OT: Djoker Becomes Undisputed GOAT

[Johnny Firpo]

Novak is my least favorite of the 3 but I give him a lot of credit like you said because crowds openly root against him. He doesn’t deserve that crap. People don’t appreciate his greatness and never have. He’s handled it better than anyone could have in his position.

He handled it absolutely terribly, with plethora of instances throughout the year. Novak never could stomach that most tennis fans don't like him, and likely never truly will. He will also be one of the most quickly forgotten all-time greats in universal sport, and this will have nothing to do with his nationality, and everything to do with his playing style and personality.

Haha, so far from the truth. Funnily enough, I was actually a Djokovic fan for almost a decade, but his family and his absolute joke holistic views turned me off so much. Also, Serbian fans are absolutely the most terrible fans in the world. Actually, they are the best fans, and the worst fans, all in one. No one can root for players like them, and there aren't bigger homers on the planet than them either. Djokovic and Joker could literally do anything, and they would justify it (not that Joker is anything close to Nole in the absolute silliness that he represents).

[mrvioletowl]

I don't want to derail the thread too much, but to us from these parts is still something that we experience in out lives, even if it seems played out.
I almost got killed by a bunch of neo nazis in Vienna for being Balkanisch(they heard me speak). I ended up tossing a brick in the shop window to trigger the alarm and get the cops to show up before I got stabbed.
One of my dear friends was trying to open a bank account for her non profit choir for women from Ex Yu in Sweden last year and got turned down by the bank, although she is a citizen. It goes on and on.
I am not upset or mad at your opinion, but just trying to explain what our experiences are. Much love to everyone on this board.

[Stannis]

People already don't care about him or care for him, and he's still active. He alienated everyone who would have rooted for him years ago, only the cult following remains. Not a single crowd in the world roots for him outside of Serbia. The guy is good friends with literal war criminals/mass murderers. It is what it is.

What a moronic take, stunning

This not a "take", these are facts. Which crowd roots for him outside of Serbia? They always root for his opponent, doesn't matter who he plays against. I'm a big tennis geek, watching every big tournament, no one roots for him.

Of course the fans at the games root for his opponents. You have to be rich to attend a Tennis match. And most of those fans are fans of Federer and Western nations

I don't think it's a hot take to say that (upper class fans tend to favor the likes of Federer over Novak)

[Raps in 4]

He handled it absolutely terribly, with plethora of instances throughout the year. Novak never could stomach that most tennis fans don't like him, and likely never truly will. He will also be one of the most quickly forgotten all-time greats in universal sport, and this will have nothing to do with his nationality, and everything to do with his playing style and personality.

Haha, so far from the truth. Funnily enough, I was actually a Djokovic fan for almost a decade, but his family and his absolute joke holistic views turned me off so much. Also, Serbian fans are absolutely the most terrible fans in the world. Actually, they are the best fans, and the worst fans, all in one. No one can root for players like them, and there aren't bigger homers on the planet than them either. Djokovic and Joker could literally do anything, and they would justify it (not that Joker is anything close to Nole in the absolute silliness that he represents).

Some Serbian fans are absolutely nasty, but you can't paint all fans with the same brush. Plenty of western European countries have nasty ultras as well.

Djokovic's views on science are the views of someone who doesn't even have a high school education (he turned pro at age 16). I don't know about you, but I don't take my medical advice from professional athletes. I prefer to consult doctors. Besides that, none of this has anything to do with his tennis.

[Johnny Firpo]

What a moronic take, stunning

This not a "take", these are facts. Which crowd roots for him outside of Serbia? They always root for his opponent, doesn't matter who he plays against. I'm a big tennis geek, watching every big tournament, no one roots for him.

Of course the fans at the games root for his opponents. You have to be rich to attend a Tennis match. And most of those fans are fans of Federer and Western nations

I don't think it's a hot take to say that.

Federer retired years ago, and it hasn't changed since. I'm obviously not saying Djokovic do not have fans, of course he does, and yes, of course he is the GOAT, no one can really deny this. What I'm saying that in the grand scheme of things, compared to what he can do or did on the court, and what his results are/were, compared to that, he is definitely not respected/well liked. And I don't think the Western vs. Eastern thing is the reason for that, I think it's mostly on him and his family. And I also think Jokic kind of shows that. Jokic is adored by most fans and even the media, and if he wanted to milk that, which he absolutely does not want to, he could totally do it.

