Novak Djokovic

A page and forum to discuss all things Novak Djokovic.

Djokovic warming up for his match

Current ranking: 1

Last result: Banja Luka quarterfinals (lost to Dusan Lajovic)

Next tournament: Rome Masters

36 Comments on Novak Djokovic

  1. there are 6 of the largest trophy symbols on his bag. Four of the same colour. He has 4 AOs among his 6 slams, and one of USO and Wimby. The others then would be 1000s presumably. There are 14 smileys of one color and two of another. Novak has 16 1000s to his name now. Is this a recent photo?

    • The 2 are the WTFs he has won I think. I think the photo is old because it would have 15 smileys representing the M1000 he had prior to Paris 2013. The tweet was sent right after he won Paris 2013 though………….

  2. Hehehe, Fibak must have been fired after:

    a) he made those complimentary remarks about Rafa after he beat Novak at USO;
    b) Novak realised it was Rafa, not just Muzza, he had to worry about and while Fibak may be an expect on Lendl’s tactics, he knows bugger-all about Uncle T’s!

    RT: @dougrobson: “Member of Djokovic’s team says that Fibak’s coaching role ended at US open and is not expected to resume. #finalshowdown”

  3. Djokovic after Troicki decision: I don’t trust WADA anymore

    Wednesday, November 06, 2013 /by Matt Cronin
    Tags:
    Novak Djokovic
    Viktor Troicki

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    LONDON—Novak Djokovic rips the Court of Arbitration for Sport (CAS) for not repealing his friend Viktor Troicki’s suspension for doping violations. CAS reduced Troicki’s suspension from 18 months to 12 months; Troicki was suspended by the ITF on July 15 for not providing a blood sample at the Monte Carlo. Troicki claimed that a Doping Control Officer indicated to him that he could take the test the next day, a claim she denied. The ITF supported the Doping Control Officer’s side of the story, although CAS did note she could have done a better job explaining to him the consequences of missing the test.

    “It’s very bad news that we got for him, and for me, for all of us who are close to him,” Djokovic said. “But I think it’s just not bad news for him, it proves again that this system of WADA and anti-doping agency does not work.

    “Why am I saying that? Because, first of all, as a tennis pro, our job is to play, of course, tennis and respect all the rules and know all the rules of our sport. But when you are randomly selected to go and provide the test, blood test or urine test, the representatives of WADA, anti‑doping agency who are there in the tournament, are supposed to give you the clear indications and explain you the rules and regulations and what the severe consequences or penalties that you might undertake or you might have if you fail to provide the test. The representative, she didn’t do that in his case. So first of all he’s not positive on any banned substance. I’m not saying that it’s completely not his fault, but the way it was is that he had a medical pass where he was fainting, if he feels bad when he provides the blood test. He asked if it’s possible to avoid providing blood test that day and he would come the next day—not because he wanted to hide anything, he just felt bad.

    “She did not clearly present him all the severe consequences that he will have if he avoids that. She told him that he needs to write a report and that he will be just fine. And because of her negligence and because of her unprofessionalism, he is now off the tour for one year. And now it makes me nervous as a player, to do any kind of test. And I heard Andy Murray also said that he wants to take some actions into making sure that he has the independent laboratory also following his tests that he provides to WADA and IDTM. I don’t have trust in them anymore.”

    http://www.tennis.com/pro-game/2013/11/djokovic-after-troicki-decision-i-dont-trust-wada-anymore/49709/#.Unnu3ItFDIW

    • Can you imagine the brouhaha if this had been Rafa saying this? The rules are very clear, you miss a doping test you are responsible for your actions and the consequences are clear. Frankly Novak’s behaviour in this whole saga is disgusting…………..

      • http://www.thetennisspace.com/viktor-troicki-the-big-issues/

        “He should have taken the blood test
        It might seem like an over-simplification, but if Troicki had taken the blood test, then there would not have been a problem (providing it was clean, of course). The CAS found that he had violated anti-doping rules by not doing so. You can’t start changing the rules just because someone is upset by them.”

        Hear that, Novak?

