Tennis G O A T: Who Will Eventually Be Considered the Greatest of These Three?

[JollyGood]

Some excellent posts being made while discussing the question I asked. Keep the posts and views coming in.

For me the answer is clear: Federer is in a league of his own followed by Nadal in second place and Djokovic is third.

[coinlocket$]

Djokovic will probably end with more titles since Roger and Rafa are near the end of their career but he will not will be the goat, he will be the one with the most wins probably and we cannot say "He has more wins he is the best in the history"

Imho the GOAT is Roger even if I liked more Nadal and yes Nadal could be already over Roger if he hasn't so many problems with his injuries.

[Cnut237]

For me the answer is clear: Federer is in a league of his own followed by Nadal in second place and Djokovic is third.

I do think Federer is the greatest, and as others have said this can't be determined purely on number of grand slam wins.

But Nadal is certainly greatest on clay... so if we are talking about greatest overall tennis player, it can't be Nadal because his record on other surfaces doesn't match Federer or Djokovic.

We need to make the clay/all surfaces distinction... because even if Federer is the greatest overall tennis player, he still wouldn't be favourite against Nadal on clay.

[casperBGD]

For me the answer is clear: Federer is in a league of his own followed by Nadal in second place and Djokovic is third.

I do think Federer is the greatest, and as others have said this can't be determined purely on number of grand slam wins.

But Nadal is certainly greatest on clay... so if we are talking about greatest overall tennis player, it can't be Nadal because his record on other surfaces doesn't match Federer or Djokovic.

We need to make the clay/all surfaces distinction... because even if Federer is the greatest overall tennis player, he still wouldn't be favourite against Nadal on clay.

yeah, Nadal is a king of clay, and Roland Garros, but regarding other tournaments, it is much more closer situation

clay - RG
Nadal has 13 titles, first behind is Borg with 6 titles, and no other player has more than 3 - pretty clear and well known situation

grass - Wimbledon
Roger has 8 titles, but Sampras is close with 7 and Djokovic could even catch him with 5 titles at the moment - Roger so far, but never know, Djokovic could end up with more titles at the end

hard - AO
Djokovic is the best with 8 titles so far, Federer has 6, and behind them is Agassi with 4 - seems that Djokovic will be best on AO for a while

so each of the three has the tournament where he is the best at the moment

hard - US open
Federer has 5 titles, as well as Sampras and Connors, but what is interesting that "king of clay" has 4 titles in New York, one more than Djokovic, who has only 3

so, US open could make a difference, who finish the best there will have two tournaments where he is the best one , and that could be a decision maker on this one

[JollyGood]

I absolutely agree with you. Nadal is the greatest clay court tennis player. Borg was considered the greatest clay court player but he walked away from the game at his peak with 6 back to back after French Open wins, 5 Wimbledon wins and 4 US Open losses. Since Nadal has had longevity and more titles on clay it stands to reason why he is the greatest clay court player.

Overall though, his record cannot take him above Federer when all events are taken in to consideration especially the number of titles won.

For me the answer is clear: Federer is in a league of his own followed by Nadal in second place and Djokovic is third.

I do think Federer is the greatest, and as others have said this can't be determined purely on number of grand slam wins.

But Nadal is certainly greatest on clay... so if we are talking about greatest overall tennis player, it can't be Nadal because his record on other surfaces doesn't match Federer or Djokovic.

We need to make the clay/all surfaces distinction... because even if Federer is the greatest overall tennis player, he still wouldn't be favourite against Nadal on clay.

[fiulpro]

I do think that age would actually be considerably very important but then again all the players are experienced here.

I personally believe that : Djokovic would eventually beat them up to the top but then again if we look at the stats , it is going to take a while.

For me the answer is clear: Federer is in a league of his own followed by Nadal in second place and Djokovic is third.

I do think Federer is the greatest, and as others have said this can't be determined purely on number of grand slam wins.

But Nadal is certainly greatest on clay... so if we are talking about greatest overall tennis player, it can't be Nadal because his record on other surfaces doesn't match Federer or Djokovic.

We need to make the clay/all surfaces distinction... because even if Federer is the greatest overall tennis player, he still wouldn't be favourite against Nadal on clay.

Exactly
We have to analyze everything here , even for the future I believe Djokovic would be able to beat them eventually. Plus at the same time right now a statement was made how he was under the pressure of his coach so he wasn't able to do well.
Mental health plays a great role too here.

Apparently people are so set on Rafael because of his experience and scores.

https://tennishead.net/novak-djokovic-is-younger-but-i-am-going-with-rafael-nadal-says-top-twenty-star/ they are all set on Djokovic getting out of the rounds soon , but who know ? Maybe he can turn things around.

[JollyGood]

Right now though all three of them are playing and there are many scenarios about what could happen. As unlikely as it might seem what cannot be denied is the possibility none of them will ever win another Grand Slam again and the younger players step up just as Thiem and Zverev did in the US Open. We have to wait to see what happens at the next Grand Slam which is the Australian Open, it will go ahead if there are changes to governmental quarantine procedures.

