. Superb performance

paulcz wrote:Great win over Isner on the ultra fast surface just showed that Nole feels and is much better on faster surfaces, where he can utilize his early a ball taking and his amazing speed. I have not seen any player who can hit a ball from such a fast split step as Nole does. What an amazing mover and hitter with such a great feeling. In this respect Nole is one level above other players atm. Superb performance

He, he, Paul, I've known that all this time. Nole used to play great like that in his Wilson days, was hitting the ball flat and early at the beginning of his career until the courts got turned into Nadal mudpits.
Everyone except Nadal would be fine on faster courts.

Have you ever seen Nole play live? If not, you've got to do it Paul!
And it must be from a close to court seat just to appreciate how phenomenally light-footed he is. He almost glides and flies when he rushes to the net, it is really beautiful to watch

noleisthebest wrote:

paulcz wrote:Great win over Isner on the ultra fast surface just showed that Nole feels and is much better on faster surfaces, where he can utilize his early a ball taking and his amazing speed. I have not seen any player who can hit a ball from such a fast split step as Nole does. What an amazing mover and hitter with such a great feeling. In this respect Nole is one level above other players atm. Superb performance

He, he, Paul, I've known that all this time. Nole used to play great like that in his Wilson days, was hitting the ball flat and early at the beginning of his career until the courts got turned into Nadal mudpits.
Everyone except Nadal would be fine on faster courts.

Have you ever seen Nole play live? If not, you've got to do it Paul!
And it must be from a close to court seat just to appreciate how phenomenally light-footed he is. He almost glides and flies when he rushes to the net, it is really beautiful to watch

Absolutely, Nitb. Unfortunately I have not managed to see him live. That was a big pity that he did not play DC QF the last year. If Czechs and Serbs get to the final, then we would play in Serbia, that would be a clear decision to go there to see him. It looks that our SF is quite sure, but Serbs's chances are poor. Troicki does not have a chance to win a match and doubles are lost. Unless Tipsy is registered for Sunday, then no chance for Serbs. So, I need to catch Nole somewhere in Europe playing for sure

OK, Djoko fans, now that your guy is back to form (yaaaaay )
I’m counting on him to “wipe the floor with nadal” comes RG. Please do it this
time. I'm sick of the "he's injured" crocodile tears. It's getting
way pass stale and time to give the fake king and his supporters a real hit in
the head and a good reason to cry.

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Yes, we all want Nole to continue to clobber Nadal and hope it happens in RG.

It is going to be hard for Novak to physically dominate Nadal who seems to be stronger than ever, whereas Nole has lost a bit of weight and strength with it.

He has also changed his game to match the"new look": changed the racquet, improved serve and forehand which tells you his game plan will not be outlasting him any more. That was done and dusted in 2011.

I hope Novak has not neglected keeping his BH in tip-top shape as it was that shot that did most damage against Nadal in the past.

We'll find out soon.

Monte Carlo should give as an idea of what to expect.

As for wiping the floor, you know that's virtually impossible to do with Nadal on slow surfaces. But speed things up a bit and it becomes child's play

There is a myth of Nole's outlasting on courts. It is obvious that Nole and I do not believe that anybody on tour is able to outlast Nadal. If there were symptoms that Mori run out of the gas, then that was not case that it was due to his moonballing but that his opponnent made him to run out. The only way how to destroy him is to take an advance of his back court positioning and play „heavy“ wings and dictate rallies. That is the way how Nole outplayed Nadal. But no way by waiting 2 meters behind the BL and rallying, that is sheer nonsense.

I see Nole as the biggest Nole's advantage his better positioning and an early ball taking and of course Nole's great controlled cross courts shots. Not speaking about great returning and an improved serve. I am also convinced that Nole is better mover than Moribundus.

Mori will mix up his increased aggression with moonballing, he did come to the conclusion that he would be destroyed by Nole's active game. They had enough time to think about it during seven months. There is one danger to see their matches and it is that if Mori does not succeed in the game with his physical strength, then tv cameras are not going to catch moonballs on courts.

I would like to be wrong, but except Nole I can not see anybody else who is able to play with Mori on clay BO5. Anyway I am looking forward to see Murray with Mori this clay season.