      • Djokovic has never learnt to think before he speaks. As a recently dethroned No.1 and one of the figureheads in the game, his comments were singularly inappropriate. Showing solidarity to Troicki is one thing and might be seen as laudable in the eyes of some people. Casting aspersions on the conduct of personnel conducting the tests is another thing. I doubt the ITF and APT were happy to read his intemperate comments about the system.

  4. Glad I am not the only one appalled by Djokovic’s remarks:

    RT @julienpretotRTR: “Djokovic’s defence of Troicki is simply appalling”

  5. People get banned for not letting WADA know their whereabouts never mind asking for the test to be postponed to the next day. Why did Troicki need the official to explain it to him? A 2 year old knows that the reason they do impromptu tests is because they don’t want anyone to have any warning. Where would it all end if they are allowed to say when they prefer to be tested and when they would like their samples taken.

  6. Djokovic’s comments were a simply too emotional and biased. But I do agree with him with regards to the Cilic case. Now that was simply disgraceful if what I have been reading is true.

    • Have just read an extract from Djokovic’s lengthy statement lambasting WADA, ITF and ATP and implying Troicki has been thrown to the wolves.

      http://www.usatoday.com/story/sports/tennis/2013/11/05/novak-djokovic-rips-tennis-anti-doping-program/3449237/

      On the one hand players are saying they want tennis to be seen as a clean sport then as soon as there is a case of a high profile player being sanctioned in jumps Djokovic crying there has been a foul.

      Talk about a loose cannon.

      I hope the various bodies take issue with him over speaking out of turn and for the slanderous insinuations.

    • @tj600

      I agree that letting Cilic of the hook does seem an anomaly. However the decision hinged on the fact they could not prove beyond all reasonable doubt he knowingly took a banned substance which is rather different from Troicki refusing to donate blood for testing.

      I personally would question how thorough the CAS were in investigating the actual purchase of so called glucose tablets. For example was the pharmacist who sold them called as a witness? I know from experience in both France and Spain when selling any OTC product, containing ingredients which could be subject to abuse, the pharmacist will always question the purchaser closely as to the reason for taking that particular product and will refuse to sell it if not satisfied with the answers.

  7. the rules are clear! Missing a test is the same as not passing it. Troicki knows all about it and the way he is acting about the incident is beyond comprehension…this Balkan solidarity from Novak makes no sense. He is being biased and it looks to me that he is acting more as an ‘accomplice in crime’. He should have provided Troicki with support in a sense not to make the same mistake ever again…this is a disgrace for Serbian tennis…

    does officials need to explain the rules every single time to each player?! Of course not…I don’t think it a rocket science to learn WADA rules…I support WADA in this and I wish the had been given more money to employ to make sure none of the payers are being doped…

  8. Troicki and his friend, Novak, need to heed Muzza’s words and stop disgracing themselves:

    RT @andy_murray: “Read and respect the rules and everything is very simple.”

    We are told Novak is a cosmopolitan, multi-lingual sophisticate, that should be clear to him, no? Maybe he can interpret for his friend…………..

  9. As I’ve remarked before, almost as much as the fact there could be players ‘knowingly’ (or ‘unknowingly’ lol) taking drugs what I find distasteful is the culture of fabricating bizarre stories to avoid conviction when caught out which are then deemed acceptable by the governing bodies who rescue the fly caught in the spider’s web.

    Djokovic’s unseemly outburst is driven by anger that the Serbian fly was not rescued from the spider’s web on this occasion. Not to mention the Serbian Davis Cup team are now a member short.

    • ed, I hear you about the fabrications, but I know of at least one case (not in tennis), where the most bizarre explanation was true in all probability, and it was a vindictive character assassination attempt. Sadly, it was largely successful. The guy was cleared in Germany, but not internationally. And believe me, the Germans normally don’t stand upfor their own kind. They might look the other way and not probe too hard, but once something like a positive test comes to light, they follow up mercilessly. As far as I know, they belonged to the few ones, who followed up on the Fuentes case and got hold of Jan Ullrich’s blood bags. So, they went on a large investigation with the guy, I’m talking about, and found him not guilty in the end. Unfortunately, CAS didn’t agree with that, mostly, because the story was so outlandish and they simply didn’t understand intern German circumstances and doping machinations in former East Germany. I don’t even blame them. It’s just a sad story of a successful crime. But it shows, that one has to listen carefully to the athlet’s defense, and not dismiss it out of hand. And, while I think, doping is a huge problem, and I’m quite sure, tennis isn’t sqeaky clean at all (the ITF anti doping measures are full of holes), I also strongly believe, that, what the athlet has to say for his defense should get carefully evaluated and not get dismissed out of hand.