There is a long way to go before this GOAT might be settled 

For me the answer is clear: Federer is in a league of his own followed by Nadal in second place and Djokovic is third.

I do think Federer is the greatest, and as others have said this can't be determined purely on number of grand slam wins.

But Nadal is certainly greatest on clay... so if we are talking about greatest overall tennis player, it can't be Nadal because his record on other surfaces doesn't match Federer or Djokovic.

We need to make the clay/all surfaces distinction... because even if Federer is the greatest overall tennis player, he still wouldn't be favourite against Nadal on clay.

yeah, Nadal is a king of clay, and Roland Garros, but regarding other tournaments, it is much more closer situation

clay - RG
Nadal has 13 titles, first behind is Borg with 6 titles, and no other player has more than 3 - pretty clear and well known situation

grass - Wimbledon
Roger has 8 titles, but Sampras is close with 7 and Djokovic could even catch him with 5 titles at the moment - Roger so far, but never know, Djokovic could end up with more titles at the end

hard - AO
Djokovic is the best with 8 titles so far, Federer has 6, and behind them is Agassi with 4 - seems that Djokovic will be best on AO for a while

so each of the three has the tournament where he is the best at the moment

hard - US open
Federer has 5 titles, as well as Sampras and Connors, but what is interesting that "king of clay" has 4 titles in New York, one more than Djokovic, who has only 3

so, US open could make a difference, who finish the best there will have two tournaments where he is the best one , and that could be a decision maker on this one

[Assface16678]

Not really a follower of this sport but I do see and heard these names most of the time when I am reading sports-related article. I made a few readings about these three and Roger Federer is more often being compared to Jordan in this sport. Supporting this claim are his titles, likewise with Djokovic and Nadal. But this is how legacy works, Federer left a deeper marks to the fans of tennis among the three. But given these are subjective opinions, and there's no actual basis, there will be biases for sure. All I know is that these three legends are having their own marks to this sport in particular.

[imstillthebest]

Not really a follower of this sport but I do see and heard these names most of the time when I am reading sports-related article.

your not a fan of this sport but you like reading sport article , that shows that your into other sports ? i dont read sport article and im not really onto sports but i dont know why im familiar to the name nadal or rafael nadal  .

 the guy wont be famous if he isnt playing good so im rooting for this guy more than the two which im not also familliar with  . the two wont be compare by nadal if these two arent good .

 match will still be unpredictable but this can be one of the greatest battle of all time if three legends are going to head to head for each other  .

[ampere]

For some reason this has always been a fiercely debated question because to a large extent I like Federer. Federer mastered grass competition and also won on clay, but Nadal has won on clay and grass at an immense ease to such an extent that Nadal is always called the king of clay.

Djokovic to be honest is unlucky to have played in this Era, most finals he has lost has been to Nadal or Federer for almost a decade now. I think in my own opinion that only Nadal and Federer are the G. O. A. T, While Federer is a world class tennis player

[JollyGood]

Total votes so far: 9

Federer: 3

Nadal: 4

Djokovic: 2

Just 9 votes have been cast, surely there are more coming soon ?

[TheGreatPython]

There might be different opinion as people who like Grass play will always vote for Federer because there has been no better player than Federer on grass but some who fancy clay court long rallies will prefer Nadal because Nadal at clay is more like crocodile in the water and it is literally impossible to beat that guy on his surface. Then there are people who like Djokovic because of his hard court plays and also the ability to maintain good level on other two surfaces.

I would always vote for Nadal because he is just too good and the way he made Djokovic actually look like a joke was just amazing and please I respect Djokovic a lot but that match was really something else and Djokovic was really not injured or anything but just got outclassed on CLAY.

[posi]

For some reason this has always been a fiercely debated question because to a large extent I like Federer. Federer mastered grass competition and also won on clay, but Nadal has won on clay and grass at an immense ease to such an extent that Nadal is always called the king of clay.

Djokovic to be honest is unlucky to have played in this Era, most finals he has lost has been to Nadal or Federer for almost a decade now. I think in my own opinion that only Nadal and Federer are the G. O. A. T, While Federer is a world class tennis player

I love all the 3 players listed but I consider Djokovic not fit for this category and it not because he unlucky as you said but due to his health status which affect him lately especially during the as French open final. However, it was reported that the more he play increase his condition.
I consider Nadal the greatest of the three but I read that he and Federer are more focus on the tournament ahead cause they still a long way to go.

[Emitdama]

I am not really a fan of Tennis but I watched some videos the internet, Djokovic is still at the top compared to the other two players in terms of player's ratings. on the list from http://www.espn.com/sports/tennis/rankings

Even though he only has 17 grand slam titles and 83 career titles he made it in less time span among other current players so he could be the great player in my opinion.

For sure and Djokovic gaining so much success in such a short span of time is also the reason of unwanted hate he gets sometimes and I have never remembered a tennis match between Djokovic and Roger where the crowd was cheering for Djokovic while Roger is the all time favorite in any match so this makes me feel like Djokovic gets less respect than what he deserves. Similarly when a match is played between Djokovic and Nadal there is no doubt who's the favorite.

