Winning Olympic gold medal as a 37 yo in what was possibly his last attempt , after losing 3 times in the semifinals without dropping a set beating Nadal , Tsitsipas, Musetti and Alcaraz to whom he just lost 3 weeks ago in the Wimbledon final is nothing short of a miracle !!!!!
He won the gold medal against all the odds: just 4 weeks after knee surgery, beat FO GOAT Nadal, former FO runner up Tsitsipas, top player Musetti and half-age current no. 1 clay player Alcaraz. He is indisputable GOAT.
@@BeepsAndBeats So true. Alcaraz inherited Fedal fans (ie Joker haters begging for somebody, anybody, to put this eternal PITA Novak in the ground) and yet, foiled again! I love it. Something about a guy being demonized when all he had done was to definitively spoil the Fedal duopoly and its band wagoning fans just as it was getting into its prime just rubs me the wrong way and it rubs Novak the wrong way, fueling his desperate hope that one day he will be loved like them. I love you Novak but don't tell him that . . .let his determination burn for another few years. Keep booing him, please. LOLOLOL
@@rajeshsmusicalIf I could get my wish for titles that I’d like to see him win it would be 1 more FO (which would give him 4-time career GS) and one more Monte Carlo (which would give him 3-time Golden Masters). One more Wimby would be nice to tie Fed…
Djokovic is the gift to keep on giving. As a tennis fan, there is no other who has done more for the sport than him. Countless legendary matches. His career has told various stories that can be made into a movie. He has elevated tennis to the point where even people who don't follow the sport that much, are now recognizing that tennisnis not your average sport, but one that comprises of real athletes. Just notice how many other world class athletes are in awe of Djokovic. This never happened with a Federer nor Nadal.
Well said. I picked Novak as my guy is 07 and suffered through the gluten years and then ever since 2011 he has given me countless rewarding moments - this and Wimby 19 were just too much to even ask for but he delivered it anyway - now his legacy is secure for probably the rest of my life. LOL!!!
Love how Amy's face brightens up while Gill is doing the intro about Golden boy Nole. Thank you all, you 3 always showed respect to Novak and his achievements in tennis. ❤❤❤
Insane what Djokovic just did. I never expected him to play the way he did, in his first Olympics final, vs Alcaraz in top form, winning the way he did, on his best and Novaks worst surface. This is such a historic match, that cements him as the GOAT. Alcaraz will break the majors record, but this loss will 99,9% be the thing that prevents him from being seen as the best of all time. One of the biggest wins of Djokovic`s career, at 37y old, and the worst loss of Alcaraz`s. And its not just that Djokovic won, its the performance and the way he did it, after coming back from his injury and that WB final disaster... Incredible...
I meant Alcaraz can win 20+ slams with easy not just because he is crazy talented and beast but he will have barlely no challenger and easy in his era after Djokovic retired except Sinner and of course he is the only one will and who can challenge him toe and toe and compare that to who is Djokovic face in his career especially in his Prime not just two all time greats in their prime in Roger and Rafa but many great players to this day and especially the media and evryone is against him that way even if Alcaraz win 24+ ( the current men's slam record) Novak djokovic will still the GOAT but i am really pretty sure the Western Media and some people will call Alcaraz as the GOAT meanwhile Djokovic now they still not call him yet they say he is just one of the GOATs LOL really shame 🇷🇸🐐
I won't be so hasty declaring already that Alcaraz will 100% break the Majors record. Life is so unpredictable its not even funny. One bad injury and he might fade like Dominique Thiem did. He has the talent to do it ? Yes he has it. As the opposition is looking atm, after Nole will retire only Sinner looks like he can put up a real fight for the long run. But ... when Roger was looking untouchable his kryptonite appeared in the form of Rafa. Same happened with Rafa when Nole surged after his incredible 2011 season. All that being said lets talk about Alcaraz chance to break the Majors record only when and if he will close in to 20 mark. Just remember to what happened to Serena that just got stuck at 23 and never managing to hit 24 before she retired.
@@MohamedLamkhizni Carlitos the new weak era king of tennis? Most of the 24 Slams Djokovic won he won them when Federer and Nadal were still playing prime-level tennis. Plus you add Murray and Wawrinka in the mix too who were super formidable opponents to the Big 3. So there were quite a few strong opponents that Djokovic had to go through to win most of his 24 Slams. It's different with Carlitos. There will never be another "The Big 3". With Carlitos, it's just "The Big 1". Sinner is his closest competitor once Djokovic retires and he is nowhere near the level of Carlitos. Sinner is not much better than Medvedev in terms of talent. Both though are hard court specialists.
Imagine that moment when Nole and everyone around him realizes and knows that this is his last chance to take the Olympic title. He knew that he needed to give 300% of himself into it. Not because he is only missing the Oly medal, but the fact that he's 37 and that this is his last and only chance to remain for that medal. And he did it! That's UNHUMANLY!
As a Rafa fan I gotta admit he did it. Wow! His dedication to mind and body to become an elite athlete and sustain it for many years paid off. Don’t be so hard on Carlos, he still has a lot to learn at 21 and winning a medal at his age( same as Nole with bronze) is remarkable, although as Joel said it was 2/3 not 3/5 which has somewhat watered down the Olympic event. Congratulations to Novak, the his wily astute study of opponents and 👎for the in between tennis generation that does not give it all.
I feel he was more dialled in here in the Olympics than he was in AO23 where he went to prove a point and did it in style. Insane what hes doing at 37. Beating the best of the next generation who's insanely quick.
Now, for the FeDal fans (and more so Djoker haters) they truly get their bromance back .... They can enjoy that again. The big 2 legends of tennis, Federer and Nadal. And then there is Djokovic, a titan, sitting there above, now truly in a league of his own, watching all the tennis mortals. The man beat tennis!🥇🇷🇸💪🏼
Amy was on point.. Novak understood the effort he needed to give to win against Carlitos.. as we saw in that wry smile after hitting two extra shots (volleys) for Novak to win a point.. He did not let it bother him negatively.. I'm excited to see their next matchup.. Cincy finals rematch? US Open?
Thanx J-A-G/3!!! Great serving. Great opportunities for both on break points. Amazing execution-both. Novak’s serving, volleying & crushing piercing forehands were the difference during both sets-w/paper-thin seemingly highest-level stuff. Then, in the tiebreaks, Nole just raised his level & closed them both out with serving, execution, mental toughness & sublime top-tier finishing of points-especially the crushing forehands cross-court & inside-in. Great offense & great defense & great saving of break points on both sides!!! WOW! What a match! Golden Career Slam! What’s left? GOAT-cubed stuff. Cheers, Milan
What is isn’t said often enough is that Novak’s highest level is unparalleled in the history of tennis. It seems that one day he’ll play an error free match😮
"Preparing" in Bastad 😂. I don't want to hate on the guy but he's done. Should retire. And before his fans come at me saying it's his choice etc, I agree it's his choice but there's no point to continue playing when he is unable to get past the first 2-3 rounds. That's the sign a player is done.
@@Whatreally123 Not a Tennis player, but Kazuyoshi Miura played vs Maradona in the 80s and he's still playing professionally! Just a heads up on that you don't have to be a top player to stay on tour. It all depends if he feels competitive and doesn't mind to play 250s now.
@@Markmsv to be fair, no one knows who Kazuyoshi is in the grand scheme and almost everyone knows who Maradona is. In that comparison, Maradona was the star who achieved the heights in football. So Rafa is similar. Your comparison is like saying Manarino or Monfils still continuing to play on the tour. C'mon. Again it's his wish but it's sad to see him losing in the early rounds of a tournament. What is the point of it anyway? I'm a huge Novak fan and it doesn't feel nice when he loses even in finals. As a tennis fan i hate to see a great like Rafa lose in the early rounds. It's a blotch on legacy imo.
@@Whatreally123 Rafa's records will always stand whether he continues to win titles or not. So if he still enjoys playing tennis he should play. Wawrinka isn't winning any titles and he's usually out in the first 2 rounds of a Slam but people still enjoy seeing him play, seeing his backhand, and he still enjoys playing. Rafa was able to make it to a final this year, not a Grand Slam but that does say something. And let's be honest, career wise if you're able to stay in the top 200 and go deep in a few tournaments here and there, it doesn't really matter if you're not building a legacy because you're certainly building cash. Rafa's legacy has already been built so just let him enjoy the game.
I find it funny and worrying how Fed and Nadal fans demand from Novak all the titles Federer and Nadal had gotten, but never demand from Federer or Nadal the ones they DON’T have, in order to stay in the debate, like: - Where’s your ATP final titles, Nadal?? - Where’s your win against Nadal at Roland Garros, Roger? - Where are your one or two Golden Master 1000 titles, Roger and Rafa? - Where are your 23th and 24th Grand Slam titles? - Rafa, where are your more than 300 weeks at #1? - Roger, where are your more than 400 weeks at #1?? - Rafa and Roger, what’s your H2H against Novak?? Most matches being during both your respective peaks. - Rafa, where are your wins against Alcaraz? - Roger, where are your wins against Hurkacz? They, Federer and Nadal, DO NEED to respond to this factual truths TO HAVE STAYED in the debate, that’s why NOVAK DJOKOVIC was ALREADY the GOAT before his 24th GS and before this GOLD OLYMPIC MEDAL. #novak, #olympics, #Nole #GOATstatus #No1e #Goldkovic #GoldvakDJOKOVIC
No question novak is the goat. But nadal defeated a very good alcaraz at indian wells 2022. Nadal has a better head to head against warkinka, nick krygios than novak.