I must laugh at all non-believers, who do not believe how good Nole on quick surfaces is. To demolish Querrey 6:1 and 6:0 in two last sets on his home us soil is astonishing. Well done, that was briliant performancee

paulcz wrote:I must laugh at all non-believers, who do not believe how good Nole on quick surfaces is. To demolish Querrey 6:1 and 6:0 in two last sets on his home us soil is astonishing. Well done, that was briliant performancee

Yes, Paul, that is the burden we have to bear
But the burden feels light when you see him play so well, he reminded me of his young days when he was flying around the court with his magic Wilson.
It would be so good to speed all courts asap, that would prolong everyone's career and make tennis so much nicer to watch!

And now:

O-LEEEEE, O-LE, O-LE, O-LEEEE NOOOO-LEEEEEE NO-LEEEEEEEEEE

noleisthebest wrote:

paulcz wrote:I must laugh at all non-believers, who do not believe how good Nole on quick surfaces is. To demolish Querrey 6:1 and 6:0 in two last sets on his home us soil is astonishing. Well done, that was briliant performancee

Yes, Paul, that is the burden we have to bear
But the burden feels light when you see him play so well, he reminded me of his young days when he was flying around the court with his magic Wilson.
It would be so good to speed all courts asap, that would prolong everyone's career and make tennis so much nicer to watch!

And now:

O-LEEEEE, O-LE, O-LE, O-LEEEE NOOOO-LEEEEEE NO-LEEEEEEEEEE

I do not feel that as a burden to bear, but as somebody's a poor perceptions of tennis. When Nole plays fully concentrated then his game is just perfect like his last two sets with Querrey. I can dare to say the most complex I have ever seen.

Good news from Nole about his ankle and outlook to see him play tomorrow. The first match with Youzhny will show us whether his ankle will allow him to play. The ankle ligaments can be pretty tricky and can show up very harshly.
Nole, we keep our fingers crossed for your ankle

Yes, that's great news. Thing with Nole's ankles and joints is he's trained them with stretching from early years in order to be able to slide, they are a lot more elastic then with most other players who never did that kind of routine.
That's why he is so flexible now and needs less support than others. Still, he needs to watch himself.
I'm sure he and his team know what they are doing, but body is a very finely tuned mechanism and the way he is running it he needs to be particularly careful as it's at its optimal peak in many ways: he is asking and getting of his body more than most get out of theirs.

noleisthebest wrote:Yes, that's great news. Thing with Nole's ankles and joints is he's trained them with stretching from early years in order to be able to slide, they are a lot more elastic then with most other players who never did that kind of routine.
That's why he is so flexible now and needs less support than others. Still, he needs to watch himself.
I'm sure he and his team know what they are doing, but body is a very finely tuned mechanism and the way he is running it he needs to be particularly careful as it's at its optimal peak in many ways: he is asking and getting of his body more than most get out of theirs.

Absolutely. The positive thing is that his ankle is getting better and if it allow him to play then I think that it will not hamper him for this season and should not have any negative consequences for his move in future. I had quite heavy ankle sprain when I was 15 and due to this I could not play for 3 months and it shows up regularly since then when I do a bad twist of my ankle. If Nole plays tomorrow then it is very promising. Clay is softer surface and there are no such hard pressures on ankles as would be on hard courts.

Congratulations to Nole for two successive complete turnarounds with Youzny and Monaco. It is good that third cake will be Jarkko as left hander coming in right time and also came time to start winning with straight sets. Cause Moribundus will be waiting on Sunday. Perhaps the ankle will not hamper too much.

Yes, Nole did well to win those two matches.
He clearly isn't 100%, but this is good prep for Roland Garros.
He should make it to the final providing his tender ankle does not get too sore, as it affects him more mentally than physically. He is a very fussy player when it comes to these things.
After the match, he said he did not feel well in his morning practice, that he thought a lot about his ankle which drained him of mental energy which then made him feel physically exhausted in the first set of both matches. He also said that was a new experience for him. He was pleased he was able to find his inner peace and dig himself out of the hole both times.
That's quite interesting as I observed the same thing.

The problem is that they play every day. There is no time to relieve his ankle. When I have a pain in my ankle, I stop playing for 2-3 days and then it is playable. To Nole his ankle mean practically the same as his right hand. If the pain is getting bigger I would stop him playing there for sure.

paulcz wrote:The problem is that they play every day. There is no time to relieve his ankle. When I have a pain in my ankle, I stop playing for 2-3 days and then it is playable. To Nole his ankle mean practically the same as his right hand. If the pain is getting bigger I would stop him playing there for sure.

