Djokovic shrugs off Monfils challenge

i completely understand; sorry for getting a little "buttered" about it. i mistakenly thought you were thinking i was making fun of Novak's neck. Thanks for clarifying things for me and my little brain. Yeah, about Monfils feet, i've totally noticed that, too. What is surprising is how well he moves around the court (one of the best to watch as far as "hustle" goes) with those big ol' flappers! That makes his athleticism even more admirable! i'm gonna check out those pics you mentioned. Thanks for the holiday wishes. Likewise to you and your loved ones.... : )

Mrmattee(312)...I did not take the "neck" posts for anything other than an observation and somewhat amusing. That's why I posted my "pantry" reference. It was all in fun. The "don't hate" at the end was an "underhanded" way of letting others know it was all in fun. In some of my prior posts , I have made reference to Monfils' hair and clothes, Roddick's hat, Wozniak's drapered skirt, and probably some others that I can't remember at the moment. It provides some lighthearted relief.

Just to add to that, I saw some photos of Monfils' match with Stepanek on the tennis home page and two photos have him crouched over after winning and you could see that he has big feet. But the best part is that his sneakers look like they are 1987 thrift store rejects.* They got him to the finals so....it is... what it is. I'm sure that when he goes to the bank to make a deposit, no one worries about them....except me...I need some stimulus money.

* You can see the photos under his player profile(pictures #13and#14) to see what I'm talking about.

Stay well and safe this holiday season. Smile as much as you can.

Hello, JOHNP....
Just because some poster here asks a question if anyone else thinks that Novak's got a long neck, and someone else (me) responds, "yeah, now that you mention it," doesn't mean that there is any "hating" going on. It has nothing whatsoever to do with anyone hating anything at all. There was a comment and an answer. Are you implying that asking questions or making confirmations or negations about innocent, non-derogatory physical attributes, traits, or characteristics is inappropriate for this site? If not, then i believe that you had misinterpreted the words, john. Sorry if the subject or topic offended you. I simply took the question as the question it was. I did not read any "hate" into it at all. I find physical traits and characteristics interesting. Indeed, it probably is an advantage after all (IF in fact, he DOES have a "long" neck, as you say he does and for what you say he uses it for, that is). And then you make the comment, "don't hate,"????

Bratislov D...I didn't know what it said , it just looked good. :)

Thanks johnp:) I was just praising Dejan in our mother tongue, do I need to translate?

Bratislov D(308)....Good post!!

Dejane, svaka ti cast! Nisi mogao bolje da objasnis koliko je jednostran bio komentar na koji si odgovarao ...

#306 johnp

Classy & classic :-)

Novak is a good looking guy...his parents are proud I'm sure. He appears to have very thick head of hair that I'm sure some of us would like to have. There are some of us who would like to have hair...period.

His long neck is very useful for seeing items that are on the top shelf in the pantry that we have to get a step stool for...don't hate.

#300 Dejan:

Thank you for your tutorial in World History!! I dare say "few" on this board knew all those details and the truth does indeed set us free. There are many who know only a little about World History or American History either for that matter, but they love to pontificate about what they think are the "facts", never thinking through anything before writing and never doing any homework either.
Sadly some have not "evolved" that much and still think of themselves in grade school and continue being the school yard bully. You would think as they matured becoming adults that would cease, but not so here. The most common topics for attack are race, culture, religion & "tennis favorites" and other posters as well.
Please don't allow those obtuse thinkers (?) to dissuade you from posting here.
You will find (or have found) that some on this board love to pick a fight..to find something to attack about or simply enjoy keeping the waters muddied! There are, however, several who always chose peace over bickering. You will know instantly who those people are when you read their posts~
They seemingly always find a way to make their points without provoking animosity.
Your name would indicate you are from Serbia. We welcome you and hope the "barbs" haven't scared you off. I am a fan of Novak and a 'huge' fan of Ana's. I'm hoping she will be able to return to her former Championship form next season. Everyone goes through struggles, but when it's on a "global" stage, it's more difficult to handle, but she has done so with grace and dignity.
Her "Schools Without Violence" program in Belgrade is a charity she's very proud of as she puts much time, energy and money into this cause~also being an ambassador for UNICEF. While she is stunning she is a most serious & intelligent young woman who has truly graced tennis with her winning "ways". I try not to be upset when others would vilify her just because she happens to be beautiful. Jealousy is not attractive and I hope this time away from tennis has helped heal her body, rejuvenate her mind and refresh her spirit. I'm wishing her MUCH good luck and continued success next season as I am Novak!
It must be a huge source of pride for you that Serbia has so many outstanding athletes in so many sports! Outstanding accomplishment~
Your comments (on all your posts today) have been intelligent, articulate, insightful and genuine. You clearly have a deep passion for tennis and quite obviously you love you homeland very much~as well you should!
Thank you ever so much for your enlightenment and the extremely dignified manner in which you have fielded and responded to some quite "thorny" issues. It is SO refreshing seeing a person handle adversity with such a quiet grace.
That will be remembered far longer than the ugliness will~
Again, welcome :-)