      • Let me put it this way: If I was Troicki and a bureaucrat told me it was okay to miss a doping test, I would insist on confirmation in writing, WITH A WITNESS. Whichever way you look at it, it is the player’s responsibility to provide a sample, a responsibility that is not transferable no matter how many friends you have in high places.

      • Lance Armstrong was a thug on wheels; most dopers are not. They are more the willy nilly kind of guys like Marin and Victor, who have thrown in a good scoop of stupidity as well. Or guys like Tyler Hamilton, who got caught up in an existing drug culture. His book ‘The Secret Race’ is a must read, btw. Yes, he makes himself look a little better than he was, maybe, but he doesn’t spare himself at all, and shows the difficult choices, he had to make and how it destroyed his soul. Ironically, he was caught the second time with an antidepressant, which he really needed, but somehow failed to get an exemption for.
        I for one, never understood, btw, why people kept believing Lance for so long. I remember claiming since ca 2004, that he was phony, adn people got mad at me, whenever I said so. What Lance has done to sports, is, that EVERY grand achievement is looked at with suspicion.

      • RITB,12:44 pm. I don’t argue that point at all. The athlet has to provide a sample, no matter, what. The sample, Victor provided next day was worthless, since they were testing for HGH, and that could have cleared out of his blood by the time, he gave his sample. So, it’s wrong to say, he was clean, because we cannot know this for sure. But it was also wrong to even take his sample the next day. That fact lends some sort of credibility to his story. Rafa pointed this out as well. He said, that should the doctor have acted as Victor told, they have no case against him. He should get off on a technicality, so to speak. (I don’t agree with Rafa here). Predictably, Rafa got a lot of flak for saying, what Novak was saying in his over emotional statement as well. And, while I don’t believe at all that Victor should’ve gotten off without any punishment, I really think, it’s possible, that the doctor bungled the case badly, and, that they took Victor’s sample at all belatedly, points in that direction

  10. I know there can be bizarre circumstantial evidence that put an innocent person in the frame and miscarriages of justice occur. Which is why was happy to accept the Cilic case could not be proved beyond all reasonable doubt.

    In a way, the example you give of the CAS overturning an earlier verdict where somebody had already been found non-guilty underlines the problem as I see it of how thorough the CAS investigations really are. I have to emphasise my default mode is to give people the benefit of the doubt but having read the original ITF findings, and Celic’s subsequent appeal, I found the CAS over-rule surprising as it did not appear to address the core issues.

    But I am not a lawyer and you are the criminologist.

    • We have yet to see the full transcript of the CAS findings in both the Cilic and the Troicki cases. These may throw further light on the issues we have been discussing.

    • ed, your opinion has the same value as mine, since I wasn’t in a position to investigate myself. But I always had problems with the fact, that the presumption of innocence doesn’t really cut in doping cases. Also, the take, that the athlet is responsible for whatever is found in his system, while probably necessary, has it’s problems. I realize, that it’s terribly difficult to fight doping, if athlets can wriggle out of trouble by inventing stories, but nevertheless their stories deserve to get evaluated.
      I’m fully with you re: problems with CAS verdicts.

  11. RT @dougrobson: “Federer does not come to Troicki’s defense, saying no excuse to miss test: “It doesn’t matter how bad you feel. I’m sorry.” #finalshowdown”

    Agree with Fed……………….

  12. Obviously Troicki would reason better to miss a test and have people give him the benefit of doubt rather than take the test and eliminate all doubt. That’s logic. It is highly improbable that a pro, on the tour for so many years, did not know that under the rules missing a test is equivalent to testing positive. He turned pro 7 years ago. Is it likely he did not know the basics of anti doping?
    .

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