Somehow, someway Novak pulled this off. It is still unbelievable even after 4 days. He did not win the usual way, he changed tactics and was able to be efficient with it. Only Novak knows how he was able to get this win. Even more mind boggling is the fact that he did this while his movement was not at its best.
@travisbickle5279; Federer never had a killer instinct for grand moments, his mind would veer off as you mentioned in Wimby 2019 and even worse when he crumbled to Rafa in the 5 set of AO 2009. The mental game is crucial.
@@ManuelPorcell-el9cx well , perhaps but hey - tennis at that level is a game of millimetres as well as mental. If Fed had a weakness it was letting good leads slip / not capitalizing on all the break points and match points he s had. Guess what you say quite true when you consider it. If Fed had made half of all the match points he failed to convert over the years - he d be at 25 slams now - & Djokovic & Nadal somwat less than wat they have currently It's just the game of tennis. Of all the big three , Djokovic is the best front runner I think - he s like a dog with a bone when he s leading a match
He was so fast in congratulating Carlos for beating Nole at Wimbledon but when Nole wins Olympic Gold at 37 yo without dropping a set he goes in hiding 😂😂😂
Nadal also hasn't. He posted a story but made a post about Carlos winning the silver and people are giving it back to him as he deserves. These 2 (Fed and Nadal) are pathetic sore losers.
@@ValentinG23 He was absolutely quick to congratulate Carlos.. hes absconded now !!! .. Their perfect gentleman aura is all a concocted construct of west media !! duh !!
Seriously 🤨 how do you know he hasn't. Not absolutely everything has to be splashed onto social media. And why wouldn't Nadal congratulate his countryman in the Olympics? All 3 have great respect for each other. Nadal and Federer were closer off court but in his recent documentary Federer acknowledges he wasn't always fair to Djokovic. Why are we so rabid about which tennis players publicly congratulate who and when. Also Roger is retired and probably doesn't follow every event as closely as he used to.
I think this is Novak's best match when it comes to serving and tactics for the match in general. Unbelievable effort considering age and knee surgery.
The comparison between the Zverev and Djokovic serve really outline the brilliance of Novak’s game. It’s all in the details, little advantages on a point or point basis. Zverev seems on paper a more effective serve but upon closer inspection, we see the Novak’s serve was more troublesome for Carlos. That’s what separates Novak from everyone in history. His game is beautiful to those with a keen eye and can understand the nuances of the sport - the game within the game. And that’s why he’s the GOAT
Yous didn't even mention the fact he just had surgery like 2 months ago. I just had surgery little under a month ago I can't even lift half my best at the gym almost a month later. I had hernia surgery lower abdominal muscle I can't bench or bicep curl half my best. His playing at the top 2 months on. At Wimbledon it was what 2 weeks after his surgery. Parris almost or just more then 2 months the man is super human. He was rushing at Wimbledon because his leg was still recovering and he knew he wouldn't win a war against alcaraz
Novak's form-defining shot has always been his forehand. For every match he ever played, it was always a good bet that he would have his return and backhand, but for forehand, he always needed matchplay to find it. This year he had several health problems, a bottle incident, changing a coach and some box members etc. so he didn't have continuity, but most of all, his priority was the Olympics, so he didn't bother or invest himself much (in 2016 and 2021 he was a main favourite but pretty drained out physically and mentally out of winning many tournaments during those years). In the Wimbledon final, Novak had a bad forehand, often short, pushy, safe or paceles, which was enough for Alcaraz to have a ball he could reach and crush. Because of that, Novak had way more problems at the net hitting volleys, getting passed, or at the baseline trying to get to those balls. In the Olympics final, Novak had matchplay, his forehand was good in all positions, more pace, more depth, better angles, which made Alcaraz move more, and Novak had an easier job at the net.
Dude hid from bombs as a kid. Then struggled for several years with little money trying to play tennis and make ends meet. Then came the ridicule from the tennis world as a youngster trying to make his dreams happen. He was the uninvited 3rd member in the tennis world and overcame Fedal to become the GOAT. Built different.
Your question, at 12:40, was: "Alcaraz is 0-2 against Djokovic on what should be Alcaraz's best surface, Roland Garros, yet 2-0 over Djokovic at Wimbledon. What's going on with that?" My answer: Because Novak is, even at this advanced stage of his career, still the better player, period. His weakness, at 37, is his slowing speed. So on the slower surface (clay), he beats Carlos (on Carlos's best surface) because Novak's slowing speed isn't so exposed on that surface. But when you switch to grass, Novak's slowness due to age shows up on this faster surface. Yet given his performance against Carlos on clay, grass would normally have presented an even greater advantage to Novak, let's say, the Novak of a decade ago. Summary: If Novak, in his mid-30s, is beating Carlos on Carlo's best surface, clay (only to lose to him on grass due to age), imagine a 24-year-old Novak against Carlos on ANY surface. Recall that, in 2011, Novak beat Federer and Nadal 10 out of 11 matches.
Maybe he threw that match to fool Alcaraz into his level - he definitely was v subdued all that match so looked like he was almost acting ! Genius plan !
@draoicht22 not necessarily fully planned in Wimbledon match, more like followed the flow at that time and tried a few things. You can tell he was not very disappointed at all after the match. For sure, is that he didn't show his running hard forehand at all that time, that's what scared calito the most in this match.
What's scary for rest of ATP tour is Novak literally has nothing to play for anymore except padding his stats to make future challenges to his records impossible; so he can play freely and with risk knowing he has nothing to lose.
Novak's ability to stay in the point in what otherwise would have been Carlos' winners is what separated them, I feel. Maybe not separated but to an extent it definitely put pressure on Carlos to go for bigger shots. Every time there was an opportunity for Carlos to break, or get a psychological lead, Novak was right there putting pressure on him instead. In the 2nd set tiebreak, after that ridiculous winner from Novak to go 1-0 up, Carlos nearly won made it 1-1. But Novak was everywhere on the court moving and somehow hit a one handed backhand sliding lob that looked so deep that it may have hit the baseline and then Carlos made the error losing his patience. Carlos then went on to tie 2-2 but then Novak pulled off a ridiculous winner that broke Carlos' back. Truly a battle of titans, and a privilege to watch Djokovic win of course, as a long time fan of his. What a period for us Novak fans.
Greatest Goat ever in all sports. His resime has no wholes, its all complete. You can say it is 110 titles left to break, but he doesnt need that. He has 72 big titles, which Connors has 70 plus small titles. So there is really no need to break that, but I believe he ll try that as well. Its 11 titles to reach even that milestone. I believe he can, but not by playing small tournaments. Thats not his style. There is 14 big titles in a year. From august now, he can join to play 5 until end of season. But if he join the balcony celebration in Serbia he wont play Cinsinati. He ll go straight to New York. If he doesnt join Peking and Shangai, he ll play Paris indoor and Turin and Davis Cup. Thats 4 to the rest of the season.
What’s clear now is Novaks beat down at 24 Wimbledon was a fluke. Sure Carlos beat him in 23, but that was as close a final as you can find. One that portrayed a shaky Novak battling the wind and the chair umpire calling time delays in tie breaks. Quick Look at Novaks season. Lost AO to winner, dropped out of FO to injury. Lost Wimbledon Final to injury, didn’t lose a set in Olympics. For a 37 year old this is a remarkable turnaround, and I’m excited to see what else is in store. The last major Novak played that he either didnt win or played the eventual champion was in 2019 FO semis again Theim. On Carlos, coaching clearly has helped him since the start of 2022 US Open, which he won. This year, when he didn’t have his coach he lost AO, and now Olympics.
@@amylundy8664 idk, I still don’t believe Carlos is as good on grass as it would seem. Kind of like how Nadal was better than nearly everyone, but still wasn’t good enough. I went through the last 2 Wimbledon runs for Carlos, outside of Novak none of his opponents ever beat a top 10 player on grass. Sinner (Meddy) being sick excluded. In 2023 run none of his opponents outside of Novak won a Wimbledon match the year prior. I just think he’s been very fortunate with his draws, also helps when the court slows to a hard court pace at the end.
@@BeepsAndBeats I don't get the coach thing. Ferrero was there and obviously coached Carlos. And Carlos several times looked and openly acknowledged the instructions he received.
What do you mean not an unbelievable shot at 2 all in the tiebreaker .. dude are you on something.. that was a flipn unbelievable winner ..cross court clean winner on the run.
