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.
