DJOKOVICH IS A BETTER SPORTSMAN THAN NADAL

It appears that since nadal's stunning and unexpected AO flop, a certain Nadal fan here has suddenly been gripped by a most profound and bizarre sense of insecurity, so much so that her mission- du-jour has been the same desperate need to promote nadal's sportsmanship.

In my last thread we have seen the new low said nadal fan has sunken with her travesty "nadal is a better sportsman than federer", unsupported by a shred of relevant evidence.

The point of this thread is to reemphasise that never mind Federer, each and every ATP player is a better sportsman than nadal. Take Djokovich. Yes, the Serb has in the recent past been criticised for unsportsmanlike behaviour. But unlike Nadal who remains the same "cheat" All thru his career, Djoko has matured and grown more and more champion-like by the day. This is most lately evidenced by the fact that after his shock defeat by Warwrinka, Djoko said: I lost to a better player.

http://www.atpworldtour.com/News/Tennis/2014/01/4/Australian-Open-2014-Day-9-Quarterfinals-Djokovic-Reaction.aspx

Now contrast that with Nadal's typical sore-loser approach dominated by non-existent injuries. On the one hand he makes himself look like the biggest cry baby who cannot function without his pacifier; on the other hand he denies his opponent a fully dignified victory. That 's the mark of a self-fulfilling egomaniac, not a good sportsman.

Therefore today, Djokovich even without any Edberg Sportsmanship Award still stands easily as a better sportsman than nadal, who also specialises in crying wolf before, during and post match. It is a pleasure to see Djoko's positive developments in the right direction of praiseworthy sportsmanship, while Nadal remains unable to rise above his ruined reputation as the worse ever sportsman in tennis

Nole has often been misunderstood in the West, and the timing of his breakthrough during the height of Fedal didn't help either.

He has often been criticised for his early MTOs, which he has cut out.

He is a very single-minded player that has had a very difficult and different path from the rest.

He is slowly relaxing into the bigger cosmopolitan pond now, and I thought tried to carry his Number Oneship well while he was there.

Definitely did a better job of it than Nadal.

Obviously, couldn't keep it and dominate like Federer, but then again, who could?

He's getting married!  
Somehow I don't know why I'm getting so excited by this. I think it's good to see a guy maturing and accepting the notions and traditions of adult commitments.

True. Marriage separates men from the boys.
Lots of sacrifice and not much in return. But than again, that's what love should be, giving without expecting anything in return.
Quite the opposite from Hollywood "ride in the sunset" gimmick, and even worse - the modern "give and take" philosophy...

I felt like Nole took a huge leap forward in terms of sportsmanship and overall behavior once he ascended to #1. I think the relief of some of the pressure of always having to try and climb over the Federer, Nadal mountain relaxed him and he started to play and act more freely.  I'm not a fan of the shirt tearing,etc- but it's enjoyed by the fans, and I definitely have issues with how his box has behaved in the past having witnessed them heckle players- but even that seems to be more under control.

Djokovic gave credit to Federer on how a #1 should act, and I think he did take some of the way Fed carried himself as #1, esp giving back to the sport, to heart.  I've enjoyed the clarity and optimism in his most recent interviews.

Nole is a great sport. How many times have we seen him clapping the opponents shots, even on big points? That's the true test. Being able to do that is a brilliant thing and shows real character. On the opposite side of the coin is Nadal, who scowls, throws a fit, and fist pumps shots like a raving lunatic.

I don't know why people think shot clapping is a sign of sportmaship. I can't stand it, to me it's the opposite.

if you play tennis a lot you'll know how hard it is to clap an opponents shot. Especially on big points. It takes a lot of effort. The person I go to tennis with claps my shots and I do his. It feels really nice. But on big points, we are both incapable of clapping it most times. So I respect novak for that immensely.,