My thoughts exactly, why did they do it? There was a match after but few minutes would not kill them. Novak was smart enough to stay, kudos to him. Always thinking before doing
Not only does Djokovic beat the very best of the new generation at 37, he beats them while yearly playing less tournaments which means he is likely to loose while not playing enough and getting rusty like he did. Everyone I know expected Djokovic to win the Paris Olympics gold after coming from such a short (fresh) loss. What I wanted to say with that, Djokovic will always give an opponent a "handicap" like in golf and yet still come out a winner! In other words, I love watching Djokovic trash (bad word) his opponents and see how long he can keep on doing what he does best because he's one of a kind, a world wonder in sports. He's like the amazing great Su Bingtian of China who can match each step with the greatest sprinters in the world, making me a fan of track and field as well. The same goes for basketball when as a young man I watched Pistol Pete Maravich break all collegiate records with his precise shooting from half of the court. The "three-point shot" was yet to be instituted.
@@oliveranagnostou2988 Oh, I was thinking more along the lines of a DVD box set, of say a series like 'Game of Thrones.' So from that perspective, we can correctly say he has a box set of big singles titles. What an accomplishment! What an athlete!
@@oliveranagnostou2988 Thanks. I continue to learn about this wonderful sport not only through intelligent, professional, and respectful analysts like Gil, Amy, and Joel but also via their knowledgeable viewers.
Carlos usually gets the benefit from the coaching that's now allowed...so that somewhat neutralizes djokovic's experience....this time it wasn't allowed and it shows...
As much as Alcaraz is a talented player, very much agree with this. That’s why I believe the Big 3 are the best in terms of tactics since no coach tells them how to adjust during matches. Alcaraz, Sinner and the others have that advantage.
Indeed, Carlos needs Ferrero constantly telling him what to do in order to beat the best players in the game. Meanwhile, Novak won without even a coach of his own. 😂
I dunno why... but this episode is a let down. Do we not understand what just effing occurred????? I am not sure but this feels underwhelming.. like it was a given when all 3 of you didn't give him a chance going into the olympics. and when he does do it... it's so 'yeah and so what'. Not sure if It speaks to Djokovic's greatness or your lack of appreciation. Maybe 50/50.
The three of you fail to take into consideration Novak’s knee injury. If Amelie Mauresmo had not put Novak on court at 10.30pm and had not refused his request that the courts be swept twice in each set he may never have had that injury. Perhaps Novak would have got to the RG final and his record against Alcaraz would now be 3-0 on clay. At Wimbledon the knee injury obviously did not help Novak but Alcaraz was playing exceptional tennis with a 1st service percentage 8% better than he delivered at the Olympics gold medal match. Novak at Rome had the metal water container incident. So without that injury and that of the knee Novak could have been having a really successful year.
Djokovic peaked at the right time, at the right place; he visualized this moment all year, worked for it, breath for it and everything fell into place for this to happen. Maybe if he´d won RG or Wimbledon, he could have been drained, unmotivated, worn out and that could have fired up Alcaraz for vengance to win the Olympics and Djkovic would have been denied his dream. But it was perfect, it all happened for a reason, he lost all year for a reason, didnt win slams for a reason, got injured and lost the Wimbledon final to the same opponent and in the way he lost it for a reason. He took a lot of notes in that loss to know exactly what he didnt had to do the next time. So it was meant to be this way. He could leave tennis, and with his forehand winner it all would be the same as Jordan´s last shot against Utah in the 1998 NBA finals to win the championship for the Chicago Bulls.
Thanks for another lovely commentary Gill, Amy and Joel! I would be especially interested if you could follow up on the discussion about the dynamics and intricacies of return position and strategy. Amy's point had a lot of merit as to why Alcaraz didn't adjust his return position more often after getting burned playing so deep. Gill perhaps you could do a short video analysing return position. Like a intro "for dummies" like me. 😅
I know a lot of people keep going on about Alcaraz's mistakes, but don't know why more credit ain't given to Novak for making Alcaraz feel the pressure and force them. Alcaraz' natural game is to play more aggressive - so with that knowledge by trying to nullify / exploit that as much possible & playing in a strategic manner (which is a strength of Nole's), to me, is a cause of Alcaraz not being able to play his A game, despite playing at a really high level. (he was able to lower it enough to give him a chance to win) We know if Nole plays an A and Alcaraz an A, Alcaraz wins - but Nole's A game, is typically designed to reduce the opponents level, which to me is what he was able to do in this one and makes him capable of defying the odds and going completely against logic - like this match, and why he's clearly the GOAT. Alcaraz maybe more talented with a racquet, but that doesn't make u consistently a better overall player. Nole showed despite his age and slower pace, he's still better because other elements of his game caused Alcaraz to not play as well as he can. Having the ability to make an opponent play worse than they normally do is a match winning skill and at the very highest levels of impacting a result, with the increased chances of making u more consistent as a player. It's something Alcaraz would need to learn, or learn to cope with and be more patient, along with pressure in the critical moments to make him better than Nole, irrespective of how more talented he may be technically. Lucky for the kid, he's playing a player he can learn this from - if he does take it on board, it's going to be very hard to see anyone being able to stop him leaving a legacy similar to Novak's, or even surpass it especially with the lack of competition at the moment. Otherwise, being a Nole fan I couldn't be more happier for him really deserved this success. It may be his last hoorah as best of 5 sets now doesn't suit him so much and motivation may be tough to keep up now. But I reckon he'll definitely try his best for one more year. Think I saw somewhere Nadal has won titles for 19 years in a row, which this Olympics equals? So a title next year would see 20 years of trophies in a row, more than anyone else I believe - and that'd be a nice tidy record to have.
@@danmalic6688 Alcaraz even though he just lost to Nole in a match of this magnitude, he don't think Nole's the GOAT - ridiculous imo, but there u go. Only when he reaches 37, will he realise and appreciate what a legend and GOAT Nole is, because he will not be winning titles like Nole has been the last couple of years at his age, both lacking physically (burnt out through lack of energy management through his career and lose pace which he relies on like rafa did). he won't have the longevity, as he won't have a strategic enough game style to implement such a game to compete as an underdog against those that will then have a significant edge physically. (expect he'll be kinda like a rafa is now - try and outplay / outphysical players when it ain't possible) he would need to completely change his game style, but it is not in his nature nor strength to do so (he's too aggressive / not balanced or smart enough), and won't be able to develop this later on in his career when he realises that's what he needs to do at that point in time, that is play more patiently, smarter and be more disciplined - unless he starts to try develop this at points now, which in turn will then improve his consistency as a player too. He is very much the modern day athlete, have their best years when they are younger, but will find things tougher / won't be as dominant when he is reaching his mid 30s, especially if he gets a nasty injury or two. But if he does avoid injuries, he could still have a pretty lengthy career and amass a huge number of major titles, especially if he can find a rafa clay court equivalent - otherwise he'll just have to achieve them at his more physical peak ages. He may be able to prolong this a bit if he develops what Nole showed him in the Olympic finals - being absolutely clinical in tiebreaks and control his nerves in those critical moments, and play smarter when need be - although if the competition remains easy, he may be able to amass a huge number titles anyway in a very uncompetitive era - he could well surpass the current 24, but only if no half decent players turn up and stays serious injury free throughout his career. he won't be consistent enough to complete a clean sweep of all tournaments like nole has, rekon he may just have those couple that eludes him, given they are 3 setters the non GS events.
Hey great… Juhu… Amy and Joe are here, and also Gill finally found the time to do the we show for us 😉 Great to listen your opinions and honest thoughts always guys, luv this show, after tennis matches my favourite tennis show 💪 luv for you guys ❤️❤️❤️
You guys spent way too much time talking why Alcaraz lost vs why Djokovic won. I get this would be fine for match analysis but for a show about big 3 this was too much Alcaraz… way too much. Honest criticism .
When Nole played Wimbledon after injury, at that time I was wondering why he did it ?? !!! taking that risk; so when he reached the final people criticized him for the loss against the best player in his generation with a gap of 16 years and a knee issue it was a joke. that guy had managed to be there and it was already an achievement; On the other side, I felt he put a true effort before the Olympics to be at the right level to beat everyone and he did it. Now when I compare the end of the last season and the start of 2024 I understand that Novak couldn't play at his best level and improve his game due to the knee injury. he played extremely well at Roland Garros but physically he was not ready and got to manage a very bad organization playing a night session at 11 PM. during the Olympics, the forehand of Novak was devastating I didn't believe it sincerely, and against Alcaraz he maintained the pressure with a perfect first serve to put him far away behind the baseline. Alcaraz despite being extremely talented has an excessive game that will cost him a lot in the future because it is tough to keep using physicality as Rafa did, Rafa was better in endurance preparation and consistency something I don't see Carlos preserving throughout his career.
Novak got knee injury in his last match in Roland Garros, he was healthy throughout the year till then. There is no excuse for losing to Sinner in Australian Open and losing the title to Ruud in Indian Wells.
@@yanair2091please try to follow the news, there's differences between playing with pain knowing you're not performing at your best, and being injured that's what happened. The injury is just the consequence of the precedent games, he certainly was trying to attend the Olympics with fewer health issues possible, but it was not the case and he takes risk eventually when participating at Wimbledon and that was clearly visible at the end of 2023 and the start of 2024. talking about AO, congrats to Sinner he was a better player and I predicted his ascension after Wimbledon 2023. However, Novak would not have lost if he had not felt the beginnings of his knee problems.
