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Did Djokovic Subconsciously Surrender Today To Nadal?
15 Comments · Posted by Scoop Malinowski in Bios
By Scoop Malinowski
“Those planes didn’t kill King Kong…it was beauty that killed the beast…” It was not just Nadal who defeated Novak today…
Nadal covered the court better than he ever has and played a masterpiece vintage Rafa clay court match winning 62 46 62 76.
The handshake at net was quick and lacked any warmth. And why should Djokovic feel much respect for the rival who threw him under the bus in January for his courageous, rightful decision to not take the drug shot that does not work?
Why should Djokovic embrace the rival whose team complained and cried like victims of injustice because television networks wanted the match at night?
Why should Djokovic feel any affection for the guy who medicated all his chronic crippling injuries away and played and ran as well as he ever has on Court Chatrier at age 36?
It was dishonesty to say this could have been the last match of his career in Paris. But who values honesty and authenticity today? Nadal could win three more Roland Garros titles if he keeps playing like this.
Djokovic lost today to Nadal but there is a feeling he got ripped off by the sport which he himself miraculously lifted to a new height above and beyond Federer and Nadal.
There is a boxing parallel to what may have happened today… Sonny Liston told George Foreman he lost the world heavyweight boxing title to Cassius Clay (Muhammad Ali), “When I won the championship from Floyd Patterson, everyone acted like I stole it. What are you doing as heavyweight champion? What’s someone like you doing with the belt? When I was champ, I used to hear people say I didn’t deserve the title. Then when I lost to Clay, the same people told me I should have won. I know I should have won. I should have, I could have. But they acted like they didn’t want me to.”
Foreman said, “I interpreted Sonny’s words as a sort of admission that he’d unconsciously sacrificed his title. To satisfy the fans who said he was unworthy or undeserving.”
It can also be speculated if Foreman subconsciously sacrificed the title to Muhammad Ali in Zaire, Africa in 1974 where almost everyone in Africa passionately and emphatically wanted Ali to beat Foreman. “Ali Bomaye!” (Ali Kill Him!!)
I wonder if all the media and tennis establishment character assassination attempts inflicted on Djokovic by the likes of Martina Navratilova, Patrick McEnroe, Pam Shriver, Jon Wertheim, Chris Evert, Brad Gilbert, and many others, could have had some kind of subconscious subiminal inpact today on Djokovic’s performance as it did on Sonny Liston?
Yes it was a great match but was it really on a level playing field? Maybe it was. Maybe it was not.
Nadal will meet Alexander Zverev in the semifinal. Novak Djokovic will go home, rest, recharge and begin to prepare for Wimbledon.
ATP · Novak Djokovic · Rafael Nadal · Roland Garros
Sam · May 31, 2022 at 9:37 pm
January for his courageous, rightful decision to not take the drug shot that does not work?
That’s not the worst part, which is that the shot can be lethal. ☠️
Scoop, do you think it would’ve made any difference if it had gone to a fifth set?
Well, one thing’s for sure—Nadal is NOT injured, and probably never has been recently. 😆
Thankfully, the tournament isn’t over yet. I don’t even like Zverev, but I’ll be rooting really hard for him on Friday. 😺
So far, nothing at this tournament has been going according to script. As a result, I think it’s possible that Zverev could pull the upset. Maybe not real likely, but not impossible either. 💪
Jayita · May 31, 2022 at 9:58 pm
very insightful piece, I totally agree that all of this negativity and character assasination directed at Novak in recent times, has likely taken a toll.. he looked tired and not sharp… and probably felt at some unconscious level that he would be the villian, aka “bad guy” if he beat Nadal.
lets hope Novak can recharge and reset for Wimbeldon… and once again bring out his best.
mark · May 31, 2022 at 11:42 pm
There was too much at stake here for Novak. If he had been allowed to play in Aus he would likely win there and I think we would have seen a different ND tonight. In that situation he would have a 1 slam lead over Nadal and would know even if he lost Nadal would at best equal him in the slam race. Much less pressure than the situation he found himself in knowing that a loss last night almost certainly meant going 2 behind in the race, a gap which could prove to be insurmountable. I know he has won multiple slams in the past but Novak is 35 now and I question if he can manage that kind of feat again.
I think the pressure got to him tonight, I didn’t see a confident guy who really believed he could win.
Sam · June 1, 2022 at 12:43 am
It seems to me that there’s likely another factor in Djokovic’s loss too: he’s still not completely match-fit. Not playing from January to March—especially in best-of-five format—clearly cost him. And his easy early-round matches in Paris didn’t help him either, because he was never really tested.
The good news is that he’s improved immensely in the last month or so, but apparently he still needs more time to fully regain the fitness that he had last year. And there’s really no shame in that.
As for Nadal’s “injuries”—the less said, the better. 🤥 Do you think Djokovic fell for his flimflam?