yeah, kind of...now that you mention it

Does anyone else think that Novak Jokovich has a really long neck?

Mopbrothers

Federer is the best of all time. IMO there are no grass or clay specialists. It's a matter of technique and talent. Federer has enormous talent. Not because of his textbook forehands and backhands, but because of his anticipation. Karlovic has the best and strongest serve of all time, but Federer can still break him regularly. For this you must have intuition in your armoury, not just technique. Even though I respect Federer, I think that Rafa is the true champion, because he has the mindset and willpower to be the best ever. Too bad for his injury. Djokovic, Murray and Del Potro will all finish their carreers with several grand slams, when Federer retires, and if no new champion emerges in the meantime.

Cheers!

Dejan---I apologize. After what you explained, I see my tone was condescending and ignorant.

The apparent effortlessness of Roger's game, I think, comes from his beautiful technique. He is a master. He reminds me to appreciate brain over brawn.

Mopbrothers

Lets stick to tennis. I am also passionate about the game. My friendly suggestion is that you refrain from seeing the truth by what the mainstream media say. You have the option of buying a historical writer who will interpret history any which way you demand he does. Propaganda aside, the fact is that Serbia was the only country in the Balkans, aside from Greece, that did not have a puppet fascist state during ww2. We certainly didn't become fascists in the 90s. The fact is that communism stifled everything, including fascist outbursts. Once Croatia became independent, a flood of ex nazis from South America came back to Croatia. They were greeted as heroes. After that the Serbs were stripped of their constitutional rights. Today Croatia is ethnically cleansed of all Serbs. How's that for darkness.

And then you come along with your condescending tone about Serbian darkness and evil, that you hope is a thing of the past. Don't take my remarks personally, but I think that every patriot must react when his country is slandered. Be it under a tennis article or elsewhere.

Let's get back to tennis. In the short to mid term, the number one spot will depend on who has no injuries. Nadal, Murray and Roddick are all handicapped here. So it leaves Federer, who barely breaks a sweat during games, and Djokovic, if he stays as consistent as he is now.

I don't want to belabor the point, but if we could forgive Japan for Pearl Harbor, Germany for the atrocities committed by Hitler just to name two, we should be able to forgive and look past the politics and respect the athletes for their accomplishments no matter what country they are from. Some of my favorite athletes especially in figure skating and gymnastics have been Japanese and three of my favorite tennis players, Steffi Graf, Boris Becker and Tommy Haas are German. Most of us do not have any real say so in what our government officials choose to do even in America with all of our freedoms so let's just try to appreciate the talent on the tennis court. Almost every fan from every country could find a political or economic reason to dislike a player from a different country is we base our feelings on anything other than their tennis skills.

Dejan. I don't know what to say. You are right about my lack of historical knowledge. However, from what I see of the world, humans everywhere are capable / and have committed, great hurt to others.

This is the first time I've written about political / social issues on the tennis forums. I still believe Mirko has a right, and is contributing, by talking about it. Even on the tennis forum. And I am passionate about tennis.

