Novak Djokovic racket sets auction record price

 https://www.sportskeeda.com/tennis/news-novak-djokovic-s-career-grand-slam-winning-racket-fetches-highest-price-ever-tennis-racket-auction

 

 

Alacaraz Sounds Obsessed with Novak

 Obsession with an opponent usually indicates feelings of inferiority. Now they talk of trying to stop Novak from winning titles rather than winning themselves.

Tennis Media misses mark again - Alacaraz seeks #1 again.

 I am beginning to sense entitlement. The article leaves out that the 23 Grand Slam Winner, Djokovic, didn't play the U.S. Open in 2022 because he was banned from entry. Not having points to defend from tournaments you couldn't play is no advantage because he would have likely been #1 all the time and not have to gain it again. It's good to have a rivalry but the media should be less biased.

 Alcaraz seeks #1 again

Novak Djokovic defies momentum

An Excellent essay from 2016

Beyond the Earthly Constrains of Momentum

Novak's Ali Moment

 Novak DJokovic Muhammad Ali Moment

Should Novak Retire

The ones suggesting his retirement have an agenda and discredit themselves.

 

He won 3 of the last 4 slams up until Wimbledon 2023. He wasn't allowed to enter the US to play the U.S. Championships / U.S. Open due to Covid restrictions or he might have won that. 

 

This is about epic achievement. He owns almost all of the records and is still ranked #2.

 

I hope to see him reach 25 slams in 2024.

 

 

Novak - excessive ball bouncing?

 If you watched the final and didn't notice the seemingly endless ball bouncing Novak does before each serve, then you aren't watching.  The question is, why?

Novak could train himself out of it. There must be an element of stress on everyone, including himself, when he does the extended ball bouncing. The umpire knows he'll get flak for letting him go past time and will also be hit with flak for inserting himself into the match for calling him on it.  Novak has to worry about getting a warning as well so it raises his tension.  Maybe that's the purpose.

The opponent might be annoyed over it as well, causing anxiety. Maybe if it was to get in the head of an opponent then it's an understandable ploy but not good sportsmanship.

I think it's more about an OCD (obsessive-compulsive disorder) routine. It's one thing to grab your rear regularly or line up your drinks like Rafa, that's on his own time. This directly impacts play. 

Other Bad Habits

While we're on the subject of habits that could go, I'd suggest to never hit a ball after the point ends since it cost him a tournament.   Either underhand toss the ball or drop them in place and let the ball kids do their job.

Skip the racket abuse altogether.   Add a wire cutter in the bag so he can just methodically cut the strings out of the offending frame while on changeover rather than smashing it and torquing his arm and getting fined.

All of these habits have been costly to him.

Perspective on the Alcaraz win over Novak - is this a changing of the guard?

Today, Novak's first serve was non-existent. He could have saved energy and just hit 2nd serves. It's hard to win matches like that and he came close. They had an equal number of games and Novak came up short by 1 point compared to Alcaraz's point total. 

Novak did this with a gone-missing serve today.

  It's not clear and may not be clear until we see a pattern.  To those that think Novak is now finished, keep in mind that simply getting to the final of a grand slam event is a career defining event for most professionals.

These things happen to all top players going back into tennis history. I was surprised to see how many finals Laver and other long-career players have lost over the decades. He was absent from many of the slams for most of his career but still accumulated 17 final appearances winning 11 of them and being the runner-up in 6.   His losses in the finals include 1 to Olmedo, two to Fraser, two to Emerson, and one to Rosewall.  His slam wins total eleven.  

 

Novak has been a runner-up 12 times in his finals appearances compared to his 23 wins. Amazingly, he has been in the finals of 35 slam events. He may not win as many in the future, but as long as he keeps reaching the finals it is normal to lose a percentage of these matches, especially in the 4th quarter of his Professional Career. Winning any is a bonus.

 

 

Hindrances for Novak

Hindrances for Novak

Novak is an excellent exemplar of the key character indicators of hard work, discipline, stick-to-it, and single-minded-focus that  define grit.   If you want the guy that glad-hands everyone and is always perfectly political, then he might not be the miss-congeniality winner.   The joke that became the best sportsman awards in tennis should tell us all how meaningless those items are when it comes to judging the best player.