Scoop Malinowski · June 1, 2022 at 8:19 am
Sam, I think Novak put himself in position to win, he was in control but got sloppy in the third set and got sloppy again and blew the fourth set from 5-3 up. The question is why did he falter? Nadal’s play was a contributing factor. But I think the overall weight of many factors, the establishment bias against him, the fan support against him, the media bias against him, the pressure of must win after they stole AO from him, whatever supplements Nadal is taking from his mysterious doctor, the lingering after effects of the traumatic ordeal of January, it was odd to see Novak falter but he did. I’m not sure how much longer he can carry on this uphill battle against so many conspired hidden forces working against him. He needs more support. He’s better than this corrupt sport which does not deserve him, the way it’s power structure is aligned right now. Monica Seles got stabbed in the back and taken out of her rightful throne. I feel Novak has suffered the same injustice as Seles just in a different execution manner.
Scoop Malinowski · June 1, 2022 at 8:22 am
Thanks Jayita, fully agree, even if he beat Nadal, what awaited him? The media and establishment would just turn up the hate heat on him. Losing gets him out of the corrupt hell hole that only he really knows how vicious it really is.
Scoop Malinowski · June 1, 2022 at 8:25 am
Mark, Agree with your general thoughts. At 35, he has to battle too many conspired forces which have plotted his downfall. I don’t think he ever has recovered from the horrible traumatic ordeal of injustice in January, that was horrific and evil and corrupt. Just like Monica Seles never recovered from that stabbing which most likely was an inside job, as Don Budge asserted. Djokovic needs more support.
Scoop Malinowski · June 1, 2022 at 8:27 am
Sam, Goran said Novak was fit enough to play best of ten sets but clearly he was not. Physically maybe he was but mentally it being one vs a million different forces was too much for him. George Foreman experienced the impossibility of being one vs a million and Muhammad Ali in Zaire, Africa. The pressure of the uphill mental physical battle destroyed him more than Ali did.
VtV · June 1, 2022 at 9:10 am
Here is what I saw: After confidently winning the second set, Djokovic started to search his stuff at the changeover. He was searching and not finding, something we dont often see. The volume of conversation with the empire goes up and we hear that he is complaining of something that shouldn’t have been done without asking him. He is visibly upset after during the play and looses couple of the games and third set in a hurry. Comentators were guessing that he requested electrolyte drink from his loge but the kid that was carrying it was stopped and the drink was checked. Than they comented how he has a right to ask for whatever he wants but I don’t thinh
K that is what happened. Something was missing and he was searching for it inside his bag so it is not too crazy to think something was TAKEN from there without asking? Mind games on another level? I started to race trough all the bad scenarios if this is possible. It seams like a small prank that could trigger him into not feeling secure during the match. Could they change his drink? Could they put something in there. What went trough Novaks mind, and he has much more facts, I can only imagine, after AO and after August 2020. in general
Scoop Malinowski · June 1, 2022 at 9:15 am
VtV, this is interesting, I saw this mini drama and then forgot about it as it seemed inconsequential but Novak was clearly bothered by something. This needs to be investigated, hope more details emerge. Novak didn’t mention anything at press conference. I have heard of similar mind games done by players, Tursunov hid Federer’ Wilson bag moments before their match in Canada. Another player swiped Su Wei Hsieh’s Yonex racqets before her match and she had to use her coach Paul McNamee’s racquet for the match! These things actually happen in pro tennis amazingly. I wonder if something screwy happened yesterday to target Novak?
Scoop Malinowski · June 1, 2022 at 9:23 am
The TC commentators said something about Perrier sponsor forcing players to have to drink their drink out of the new Perrier bottle. Also remembher seeing Rafa sprint by Novak sitting in his chair arguing, usually Rafa walks by but he sprinted as if in a rush even though he knew Novak was still in his chair.
Scoop Malinowski · June 1, 2022 at 1:02 pm
When the two biggest stars of the sport have all their misbehavior and or cheating covered up and or defended, and the other guy has every mistake made magnified into a historical event, you know there is heavy corruption at play.
Sam · June 1, 2022 at 6:25 pm
Scoop, so you don’t think a fifth set would’ve made much difference in the outcome? 🤔
And do you think Nadal secretly didn’t care what time of day they actually scheduled the match?
Anyway, as the saying goes, it ain’t over till it’s over. There are still four men—well, five at the moment ;)—left, so we still don’t know exactly what’s going to happen. 😽
Scoop Malinowski · June 1, 2022 at 8:19 pm
Sam, yes a fifth set anything could have happened. SO many of their matches are all dead even dog fights where the winning margin is just a few points few shots. Nadal looked fresher stronger more alive, as if he was taking some kind of stimulant like smelling salts ammonia or something – pro boxers do that when they are hurt or just to get that spark of shock energy that smelling salts ammonia gives. Roberto Duran was sniffing smelling salts BEFORE his first Sugar Ray Leonard fight, during ring intros. Nadal reminds of that kind of hyper energy. The biggest surprise of the match is how Nadal wanted it more. Djokovic backed down a few times in the form of sloppy bad shots, to me he seemed intimidated by the crowd being 99 percent against him. I think Djokovic was strong enough to beat Nadal yesterday but not all the other forces against him, the fans, the establishment, the media, the pressure. If that match was in an empty stadium no fans, I feel Novak wins.
Scoop Malinowski · June 1, 2022 at 8:23 pm
Yes I think Nadal can summon up his beast mode at any time, day or night, his mind is that strong. Whether he does that naturally or artificially who knows for sure. I know there are some things that can give a pro athlete that spark of energy. I was told NHL players use something that does that, Ovechkin was the particular one named by my source.