Novak And The Call Of Duty

First topic message reminder :

I've never been particularly patriotic when it comes to choosing who I enjoy watching when it comes to tennis. I'm more swayed by the quality of play and that something extra that's hard to describe. My two favorite players are Swiss and Spanish as proof of this. Ha ha! But I also have great admiration for Djokovic and one of the reasons for this apart from the quality of his play his his sense of duty.

He demonstrated this at the weekend by helping his Serbian team mates win a place in the Davis Cup semi final. He could have been forgiven for giving this tie a miss in order to get a little practice on clay. After all Nadal having stolen the momentum is already getting his socks dirty in the hope of defending his clay titles. But Djokovic opted to play two 5 set matches on the fastest indoor tennis courts the USA could find instead. In doing so he also turned his ankle and still elected to play on. This potentially could affect his participation in Monte Carlo (I hope not). Serbia with his help won and they are through to the semi's.



But there’s something special about seeing the world’s best player commit so fully to the team concept; having him, in this case, put the group's interests over his own. Afterward, Djokovic said that he would have an MRI on his swollen ankle tomorrow, and that he was seriously concerned about his status for his next tournament, in his adopted hometown of Monte Carlo. He said, “I sincerely hope I didn’t make it worse,” by playing on it today. He also said that, while he could have stopped playing and the Serbs still would have had a chance to win, there really was no choice; this is his “responsibility” to the country and team. It’s no small risk for him: The most important part of Djokovic’s season, the clay swing that leads to the French Open, begins in two weeks. But Nole, whether he's playing for his parents, his team, his country, or his "family" of fans around the world, is a fairly rare thing in the selfish game of tennis: a star who thrives on community and the larger cause.

http://www.tennis.com/pro-game/2013/04/taking-one-team/47019/#.UWJuFcrSnIU

Like I've said I'm not usually patriotic in my tennis watching but reading that I can understand why so many Serbian fans may be. But it's also one of the reasons why I can't help but admire him.

bit too much flem than I like it sir

hawkeye wrote: So the Davis Cup in itself may not be considered as prestigious as a slam but the way it makes people feel his wins are for them would make any slam wins feel more special to his patriotic fans. Does that make sense?

Hi Hawkeye,
I'm afraid I can't quite catch your meaning in this bit.

Even with my 15 languages HE, I am struggling to grasp that sentence.

kingraf wrote:Considering the shenanigans of Serbian fans at football matches, I must say Djokovic is not the champion they deserve

Without getting into the merits of the argument per se, or even if I were to stipulate to it, how likely do you think it is that the same sort of people follow the respective sports you've compared? Or do you think there must be only so many of us that it was the entire nation that gathered in the stands at the match you are referring to? No bad apples in your backyard?

Obviously this doesn't apply to all but there has been "shenanigans" by serbia tennis fans at the aus open, although i think that happened also with croat, greek and bosnian fans.

WalkTall- I appreciate that I am to a degree painting all Serbians with the same brush. While I realise that not all Serbians are hooligans/racists, I must say that they do you no favours. I was not trying to insult you personally, or even Serbians, but I am stating facts.

Yes, my country has problems, and bad apples. But in all my time watching live sports in South Africa, there has only ever been one incident whereby a player was given undue heat. And it wasnt because of colour, religion, or nationality, but rather because he was an expat (the English know him as Kevin Pietersen) who had not very nice things to say about SA.

KP is a douche.

walktall2209 wrote:

hawkeye wrote: So the Davis Cup in itself may not be considered as prestigious as a slam but the way it makes people feel his wins are for them would make any slam wins feel more special to his patriotic fans. Does that make sense?

Hi Hawkeye,
I'm afraid I can't quite catch your meaning in this bit.

Ha ha! I can understand the confusion.

What I was trying to say was - Djokovic by playing in the Davis Cup and making a point of saying how important it is to represent his country can make Serbian fans feel his wins are somehow for them. Therefore when he wins a slam they are more likely to feel personally involved in the win.

LS- Yes he is... but a wonderfully talented douche

kingraf wrote:WalkTall- I appreciate that I am to a degree painting all Serbians with the same brush. While I realise that not all Serbians are hooligans/racists, I must say that they do you no favours. I was not trying to insult you personally, or even Serbians, but I am stating facts.

Yes, my country has problems, and bad apples. But in all my time watching live sports in South Africa, there has only ever been one incident whereby a player was given undue heat. And it wasnt because of colour, religion, or nationality, but rather because he was an expat (the English know him as Kevin Pietersen) who had not very nice things to say about SA.

Kingraf, I see where you're coming from, excuse the pun, and judging by your post I'm guessing you must be quite young...