I also like that Djokovic plays all three surfaces tournaments while Federer skipped the French open and even US open recently which is not something you will ever see Djokovic doing at all so that makes him the GOAT in my opinion.

[okala]

FEDERER

NADAL

DJOKOVIC



Rafael Nadal won his 13th French Open today means he has 20 Grand Slam wins equalling Roger Federer. Both have 3 Grand Slams more than Djokovic.

Have your say here in this thread..



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I will go for federe 3 at any time and as a world champion the other two are always running after just to make the mark in the tennis championship which will end up and as waisted efforts at the long run because federe is well prepared for the league.

[JollyGood]

Total votes so far: 13


Federer: 4

Nadal: 5

Djokovic: 4

This is very tight, the members who voted have so far been unable to select a winner that stands well above the other two. This debate will go on for a long time, many years after all three retire...

[JollyGood]

This thread deserves a bump

[Bekuciwu9]

For me this would be Federer, but not because of any numbers. He just is the most talented one to ever walk on a tennis court. Watching him play, it felt so effortless what he was doing and he basically had no weaknesses and could do it all (forehand, one-handed backhand, net play, good/precise serve, effective slice) on any surface. His sheer numbers are surely a bit inflated, because he was in a league of his own until Nadal was more competitive on hard/grass and Djokovic showed up on the Tour - the era when Fed started to peak was rather weak looking back (Roddick, Hewitt, Safin, Nalbandian, Davydenko etc.).

When you think about it, numbers of all 3 of them are a little bit inflated compare to some previous generations due fact that there is no big difference as before in terms of surfaces. Back in the 80s and 90s it was a huge difference to play on grass or let's say hard surface.They slowered some of them, like grass and by doing that it was possible for even Nadal to win Wimbledon.

Djokovic is just very fake imo and an attention whore.

Djokovic is trying too hard to be liked, and that never works. He just doesn't have charisma, and you can't learn that,either you have it or not.But its also true that when you looks he leads in head to head vs both Nadal and Fererer,and that could also be argument for some that he is GOAT.

Regarding the question, even if Djokovic or Nadal surpass Federer in terms of grand slam wins, for me he will stay the GOAT. But my favorite player is Pete Sampras, i loved rivalry between him and Agassi.

[examplens]

OP, I am not sure why is important how much quarterfinals the played. Completely irrelevant.
It seems this pool also has doubt. completely equalized



all three are excellent and they definitely took tennis as a game to another level. it is most clearly seen in the fact that for years now, none of the others has been able to follow them.
But a few facts. Federer (I like his style), most of his winnings is from the time when both Novak and Nadal are so young, and they were not serious competition for him. He also has a negative relationship with indirect encounters with both of them. Novak is positive here, they had more wins in matches against Rodger and Nadal.
Nadal is so dominating on RG, but that's it. it may be tough to say but on that side, it is a bit limited if we compare it with Rodger and Novak.
Djokovic has a positive score against them, he wins all possible tournaments except OI I think.

Djokovic is just very fake imo and an attention whore.

Djokovic is trying too hard to be liked, and that never works. He just doesn't have charisma, and you can't learn that,either you have it or not.But its also true that when you looks he leads in head to head vs both Nadal and Fererer,and that could also be argument for some that he is GOAT.

I am not sure to do you recognize the word charisma when we talking about these three players. I hope you don't think that Rafa's preparation for the serve has anything with charisma or anything, to me it’s more disgusting to watch.

[JollyGood]

OP, I am not sure why is important how much quarterfinals the played. Completely irrelevant.
It seems this pool also has doubt. completely equalized

It is just a statistic because at Grand Slams it also something that people factor in because it is the only tennis tournament that has a winner based on the first to win three sets (best of 5 sets).

In fact Federer reached a record 36 consecutive Grand Slam quarter-finals between 2004 Wimbledon and 2013 Roland Garros. That is a record unmatched and will probably never be broken.

Also Federer has won an a record 20 Grand Slam singles titles (joint with Nadal) and a record 31 Grand Slam finals (10 consecutive, and another 8 consecutive – the two longest streaks in history), 46 semi-finals and 57 quarter-final appearances and with them being the best of 3 sets they are always going to be factored in and really classed as irrelevant.

Djokovic is just very fake imo and an attention whore.

Djokovic is trying too hard to be liked, and that never works. He just doesn't have charisma, and you can't learn that,either you have it or not.But its also true that when you looks he leads in head to head vs both Nadal and Fererer,and that could also be argument for some that he is GOAT.

I am not sure to do you recognize the word charisma when we talking about these three players. I hope you don't think that Rafa's preparation for the serve has anything with charisma or anything, to me it’s more disgusting to watch.

The serving and serve receiving preparation that Nadal employs is really baffling. Why on earth would somebody be so superstitious that they feel they have to tug at their underwear and then wipe the same fingers on their nose and then tuck some hair from the outside of their ears to the inside or having short hair feel the need to touch their ears?

Strange