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Tennis

Messages
17,744
There are some disrespectful tennis mug fans on here. Im reading a lot of "if" statements on here....if Djokovic played in ___ era, if Fed played against ___, if Carige wasn't selected for Parra in the 1998 semi, if Melb didn't play with an illegal team in the 2009 gf etc.

Lets not deal with "if" statements, lets deal with facts. Grand slams are the best barometer of a players career. You win the most, you are fairly looked at as the best.

Djokovic has every chance to beat Fed's record but to win six extra grand slams is a lot for any tennis player by the standards that history has set. Not many players have won more than one slam, never mind six. Injuries, up and coming players, time and the luck factor can well get in the way of Novak hitting 21 grand slams.

Until that may happen, Federer is still very much the GOAT.
Very silly to based the decision of the best ever only on slams won but hey as I said its the last place Fed fans have to hide
 

mozza91

Coach
Messages
12,783
Don’t understand how anyone doesn’t like Federer?

The guy is all class, on and off the court. As are Nadal and Djokovic. Just appreciate that you’ve seen all 3 play rather than shit on one because you prefer another.
 

LatK7

First Grade
Messages
6,256
Very silly to based the decision of the best ever only on slams won but hey as I said its the last place Fed fans have to hide

Weeks at #1, tournaments won, wtf’s, % wins against the field, etc all play into it...and at this stage Djokovic still has a way to go and should eclipse a few of these. Fed still has a fair bit to ‘hide’ behind.
 

Wizardman

First Grade
Messages
8,584
Very silly to based the decision of the best ever only on slams won but hey as I said its the last place Fed fans have to hide
It is the best single barometer of a players career....beats weeks at number one, smaller tournament wins etc. The slams are what these four champions (three guys plus Serena) play for. I get the feeling once Serena beats Court's record, she'll be close to putting the racquet away.
Im a Fed fan but far from being a Novak/Rafa hater. I'll concede that Novak has a 50-60% chance of overtaking Fed's 20 slams. To me, that is a huge compliment to Novak as willing six slams is no easy task. His window of opportunity is now to score another three slams within 2019-2020. If he does that, the record is likely to fall his way.
 

Avenger

Immortal
Messages
32,174
I think he is slowly starting to win over the general public. I’m paranoid I know but I think there may be some anti-Serbian sentiment especially amongst the US audience. Not so much here.
 

Valheru

Coach
Messages
17,612
Don’t understand how anyone doesn’t like Federer?

The guy is all class, on and off the court. As are Nadal and Djokovic. Just appreciate that you’ve seen all 3 play rather than shit on one because you prefer another.

Shame about his wife.
 

Game_Breaker

Coach
Messages
13,551
Right now, Novak is way ahead of Nadal and Fed

I was lucky enough to have good seats for both semis and the final, and he was hitting the ball so accurately it’s quite scary

Rafa was off his game yes, but Novak was unplayable
 

Game_Breaker

Coach
Messages
13,551
I’m quite confident Federer won’t be winning any more slams.

Rafa has another 2-3 French Opens left in him at least which will get him to around the 20 mark.

Djoker at 31 if he stays fit should snag another 5 easy and probably past them both....

There are some great young kids coming through, Zverev, Tsitsipas, Medvedev, Shapovalov but this tourney shows they are still well off the big boys.

Federer’s best chance is Wimbledon, he might get to the final but if he has to play Novak he’ll lose

He has to rely on someone else beating Novak, and that doesn’t look like happening any time soon in a slam
 

LatK7

First Grade
Messages
6,256
Federer’s best chance is Wimbledon, he might get to the final but if he has to play Novak he’ll lose

He has to rely on someone else beating Novak, and that doesn’t look like happening any time soon in a slam

Well yes, even at Wimbledon, if you're Fed you'd expect this to be the case playing the #1, 6 years your junior, at age 38.

A lot can change quickly. Fed's extremely old and will likely struggle through the slams this year. Nadal, who knows. Djokovic has shown vulnerability to some of the next gen players outside the slams, even after his comeback. Bo5 I think he'll handle them comfortably for the next season or so.
 

Tommy Smith

Referee
Messages
21,344
Here's how I currently break them down at their peak on each surface:

Grass: Federer
Slow hard: Djoker
Fast hard: Federer
Clay: Equal

I'm comfortable taking Federer over Djoker on fast hard courts as he dominated the USO when it was faster. He also won two AOs in his mid 30s on faster courts. And he's also won 7 Cincinnati Masters, including giving Novak some beatdowns at his peak.

Djoker has a strong chance to overtake Fed on Clay. If he wins another FO he clearly will; but even a couple more Masters will give him that title. He arguably already is ahead but I have their 2012 FO encounter in my mind.

As for slow hard courts..., Djoker is way ahead. The USO was at its slowest ever last year. And the AO slowed this year too, with heavier balls. If this trend continues then Djoker could win 22+ slams as he's unstoppable on slow hards.
 