I think what is often overlooked is how good of a clay court player Novak is.. if we see the last 18 years, he kind of lost to nadal in the French open every time.. there was no one else who was giving him any trouble whatsoever except Roger in 2011 and the bad loss to Stan in 2015 final.. in my eyes he always had the repertoire to win 7-8 FO. He just faced the full burnt of Rafa ferocity in Paris, which is not a shame. Even then on couple of occasions he should have beat Rafa in addition to the couple of time he actually did.. he is by far the best clay court player in last 30 years that is not named Rafa. So I am not at all surprised that he is continuing with these performances in clay.. you remove nadal from 2011-2021, novak would probably be untouchable in clay..
Yes you right but i also surprised why he is not have great record in US open he just won it just four times like NADAL and it is Hardcourt so why he is not have won it atleast 6 to 8 times like in Australian open it so weird to me because he is have some bad luck their 🤔lol
Nadal strategically only really played most of his season in clay. He specialized himself to be good just in clay. Novak met him and beat him in clay (occasionally) bravely but nadal later in his career was cowardly to even meet Nole elsewhere
He won the gold medal against all the odds: just 4 weeks after knee surgery, beat FO GOAT Nadal, former FO runner up Tsitsipas, top player Musetti and half-age current no. 1 clay player Alcaraz. He is indisputable GOAT.
And funny i see some people (and you know who's they are) saying he is not the GOAT because he is not won olympics gold in doubles and not just in singles 🤣🤣🤣
Here's a thought to put things in perspective: Imagine in 2040 a 37 year-old Alcaraz beating a 21 year old phenom (who won the last two majors) to win gold at the olympics.
12:31 regarding Gill's question, i think we are convinced that Carlos' best surface is clay when maybe it isn't so, we're so accustomed to all Spaniards being clay specialists that we haven't stop to consider that maybe Carlos' preference is grass and that there is probably where he's going to achieve more in the future.
People are talking much more about Carlito's 8 break points, BUT if Nole converted one of 5 of his, maybe it would be 6:46:2 match. Guess we'll never know and it's great we got an amazing final in the end!
If one sees from Novak’s perspective, 2024 was a successful year because he won the only award that wasn’t there in his cabinet. The Olympic Gold Medal was the only piece of medal missing from his trophy cabinet and he won that. Novak completed Tennis on August 4th 2024. People say it was a disappointing year because we have come to expect him to keep winning GS every year. Don’t think it’s going to happen with much frequency going forward. I sincerely wish he gets his 25th in ‘25.
Alcaraz also said that in the Tie Breaker he was confused, He couldn't think. Not having his normal coach telling him what adjustments to make might have impacted his decision making. Not in the least facing the Goat that had no intention of losing that match. He was brilliant and it was so emotional seeing his reaction after finally getting the Gold for Serbia.
Very happy to see Novak win this, it really nails down his legacy in tennis (a golden triple career slam is wild) and fully deserved in difficult circumstances. He hasdknee surgery less than three months ago!. Weirdly, mentioning the record Novak has against Alcaraz at Paris at RG and in London at Wimbledon, his record against Murray in the same places is exactly the same and both involved a best of 3 set match at those venues - which almost never happens! I actually really hope he and Alcaraz never meet again in either place to preserve this symmetry, ideally so that Novak can pick up one more of each before he calls it quits.
Hey guys, this is the only places to listen about the greatest 3 as someone who likes all 3, even if you have a favourite. It would be really great if you can get Nole, Nadal and Fed together for a piece . This one will probably be for the purists.
People complaining that they spent too long on Alcaraz mistakes rather than focusing on the 🐐: Nole won because he exudes greatness; this isn’t easy to quantify and talk about beyond being in amazement/bewilderment. On the other hand, there were some mistakes from Alcaraz despite him playing quite well overall. Much easier to discuss.
I wonder why Carlos didnt use his dropshot more? I definitely hear you, Gill about Carlos not needing to redline triple digit forehands. Can we have a three episode on Andy Murray's retirement? I know he isn't part of the three, but he did have a big influence on them.
Winning Olympic gold medal as a 37 yo in what was possibly his last attempt , after losing 3 times in the semifinals without dropping a set beating Nadal , Tsitsipas, Musetti and Alcaraz to whom he just lost 3 weeks ago in the Wimbledon final is nothing short of a miracle !!!!!
Greatest achievement in history of Sports
Wonderful accomplishment 🎉
He earned it this time - with that line up of opponents , unlike the lower ranked ones he gets in many of the slams ; ie 23 & 24
He won the gold medal against all the odds: just 4 weeks after knee surgery, beat FO GOAT Nadal, former FO runner up Tsitsipas, top player Musetti and half-age current no. 1 clay player Alcaraz. He is indisputable GOAT.
It’s not hard to beat this version of Nadal. The only tough match on paper was Alcaraz but he’s likely exhausted after his FO and. Wimbledon wins.
Novak Djokovic: Beating the unbeatable since 2008.
@@profoundgreetingsfromneptune now beating the fedalcaraz fans as well
@@BeepsAndBeats So true. Alcaraz inherited Fedal fans (ie Joker haters begging for somebody, anybody, to put this eternal PITA Novak in the ground) and yet, foiled again! I love it. Something about a guy being demonized when all he had done was to definitively spoil the Fedal duopoly and its band wagoning fans just as it was getting into its prime just rubs me the wrong way and it rubs Novak the wrong way, fueling his desperate hope that one day he will be loved like them. I love you Novak but don't tell him that . . .let his determination burn for another few years. Keep booing him, please. LOLOLOL
Best match of the season! The effort Novak was able to put is just beyond any expectations!
One of those matches that even exceeded the hype
Novak wrap up of the rest of the season will be "Revenge tour" !
He doesn't rule out defending his gold medal in 2028.
one of the best matches of all time.
Untouched! No one even took a set off him.
undisputed goat for a reason ❤
The GOAT keeping the dream alive. Would be amazing if he can snag one more Slam in Flushing or in Melbourne.
He has 2 more slams in him
25 is a very cool number
@@amylundy8664 yup but my gut says 26
@@rajeshsmusicalIf I could get my wish for titles that I’d like to see him win it would be 1 more FO (which would give him 4-time career GS) and one more Monte Carlo (which would give him 3-time Golden Masters). One more Wimby would be nice to tie Fed…
I wish he wins 1 more USO and Wimbledon to tie the records there as well.
Djokovic is the gift to keep on giving.
As a tennis fan, there is no other who has done more for the sport than him. Countless legendary matches.
His career has told various stories that can be made into a movie.
He has elevated tennis to the point where even people who don't follow the sport that much, are now recognizing that tennisnis not your average sport, but one that comprises of real athletes.
Just notice how many other world class athletes are in awe of Djokovic.
This never happened with a Federer nor Nadal.
In your deranged mind maybe
@@yussepig6629 Touched a nerve there buddy?
@@mikipope5140the truth hurts right
Well said. I picked Novak as my guy is 07 and suffered through the gluten years and then ever since 2011 he has given me countless rewarding moments - this and Wimby 19 were just too much to even ask for but he delivered it anyway - now his legacy is secure for probably the rest of my life. LOL!!!
This is such a historic match, that cements him as the GOAT.
In your mind only
@@yussepig6629 let's just look at olympic gold vs no olympic gold...
Absolutely , anyone who says Novak is not the 🐐 after this gold is a fool
@@yussepig6629NOVAX GOATOVIC 🇷🇸🐐🖐
@@yussepig6629in Millions of minds and now especially the pundits.
It was a beautiful match. I am thrilled for Novak, a true champion.
Love how Amy's face brightens up while Gill is doing the intro about Golden boy Nole. Thank you all, you 3 always showed respect to Novak and his achievements in tennis. ❤❤❤
Insane what Djokovic just did. I never expected him to play the way he did, in his first Olympics final, vs Alcaraz in top form, winning the way he did, on his best and Novaks worst surface.
This is such a historic match, that cements him as the GOAT. Alcaraz will break the majors record, but this loss will 99,9% be the thing that prevents him from being seen as the best of all time. One of the biggest wins of Djokovic`s career, at 37y old, and the worst loss of Alcaraz`s.
And its not just that Djokovic won, its the performance and the way he did it, after coming back from his injury and that WB final disaster... Incredible...
I meant Alcaraz can win 20+ slams with easy not just because he is crazy talented and beast but he will have barlely no challenger and easy in his era after Djokovic retired except Sinner and of course he is the only one will and who can challenge him toe and toe and compare that to who is Djokovic face in his career especially in his Prime not just two all time greats in their prime in Roger and Rafa but many great players to this day and especially the media and evryone is against him that way even if Alcaraz win 24+ ( the current men's slam record) Novak djokovic will still the GOAT but i am really pretty sure the Western Media and some people will call Alcaraz as the GOAT meanwhile Djokovic now they still not call him yet they say he is just one of the GOATs LOL really shame 🇷🇸🐐
I won't be so hasty declaring already that Alcaraz will 100% break the Majors record. Life is so unpredictable its not even funny. One bad injury and he might fade like Dominique Thiem did.