[BelgradeNugget]

People already don't care about him or care for him, and he's still active. He alienated everyone who would have rooted for him years ago, only the cult following remains. Not a single crowd in the world roots for him outside of Serbia. The guy is good friends with literal war criminals/mass murderers. It is what it is.

What a moronic take, stunning

This not a "take", these are facts. Which crowd roots for him outside of Serbia?

China, India, South America, like majority of the world...are they not good enough?

[Raps in 4]

This not a "take", these are facts. Which crowd roots for him outside of Serbia? They always root for his opponent, doesn't matter who he plays against. I'm a big tennis geek, watching every big tournament, no one roots for him.

Of course the fans at the games root for his opponents. You have to be rich to attend a Tennis match. And most of those fans are fans of Federer and Western nations

I don't think it's a hot take to say that.

Federer retired years ago, and it hasn't changed since. I'm obviously not saying Djokovic do not have fans, of course he does, and yes, of course he is the GOAT, no one can really deny this. What I'm saying that in the grand scheme of things, compared to what he can do or did on the court, and what his results are/were, compared to that, he is definitely not respected/well liked. And I don't think the Western vs. Eastern thing is the reason for that, I think it's mostly on him and his family. And I also think Jokic kind of shows that. Jokic is adored by most fans and even the media, and if he wanted to milk that, which he absolutely does not want to, he could totally do it.

There are a lot of reasons for that. One of them is absolutely the east vs. west thing. Tennis has traditionally been a sport dominated by westerners, particularly upper class westerners (just look at what countries host grand slams).

But there is also the fact that most tennis fans had already decided to be Federer or Nadal fans when Novak arrived on the scene. It's harder to endear yourself to a fan base that is already decided on who they're cheering for.

Then there were also his early-career antics, like the tantrums and the wanting to fight other players that turned fans off of him. Funny story though, Roddick, who Novak tried to fight in the locker room after a match, is now one of his biggest fans.

[G R E Y]

Man it must suuuuuuuuuck to have to be interviewed just after a loss in a tennis final.

[Stannis]

Man it must suuuuuuuuuck to have to be interviewed just after a loss in a tennis final.

I dunno how you can not cry doing one those

[G R E Y]

Man it must suuuuuuuuuck to have to be interviewed just after a loss in a tennis final.

I dunno how you can not cry doing one those

Seems unique to tennis to have to do it so close to the end of a match, after watching your opponent get the top trophy.

"So how do you feel in this excruciating moment?"

Hhhhhhhhnnnghhhh...

[G R E Y]

Boris Becker looks like he woke up from a three-day bender oof...

[Johnny Firpo]

What a moronic take, stunning

This not a "take", these are facts. Which crowd roots for him outside of Serbia?

China, India, South America, like majority of the world...are they not good enough?

He has lots of followers from those parts, yes, but they don't root for him at the Shanghai or Beijing masters either.

[Raps in 4]

Boris Becker looks like he woke up from a three-day bender oof...

It's nice to see that age hasn't slowed him down.

[Johnny Firpo]

Haha, so far from the truth. Funnily enough, I was actually a Djokovic fan for almost a decade, but his family and his absolute joke holistic views turned me off so much. Also, Serbian fans are absolutely the most terrible fans in the world. Actually, they are the best fans, and the worst fans, all in one. No one can root for players like them, and there aren't bigger homers on the planet than them either. Djokovic and Joker could literally do anything, and they would justify it (not that Joker is anything close to Nole in the absolute silliness that he represents).

Some Serbian fans are absolutely nasty, but you can't paint all fans with the same brush. Plenty of western European countries have nasty ultras as well.

Djokovic's views on science are the views of someone who doesn't even have a high school education (he turned pro at age 16). I don't know about you, but I don't take my medical advice from professional athletes. I prefer to consult doctors. Besides that, none of this has anything to do with his tennis.

I mean, he traveled so much, and is actually an intelligent guy, speaks many languages, has a good sense of humor, so I can't really give him a pass on all that holistic bullcrap. But I understand if you do, but I just can't respect/root for people who have such world view in 2025. As people, I mean. I have the utmost respect for him as a competitor and player, of course, but as a person, not anymore. For me at least.