I feel that much of this shade thrown over Novak is from the media narrative. He is the usurper on the Fedal dynasty.  Many strongly partisan Fed fans were unhappy when Nadal began to overtake him not just in numbers but in H2H results.   Their friendship was a good media device for tennis for sure.   

Thee are also cultural considerations.  Many Western sensibilities don't like the strong defiance and resolute determination that Novak displays against hostile crowds that often favored Fed or Nadal or other crowd favorites.   He doesn't taunt them like Mac used to do but he will not back down.   This is part of a national character that some perceive as arrogance while most in the English speaking countries go with the humble warrior model and most conform to that role.

Add in his personal choice to decline an experimental medical treatment and to accept the penalty of not playing as is his right.  Yet he was vilified by many of the tennis establishment for not taking the knee and the jab.  Arguments that this is arrogant are often put forth by compliant dupes that will line up for anything.  I don't hear from many of the former pushers of this bragging about their boosters any longer now that we know the risks involved.

Stretching for Flexibility

 Stretching for flexibility is key in Injury prevention to ensure longevity. Here is the best example.

Stretching - Novak

Bartolia - "..debate is closed." - Novak is the GOAT

 Novak is the GOAT

 

He leads every single stat.

Novak eyeing 24th win at Wimbledon

24th Win is his target

Novak - "So whoever I get to face across the net, it doesn't make a difference for me. I need to do what I need to do."

Novak is the Real #1 - Wimbledon picks by the experts

 The Real #1 by Jason

https://lastwordonsports.com/tennis/2023/06/30/novak-djokovic-real-world-number-one/

 

Expert Picks - Wimbledon 2023

Drucker - Djokovic 

Fitzgerald - Djokovic 

Kane- Djokovic 

Levey - Djokovic 

Livaudais  Alcaraz 

McGrogan - Djokovic

Tignor - Djokovic

https://www.tennis.com/news/articles/wimbledon-men-s-semifinal-final-champion-predictions-can-alcaraz-or-djokovic-be-

https://ausopen.com/articles/news/expert-picks-who-will-be-wimbledon-champions-2023

The GOAT list

 Since the focus and cutoff is the Open era, players like Laver and Rosewall are lower on the list than they would normally rank. See the legend at the bottom to understand the methodology. I found it interesting. https://www.ultimatetennisstatistics.com/goatList 

 

 

Novak loses #1 ranking and top Wimbledon Seed to Alcaraz by 80 Points courtesy of 2K points taken last year

McNamee wrote, "For me, not a good look." I agree it's not. 

Taking 2,000 points last year from the Wimbledon winner was decided by the ATP players council. Both Fed and Rafa were on the council along with an assortment of players that had no expectation of winning the tournament. It was an easy decision to punish your leading rival. 

Alcaraz lost less than 200 points from that move. He's not complicit in that but has surely benefited. Alcaraz gains the #1 ranking and top seed at Wimbledon by 80 points.

Disqulification risk from ball kids and line judges

 So getting disqualified is subjective? That seems apparent over time. After the point is over, players should roll the ball. Or, not touch it. Solutions?

 Here is the story of the Miyu Kato disqualification.

 

 

It is getting ridiculous. They should institute physical and mental toughness training for the ball kids and line judges. If I were playing for money, I'd never hit the ball after the point ends due to this risk of disqualification.

Interesting take on the argument for who is the GOAT of Tennis

 Musings

Novak is not the problem, Tennis is.

 This rings true about the lost opportunities for the second Golden Age of Tennis.

The problem

Novak's Secret - Mental Resilience

 

 

Mental Resilience

Murray on Novak Dominance

 Murray

Don't Call Novak the GOAT says tennis writer

 Many in tennis media cannot let go of their personal bias. It makes them sound as if they know little about tennis and sports. Here is a good example.

Don't call Novak the GOAT.

Kyrgios asks for Carpet Courts

Kyrgios just asked on Twitter why they don't have tournaments on carpet courts. This might help explain why. They even had exhibitions on wood back in the '60s and '70s. Most wouldn't want to face a big serve and volley player on either surface.

 

Here is why they dropped them among other reasons.

Tiebreaker Performance can make you a Winner

One key stat that stands out glaringly. Novak's percentage of tie breaks won is 80%. All he has to do is hold his serve and get to a tiebreaker. He will win the match.

 Assuming that you can hold your serve, develop the mindset of Novak to lock down and give no points away in a tiebreaker.