He has the talent to do it ? Yes he has it. As the opposition is looking atm, after Nole will retire only Sinner looks like he can put up a real fight for the long run. But ... when Roger was looking untouchable his kryptonite appeared in the form of Rafa. Same happened with Rafa when Nole surged after his incredible 2011 season.
All that being said lets talk about Alcaraz chance to break the Majors record only when and if he will close in to 20 mark. Just remember to what happened to Serena that just got stuck at 23 and never managing to hit 24 before she retired.
@@MohamedLamkhizni Carlitos the new weak era king of tennis? Most of the 24 Slams Djokovic won he won them when Federer and Nadal were still playing prime-level tennis. Plus you add Murray and Wawrinka in the mix too who were super formidable opponents to the Big 3. So there were quite a few strong opponents that Djokovic had to go through to win most of his 24 Slams. It's different with Carlitos. There will never be another "The Big 3". With Carlitos, it's just "The Big 1".
Sinner is his closest competitor once Djokovic retires and he is nowhere near the level of Carlitos. Sinner is not much better than Medvedev in terms of talent. Both though are hard court specialists.
I wouldn't say clay is Alcaraz's best surface, not currently anyway. It might end up being his best, but right now he's best on grass
The only player with the talent of Alcaraz is Holger Rune. But that dude lacks consistency....
Imagine that moment when Nole and everyone around him realizes and knows that this is his last chance to take the Olympic title. He knew that he needed to give 300% of himself into it. Not because he is only missing the Oly medal, but the fact that he's 37 and that this is his last and only chance to remain for that medal.
And he did it! That's UNHUMANLY!
Unparalleled greatness from Djokovic!
Nobody is able to even describe how far off the charts Nole is 🥇🏆🏆
As a Rafa fan I gotta admit he did it. Wow! His dedication to mind and body to become an elite athlete and sustain it for many years paid off. Don’t be so hard on Carlos, he still has a lot to learn at 21 and winning a medal at his age( same as Nole with bronze) is remarkable, although as Joel said it was 2/3 not 3/5 which has somewhat watered down the Olympic event. Congratulations to Novak, the his wily astute study of opponents and 👎for the in between tennis generation that does not give it all.
Whoever is able to beat Nadal, Alcaraz and Tsitsipas in a week at his 37 after knee surgery is my hero for entire life.
Look at those smiles on our “Big 3” ❤️❤️❤️❤️🎾🎾🎾🎾
Me and Amy are smiling
Don't look into her eyes. You will fall in love with mam. She is good at analysis
She is also coherent and doesn't speak in a choppy cadence; host OK but older guy difficult to listen to
I feel he was more dialled in here in the Olympics than he was in AO23 where he went to prove a point and did it in style. Insane what hes doing at 37. Beating the best of the next generation who's insanely quick.
Mate, next generation is considered 6-8 year younger.
This is the best of next, next, next generation.
@@milanm4036 to 8 younger age more like 14 to 16
Now, for the FeDal fans (and more so Djoker haters) they truly get their bromance back .... They can enjoy that again. The big 2 legends of tennis, Federer and Nadal.
And then there is Djokovic, a titan, sitting there above, now truly in a league of his own, watching all the tennis mortals.
The man beat tennis!🥇🇷🇸💪🏼
Great comment 👌😂
Wait till 2034 😂
We'll see
@@raghu2390🙎♂️
@@raghu2390 we'll see what?? How will 2034 change anything about fedal??
Is bionic Fed returning soon?? Do u have the inside scoop 😂
@@D_LEGENDi think he meant Alcaraz 10 years from now in 2034 will break Djokovic Slam record lol
Amy was on point.. Novak understood the effort he needed to give to win against Carlitos.. as we saw in that wry smile after hitting two extra shots (volleys) for Novak to win a point.. He did not let it bother him negatively.. I'm excited to see their next matchup.. Cincy finals rematch? US Open?
Thanx J-A-G/3!!! Great serving. Great opportunities for both on break points. Amazing execution-both. Novak’s serving, volleying & crushing piercing forehands were the difference during both sets-w/paper-thin seemingly highest-level stuff. Then, in the tiebreaks, Nole just raised his level & closed them both out with serving, execution, mental toughness & sublime top-tier finishing of points-especially the crushing forehands cross-court & inside-in. Great offense & great defense & great saving of break points on both sides!!! WOW! What a match! Golden Career Slam! What’s left? GOAT-cubed stuff. Cheers, Milan
Novak se oprasta od tenisa u Los Angelesu na Olimpijadi 2028!.. svaka cast na vrhunskoj analizi i svako dobro !!!
What is isn’t said often enough is that Novak’s highest level is unparalleled in the history of tennis. It seems that one day he’ll play an error free match😮
Remember rafa was injury free for last 4 months preparing for olympics while Novak was injured & still beat him
"Preparing" in Bastad 😂. I don't want to hate on the guy but he's done. Should retire. And before his fans come at me saying it's his choice etc, I agree it's his choice but there's no point to continue playing when he is unable to get past the first 2-3 rounds. That's the sign a player is done.
@@Whatreally123 Not a Tennis player, but Kazuyoshi Miura played vs Maradona in the 80s and he's still playing professionally! Just a heads up on that you don't have to be a top player to stay on tour. It all depends if he feels competitive and doesn't mind to play 250s now.
@@Markmsv to be fair, no one knows who Kazuyoshi is in the grand scheme and almost everyone knows who Maradona is. In that comparison, Maradona was the star who achieved the heights in football. So Rafa is similar. Your comparison is like saying Manarino or Monfils still continuing to play on the tour. C'mon.
Again it's his wish but it's sad to see him losing in the early rounds of a tournament. What is the point of it anyway? I'm a huge Novak fan and it doesn't feel nice when he loses even in finals. As a tennis fan i hate to see a great like Rafa lose in the early rounds. It's a blotch on legacy imo.
Novaks injuries are fake. No one believes him
@@Whatreally123 Rafa's records will always stand whether he continues to win titles or not. So if he still enjoys playing tennis he should play. Wawrinka isn't winning any titles and he's usually out in the first 2 rounds of a Slam but people still enjoy seeing him play, seeing his backhand, and he still enjoys playing. Rafa was able to make it to a final this year, not a Grand Slam but that does say something. And let's be honest, career wise if you're able to stay in the top 200 and go deep in a few tournaments here and there, it doesn't really matter if you're not building a legacy because you're certainly building cash. Rafa's legacy has already been built so just let him enjoy the game.
I find it funny and worrying how Fed and Nadal fans demand from Novak all the titles Federer and Nadal had gotten, but never demand from Federer or Nadal the ones they DON’T have, in order to stay in the debate, like:
- Where’s your ATP final titles, Nadal??
- Where’s your win against Nadal at Roland Garros, Roger?
- Where are your one or two Golden Master 1000 titles, Roger and Rafa?
- Where are your 23th and 24th Grand Slam titles?
- Rafa, where are your more than 300 weeks at #1?
- Roger, where are your more than 400 weeks at #1??
- Rafa and Roger, what’s your H2H against Novak?? Most matches being during both your respective peaks.
- Rafa, where are your wins against Alcaraz?
- Roger, where are your wins against Hurkacz?
They, Federer and Nadal, DO NEED to respond to this factual truths TO HAVE STAYED in the debate, that’s why NOVAK DJOKOVIC was ALREADY the GOAT before his 24th GS and before this GOLD OLYMPIC MEDAL. #novak, #olympics, #Nole #GOATstatus #No1e #Goldkovic #GoldvakDJOKOVIC
No question novak is the goat. But nadal defeated a very good alcaraz at indian wells 2022. Nadal has a better head to head against warkinka, nick krygios than novak.
@@avijitjha1614LOL
@@avijitjha1614🤣🤣🤣🤣🤣🤣
Been waiting for this episode!!! ❤
Congrats Novak Djokovic !!
Somehow, someway Novak pulled this off. It is still unbelievable even after 4 days. He did not win the usual way, he changed tactics and was able to be efficient with it. Only Novak knows how he was able to get this win. Even more mind boggling is the fact that he did this while his movement was not at its best.
His mind never wavered and he rolled with the punches!!
THAT WHAT federer couldnt do in wimbl 2019 final, that could djokovic do in olympics 2024-
AND THATS WHY novak is THE GOAT-.-.-.-.-
Amen! Woohoooo!
facts
@travisbickle5279; Federer never had a killer instinct for grand moments, his mind would veer off as you mentioned in Wimby 2019 and even worse when he crumbled to Rafa in the 5 set of AO 2009. The mental game is crucial.
@@ManuelPorcell-el9cx well , perhaps but hey - tennis at that level is a game of millimetres as well as mental. If Fed had a weakness it was letting good leads slip / not capitalizing on all the break points and match points he s had.
Guess what you say quite true when you consider it. If Fed had made half of all the match points he failed to convert over the years - he d be at 25 slams now - & Djokovic & Nadal somwat less than wat they have currently
It's just the game of tennis.
Of all the big three , Djokovic is the best front runner I think - he s like a dog with a bone when he s leading a match
@@johnrenehan7406lol
I love watching these three together. ALWAYS look forward to the next episode.