[BelgradeNugget]

Of course the fans at the games root for his opponents. You have to be rich to attend a Tennis match. And most of those fans are fans of Federer and Western nations

I don't think it's a hot take to say that.

Federer retired years ago, and it hasn't changed since. I'm obviously not saying Djokovic do not have fans, of course he does, and yes, of course he is the GOAT, no one can really deny this. What I'm saying that in the grand scheme of things, compared to what he can do or did on the court, and what his results are/were, compared to that, he is definitely not respected/well liked. And I don't think the Western vs. Eastern thing is the reason for that, I think it's mostly on him and his family. And I also think Jokic kind of shows that. Jokic is adored by most fans and even the media, and if he wanted to milk that, which he absolutely does not want to, he could totally do it.

There are a lot of reasons for that. One of them is absolutely the east vs. west thing. Tennis has traditionally been a sport dominated by westerners, particularly upper class westerners (just look at what countries host grand slams).

But there is also the fact that most tennis fans had already decided to be Federer or Nadal fans when Novak arrived on the scene. It's harder to endear yourself to a fan base that is already decided on who they're cheering for.

Then there were also his early-career antics, like the tantrums and the wanting to fight other players that turned fans off of him. Funny story though, Roddick, who Novak tried to fight in the locker room after a match, is now one of his biggest fans.

From the way Roddick told the story it was him who wanted to beat Novak, but he gave up when he saw Novak's conditioning coach.
He was one big dude

[BelgradeNugget]

This not a "take", these are facts. Which crowd roots for him outside of Serbia?

China, India, South America, like majority of the world...are they not good enough?

He has lots of followers from those parts, yes, but they don't root for him at the Shanghai or Beijing masters either.

I'm not sure with that...

[JVFRMN]

I'm spanish and of course I've him as the GOAT ahead of Nadal or anyone else. I don't mind his personality either, better than the classic fake nice guy, and lot of the hate he gets, it's because of the media who always needs a villain.

[Rust_Cohle]

Haha, so far from the truth. Funnily enough, I was actually a Djokovic fan for almost a decade, but his family and his absolute joke holistic views turned me off so much. Also, Serbian fans are absolutely the most terrible fans in the world. Actually, they are the best fans, and the worst fans, all in one. No one can root for players like them, and there aren't bigger homers on the planet than them either. Djokovic and Joker could literally do anything, and they would justify it (not that Joker is anything close to Nole in the absolute silliness that he represents).

Some Serbian fans are absolutely nasty, but you can't paint all fans with the same brush. Plenty of western European countries have nasty ultras as well.

Djokovic's views on science are the views of someone who doesn't even have a high school education (he turned pro at age 16). I don't know about you, but I don't take my medical advice from professional athletes. I prefer to consult doctors. Besides that, none of this has anything to do with his tennis.

I mean, he traveled so much, and is actually an intelligent guy, speaks many languages, has a good sense of humor, so I can't really give him a pass on all that holistic bullcrap. But I understand if you do, but I just can't respect/root for people who have such world view in 2025. As people, I mean. I have the utmost respect for him as a competitor and player, of course, but as a person, not anymore. For me at least.

Fair enough

[AleksandarN]

He handled it absolutely terribly, with plethora of instances throughout the year. Novak never could stomach that most tennis fans don't like him, and likely never truly will. He will also be one of the most quickly forgotten all-time greats in universal sport, and this will have nothing to do with his nationality, and everything to do with his playing style and personality.

Haha, so far from the truth. Funnily enough, I was actually a Djokovic fan for almost a decade, but his family and his absolute joke holistic views turned me off so much. Also, Serbian fans are absolutely the most terrible fans in the world. Actually, they are the best fans, and the worst fans, all in one. No one can root for players like them, and there aren't bigger homers on the planet than them either. Djokovic and Joker could literally do anything, and they would justify it (not that Joker is anything close to Nole in the absolute silliness that he represents).

Stop generalizing you are better than that. Saying that fans from certain countries are homers. It is pathetic. I met a lot of Serbian people who are ultra critical of Jokic and Novak.

[Ol Roy]

Great player but anti-vaxxer so we'll remember him that way. LOL

Maintaining, in 2025, that young healthy males were somehow morally deficient or stupid for not getting a Covid vaccine is truly embarrassing.