 

 ATP Leaderboard

 

 

Congratulations to Novak Djokovic - 23 slams - The greatest of all time.

 Novak GOAT

 

 

Tennis Needs Novak

 Why

Novak wins 20 out of 21 semi-final slam appearances

 Slam record

Alcaraz falls to Pressure

All of the hype around Alcaraz put a lot of pressure on him. It's not helping him. The tennis media and establishment make him seem the inevitable winner and odds-on favorite. Novak came in as the underdog taking lots of pressure off of him.

 

 

 

Keep Poltics out of Tennis - Losing player refused to shake hands with Aryna Sabalenka

 

Marta Kostyuk gets HEAVILY booed by the French crowd 

She refused to shake hands with Aryna Sabalenka.

 

 

 

Connors - Novak deserves RG after the last couple of years

 Connors on Novak at RG

Halep facing new allegations

Halep Allegations

This may end her career.  Very sad story.   I'm beginning to doubt the whole testing regimen for athletes.   It would be easy to expose someone to various banned substances without their knowledge whether intentionally or unintentionally.

Win loss ratio with during weeks at #1

 

I prefer ratios.

 

Percentage of losses relative to weeks at #1.

Sub 20% loss rate with 300+ weeks.

Djokovic -  70/387 = 0.180 <20%

Sampras  -  69/286 = 0.241

Federer    -   56/310 = 0.181 <20%

Lendl.      -   44/270 = 0.163

Nadal       -   44/209 = 0.210

Rafa drops out of Rome

 Will he play the French Open?

Rome

Novak is kept out of Cinci and the US Open again thanks to CDC Vax Requirement Update

 Covid Vax Requirement Continues for the USA

Seles Attacker Relocates to Afterlife

 Headline:   Monica Seles's assailant relocates to the afterlife and complains about the lack of air conditioning while taking the elevator down

 This was a terrible event for tennis as Seles may have been the best ever woman player based on her amazing results so early in her career cut shot by a crazed attacker bent on giving Graf a helping hand.

Comments by Martina indicate that she felt Seles had to be among the very best ever but for the career damaging attack.

Seles attacker moves on. 

Novak still #1 after Madrid

 Madrid

Nadal Hip Injury Not Heaing

 Nadal

Med vs Zverev Fued Erupts

 The rivalry begins.

Novak on Clay at Monte Carlo - needs time to adjust

Time to Adjust

Top 5 Men's Tennis Players of All Time

 https://studyfinds.org/best-mens-tennis-players/

Want to improve your tennis footwork?

 Watch Novak Says Venus

Alcaraz facing career ending injuries if he continues.

 https://en.as.com/other_sports/monaco-alcaraz-will-either-manage-himself-or-at-22-he-will-be-on-crutches-n/?ssm=TW_CC

Boris Becker on his lost millions

 Hard Living - now it's all gone.

Tennis Ball Tires

 https://hackaday.com/2023/04/03/tennis-balls-serve-as-decent-bicycle-tires-that-dont-easily-puncture/

 

Sinner vs Alcaraz

 Interesting fact for Sinner: now 3-3 with Alcaraz after Miami. He has beaten Alcaraz on clay, hard courts, and grass.

https://www.atptour.com/en/players/atp-head-2-head/jannik-sinner-vs-carlos-alcaraz/S0AG/A0E2

Alacara needs to Learn From Nadal - Injury Management

Alcaraz is out of Monte Carlo due to injures. Nadal should have had a limited career due to his extremely physical game. He overcame it. 

Alcaraz has a similar challenge. He needs to learn from Nadal, if possible. If this pattern continues, he won't fulfill his ambitions and the predictions by some that he'll surpass the Big three. 

He could be out of tennis in five years if injuries pile up. Ask Del Potro.

Novak's Hair Style - key to his success

Short hair is easy to wash. You can dry it fast with a swipe of a towel without the need for mirror gazing and waving your head around in front of a blow dryer.

It's a default hairstyle for a traditional man. It is good for doers, not talkers or preeners.

 

Novak Djokovic kept the same style throughout his career 

 

 

Using a Squared Stance vs Closed vs semi-open or Open

 I'd love to see a defined foot placement diagram for each term used such as open stance, squared stance closed stance, or crossover. To me, a squared stance is heels aligned perpendicular to the net with the front foot pointed forward at an approximate 45-degree angle. As a kid, this was also often described to me as closed. 