I know, he has to play through a little bit of pain, which then feels bad in the mornings. Which is why he is being given last match slots all tournament incl. tomorrow.

I hope he does not aggravate the condition which is probably just light swelling at this stage with little pain anyway.

I bet he can't wait for the tournament to finish.
I saw a photo of Nadal watching Nole's first match, so he is obviously keen to see where he is at and expecting him on Sunday.
Nadal looks super fit and strong and there is NOTHING wrong with him whatsoever. His ballstriking is about 90% atm, and as I said earlier a fit Nole would have no problem beating him. But he is neither fit nor ready to play him yet in my opinion.
Still, a bit of adrenaline and good serving could make even "this" Nole tough for Nadal.

I just didn't like watching him struggle within himself, he never plays well in that state, but a good point just switches it all off for him, it's strange how mind works.

noleisthebest wrote:

paulcz wrote:The problem is that they play every day. There is no time to relieve his ankle. When I have a pain in my ankle, I stop playing for 2-3 days and then it is playable. To Nole his ankle mean practically the same as his right hand. If the pain is getting bigger I would stop him playing there for sure.

I know, he has to play through a little bit of pain, which then feels bad in the mornings. Which is why he is being given last match slots all tournament incl. tomorrow.

I hope he does not aggravate the condition which is probably just light swelling at this stage with little pain anyway.

I bet he can't wait for the tournament to finish.
I saw a photo of Nadal watching Nole's first match, so he is obviously keen to see where he is at and expecting him on Sunday.
Nadal looks super fit and strong and there is NOTHING wrong with him whatsoever. His ballstriking is about 90% atm, and as I said earlier a fit Nole would have no problem beating him. But he is neither fit nor ready to play him yet in my opinion.
Still, a bit of adrenaline and good serving could make even "this" Nole tough for Nadal.

I just didn't like watching him struggle within himself, he never plays well in that state, but a good point just switches it all off for him, it's strange how mind works.

Agree. That is sad that there is no player who can fight with Nadal on clay these days again except Nole. What is amazing Nole likes it even he is not evidently ok. Nadal's game is so physical that he practically does not allow players to sniff at on clay. There is practically zero chance that somebody can beat Nadal with a health problem. Nole is in this regard just exceptional and miraculous. Sometimes I really wonder if that is in human power or not. The year 2011 was phenomenal year, which is impossible to repeat. Now I can not understand how Nole could do it.

I can. I really can. It's his spirit and the state of mind he gets into. If he believes he can win a match, you really have to beat him if you want to win.

It took one of best ever Federer's matches to beat Novak in that 2011 RG semi-final.
In a way I hate it because Nole would have destroyed Nadal in that final. So it's Fed's fault

That was a truly phenomenal match and I'd love to see it again, but am not ready for it yet. Maybe one day.....

I admire the fact Nole is actually playing in Monte Carlo. It would've been better if he didn't.

noleisthebest wrote:I can. I really can. It's his spirit and the state of mind he gets into. If he believes he can win a match, you really have to beat him if you want to win.

It took one of best ever Federer's matches to beat Novak in that 2011 RG semi-final.
In a way I hate it because Nole would have destroyed Nadal in that final. So it's Fed's fault

That was a truly phenomenal match and I'd love to see it again, but am not ready for it yet. Maybe one day.....

I admire the fact Nole is actually playing in Monte Carlo. It would've been better if he didn't.

That semi Nole lost due to loss of his focus. I felt from the first set that the match goes in a wrong way for him. If that French crowds would not stand behind Fed so freneticly, Nole would take it. I am convinced about it. He finished that match mentally broken. Nole gave it back to Fed then a couple times as well. So, they are fifty-fifty

Yes, he crumbled under the Streak pressure. I hated it. And who can forget the French crowd....

But altogether that was a fantastic match, incl the atmosphere, occasion (the streak), the crowd, the Finger, there were so many great elements there, I could write a book about it!