This reply was originally three times as long, but then I decided to delete it... My father hasn't said or done many a wise thing in his time, but there's this one thought he had which proves invaluable on daily basis: A fool is not he who claims 2+2 equals 5, but the one trying to convince him it's actually 4.

Anything I initially wanted to explain sounded awkwardly self-serving and a bit like fighting windmills. You're obviously well set in your ways and take along your home made bucket of paint when you're off decorating with your "brush". On top of that, you know very little of the people you judge, which will most likely never change and I doubt you really have any reason to do so, so let's leave it at that, shall we?

hawkeye wrote:What I was trying to say was - Djokovic by playing in the Davis Cup and making a point of saying how important it is to represent his country can make Serbian fans feel his wins are somehow for them. Therefore when he wins a slam they are more likely to feel personally involved in the win.

Yes,well I see why you would think that, but it actually runs deeper than that. I mean, it was the same even back in 2007, at the time when what you mention wasn't that prominent or hinted at all for that matter. It just so happens that he is the most accomplished one, but we also feel the same about Janko, Jelena, Ana, Viktor, Nenad and the rest of them, even Dokic, Raonic, Nestor... and personally I have a similar feeling for Croatian players dating back to Ivanisevic and up to more recent ones, Ljubicic, Karlovic, Cilic,Ancic even Tomic (this is because we USED TO be one nation not that I'm claiming them or anything like that).

As to why then this should be so, hm... to me, honestly, it would feel unnatural not to completely support and feel for a compatriot or someone you feel close to, you know? It's like the things Brits say about Murray, that's beyond my comprehension, how someone can slant and not appreciate their own... It's also that athletes here are a silver lining since the nation as a whole has very little to get up for in the morning, not much to look forward to, what with the economic situation, the ripping out our heart of the territory and spirituality ( I guess I'm not allowed to elaborate on this one so I won't).

Anyway, back to tennis talk then, right?

LuvSports! wrote:Obviously this doesn't apply to all but there has been "shenanigans" by serbia tennis fans at the aus open, although i think that happened also with croat, greek and bosnian fans.

Hi Luvsports,

I would just like to point out that we should distinguish between certain types of "shenanigans" Are the ones you mention so rare, SW19 aside? You also need to keep in mind that we have had a really brief history of being interested in tennis events and are still getting to sorts with the etiquette.. Also, there were very few fans from Serbia, maybe 20, including Novak's entourage . It is always a large following of people living in Australia and even born there, feeling the need to connect with their origins and stand out... maybe

Theres actually a small Serbian community where I live, in Johannesburg, WalkTall. So I know a little more than you give me credit for, but I dont think your'e gonna concede a point either so best we leave it, shall we?

Yup, works for me.

Regardless, hope you comment more on the tennis section. They say you learn more from a person with opposing views than from one you constantly agree with.

I have learnt a lot from HE (a nadal fan), she hates murray.

Ive learnt a lot from you LuvSports, although its mainly that any thread can turn into a 'hottest player' forum.

People have learnt from me? That is new.
THAT WAS ONE TIME GOD NAB IT!


(p.s sometimes people on here get a bit sensitive so I feel I should say that I am not actually angry with the CAPITAL LETTERS BIT)

kingraf wrote:Ive learnt a lot from you LuvSports, although its mainly that any thread can turn into a 'hottest player' forum.

That's not really fair.

There was one thread that ended up being about Bruce Springsteen.

Lmao. Its a small wonder his Davis Cup thread is still tennis-related, although its less DC and and more Djokovic-Murray

kingraf wrote:Lmao. Its a small wonder his Davis Cup thread is still tennis-related, although its less DC and and more Djokovic-Murray

In fairness to Luvsports, it tends to be me who scuppers his threads, so I'm somewhat culpable on that one!

I still ultimately blame him though. He puts in lots of random quotes and references that send me off on a tangent.

He really is a very naughty boy.

I know right? LS is an absolute moon man sometimes.

HE'S NOT THE MESSIAH HE'S A VERY NAUGHTY BOY! oh rats there i go again

In fairness if you were to go off on a tangent say out in the street with some brothers under the bridges on a thunder road in the backstreets near atlantic city down by the river where im trapped in a land of hope and dreams with these streets of fire where there is a darkness on the edge of town where im waiting on a sunny day near my city of ruins with a girl named rosalita who has a cousin called bobby jean he ran into the fire of the promised land tonight in jungleland where we can prove it all night and im goin' down to a game of roulette and if i win ill be dancing in the dark with a tenth avenue freeze out only to find out that you're missing from your dollhouse and you were racing in the street where we take care of our own because tramps like us MAYBE WE WERE BORN TO RUN

but to say i go off on a tangent about bruce springsteen is just crazy!

I will accept the title of chief randomer, from now on call me........ biggus dickus

what about St. Biggus Dickus?

or incontinentia buttocks