Open seems obvious enough. Your rear foot is parallel to the baseline on your last step off of either side when hitting either forehand or two handed backhand.  An open stance on a one handed backhand is not usually effective and I don't suggest it.  It would be an emergency shot and it limits reach.

Teaching volleys we used the term cross step or crossover.  This stance is usually only good for one handed backhands or forehands on the run.  Shouldn't that apply to a groundstrokes in the same fashion? 

 

 

Azarenka hits back at Swiatek regarding war in Ukraine and the WTA

 Azarenka

Swiatek wants  more support for Ukrainian Players

Paris Masters Put in Courts to Favor Federer?

 Wow, talk about putting your thumb on the scale. Med's complaints about slow courts would make sense if they set things up to favor Nadal. Add some grit to the surface coat paint and it will play like sandpaper as balls get fuzzy quickly with slow bounces that sit up.

Paris Masters

Fritz Comments on What it's like to Play Novak Djokovic

 Fritz on Novak

The Economics of Professional Tennis in one Quote

 

Ken Roswall 24 years in the top 10

 1248 Weeks in the top 10 according to my math.

Tennis Abstract

"Muscles hung on in the top ten until 1976, 24 years after his first appearance on that list. He continued to enter tour events until 1980. At age 45, he won his first-round match at all three tournaments he played."

 

 

All time best winning percentages

 

378 Weeks at ATP#1 - Novak Djokovic

 Surreal

 

Below - How the Tennis Media will react to this news.

Connors Tribute to Novak

 Connors

Thiem says Slams decide GOAT. Fed is out of contention.

I still subscribe to the GOAT herd philosophy. But "there can be only one" leading the herd. The current battle for that, if it's only slam events, is still ongoing until retirements settle it.

 Thiem

Article on Novak return to AO. Many mistakes were made. Almost all were from others.

 Novak's biggest mistake was not understanding the grip of insanity that has overtaken the tribe of media and submissive mobs of once citizens, now subjects and again in Australia.

The writer must not know a lot about tennis if it says most can't see that Novak's brilliance is unrecognizable and his matches are boring.   If you watched his last few matches at the AO you would notice that he changed his pattern of play to compensate for his hamstring injury.  He became very aggressive.   Knowledgeable players and tennis fans saw this.

As for his father's problems with media.  It's in the head of the woke mob in the media that this was a big deal.   Nobody cares if he stands next to some Russians with their flag.  

Finally, last year's debacle was one for the AO since it has proven only that it is among the countries that doesn't respect personal autonomy versus the collective.   They behaved badly toward their citizens and toward guests.  

Read the article if you want to confirm my observations.

Novak Returns

Watching the numbers. Stubbs on the AO finals - Men vs Women Viewership

 The Stubbs post declaring that the women's final surpassed the men in viewership was factually incorrect.  Yet, she used them to suggest that women's tennis had finally arrived.   It was a great match but don't pretend that the men's final was ho-hum.  It was a retribution for last year when Novak was arbitrarily confined and sent home due to mass psychosis in play in Australia.   A year later most know he was right to take the stand that he did.  A few holdouts that can't admit a mistake continue on with their attacks.   

She used Australian numbers. Very parochial. No Aussies in the finals. Barty was the previous big draw before on the women's side. Viewership on the women's side dropped the most this time. I'd like to see international numbers.  

Update: she took the post down because of the heavy response to the fake numbers.   

Citizen fact checkers win the day.

 

 

How did Novak win the AO with a 3cm tear in his hamstring?

He wanted this enough to make the calculation and played around his injury with more aggressive play to end points quickly. As he ages, this approach may become his way of extending his career. 

Here a doctor suggests it wasn't that bad.

AO Chief comments regarding Novak injury under a Microscope 

Anyone judging a hamstring tear must have never suffered a hamstring injury. It is debilitating and lethal to your ability to move. Fear of making it worse can make you tentative. Novak took a different approach and went for winners knowing he had to end the points earlier.  

 

Zverev Cleared - Investigation Complete

 Zverev

The Jackals of Sports Media - They never stop!

In response to an Opinion piece in The Age by Andrew Webster  - Why we can't bring ourselves to say Novak Djokovic is the GOAT.