And yes, he certainly got his revenge back straight in USO and The Shot, he, he.
I just wish Fed beat Nadal in that RG final....he wasted a great opportunity for Nole.
This year, there will be no excuse. RG is Nole's

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

Good match for Nole with Jarkko as a left handed practise and especially good to see Nole's ankle holds together. Tomorrow there will be a musketeer Fognini. If Fognini finds out that he does not have tennis to compete with the best, he still has a great opportunity to start studying dramatic art. I am convinced that theather would suit him perfectly

Having watched highlights from the match between Fognini and Gasquet I must say that Fogni has improved his game pretty much. He practically does not have any weakness and feel very comfortably on clay. That will be very difficult match for Nole tomorrow. Fogni outplayed Richard in an awesome way. Fogni has a very good potential to go up at the ranking within TOP20 very soon. IMO he belongs to 10 best clay players atm.

Yes, I've been singing Fogna's praises all year as I, too have noticed he has matured and put his game together very nicely.
I never realised he was only 25, I thought he was one of the "oldies" for some reason.
He has also calmed down with his dramatic displays, but still loves to talk to himself during changeovers in an animated way.
He is a real character.
There was huge Italian support for him in MC today as he is from San Remo, which is relatively close by.
Fogna gave Nole a tough match in IW recently. Nole first bageled him in the first set, but then nearly lost the match, so, it will be interesting to see how that dynamics continue tomorrow. Should be a fun match, one for the fans as both players love to entertain.
I look forward to it.

noleisthebest wrote:Yes, I've been singing Fogna's praises all year as I, too have noticed he has matured and put his game together very nicely.
I never realised he was only 25, I thought he was one of the "oldies" for some reason.
He has also calmed down with his dramatic displays, but still loves to talk to himself during changeovers in an animated way.
He is a real character.
There was huge Italian support for him in MC today as he is from San Remo, which is relatively close by.
Fogna gave Nole a tough match in IW recently. Nole first bageled him in the first set, but then nearly lost the match, so, it will be interesting to see how that dynamics continue tomorrow. Should be a fun match, one for the fans as both players love to entertain.
I look forward to it.

Nole needs to play really well. Fogni changes a game rhytm quite often, has nice feeling for the ball. He reminds me Dolgo and I would say that he will do better off him soon. Nole must take control of the match and push him out from the comfort zone.

Congratulations to the great performance with Fognini. Although Fogna did not do big mistakes and played his solid tennis, the difference on the court was striking. The guy who beat Berdych and Gasquet convincigly got crashed in 52 minutes. Well done, Nole. Still one match to go

Cin-Cin

And may the whole of OTF have some more tomorrow

So far, this has been my favourite performance from Nole in Monte Carlo:

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=S-T5qnm6lXM

He's got the chance to top it tomorrow with another thriller

The greatest honour to Nole

Brilliantly astonishing match played by Nole. Absolutely the best game from base line I have ever seen on clay, improved net game and serve. Nole plays without any weaknesses when his game is on the top. That match will be surely used for all tennis young children how the best clay tennis looks like. Thanks God for Nole

I've only got one thing to "say" atm:

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=QQ0RfeATcjY

I must admit one thing. Today morning I had a tennis session. We still play on ultra speed surface indoor. The game is really about serving and returning. But 3 sets for two hours were pretty hard. I was so exhausted that I hardly could get in my car and get home. But to watch the end of the second set when Nadal served for that set, that was many times worse than playing tennis for 3 hours in the morning, maybe even for 4 hours

paulcz wrote:I must admit one thing. Today morning I had a tennis session. We still play on ultra speed surface indoor. The game is really about serving and returning. But 3 sets for two hours were pretty hard. I was so exhausted that I hardly could get in my car and get home. But to watch the end of the second set when Nadal served for that set, that was many times worse than playing tennis for 3 hours in the morning, maybe even for 4 hours

I can believe that....I now even have a slight headache from all the cheering and adrenaline roller-coaster. But it was all worth it just to see a happy Nole hold that lovely trophy and save it from further damage of Nadal's teeth.

Nole, the new King of Monte Carlo

I saw that Nadal was not dissapointed after the match. The reason was clear, he just knew that Nole had been much better player on the court. The match showed that Nole must keep Nadal under pressure, just not allow him to play from the middle of the court. I must say again that Nole is just exceptional player who is able to do it.

paulcz wrote:I saw that Nadal was not dissapointed after the match. The reason was clear, he just knew that Nole had been much better player on the court. The match showed that Nole must keep Nadal under pressure, just not allow him to play from the middle of the court. I must say again that Nole is just exceptional player who is able to do it.