Mopbrothers post #297

You should read a bit of history before making any assertions. What should the Serbs say about the Croat fascist puppet state during WW2? They killed hundreds of thousands of Serbs, Jews and Gypsies. What should the Russians say about the Croats sending a division to fight alongside the Germans in Stalingrad?

This happened long before the suppossed sorrow of MirkoM.

This is a tennis article, and your comments about Serbia or any other country are out of place, and they show a serious lack of any historical knowledge.

Keep the topic on tennis.

Dejan---I understand those who feel sports should not involve potitics, or past hurt, but I disagree. Mirko apologized for bringing in his feelings, but he did not need to. He is right about Serbia. If we, ourselves, had experienced such sadness, madness, it would not be easy to let go, to pretend we felt otherwise and focus only on the wonderful, exciting aspect of sports. Novak is one of my favorite players. I believe his success will help Serbia, will bring in badly needed light for all of Eastern Europe. I agree, players have no control over what country they are born into. But it is not reasonable to expect that people who have trauma from war, pretend they do not feel trauma. It is good to discuss such things.

Mirko post #286

As a Serb I have no problem admitting that Cilic, Ancic and Karlovic are great players. How would you feel about someone saying that Ivanisevic is also a one slam wonder, the way you judged Djokovics' grand slam victory.

Show some class, everyone was discussing tennis, and then you decided to creep in with your propaganda BS.

If we are speaking about the London masters, I believe that Djokovic, Nadal, Murray and Federer are too tired and drained to win. My bet is on Davydenko.

Joy--Thank you for responding about my feelings about Israel and Shahar. She probably is a very nice young woman who simply loves tennis and works hard. I know I am being unfair. I can forgive the Serbs darkness and Argentina's corrupt, secret killings, but I am deeply saddened that my own country, the US, cares so little about the Palestinian people and their constant despair. We support Israel no matter what injustice and crimes they commit. No matter how they push the Palestinians off their own land. We turn a blind eye. After Obama's excellent speech to the Muslim world I had hope he would acknowledge the Palestinian despair and insist we act fairly. This has not happened. I am disappointed in him.

Mopbrothers, I can understand your sentiments but I try to separate politics from athletics. I happen to like Shahar and usually root for her when she is playing, depending on who she is playing. She is not an Israeli soldier by choice. Israel requires all their citizens to serve in their army. As a citizen of that country, I respect the fact that she complied with her countries laws and served her two years and did not seek to use her stardom to get out of it. As someone else posted earlier, none of us get to choose the country or race we will be born into. I think we should respect each other as individuals and not group a whole country or race of people. I certainly do not know what your aversion to Israel is and would not try to change your mind but Shahar is just a young lady trying to make a living playing tennis like all the other tennis players.

Mirko post #286, Do you also have bias against German players, or Japanese players? How about players from Muslim countries? These countries were involved in wars against most of our countries...It is time to let the hatred go' bud. I am a Canadian and have friends of both backgrounds and realize that in every conflict there are two sides to every story. I never heard of a war with only one combatant. Sport is a beautiful thing when politics is kept out of it. Be proud of your ethnicity but respect others right to be proud of theirs. From what I have read on these posts, most of the posters have a real love of the game and enjoy the friendly rivalry of rooting for their favorite players. You r post is sad and ugly and shouldn't be on a Tennis forum. I personally can't wait til the winter Olympics start. I love the camaraderie that the atheletes exhibit , we could learn from them!

How is it that I am very happy for Serbia (that did commit war crimes) to have such champion players such as Novak, Jankovic, and Ivanovic, etc. I'm hoping this will bring in light and inclusion. And I am very happy for Argentina to have Del Potro. Russia to have Marat and Dinara and Svetlana, etc. Countries with "war-torn" pasts and misery. But I feel no love for Israel and will not watch Shar Peer, mostly because I have heard she is part of the Israeli armed forces, by choice, though I have no facts what-so-ever. I want nothing to do with Israel.