The Tennis Thread

Yeah, that’s the same.

 

Aye, for sure.

So Nadal is on 18 and Djokovic on 16. Both of then will overtake Federer in terms of grand slam titles, and in a much more difficult era.

 

I feel the same way about you and Aidan.

 

So what (in your opinion) will Djokovic have to do to be the greatest ever?

 

Easy to say. I don't doubt they'll win more slams, especially Nadal at Roland Garros, but Federer can't be written off yet. There's also quite a few decent younger players coming through, such as Thiem and the Greek lad (can't spell his name).

 

The general consensus is Federer is the GOAT but even if Djokovic surpasses him in slams/trophies, the debate will still rage on because a lot of people and experts that watches the game view Federer as the greatest they have ever seen. In Football Messi never won a world cup and that's held against him by some people in his GOAT status, but he's still the GOAT, trophies are not the be-all and end-all of deciding whose the greatest is.

 

Completely different considering football is a team sport.

 

This. You need to win multiple grand slams to be considered a GOAT in tennis.

 

With the Messi and Maradona debate, those use this against Messi's lack of winning a world cup. They say that Maradona was so good that he won the world cup for Argentina, he was the team, where all the focus was. They say Messi was surrounded by better players but still couldn't match what Maradona did. It's not an argument I agree with, but it's used in that debate about GOAT status.

It's the same in snooker with Ronnie O'Sullivan before he was equal to Stephen Hendry tournament wins, very few said he has to surpass him to be the best, because it was obvious Ronnie was the best. Boxing another example Rocky Marciano unbeaten destroyed everyone in his path was dominant smashed the likes of Joe Louis and Jersey Joe Walcot yet he's never called the GOAT because Ali was better despite his losses. A lot of factors come into play when deciding who the GOAT is trophies/slams are not the be-all-end-all of the debate. Djokovic is not the GOAT now even he wouldn't class himself as the GOAT. He needs to do a lot more to be that status especially when you have the likes of Federer and Nadal.

 

Djokovic in 2011 is still the greatest player I've even seen play the game. You could tell he'd go on to win the most Slams as WELL!

He was really poor yesterday and still won.

Federer is the great server of all time. Suits the grass surface for that reason.

 

am not a big tennis fan but I was enthralled by yesterdays final. Two top athletes at the top of their game. Was a great spectacle of human endurance

 

Statistic i read that i quite like - Federer had won 13 GS by the time Djokovic won his first. And by the time he won his second Federer had won 16 and Nadal 9.

He's fair done some to catch up.

 

I never said it was the be all and end all. I just said comparing an athletes 1v1 sporting achievements and team sporting achievement is completely different.

With Djokovic/Federer you have the both of them playing at the same time against each other in every type of environment at the highest level.

Using a team achievements to decide who’s a better individual in a team sport doesn’t have as much substance to it. Especially when it’s a completely different era.

 

I agree on team/Individual argument and we both agree on slams being not the be-all and end-all of deciding who the GOAT is. So give me the factors why you think Novak is the GOAT now.

 

He’s a better player and his record is better.

And like Senna mentioned, Federer had won 13 of those slams before Djokovic won his first. Since then Djokovic has won double the amount as Federer.

Djokovic has had far tougher competition for all of his career than Federer as well.

 

We have 3 different GOATs for 3 different surfaces.
But the highest standard of tennis ever plated was at the last Australian Open Final.

 

Boils down to that, essentially.

Federer's record is obviously phenomenal, but when he was at his most dominant, he wasn't contending with players on the level of Nadal and Djokovic.