Well, you didn't expect him to say any different, did you?
He'll hate this loss because he's just realised how hard he needs to work to earn a point against Nole...The ball is firmly on Nole's racquet, and we can't ask for more

noleisthebest wrote:

paulcz wrote:I saw that Nadal was not dissapointed after the match. The reason was clear, he just knew that Nole had been much better player on the court. The match showed that Nole must keep Nadal under pressure, just not allow him to play from the middle of the court. I must say again that Nole is just exceptional player who is able to do it.

Well, you didn't expect him to say any different, did you?
He'll hate this loss because he's just realised how hard he needs to work to earn a point against Nole...The ball is firmly on Nole's racquet, and we can't ask for more

The good thing was that Nole was aware that he must keep the control of the game. How Nole played the TB, I will look a couple of times again.

I think that it was also good that Nadal did not get a bagel. That could cause some a negative feedback in your memory when you do some close outs and some frustration can appear.. Overall Nole is much better player than Nadal. Their games derived from Nole's superb returns and Nole's efficient serve and much better positioning on the court when hitting, much better ball placing. I must smile, but there is nothing where Nadal can hang on with Nole. On the top in the second set Nole's the first serve percentage pretty droped. So, some potentials still exists.

I really appreciated the approach shot when Nole played through the middle of the net and Nadal did not get a chance to pass Nole at the net and Nole played a superb volley, which Nadal was able to catch, but only on Nole's racket. These balls make the match.

Yes, there were a couple of brilliant points at the net, and I know they mean so much to Nole.
They build his confidence there and he lives for winning those in big matches.

It has been very nice to witness his base-line game evolve into all-court and I have enjoyed seeing him has success with it even if it's just on an occassional point.

He's been working very hard and it's paying off.

I really appreciated how succesful on the net Nole was today and how much better volleying showed again. Here is only one thing I would recommend to him when he does his approach shot, just to play through the middle of the net more often. That works better than playing DTL or CC and when this approach shot is even sliced, that is very efficient. I was going to wait for that shot nearly the whole match and in the end fortunately I got it. Very smart and efficient shot to Nole and his fans cin-cin

Yes, his weak spot is not his volleying it's the approach shots. The courts are now slow and they have to be better than ever, CC sliced approach shots are easy put-aways these days...

noleisthebest wrote:Yes, his weak spot is not his volleying it's the approach shots. The courts are now slow and they have to be better than ever, CC sliced approach shots are easy put-aways these days...

It is no weakness, Nadal passed him about 3 times and Nole always touched the ball. But to use this middle approach ball is pretty confusing for the opponent. Many passes are played just on the body or a try for lobbing. But when it is sliced nicely slice it is really efficient.

paulcz wrote:

noleisthebest wrote:Yes, his weak spot is not his volleying it's the approach shots. The courts are now slow and they have to be better than ever, CC sliced approach shots are easy put-aways these days...

It is no weakness, Nadal passed him about 3 times and Nole always touched the ball. But to use this middle approach ball is pretty confusing for the opponent. Many passes are played just on the body or a try for lobbing. But when it is sliced nicely slice it is really efficient.

From memory, Nadal passed him in his own service games when he invited Novak to the net with short balls, that must've been when he was trying to recover from long rallies and give himself a break.

Nole did only a few S&V points today and they were all great.

The weak approach shots I was talking about were on hard courts, esp in O2. He was very adventurous there and I enjoyed watching him from close steal so fast to the net but on not so good approach shots, he was an easy target for Murray and Fed several times.
I think he is still in the learning process there and has already improved which was obvious today.
The main thing is he enjoys moving forward and is not put off.
I mean, it all sounds so easy in theory and we can talk about it all day, but to pull it off and execute in tough match situations is very hard and very gutsy.

noleisthebest wrote:

paulcz wrote:

noleisthebest wrote:Yes, his weak spot is not his volleying it's the approach shots. The courts are now slow and they have to be better than ever, CC sliced approach shots are easy put-aways these days...

It is no weakness, Nadal passed him about 3 times and Nole always touched the ball. But to use this middle approach ball is pretty confusing for the opponent. Many passes are played just on the body or a try for lobbing. But when it is sliced nicely slice it is really efficient.

From memory, Nadal passed him in his own service games when he invited Novak to the net with short balls, that must've been when he was trying to recover from long rallies and give himself a break.

Nole did only a few S&V points today and they were all great.