Me Too :):)
Same. Been waiting for this since the day after the gold medal match.😁
three mosquiters
Salty Federer still haven’t congratulate Novak😂😂😂😂
He was so fast in congratulating Carlos for beating Nole at Wimbledon but when Nole wins Olympic Gold at 37 yo without dropping a set he goes in hiding 😂😂😂
Nadal also hasn't. He posted a story but made a post about Carlos winning the silver and people are giving it back to him as he deserves.
These 2 (Fed and Nadal) are pathetic sore losers.
@@ValentinG23 He was absolutely quick to congratulate Carlos.. hes absconded now !!! .. Their perfect gentleman aura is all a concocted construct of west media !! duh !!
Seriously 🤨 how do you know he hasn't. Not absolutely everything has to be splashed onto social media. And why wouldn't Nadal congratulate his countryman in the Olympics? All 3 have great respect for each other. Nadal and Federer were closer off court but in his recent documentary Federer acknowledges he wasn't always fair to Djokovic. Why are we so rabid about which tennis players publicly congratulate who and when. Also Roger is retired and probably doesn't follow every event as closely as he used to.
@@ValentinG23 What's funny is that his fans thinks Federer is the embodiment of classiness. 🤣🤣🤣
It's amazing that Nole at 37 gets to have a new rivalry, and best him on his best surface at his peak.
Insane
I think this is Novak's best match when it comes to serving and tactics for the match in general. Unbelievable effort considering age and knee surgery.
Oh my goodness, I was so waiting/needing this podcast for closure. Thank you
Ths weekend novak ended the big 3. He is THE ONE and there are the NEXT 2.
Well-said 👏🏻👍🏻
Yes, he ended it a couple of years ago.
@@guruk More like Terminated 👍🏻
@@pj-fx7gxThe Serbinator 🤖
The comparison between the Zverev and Djokovic serve really outline the brilliance of Novak’s game. It’s all in the details, little advantages on a point or point basis. Zverev seems on paper a more effective serve but upon closer inspection, we see the Novak’s serve was more troublesome for Carlos.
That’s what separates Novak from everyone in history. His game is beautiful to those with a keen eye and can understand the nuances of the sport - the game within the game. And that’s why he’s the GOAT
Yous didn't even mention the fact he just had surgery like 2 months ago. I just had surgery little under a month ago I can't even lift half my best at the gym almost a month later. I had hernia surgery lower abdominal muscle I can't bench or bicep curl half my best. His playing at the top 2 months on. At Wimbledon it was what 2 weeks after his surgery. Parris almost or just more then 2 months the man is super human. He was rushing at Wimbledon because his leg was still recovering and he knew he wouldn't win a war against alcaraz
amys face says it all in the opening comments, we are all feeling same way. novak is the goat.
amy.......
Novak's form-defining shot has always been his forehand. For every match he ever played, it was always a good bet that he would have his return and backhand, but for forehand, he always needed matchplay to find it. This year he had several health problems, a bottle incident, changing a coach and some box members etc. so he didn't have continuity, but most of all, his priority was the Olympics, so he didn't bother or invest himself much (in 2016 and 2021 he was a main favourite but pretty drained out physically and mentally out of winning many tournaments during those years).
In the Wimbledon final, Novak had a bad forehand, often short, pushy, safe or paceles, which was enough for Alcaraz to have a ball he could reach and crush. Because of that, Novak had way more problems at the net hitting volleys, getting passed, or at the baseline trying to get to those balls. In the Olympics final, Novak had matchplay, his forehand was good in all positions, more pace, more depth, better angles, which made Alcaraz move more, and Novak had an easier job at the net.
Djokovic is the only player in singles to have won all of the Big Titles over the course of his career. Achievement unlocked.
Although not universally acknowledged by the Western Press, Novak is the greatest
press says.....wow....who cares
The amount of pressure this man can take is just unbelievable. He's simply incredible..he's inspiring
Dude hid from bombs as a kid. Then struggled for several years with little money trying to play tennis and make ends meet. Then came the ridicule from the tennis world as a youngster trying to make his dreams happen. He was the uninvited 3rd member in the tennis world and overcame Fedal to become the GOAT. Built different.
Your question, at 12:40, was: "Alcaraz is 0-2 against Djokovic on what should be Alcaraz's best surface, Roland Garros, yet 2-0 over Djokovic at Wimbledon. What's going on with that?"
My answer: Because Novak is, even at this advanced stage of his career, still the better player, period. His weakness, at 37, is his slowing speed. So on the slower surface (clay), he beats Carlos (on Carlos's best surface) because Novak's slowing speed isn't so exposed on that surface.
But when you switch to grass, Novak's slowness due to age shows up on this faster surface. Yet given his performance against Carlos on clay, grass would normally have presented an even greater advantage to Novak, let's say, the Novak of a decade ago.
Summary: If Novak, in his mid-30s, is beating Carlos on Carlo's best surface, clay (only to lose to him on grass due to age), imagine a 24-year-old Novak against Carlos on ANY surface.
Recall that, in 2011, Novak beat Federer and Nadal 10 out of 11 matches.
Perfect. As always. I would love another show regarding the same topic.
nole is really well prepared, and Wimbledon final is also a runway for this match!
Maybe he threw that match to fool Alcaraz into his level - he definitely was v subdued all that match so looked like he was almost acting ! Genius plan !
@draoicht22 not necessarily fully planned in Wimbledon match, more like followed the flow at that time and tried a few things. You can tell he was not very disappointed at all after the match. For sure, is that he didn't show his running hard forehand at all that time, that's what scared calito the most in this match.
Yes absolutely, those couple of running forehands were out of this planet. @@kevinwang2620
When you’re so good, you can afford to experiment during a Wimbledon final. 🐐
Don't think Novak completely threw that Wimbledon but Carlos was definitely shocked after seeing Novak's level.
The greatest forever! ❤
What's scary for rest of ATP tour is Novak literally has nothing to play for anymore except padding his stats to make future challenges to his records impossible; so he can play freely and with risk knowing he has nothing to lose.
Exactly. He's gonna be less nervous and stressed. More dangerous
this could also mean that he has no motivation tò play anymore
I believe it is a time to change your front page names to Djokovic, Alkaraz, and Sinner.😃
Not really. When Novak ends his career then this show will probably end. It's obviously dedicated to the "Big Three".
@@yanair2091big one
Nole sampion vorever,GOAT,SUPERMEN...❤❤❤❤❤❤
Novak's ability to stay in the point in what otherwise would have been Carlos' winners is what separated them, I feel. Maybe not separated but to an extent it definitely put pressure on Carlos to go for bigger shots. Every time there was an opportunity for Carlos to break, or get a psychological lead, Novak was right there putting pressure on him instead.
In the 2nd set tiebreak, after that ridiculous winner from Novak to go 1-0 up, Carlos nearly won made it 1-1. But Novak was everywhere on the court moving and somehow hit a one handed backhand sliding lob that looked so deep that it may have hit the baseline and then Carlos made the error losing his patience. Carlos then went on to tie 2-2 but then Novak pulled off a ridiculous winner that broke Carlos' back.
Truly a battle of titans, and a privilege to watch Djokovic win of course, as a long time fan of his. What a period for us Novak fans.
Nole is just indescribable,idk,there is no words for Him🧞♂️🤷♂️✨💫☀️🌪️🔥☄️💥
Greatest Goat ever in all sports. His resime has no wholes, its all complete. You can say it is 110 titles left to break, but he doesnt need that. He has 72 big titles, which Connors has 70 plus small titles. So there is really no need to break that, but I believe he ll try that as well. Its 11 titles to reach even that milestone. I believe he can, but not by playing small tournaments. Thats not his style. There is 14 big titles in a year. From august now, he can join to play 5 until end of season. But if he join the balcony celebration in Serbia he wont play Cinsinati. He ll go straight to New York. If he doesnt join Peking and Shangai, he ll play Paris indoor and Turin and Davis Cup. Thats 4 to the rest of the season.
Why do you all keep saying Carlos is #1, he is actually still #3.
What’s clear now is Novaks beat down at 24 Wimbledon was a fluke. Sure Carlos beat him in 23, but that was as close a final as you can find. One that portrayed a shaky Novak battling the wind and the chair umpire calling time delays in tie breaks.
Quick Look at Novaks season. Lost AO to winner, dropped out of FO to injury. Lost Wimbledon Final to injury, didn’t lose a set in Olympics. For a 37 year old this is a remarkable turnaround, and I’m excited to see what else is in store.
The last major Novak played that he either didnt win or played the eventual champion was in 2019 FO semis again Theim.
On Carlos, coaching clearly has helped him since the start of 2022 US Open, which he won. This year, when he didn’t have his coach he lost AO, and now Olympics.
Not a fluke but surface might matter
Ferero was in his box!
@@amylundy8664 idk, I still don’t believe Carlos is as good on grass as it would seem. Kind of like how Nadal was better than nearly everyone, but still wasn’t good enough. I went through the last 2 Wimbledon runs for Carlos, outside of Novak none of his opponents ever beat a top 10 player on grass. Sinner (Meddy) being sick excluded.
