The Tennis Thread

Bulldog1966

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Sampras lost at the US Open in 2000 to Safin and to Hewitt in 2001 but won in 2002 and retired... nothing wrong with that and he was considered alongside Laver as the best ever at that point
Was on the decline by then imo only won 1 slam in his last 2 years was my point.
I'm not knocking him he was a great of the time but I think the current goats beat him on return of serve ability, just my opinion we will never know..I do concede if you don't like a player it's diminishes ones opinion slightly.

My 3 favs this is tough, I didn't like the Swedes much either lol though they were good, close to greats.

Feds
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Rafter..i loved Patty what a competitor, not in the same class but this is a most liked list.
Actually didn't mind Safin either, on his day(these days were not often enough)he was unstoppable! AND Agassi the reinvented version, Roddick also.
More than three I've mentioned already more like 5 or 6 sorry and there are probably others too..e.g Pat Cash, bit of a prick but an Aussie so gets a pass.

Also and only as his career winds down have i come to appreciate Andy Murray more too, an absolutely dogged competitor.

Tennis just can't be the same in the next many years(decades?) imo :(
 

Rod67

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Was on the decline by then imo only won 1 slam in his last 2 years was my point.
I'm not knocking him he was a great of the time but I think the current goats beat him on return of serve ability, just my opinion we will never know..I do concede if you don't like a player it's diminishes ones opinion slightly.

My 3 favs this is tough, I didn't like the Swedes much either lol though they were good, close to greats.

Feds
Daylight
Rafter..i loved Patty what a competitor, not in the same class but this is a most liked list.
Actually didn't mind Safin either, on his day(these days were not often enough)he was unstoppable! AND Agassi the reinvented version, Roddick also.
More than three I've mentioned already more like 5 or 6 sorry and there are probably others too..e.g Pat Cash, bit of a prick but an Aussie so gets a pass.

Also and only as his career winds down have i come to appreciate Andy Murray more too, an absolutely dogged competitor.

Tennis just can't be the same in the next many years(decades?) imo :(
Not in particular order by the best men’s Tennis I’ve seen are Federer, Djokovic, Nadal, Sampras and Agassi as my top 5 but would have McEnroe next best.

I preferred Hewitt over Rafter as he competed in a stronger era and IMO was a far better player than Rafter. Rafter won a depleted U.S. Open and choke when coming up against a superior opponent. Hewitt competed right to the end and when beaten went down fighting.

Many forget how good Agassi was when he was at his best. He was the only player who could beat Sampras when he was dominating and Agassi was the best return of serve I’ve ever seen. He would at times stand inside the baseline on the FIRST serve! A similar mindset to the late great cricketer Dean Jones who stood outside his crease when facing Curtly Ambrose!
 

Bulldog1966

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Yep happy with that never ever thought Nadal with what 14 clay slams? was no 1.
The kid has to improve his fitness cramped up after 2 and a bit hours but he is the next winner of many slams imo.Arguably at a set apiece he could have beaten the joker but we will never know.
Novak had fitness issues when younger(and wasn't nearly as good as Alcaraz at the same age)and reinvented himself, Carlos needs to follow his blueprint to ensure he can play 5 top level sets in any conditions.
 

alchemist

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Yep happy with that never ever thought Nadal with what 14 clay slams? was no 1.
The kid has to improve his fitness cramped up after 2 and a bit hours but he is the next winner of many slams imo.Arguably at a set apiece he could have beaten the joker but we will never know.
Novak had fitness issues when younger(and wasn't nearly as good as Alcaraz at the same age)and reinvented himself, Carlos needs to follow his blueprint to ensure he can play 5 top level sets in any conditions.
The Djokovic that won the Australian Open in 2011 as a 23 year old was far better and far stronger than the 20 year old Djokovic that won the AO in 2008... would fall apart on court often until he changed his diet and took his conditioning far more seriously

Alcaraz will be fine... 10+ Grand Slam wins easy... if the likes of Sinner, Rune, Ruud etc. don't realise their potential, Alcaraz could win many more GSs than just 10
 

Shreksno1

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Yep happy with that never ever thought Nadal with what 14 clay slams? was no 1.
The kid has to improve his fitness cramped up after 2 and a bit hours but he is the next winner of many slams imo.Arguably at a set apiece he could have beaten the joker but we will never know.
Novak had fitness issues when younger(and wasn't nearly as good as Alcaraz at the same age)and reinvented himself, Carlos needs to follow his blueprint to ensure he can play 5 top level sets in any conditions.
I’ve never seen a player generate the kind of power from certain angles that this kid does, he’s will be a champion for many years to come. I think nole has 2 more solid years in him maybe even 3-4. With a bit of luck he can hit 30 slams. Once Alcatraz finds mental fortitude it’s game over everyone.
 

