Article on Djokovic

http://uk.eurosport.yahoo.com/tennis/tramlines/article/5084/

Some interesting thoughts here. They reckon Djokovic basically tanked the third set against Nishikori, and that this is unfair on Nishikori, as it "puts an unwarranted asterix next to [his] fantastic victory". The main point is that Nole tried very very hard to win the second set, but Nishikori was too good for him. After that, Nole gave up. Now i confess to not seeing the match, but is this true? If so it's rather disrespectful IMO, I've seen Tipsy to this "tanking" thing a couple of times and it's truly awful to watch.

The greatest sportsmen don't just win with class, they lose with honour.

Is this being too harsh though? Had Djokovic retired people would have had a go at him for doing so in all likelihood, so is it a case of "damned if you do, damned if you don't"? Do world n°1s have a greater responsibility to be ambassadors of the sport? Something both Nadal and Federer were exemplary at, which Novak isn't, yet, IMO.

Thoughts?

I think it's a cheap, attention-seeking bombastic piece. Another ego-maniac trying to make a name for him/herself.

Good article to provoke discussion MFC .

I only managed to catch the 3rd set, so I don't have an overall view of the match. I wondered why Nole didn't retire if he was hurting and I was a bit stunned at what I was seeing to judge how well Nishikori was playing at the time.

My impression was that because he was No 1, he stayed on court instead of retiring, and his congrats at the net looked warm and gracious from my sofa, so I felt that he was trying very hard to be a good ambassador for the sport and behave as a great No 1.

It is difficult to know, until he turns up or not in Paris, and how he plays if he is around at the next two tournaments whether he could have tried harder at Basel - or whether he might have been trying to get off court quickly and get physiotherapy for his shoulder.

As to whether the article is harsh or not - imo yes, but it is an opinion and we can now all pick it to pieces or salute it on here to our heart's content

Having read through the article, it is every bit as the channel itself: poor and lacking in great depth.

I take it the author didn't want to take into account Djokovic's reaction to losing to Federer at the FO?

Again slandering the sport with 'tanking' and yet no warning from the umpire?

I do get sick and tired of reading such garbage. Did Djokovic come out in the press afterwards and say his opponent was lucky or that he was not playing well himself?

Again tennis seems to be full of 'body language' experts who are able to tell 'exactly' what a players emotions are thoughts are by just looking at them. Why don't they conserve such skills in to determining criminals who plead not guilty in courts of law as it seems like it is an area struggling for anyone with such a skill.

legendkillar wrote:Having read through the article, it is every bit as the channel itself: poor and lacking in great depth.

I take it the author didn't want to take into account Djokovic's reaction to losing to Federer at the FO?

Again slandering the sport with 'tanking' and yet no warning from the umpire?

I do get sick and tired of reading such garbage. Did Djokovic come out in the press afterwards and say his opponent was lucky or that he was not playing well himself?

Again tennis seems to be full of 'body language' experts who are able to tell 'exactly' what a players emotions are thoughts are by just looking at them. Why don't they conserve such skills in to determining criminals who plead not guilty in courts of law as it seems like it is an area struggling for anyone with such a skill.

Is Simple_Analyst working for tramlines?!

Already replied to that "article" reminding them of Nadal's recent tank in Japan final, the 0-6 set!

I won't say anything bad about Eurosport as they gave me another ticket for the masters final this year.

Those article make for good discussions in forums and it's always good to have journalists daring saying things beyond the usual whorshipping garbage, whether the journalist is right or wrong of course.

However, I note that those kind of aggressive articles are against the less popular players and not aimed at Nadal and Federer..the Nike Kings.

I don't think it;s irrespectful to not to try too hard in the last set. It's better than pulling out in the middle of a match like we have seen before.

Kei woudl be very happy not to have to slug it out too much the day before his first great ATP final. It may have been disrespectful for the crowd but again, better that than pulling out.

We'll find out soon how serious was that injury.

But there is such thing as 'precautionery'

I don't mind journalists being 'daring' if their is some senisble logic behind it. That was just 'I will bash the player and get lot's of hits and then claim through my comments to people commenting that it wasn't meant in 'that' context'

My nephew could write the same crap for free.

Atleast the article maker was actually replying to comments being made, unlike that cabbage "Simon Reed" !

The less said about Simon the better!

I did not see the match so I can only comment generally - it always seems funny when injury bites and a player's seeming first reaction is to play through it aggressively, only to tail off somewhat limply later on. That is all the more so when the match is not particularly significant for the player.

Djoko did used to be a bit suspect with rather too many withdrawals, but this article has the feel of being more ready to bite than the situation warranted.