LatK7

First Grade
Messages
6,256
Here's how I currently break them down at their peak on each surface:

Grass: Federer
Slow hard: Djoker
Fast hard: Federer
Clay: Equal

I'm comfortable taking Federer over Djoker on fast hard courts as he dominated the USO when it was faster. He also won two AOs in his mid 30s on faster courts. And he's also won 7 Cincinnati Masters, including giving Novak some beatdowns at his peak.

Djoker has a strong chance to overtake Fed on Clay. If he wins another FO he clearly will; but even a couple more Masters will give him that title. He arguably already is ahead but I have their 2012 FO encounter in my mind.

As for slow hard courts..., Djoker is way ahead. The USO was at its slowest ever last year. And the AO slowed this year too, with heavier balls. If this trend continues then Djoker could win 22+ slams as he's unstoppable on slow hards.

Agree with all of this. Assuming you mean 2011 RG - Fed's GOAT display over Djokovic. 2012 was the error fest.

The USO has opened up massively for Djokovic now. The courts are absurdly slow, so as long as his body holds up, it's his to lose.
 

Tommy Smith

Referee
Messages
21,344
Agree with all of this. Assuming you mean 2011 RG - Fed's GOAT display over Djokovic. 2012 was the error fest.

The USO has opened up massively for Djokovic now. The courts are absurdly slow, so as long as his body holds up, it's his to lose.
The 2018 USO was blue clay. Worse in fact because it didn't have the cushion of clay. The surface broke Nadal's body.

But this GoaT debate shows once again how people get caught up in the moment.

Federer in his mid 30s beat 30yr old Nadal four times times in a row on hard courts in 2017. The last three were beatdowns.

Indian Wells - where he destroyed Nadal in playing one of his best ever matches - then also Miami and Shanghai. He didn't lose a set, or his serve, in these matches. And that's at 35 against his arch nemesis who match up wise has Fed's OHBH to target.

So it's not as through Djoker is the only one capable of thrashing Nadal.

I'd like to see Novak at 35 years old do that to 30yr old Nadal. Let's see if Novak is even playing at 35 for starters.

On a side note I recall seeing Federer beating Novak in a set 6-0 in a Cincinatti Masters final when Fed was older than Novak is now; so he's dished out his share of pain and humiliation to Novak, too.

Lord knows what the 2004-2007 version of Fed could have done to Novak on fast hard courts.
 

Game_Breaker

Coach
Messages
13,551
The 2018 USO was blue clay. Worse in fact because it didn't have the cushion of clay. The surface broke Nadal's body.

But this GoaT debate shows once again how people get caught up in the moment.

Federer in his mid 30s beat 30yr old Nadal four times times in a row on hard courts in 2017. The last three were beatdowns.

Indian Wells - where he destroyed Nadal in playing one of his best ever matches - then also Miami and Shanghai. He didn't lose a set, or his serve, in these matches. And that's at 35 against his arch nemesis who match up wise has Fed's OHBH to target.

So it's not as through Djoker is the only one capable of thrashing Nadal.

I'd like to see Novak at 35 years old do that to 30yr old Nadal. Let's see if Novak is even playing at 35 for starters.

On a side note I recall seeing Federer beating Novak in a set 6-0 in a Cincinatti Masters final when Fed was older than Novak is now; so he's dished out his share of pain and humiliation to Novak, too.

Lord knows what the 2004-2007 version of Fed could have done to Novak on fast hard courts.

I agree with people getting caught up in the moment
Too many variables to determine goat status, but at their peak and how far ahead from the pack is subjective

One thing Novak has going for him is as he’s going into his 30s, the younger generation isn’t stepping up to challenge him

Federer didn’t have that luxury, plus he also competed at the back end of Agassi/Sampras era
 

Avenger

Immortal
Messages
32,174
I agree with people getting caught up in the moment
Too many variables to determine goat status, but at their peak and how far ahead from the pack is subjective

One thing Novak has going for him is as he’s going into his 30s, the younger generation isn’t stepping up to challenge him

Federer didn’t have that luxury, plus he also competed at the back end of Agassi/Sampras era
Federer won his first 7 slams with plenty of inconsistent players around him that were not in the same league as some of the greats. He capitalised on a lull in quality and good on him.

Djoković has never had that luxury.
 

LatK7

First Grade
Messages
6,256
I agree with people getting caught up in the moment
Too many variables to determine goat status, but at their peak and how far ahead from the pack is subjective

One thing Novak has going for him is as he’s going into his 30s, the younger generation isn’t stepping up to challenge him

Federer didn’t have that luxury, plus he also competed at the back end of Agassi/Sampras era

Exactly. Fed’s has the misfortune of being chased by two ATGs. There’s no one in sight right now, nor has there been for the past few years. Huge advantage to Djokovic.

It’s a shame Soderling and Del Potro were so unlucky with injury/medical issues. They would have been great rivals for Djokovic and Murray. Even Murray the poor sod was set back a couple of years with that back injury.
 

LatK7

First Grade
Messages
6,256
Federer won his first 7 slams with plenty of inconsistent players around him that were not in the same league as some of the greats. He capitalised on a lull in quality and good on him.

Djoković has never had that luxury.

Del Potro, Tsonga, Anderson fit that description nicely. So does Stan...who Djokovic should never have let beat him three times in slams.
 
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