Who is/will be the GOAT of tennis?

[Interestingg]

State your answer and reason.

If you asked me this question 2 years ago I would have answered Nadal. He has it all over Federer in terms of Grand slam match ups and is the most resilient player I've ever seen. Injuries have stopped him from holding 4-5 more grand slams to his name.

Now... I tend to think Djokovic will have a strong case since he now holds the career and calendar slam. Doesn't look like slowing down.

 

[bLaQDoG..]

Assuming GOAT = greatest of all time...

This really, really pains me to say it - but Djokovic is looking to be the winner if he continues his streak.

There's a case for and against all 3 of them. Federer has remained top of his game the longest, better than Nadal who looks to be all but finished. Nadal, on his day, is arguably the best of the 3. Djokovic seems to tick all the boxes though. In saying that, he's had the easiest run of the 3. There's just no major competition.

Nadal should have been the best, but his last couple of years have just been further and further downhill.

 

[LCD]

Rod Laver holds to real Grand Slams not pretend ones. He is number 1. Until someone else comes and does it all in a year twice.

 

[Interestingg]

Assuming GOAT = greatest of all time...

This really, really pains me to say it - but Djokovic is looking to be the winner if he continues his streak.

There's a case for and against all 3 of them. Federer has remained top of his game the longest, better than Nadal who looks to be all but finished. Nadal, on his day, is arguably the best of the 3. Djokovic seems to tick all the boxes though. In saying that, he's had the easiest run of the 3. There's just no major competition.

Nadal should have been the best, but his last couple of years have just been further and further downhill.

Djokovic is on fire now but I don't believe he's had the easiest run of the 3. Federer has definitely had the easiest run as he won the majority of his early grand slams when Nadal and Djokovic were too young/still developing as players. Put it this way, if Federer was the exact same age as Nadal and Djokovic, he would have won approximately 8 grand slams as opposed to 17.

But I agree, Nadal on his day, and with an injury-free career would top them both.

 

[Interestingg]

Rod Laver holds to real Grand Slams not pretend ones. He is number 1. Until someone else comes and does it all in a year twice.

Laver played in an era where tennis was semi-professional. He did extremely well in a few years but its hard to judge how good he really was given his lack of competition

 

[LCD]

Thats why GOAT conversations are near impossible across eras. Technology in racquets, sports sciences even travel situation alone these days would be far more comfortable too. I can see where your coming from and if I had to nominate someone from last 20 years then Its between Raf and Novak and I would possibly give Novak the nod already. I just couldbt give it to Federer purely because he is a boring robot with no character.

 

[Freakzilla]

Federer is the GOAT and Sampras is number 2. Novak would not have 3 Grand Slam titles if he played when Federer and Nadal were at their peak. His closest opponents are a 35 year old Federer, a injured Nadal and a choker in Murray.

 

[Interestingg]

Federer is the GOAT and Sampras is number 2. Novak would not have 3 Grand Slam titles if he played when Federer and Nadal were at their peak. His closest opponents are a 35 year old Federer, a injured Nadal and a choker in Murray.

Sampras was good but not in the GOAT conversation because he never won the French. Part of being the greatest is being versatile on all surfaces. In fact, Federer didnt deserve the French title he won in 09 because Nadal was struggling with injury at the time and lost a flukeY match to Soderling

 

[Freakzilla]

The French is so different to all other tournaments it shouldn't even be a slam. It's too much of a wildcard and too many players outside the top 5 have won it besides Nadal. Novak only won it because Nadal is injured and Federer is past it.

Until Federer came along the majority of experts claimed Sampras was the GOAT.

 

[Doga]

Tennis is a terrible sport. Eric Cantona would've been the greatest GOAT of Wimbledon

 

[habs]

Tennis is a terrible sport. Eric Cantona would've been the greatest GOAT of Wimbledon

Tennis > NRL.

 

[Omydog]

State your answer and reason.

If you asked me this question 2 years ago I would have answered Nadal. He has it all over Federer in terms of Grand slam match ups and is the most resilient player I've ever seen. Injuries have stopped him from holding 4-5 more grand slams to his name.

Now... I tend to think Djokovic will have a strong case since he now holds the career and calendar slam. Doesn't look like slowing down.

Please see R3 Wimbledon

 

[Freakzilla]

If Novak was the same age as Federer he wouldn't have even won 4 grand slams for his career. On grass Federer and Sampras destroy him.

 

[CroydonDog]

Federer.

His idol is Rod Laver who was a great player who probably would have won more grand slams but for all those years when pros couldn't play in grand slams... but he also played in an era where firstly, many players skipped the oz open and secondly, maybe a dozen countries were good at tennis.

 

[Interestingg]

Please see R3 Wimbledon

Lol he hasn't lost in a grand slam since the French last year...nobody has ever maintained consistency for this long since Laver

 

[Interestingg]

If Novak was the same age as Federer he wouldn't have even won 4 grand slams for his career. On grass Federer and Sampras destroy him.

And if Federer was the same age as Nadal he wouldn't have won more than 4 grand slams

 

[Freakzilla]

And if Federer was the same age as Nadal he wouldn't have won more than 4 grand slams

Negative. Nadal only has 5 none French slams as it is. Federer has 16. Nadal destroys Federer in the French but Federer only has 1 French title as it is and Nadal was in that tournament.

 

[CroydonDog]

Negative. Nadal only has 5 none French slams as it is. Federer has 16. Nadal destroys Federer in the French but Federer only has 1 French title as it is and Nadal was in that tournament.

Plus nobody really gives a toss about the French Open.

 

[Freakzilla]

Plus nobody really gives a toss about the French Open.

I agree. I don't start watching it until the semis are on or unless Federer/an Aussie is playing.

 

[Malla]

It's a tough one - I think Sampras. Can't get passed how he burst onto the scene as a 17/18 year old and kept winning grand slams well into this 30's.

In saying that, Federer has achieved more and Novak is well and truly on his way if he can sustain playing at this level. The only qualm I would have with those 2 is the competitiveness of their era compared to the late 80's, 90's and early 00's where Sampras dominated which were the golden years of Tennis imo.