In 2023 run none of his opponents outside of Novak won a Wimbledon match the year prior. I just think he’s been very fortunate with his draws, also helps when the court slows to a hard court pace at the end.
@@kizabg74 still can’t coach in Olympics, had he, would have told Carlos to move up on Novaks serves.
@@BeepsAndBeats I don't get the coach thing. Ferrero was there and obviously coached Carlos. And Carlos several times looked and openly acknowledged the instructions he received.
Thank you guys- love your analysis! Re-listened to it a couple times- So psyched for this win!!!!!
Nice, thanks guys
What do you mean not an unbelievable shot at 2 all in the tiebreaker .. dude are you on something.. that was a flipn unbelievable winner ..cross court clean winner on the run.
An the book about him is out! How perfect! The book is great!
“Don’t train hard, train smart.” Joel’s on it!
What about the staff trying to usher them off the court after the medals. Happy that Novak thought twice and went back to take the glory by himself
My thoughts exactly, why did they do it? There was a match after but few minutes would not kill them. Novak was smart enough to stay, kudos to him. Always thinking before doing
Great Stuff. Thanks
Novak is so determined that he could have won on any surface.
Joel when will you start giving credit to Novak
HE IS, let us be honest
Not only does Djokovic beat the very best of the new generation at 37, he beats them while yearly playing less tournaments which means he is likely to loose while not playing enough and getting rusty like he did. Everyone I know expected Djokovic to win the Paris Olympics gold after coming from such a short (fresh) loss. What I wanted to say with that, Djokovic will always give an opponent a "handicap" like in golf and yet still come out a winner! In other words, I love watching Djokovic trash (bad word) his opponents and see how long he can keep on doing what he does best because he's one of a kind, a world wonder in sports. He's like the amazing great Su Bingtian of China who can match each step with the greatest sprinters in the world, making me a fan of track and field as well. The same goes for basketball when as a young man I watched Pistol Pete Maravich break all collegiate records with his precise shooting from half of the court. The "three-point shot" was yet to be instituted.
he was a Serb, too🏀
Amazing career capper
The big three were amazing to watch
Sad to see it ending
Loved hearing all your takes again! Love reliving the match ❤
A box set! When you have at least one of every big title, you have a box set.
Not quite, a boxed set generally refers to winning all 4 majors in each of singles, doubles and mixed doubles
@@oliveranagnostou2988 Oh, I was thinking more along the lines of a DVD box set, of say a series like 'Game of Thrones.' So from that perspective, we can correctly say he has a box set of big singles titles. What an accomplishment! What an athlete!
@@oliveranagnostou2988🐐🇷🇸
@@profoundgreetingsfromneptune Oh I get your logic there, makes sense. I was just letting you know that boxed set already means something in tennis
@@oliveranagnostou2988 Thanks. I continue to learn about this wonderful sport not only through intelligent, professional, and respectful analysts like Gil, Amy, and Joel but also via their knowledgeable viewers.
Carlos usually gets the benefit from the coaching that's now allowed...so that somewhat neutralizes djokovic's experience....this time it wasn't allowed and it shows...
As much as Alcaraz is a talented player, very much agree with this. That’s why I believe the Big 3 are the best in terms of tactics since no coach tells them how to adjust during matches. Alcaraz, Sinner and the others have that advantage.
@@keletscalceta6776 yep...and it's not fair to the previous greats of the game...all of them.
Tennis IQ is a thing and coaching should not be allowed
Indeed, Carlos needs Ferrero constantly telling him what to do in order to beat the best players in the game. Meanwhile, Novak won without even a coach of his own. 😂
🎉🎉🎉🎉🎉🎉🎉 thanks 😊
I dunno why... but this episode is a let down.
Do we not understand what just effing occurred?????
I am not sure but this feels underwhelming.. like it was a given when all 3 of you didn't give him a chance going into the olympics. and when he does do it... it's so 'yeah and so what'. Not sure if It speaks to Djokovic's greatness or your lack of appreciation. Maybe 50/50.
Alcaraz did change his postion in the second set and came closer to the base line in 2 games, and he lost all 8 points, so he went back.
I waited this for 2 days. Good show. What an achievement Joker :):)
Djokovic won because he played as he did the in the first 8 months of 2011... almost unbeatable.
Yeah he was hitting those running cross court forehands like the old days.
The three of you fail to take into consideration Novak’s knee injury. If Amelie Mauresmo had not put Novak on court at 10.30pm and had not refused his request that the courts be swept twice in each set he may never have had that injury. Perhaps Novak would have got to the RG final and his record against Alcaraz would now be 3-0 on clay. At Wimbledon the knee injury obviously did not help Novak but Alcaraz was playing exceptional tennis with a 1st service percentage 8% better than he delivered at the Olympics gold medal match. Novak at Rome had the metal water container incident. So without that injury and that of the knee Novak could have been having a really successful year.
stuff like this has been happening to him all his career
Djokovic peaked at the right time, at the right place; he visualized this moment all year, worked for it, breath for it and everything fell into place for this to happen. Maybe if he´d won RG or Wimbledon, he could have been drained, unmotivated, worn out and that could have fired up Alcaraz for vengance to win the Olympics and Djkovic would have been denied his dream. But it was perfect, it all happened for a reason, he lost all year for a reason, didnt win slams for a reason, got injured and lost the Wimbledon final to the same opponent and in the way he lost it for a reason. He took a lot of notes in that loss to know exactly what he didnt had to do the next time.
So it was meant to be this way. He could leave tennis, and with his forehand winner it all would be the same as Jordan´s last shot against Utah in the 1998 NBA finals to win the championship for the Chicago Bulls.
he had help from ABOVE☦
Thanks for another lovely commentary Gill, Amy and Joel! I would be especially interested if you could follow up on the discussion about the dynamics and intricacies of return position and strategy. Amy's point had a lot of merit as to why Alcaraz didn't adjust his return position more often after getting burned playing so deep.
Gill perhaps you could do a short video analysing return position. Like a intro "for dummies" like me. 😅
Carlos likes to swing big and he obviously trusted his ability to run balls down
I know a lot of people keep going on about Alcaraz's mistakes, but don't know why more credit ain't given to Novak for making Alcaraz feel the pressure and force them.
Alcaraz' natural game is to play more aggressive - so with that knowledge by trying to nullify / exploit that as much possible & playing in a strategic manner (which is a strength of Nole's), to me, is a cause of Alcaraz not being able to play his A game, despite playing at a really high level. (he was able to lower it enough to give him a chance to win)
We know if Nole plays an A and Alcaraz an A, Alcaraz wins - but Nole's A game, is typically designed to reduce the opponents level, which to me is what he was able to do in this one and makes him capable of defying the odds and going completely against logic - like this match, and why he's clearly the GOAT.
Alcaraz maybe more talented with a racquet, but that doesn't make u consistently a better overall player. Nole showed despite his age and slower pace, he's still better because other elements of his game caused Alcaraz to not play as well as he can.
Having the ability to make an opponent play worse than they normally do is a match winning skill and at the very highest levels of impacting a result, with the increased chances of making u more consistent as a player.
It's something Alcaraz would need to learn, or learn to cope with and be more patient, along with pressure in the critical moments to make him better than Nole, irrespective of how more talented he may be technically.
Lucky for the kid, he's playing a player he can learn this from - if he does take it on board, it's going to be very hard to see anyone being able to stop him leaving a legacy similar to Novak's, or even surpass it especially with the lack of competition at the moment.
Otherwise, being a Nole fan I couldn't be more happier for him really deserved this success. It may be his last hoorah as best of 5 sets now doesn't suit him so much and motivation may be tough to keep up now. But I reckon he'll definitely try his best for one more year.
Think I saw somewhere Nadal has won titles for 19 years in a row, which this Olympics equals? So a title next year would see 20 years of trophies in a row, more than anyone else I believe - and that'd be a nice tidy record to have.
do you think alcaraz will be winning slams at 37? with his style of play he will be loooooooong retired
@@danmalic6688 Alcaraz even though he just lost to Nole in a match of this magnitude, he don't think Nole's the GOAT - ridiculous imo, but there u go.
Only when he reaches 37, will he realise and appreciate what a legend and GOAT Nole is, because he will not be winning titles like Nole has been the last couple of years at his age, both lacking physically (burnt out through lack of energy management through his career and lose pace which he relies on like rafa did).
he won't have the longevity, as he won't have a strategic enough game style to implement such a game to compete as an underdog against those that will then have a significant edge physically. (expect he'll be kinda like a rafa is now - try and outplay / outphysical players when it ain't possible)
he would need to completely change his game style, but it is not in his nature nor strength to do so (he's too aggressive / not balanced or smart enough), and won't be able to develop this later on in his career when he realises that's what he needs to do at that point in time, that is play more patiently, smarter and be more disciplined - unless he starts to try develop this at points now, which in turn will then improve his consistency as a player too.
He is very much the modern day athlete, have their best years when they are younger, but will find things tougher / won't be as dominant when he is reaching his mid 30s, especially if he gets a nasty injury or two.
But if he does avoid injuries, he could still have a pretty lengthy career and amass a huge number of major titles, especially if he can find a rafa clay court equivalent - otherwise he'll just have to achieve them at his more physical peak ages.