The weak approach shots I was talking about were on hard courts, esp in O2. He was very adventurous there and I enjoyed watching him from close steal so fast to the net but on not so good approach shots, he was an easy target for Murray and Fed several times.
I think he is still in the learning process there and has already improved which was obvious today.
The main thing is he enjoys moving forward and is not put off.
I mean, it all sounds so easy in theory and we can talk about it all day, but to pull it off and execute in tough match situations is very hard and very gutsy.

This shot appreciated Rusedski and commentators and I was really glad they mentioned it. Now I think Nole is very close to his best, I do not see practically any bigger space for any improvement. His hitting is absolutely brilliant, from both wings. Maybe just being more consistent with the first serve and that is it. I have and think I will always have a feeling that he just thinks of an additional variaty and changes a game rhytm sometimes too much, but that suits to his game perfectly and that just dissambles players's spirit, which is great. He just plays as a great champion

I am sorry to write so many superlatives about Nole's amazing today performance, but I need to add the last one

Nole helped Serbia to move to the Davic cup semi, played on real hard court in US, just two weaks ago. Everybody, who plays tennis knows how difficult it is to switch from hc to clay. In addition to his twisted ankle that also did not help to get into clay rails smoothly. Although Nadal played this as his fourth tourney on the clay this year, which he knew already last year and despite Nadal long term clay preparation, today he has recognized that Nole is clearly better tennis player practically in all tennis areas. That is amazing.

So, there are some addiotinal perceptions from Czech tennis media to the brilliant Nole's performance with Nadal:
- the only player who is able to completely demolish Nadal by shotmaking is Nole
- Nole is only player who is mentally stronger than Nadal
- and the third finding is that Nole is better mover than Nadal
Actually there is nothing new, that all we as Nole's fans have known for a long time

paulcz wrote:So, there are some addiotinal perceptions from Czech tennis media to the brilliant Nole's performance with Nadal:
- the only player who is able to completely demolish Nadal by shotmaking is Nole
- Nole is only player who is mentally stronger than Nadal
- and the third finding is that Nole is better mover than Nadal
Actually there is nothing new, that all we as Nole's fans have known for a long time

Not quite right I am afraid!

- I have seen many players demolish Nadal: Tsonga, Federer, Davydenko, Nalby, etc...and they really do it by "shot making" NOT by winning twice as many long rallies as Nadal. The truth is that only Djoko can win twice as many long rallies as Nadal. That is the true fact. Though of course for DJoko fans, the shot making ability is what they want to see.

- Nole is certainly better over long rallies. This gives him a lot of mental strength over Nadal.

- I agree about that 3rd point.

Tenez wrote:

paulcz wrote:So, there are some addiotinal perceptions from Czech tennis media to the brilliant Nole's performance with Nadal:
- the only player who is able to completely demolish Nadal by shotmaking is Nole
- Nole is only player who is mentally stronger than Nadal
- and the third finding is that Nole is better mover than Nadal
Actually there is nothing new, that all we as Nole's fans have known for a long time

Not quite right I am afraid!

- I have seen many players demolish Nadal: Tsonga, Federer, Davydenko, Nalby, etc...and they really do it by "shot making" NOT by winning twice as many long rallies as Nadal. The truth is that only Djoko can win twice as many long rallies as Nadal. That is the true fact. Though of course for DJoko fans, the shot making ability is what they want to see.

- Nole is certainly better over long rallies. This gives him a lot of mental strength over Nadal.

- I agree about that 3rd point.

I am sure that these are truly correct. Just some questions with easy answers to support these two first points,

To whom Nadal lost the most finals convincigly, to Nole. Who can demolish him on all surfaces, only Nole. To whom is Nadal unable to execute efficiently his basic gamee pattern, only to Nole. Who is able to push out Nadal from his comfort zone easily from both wings, Nole again. Who can dictate the game from both wings, no one else than Nole. This topic was analyzed so many times. Of course some did it and hopefully some will do it, but Nole's game grasps him as a big fist a small bird.

Nole is surely mentaly stronger. Yesterday match showed it clearly. Nadal has problems to serve out the set or match with Nole, which he normally does. He digs himself more at back of the court than against anybody else. He often steps into the court, but that is no case with Nole. Nole owns him totally.

Nearly correct. Davydenko has a better record v Nadal than Djoko cause he could dictate Nadal from both wings. Please have a look at their previous matches...it's beautiful!