Bulldog1966

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The Djokovic that won the Australian Open in 2011 as a 23 year old was far better and far stronger than the 20 year old Djokovic that won the AO in 2008... would fall apart on court often until he changed his diet and took his conditioning far more seriously

Alcaraz will be fine... 10+ Grand Slam wins easy... if the likes of Sinner, Rune, Ruud etc. don't realise their potential, Alcaraz could win many more GSs than just 10
Agree with all that i was maybe a bit harsh on Novak saying CA was way better at the same age but he did indeed cook at the Australian Open particularly in earlier years I recall clearly, couldn't handle the heat.Went away worked on and eliminated weakness and now has 10 in the kit bag.The kid will work on things he needs to and dominate for sure.
Partly because i'm pretty confident the guys you mention WONT step up to be honest.
 

Bulldog1966

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I’ve never seen a player generate the kind of power from certain angles that this kid does, he’s will be a champion for many years to come. I think nole has 2 more solid years in him maybe even 3-4. With a bit of luck he can hit 30 slams. Once Alcatraz finds mental fortitude it’s game over everyone.
I really enjoyed those 2 sets before he cramped up, has a change up forehand to behold..and serves BIG which will help the domination on other surfaces.
Djokovic is somewhat maligned and maybe rightly so on a couple of things but what a warrior for 15 years, he will need to stay 100% fit to beat the youngster in the other slams but your right can definitely win a few more.Helps too that there are no other real challengers at all.
 

Shreksno1

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@Bulldog1966 well said about safin. He was my absolute favourite after Novak. What could have been if he kept that Slavic temper in check. I’ll never forget that comeback from, I think it was 2 match points against Federer. Feds actually lucky safin was such a hot head. He would have taken more slams off him undoubtedly
 

alchemist

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@Bulldog1966 well said about safin. He was my absolute favourite after Novak. What could have been if he kept that Slavic temper in check. I’ll never forget that comeback from, I think it was 2 match points against Federer. Feds actually lucky safin was such a hot head. He would have taken more slams off him undoubtedly
pretty sure Safin is a Tatar... but he was an absolute gem... 2 GS wins is such a poor return for someone of his ability and talent
 

alchemist

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Agree with all that i was maybe a bit harsh on Novak saying CA was way better at the same age but he did indeed cook at the Australian Open particularly in earlier years I recall clearly, couldn't handle the heat.Went away worked on and eliminated weakness and now has 10 in the kit bag.The kid will work on things he needs to and dominate for sure.
Partly because i'm pretty confident the guys you mention WONT step up to be honest.
I am hopeful of Rune... fiery but talented and probably the player who should best look to Djokovic as an example as to dealing with his emotions
 

Shreksno1

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I really enjoyed those 2 sets before he cramped up, has a change up forehand to behold..and serves BIG which will help the domination on other surfaces.
Djokovic is somewhat maligned and maybe rightly so on a couple of things but what a warrior for 15 years, he will need to stay 100% fit to beat the youngster in the other slams but your right can definitely win a few more.Helps too that there are no other real challengers at all.
Yeah would have been interesting had his fitness held up

No real challengers now at present, but boy did he have some insane competition coming up , namely the big 3 but also the likes Of Murray tsonga, a far far cry from what Federer faced in his dominating period.
 

Shreksno1

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pretty sure Safin is a Tatar... but he was an absolute gem... 2 GS wins is such a poor return for someone of his ability and talent
Turks Slavs same shit. They’re were all under the Ottoman Empire and all hot heads
 

alchemist

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Yeah would have been interesting had his fitness held up

No real challengers now at present, but boy did he have some insane competition coming up , namely the big 3 but also the likes Of Murray tsonga, a far far cry from what Federer faced in his dominating period.
Del Potro, Wawrinka, Cilic, Berdych etc... incredibly tough era from 2008 to 2016
 

Bulldog1966

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Agree fellas I loved Marat, his temper certainly cruelled his results but when he was on wow he was a beast.I dont mind the hotheads if im honest they create great theatre and he was undoubtedly in my top favourite players of all time to watch.
He wasn't a bad sport still had great respect for his competitors I recall but just couldn't keep a lid on his emotions.
 

Shreksno1

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That Novak is the clear GOAT. Not going to get into it though.
The fact you find it amusing makes it clear there is bias in your opinion. What if he got triple vaxed ? Would that be enough to go along with his record 23 slams for you to consider him the goat ?
 

Freakzilla

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The fact you find it amusing makes it clear there is bias in your opinion. What if he got triple vaxed ? Would that be enough to go along with his record 23 slams for you to consider him the goat ?
What a stupid comment. I don't give a shit about his vax status. To me each court is totally different. Nadal is the clear GOAT on Clay. Federer the clear GOAT on Grass. Novak is probably the GOAT on hardcourt but it's arguable. I don't think that you can say there is 1 GOAT in tennis.
 
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