He may be able to prolong this a bit if he develops what Nole showed him in the Olympic finals - being absolutely clinical in tiebreaks and control his nerves in those critical moments, and play smarter when need be - although if the competition remains easy, he may be able to amass a huge number titles anyway in a very uncompetitive era - he could well surpass the current 24, but only if no half decent players turn up and stays serious injury free throughout his career.
he won't be consistent enough to complete a clean sweep of all tournaments like nole has, rekon he may just have those couple that eludes him, given they are 3 setters the non GS events.
Hey great… Juhu… Amy and Joe are here, and also Gill finally found the time to do the we show for us 😉
Great to listen your opinions and honest thoughts always guys, luv this show, after tennis matches my favourite tennis show 💪 luv for you guys ❤️❤️❤️
Waited for this! T.y. guys ❤
He'll always have Paris.
Paris has been good to Novak. 3 Majors, 7 Masters 1000 and 1 Olympic Gold.
bogie, ingrid and now nole.........
You guys spent way too much time talking why Alcaraz lost vs why Djokovic won. I get this would be fine for match analysis but for a show about big 3 this was too much Alcaraz… way too much. Honest criticism .
@@suparna5177😂😂😂😂
@@suparna5177 Gill’s analysis is fine on his channel ! This was more like “if Alcaraz did that he would win” type of thing . Annoying.
I agree. They're biased towards Alcaraz as if they just don't want to acknowledge Novak's greatness.
Look their Nike outfits, that explains everything 😂😂
@@skuzmanovic3227Damn true didn't notice it 😂😂.
When Nole played Wimbledon after injury, at that time I was wondering why he did it ?? !!! taking that risk; so when he reached the final people criticized him for the loss against the best player in his generation with a gap of 16 years and a knee issue it was a joke.
that guy had managed to be there and it was already an achievement;
On the other side, I felt he put a true effort before the Olympics to be at the right level to beat everyone and he did it.
Now when I compare the end of the last season and the start of 2024 I understand that Novak couldn't play at his best level and improve his game due to the knee injury.
he played extremely well at Roland Garros but physically he was not ready and got to manage a very bad organization playing a night session at 11 PM.
during the Olympics, the forehand of Novak was devastating I didn't believe it sincerely, and against Alcaraz he maintained the pressure with a perfect first serve to put him far away behind the baseline.
Alcaraz despite being extremely talented has an excessive game that will cost him a lot in the future because it is tough to keep using physicality as Rafa did, Rafa was better in endurance preparation and consistency something I don't see Carlos preserving throughout his career.
Novak got knee injury in his last match in Roland Garros, he was healthy throughout the year till then. There is no excuse for losing to Sinner in Australian Open and losing the title to Ruud in Indian Wells.
@@yanair2091please try to follow the news, there's differences between playing with pain knowing you're not performing at your best, and being injured that's what happened. The injury is just the consequence of the precedent games, he certainly was trying to attend the Olympics with fewer health issues possible, but it was not the case and he takes risk eventually when participating at Wimbledon and that was clearly visible at the end of 2023 and the start of 2024.
talking about AO, congrats to Sinner he was a better player and I predicted his ascension after Wimbledon 2023.
However, Novak would not have lost if he had not felt the beginnings of his knee problems.
@@yanair2091LOL
Tennis fumbled not promoting Djokovic as the best athlete of all time let alone best tennis player ever
excellent point, but he is a proud serb and that hurts those in control
I think what is often overlooked is how good of a clay court player Novak is.. if we see the last 18 years, he kind of lost to nadal in the French open every time.. there was no one else who was giving him any trouble whatsoever except Roger in 2011 and the bad loss to Stan in 2015 final.. in my eyes he always had the repertoire to win 7-8 FO. He just faced the full burnt of Rafa ferocity in Paris, which is not a shame. Even then on couple of occasions he should have beat Rafa in addition to the couple of time he actually did.. he is by far the best clay court player in last 30 years that is not named Rafa. So I am not at all surprised that he is continuing with these performances in clay.. you remove nadal from 2011-2021, novak would probably be untouchable in clay..
Yes you right but i also surprised why he is not have great record in US open he just won it just four times like NADAL and it is Hardcourt so why he is not have won it atleast 6 to 8 times like in Australian open it so weird to me because he is have some bad luck their 🤔lol
Nadal strategically only really played most of his season in clay. He specialized himself to be good just in clay. Novak met him and beat him in clay (occasionally) bravely but nadal later in his career was cowardly to even meet Nole elsewhere
Similarly nadal would have Atleast 2 or 3 more aus opens.
@@avijitjha1614🤣🤣🤣🤣🤣🤣❄️🤣❄️❄️
@@MohamedLamkhizni It's literal facts though, no one but Novak was stopping Rafa from winning AO in 2012 and 2019.
nole is not slow at all!
He is too, compared to last year
He wasn’t slow on Wimby either. Rafa when injured is not going to risk injury, Noles knees are injury free.
He was very slow compared to how he used to be before 2020.
🤓
@@ManuelPorcell-el9cxlol
Amy predicted Nadal to beat Djokovic 😂😂😂😂
@@sachinpaul2111 honestly feel like Novak could of double bagel him
@AmateurSynthusiast true, I felt like he allowed Nadal to get to 4 all, because he didn't want it to be 61 60
she was kidding
He won the gold medal against all the odds: just 4 weeks after knee surgery, beat FO GOAT Nadal, former FO runner up Tsitsipas, top player Musetti and half-age current no. 1 clay player Alcaraz. He is indisputable GOAT.
how can djokovic be the GOAT, he never won olympics
by bye fedal fan girls= NOVAK IS THE GOAT
-.-.-.
Bye bye 😚
And funny i see some people (and you know who's they are) saying he is not the GOAT because he is not won olympics gold in doubles and not just in singles 🤣🤣🤣
@@MohamedLamkhizni 🤣🤣🤣🤣
@@MohamedLamkhizni by the way gold and bronze from novak is bigger then only gold. EVEN IN OLYMPIA is GOATkovic greater then nadal.
@@travisbickle5279aggred
Here's a thought to put things in perspective: Imagine in 2040 a 37 year-old Alcaraz beating a 21 year old phenom (who won the last two majors) to win gold at the olympics.
wow wow wow
YAY! About time!
12:31 regarding Gill's question, i think we are convinced that Carlos' best surface is clay when maybe it isn't so, we're so accustomed to all Spaniards being clay specialists that we haven't stop to consider that maybe Carlos' preference is grass and that there is probably where he's going to achieve more in the future.
Wait, are you saying Carlos is not Spaniard (scratch head)?
People are talking much more about Carlito's 8 break points, BUT if Nole converted one of 5 of his, maybe it would be 6:4 6:2 match. Guess we'll never know and it's great we got an amazing final in the end!
I see your podcast....only for Ami Lundi. 🎉
If one sees from Novak’s perspective, 2024 was a successful year because he won the only award that wasn’t there in his cabinet. The Olympic Gold Medal was the only piece of medal missing from his trophy cabinet and he won that. Novak completed Tennis on August 4th 2024. People say it was a disappointing year because we have come to expect him to keep winning GS every year. Don’t think it’s going to happen with much frequency going forward. I sincerely wish he gets his 25th in ‘25.
Alcaraz also said that in the Tie Breaker he was confused, He couldn't think. Not having his normal coach telling him what adjustments to make might have impacted his decision making. Not in the least facing the Goat that had no intention of losing that match. He was brilliant and it was so emotional seeing his reaction after finally getting the Gold for Serbia.
His coach was there and was telling him what to do, as usual.
Exactly!
@@yanair2091 no it's not allowed at the Olympics. Big reason he lost
@@yanair2091 He was there as a guest but not allowed to verbally coach him as far as I know.
Very happy to see Novak win this, it really nails down his legacy in tennis (a golden triple career slam is wild) and fully deserved in difficult circumstances. He hasdknee surgery less than three months ago!. Weirdly, mentioning the record Novak has against Alcaraz at Paris at RG and in London at Wimbledon, his record against Murray in the same places is exactly the same and both involved a best of 3 set match at those venues - which almost never happens! I actually really hope he and Alcaraz never meet again in either place to preserve this symmetry, ideally so that Novak can pick up one more of each before he calls it quits.
Hey guys, this is the only places to listen about the greatest 3 as someone who likes all 3, even if you have a favourite. It would be really great if you can get Nole, Nadal and Fed together for a piece . This one will probably be for the purists.
People complaining that they spent too long on Alcaraz mistakes rather than focusing on the 🐐:
Nole won because he exudes greatness; this isn’t easy to quantify and talk about beyond being in amazement/bewilderment. On the other hand, there were some mistakes from Alcaraz despite him playing quite well overall. Much easier to discuss.
Lol
Amy, we gotta hook Joel and Gill up with your interior decorator. Showing em up! Great podcast as always
They're minimalist. They're better
@@sunny3907hell nawh
I wonder why Carlos didnt use his dropshot more? I definitely hear you, Gill about Carlos not needing to redline triple digit forehands. Can we have a three episode on Andy Murray's retirement? I know he isn't part of the three, but he did have a big influence on them.