Yes Nole is mentally stronger since his gluten free diet!

Tenez wrote:Nearly correct. Davydenko has a better record v Nadal than Djoko cause he could dictate Nadal from both wings. Please have a look at their previous matches...it's beautiful!

Yes Nole is mentally stronger since his gluten free diet!

So, Fed should try it

I think we can now safely rope in Pete Bodo into Nole Fan Club after this write-up (for cash or not, I don't care any more....)

"Djokovic seems to have moved onto that plane where the specific wins and losses just don’t seem to matter all that much, at least not as indicators of incipient success or failure. His consistency and equanimity are superb; he just lets that punishing game roll and takes what comes.

There’s a simpler way to put this, which is that Djokovic seems a remarkably relaxed competitor. Surely you noticed how unperturbed he looked in his match with Nadal and how, by contrast, Nadal looked so. . . so stressed. One of Djokovic’s advantages is that his relaxed, loose manner brings out something in Nadal that isn’t always beneficial to him — that great, underlying streak of caution.
Nadal, after all, is an almost compulsively prudent young man. You can see it in all his little preparatory rituals, but it’s also foundational in his game. He’s the defender; the hoarder of points. Regard his best and most spectacular shots; they tend to be what you might call “reactionary,” responses to an attempt to take something (a point) away from him. Anxiety seems to lurk in him constantly, and the need to keep it under control may explain some of his compulsive behaviors.

By contrast, Djokovic’s game is that of a risk-taker — a gambler, or a born entrepreneur. His is a game of sweeping and grand gestures; just look at how fearlessly and often he’ll eschew the safe cross-court shot for the down-the-line gamble — a ploy that Nadal has a hard time de-fusing because it opens up the court so effectively, especially when Djokovic goes down the line to Nadal’s backhand.

Side note: the difference between the success rates of Djokovic and Federer when it comes to Nadal is pretty neatly summed up in a comparison of the damage each man can do to Nadal on the backhand side. The comparison makes a very strong argument for the superiority in today’s game of the two-handed backhand. Now we return to our scheduled programming.
More than that, Djokovic’s nearly flat game makes the court on the Nadal’s side of the net appear much bigger, and this will always be true going forward because the great weakness of using exaggerated topspin is that it’s the enemy of depth. Add Djokovic’s superior talent for re-directing the ball, which enables him to create much more severe and difficult angles for Nadal to handle, and the overall impression is that Djokovic is allowed to use the doubles alley while Nadal must stay in the confines of the singles lines.

On a micro-tactical level, it’s pretty clear that Djokovic thinks no more of smacking around Nadal’s serves than those of a pesky journeyman. And then there’s that Nadal sliced backhand — the weakest shot that either man has in his repertoire. Much was made of Nadal’s failure to convert an important point in the 2012 Australian Open final with his under-spin backhand. He even said that he needs to do a little more work to shore up that shot.

That backhand didn’t let Nadal down at an obvious turning point on Sunday, but it quietly and consistently failed to help him. Every time Nadal elected to go to it, he immediately surrendered the momentum. He used it in a vain attempt to buy time, and sometimes it seemed to try it because he wasn’t quite sure what else to do. Once or twice, his slice forced lured Djokovic to the net, where he met a sucker punch in the form of a whizzing Nadal passing shot. But Rafa is not going to take down Nole by luring him to the net (you read it here first!).

This may sound awfully gloomy for Nadal fans, but it’s exactly what a player like Nadal risks when his sensibility is so cautious. The corollary to that is Djokovic will get into trouble if he takes too much for granted, loses confidence, or simply has a bad day — or a particularly long one. As John McEnroe said in a conference call I was on this morning, “The one thing you have to wonder about that result is, ‘What if it was a best-of-five match?”
It’s a good question as the French Open bears down on us. Nadal can certainly shoot Djokovic to rag dolls, given the chance. But Djokovic’s best quality may be his willingness to walk the high wire, and the fearless way he goes about it.

That fearlessness, in both mind and game, is exactly what it takes to beat Nadal on red clay, and only one man currently has it. We are no longer living in 2011, but on Sunday Djokovic reminded us that he’s just as game and bold as he was then. The third wheel has become the driving wheel; Djokovic is the yardstick by which the rest are measured."

Let's give Pete B. a chance to be a member of our club, that was not bad