So Novak is a villain because he didn't take a now problematic treatment as was and is his right to medical and bodily autonomy.   So far it has cost him participation in two Grand Slam events thanks to political maneuverings.  He turned out to be the smarter one than the crowd that were stampeded or forced into submission to the experimental effort.  One thing he also didn't do that he could have done is get a fake card indicating that he did get one.   You don't think he could have done that with enough money thrown at it.  His integrity didn't allow him to go there.

As for his on-court behavior.  Most of the writers never experienced the battle of emotion and willpower needed to function alone on a tennis court in a competition.   Getting heckling drunks tossed out of a stadium is a rational and reasonable approach to asking for respect not just for himself but also for the other fans.  Somehow, the tennis media and umpire didn't seem to get that the drunks weren't the only ones in the stadium entitled to enjoy a tennis match.

As for his lack of strengths as the author of the article describes, I then begin to question the writer's knowledge of tennis.   Aside from great groundstrokes, Novak has impeccable footwork and balance making his range of coverage among the very best ever.   His fitness level is a weapon in itself.  He has the best return of serve in the game right now.  

There is more but let me finally just say, his mental strength on the court is what causes his wins to materialize.   He has the complete set of physical skills combined with the mental toughness that allows him to play against his opponent and a stadium of unfriendly tennis fans and win.  Most players can't handle a nasty and biased crowd where Novak just soldiers forward and wins matches.  A great competitor can find a way to overcome adversity.  A GOAT brings home the numbers to back it up and prove it with receipts.

We will know the outcome of the GOAT debate in tennis when Novak and Rafa finally retire.  Until then, the final tally isn't proven though in almost every category Novak equals or greatly exceeds the best of our time and those that came before.   Some are invested in other players and cannot imagine that their chosen player isn't the best so they choose metrics like fan favorite or best sportsman to justify the GOAT designation.   It only proves that the other numbers fall short for them to resort to that.

Novak in AO Final

Beats Paul in Semis

Novak's Dad to Miss AO Semi-Final

 This was unfortunate and I believe that  he didn't know the politics of the fans involved.

Syrdjan to miss AO Semi

Novak still under attack at AO

Radio guy says deport him, possibly in jest

Using the Fade and Draw

 Shot Making Heuristics

Superb article:  Read and Learn

Novak has problem with a "tennis fan" at the AO

 Eurosport

Fans like this need to be banned. It's not just about the players. It's about the fans that come to watch tennis. 

 Go to a football game where it's expected if you want to get sloshed.

Rafa is out of the AO - perspective

 Some argue that minus injuries he would have 4 or 5 more wins at the Australian Open.

He could have had 4 or 5 more if Novak wasn't there as last year proved. 

The same argument could apply to Novak taking more French Open titles if Rafa wasn't there.

This is not his best surface and carries more injury risk for him.

Novak Returns to the Australian Open - No longer a Villain

 This is a nice NYT article that feels balanced in reporting compared to previous accounts by most sports writers last year.  Many are still glued to their anger at Novak for not submitting.

NYT Article

Iga is Playing the Long Game

 The Long Game: This philosophy is the way to continuous improvement in any endeavor. Incremental improvements for changing circumstances are better than complete overhauls once you've reached a high level of performance. Thoughts?

 Iga goes for the Long Game

Kyrios tribute to Novak Djokovic

It's nice to see Nick finding some balance and appearing to mature. Kind words for the big 3, now 2. 

 Nick Kyrios

Teaching and Playing in high wind

We had fun playing tennis in the rain and high wind as kids. Now, no lessons with wet courts for safety and liability reasons but with wind conditions, it's okay unless equipment flies around. I'd guess above 30mph would make it problematic but players have to learn to play in it.

R.I.P. Dick Savitt

 Savitt passes at 95 years old

PTPA - has the time for it finally arrived. New members and an executive committee

 PTPA

Alcaraz out of AO - Injury

Another out for an injury.

ATP - Alcaraz

Raducanu early exit from injury

It's easy to judge someone at a distance. I remember when Fed and Novak were beset with problems that caused them to quit playing a match. No one would call either of them wimps now with justification. Her problems started with coaching changes that were from advice she took based on her age and inexperience. Hopefully, she'll begin to trust her own counsel.

 

 

Raducanu out

Novak offers help to Nick

 This is a nice act of kindness to help repay that same support Nick game him last year.

Novak