TENNIS Tennis

[The True King]

Don't really watch much tennis these days (sometimes the Aus Open when its on FTA) but just seen that Nadal has grabbed his 20th grand slam and has equalled Federer's slam record.

Nadal's record at the French Open is 100-2, almost impossible we will ever see a player as dominant as he is on clay.

Djokovic isn't far behind the two with 17 slams but is also younger and not a great sportsman.

Of these 3, who goes down as the GOAT?

Edit: sorry for throwing in the "official" prefix in the title, it didn't seem right to tag it as cricket because well... it's not cricket.

 

[Blindside Bronco]

Serena Williams or whatever his name is.. I ment her name.

 

[Big Pete]

I went with Nadal based purely on when he and Federer were at their best, he just managed to nudge Federer in big games (eg. Wimbledon 08, Aus Open 09). A similar train of thought with Djokovic from 2008 on, in the big games, it was often Novak prevailing over Federer.

I'm a Federer fan as well and for me, he was the Neil Armstrong of the generation. He was the first to come along and dominate the sport for all those years, but since then the wins have been so much harder for him to come by.

I'm not a tennis expert either, but athleticially Nadal seemed to get around the court better and skill-wise Djokovic seems to be able to play better shots. They also seem to hold their nerve better than Roger, but that could be recency bias based on the 2019 Wimbledon final.

 

[mrslong]

Rod Laver.

 

[Allo]

Federer was/is a perfect player.

Graceful

One-handed backhand

Could make any shot he wanted to, land it on a dime and do it effortlessly

My favourite player to watch, and I’m sad that I didn’t fully appreciate him at the time

Rod Laver.

My old man’s favourite player and one of his heroes

 

[The True King]

I went with Nadal based purely on when he and Federer were at their best, he just managed to nudge Federer in big games (eg. Wimbledon 07, Aus Open 09). A similar train of thought with Djokovic from 2008 on, in the big games, it was often Novak prevailing over Federer.

For me what splits Fed v Nadal was that Wimbledon '08 final. Arguably the greatest tennis match of all time with both men at the peak of their powers and Nadal narrowly won it after almost 5 hours. I remember being up all night captivated by the quality of that match and thinking it was the greatest match I had ever seen.

Nadal has dealt with far more injuries than the other two due to his style of play wearing down his body. I'm pretty sure his knees were gone about 10 years ago and he always seems to be out of action with back or wrist issues.

Fed is in my opinion the greatest player to watch. So elegant and an absolute gentleman both in victory and defeat. He is class personified. His longevity in the sport is testament to his impeccable technique.

Djokovic at his peak was unbeatable and he's probably the strongest mentally of the three, but he's not the sort of sportsman I want my kids looking up to. Constantly uses medical time outs at critical moments, loves a whinge and also has a history of run-ins with umpires.

 

[Sproj]

Djoker - The best fighter of the lot, he can recover from any situation and has so many weapons

Federer - The classiest tennis player we'll ever see, just a magician with his stunning technique

Nadal - A lefty who leaves it all out there and dominates players through pure power and tenacity

We've been very lucky to see the three of them all at the same time.

 

[Sproj]

For me what splits Fed v Nadal was that Wimbledon '08 final. Arguably the greatest tennis match of all time with both men at the peak of their powers and Nadal narrowly won it after almost 5 hours. I remember being up all night captivated by the quality of that match and thinking it was the greatest match I had ever seen.

Nadal has dealt with far more injuries than the other two due to his style of play wearing down his body. I'm pretty sure his knees were gone about 10 years ago and he always seems to be out of action with back or wrist issues.

Fed is in my opinion the greatest player to watch. So elegant and an absolute gentleman both in victory and defeat. He is class personified. His longevity in the sport is testament to his impeccable technique.

Djokovic at his peak was unbeatable and he's probably the strongest mentally of the three, but he's not the sort of sportsman I want my kids looking up to. Constantly uses medical time outs at critical moments, loves a whinge and also has a history of run-ins with umpires.

That 08 final was tennis heaven. We will never see a better game than those two at their peak. They both barely made an error and just pushed each other to play even better and better as the match wore on. It was breath-taking.

 

[Big Pete]

For me what splits Fed v Nadal was that Wimbledon '08 final.

Yeah I mixed the years up, the 08 final was the major turning point for me as well.

 

[ningnangnong]

Good shout out to Agassi and Sampras, soupy - I grew up watching those two blokes... always preferred Sampras. My favourite player growing up though was Marat Safin, loved the angry, big-hitting Russian!

As for the question at hand, it's easily Federer for me. @Allo's post is pretty much word for word what I'd say. It's that gracefulness he has around the court. He has no discernible weaknesses, and the one-hand backhand is a thing of beauty when you witness it with such technique.

I always had a one-handed backhand back in my playing days. All the other kids were doing two-handed backhands, and I was like what the **** is this weird arse shit. Keep it classic, amigos!

A perfectly executed one-handed backhand winner down the line is like sex.

 

[ZTop]

Bernard Tomic for mine, just characterises what tennis players should be like. Great sport, very calm/even tempered and just a grounded human being. Made the most of his enormous talent and was beautiful to watch when he was going for it

But seriously it's hard to split between Nadal and Federer. Both absolute legends of the game. If you are ever looking for a good autobiography read Nadal's and federers, great insight and captivating.

 

[holdzy]

Bernard Tomic for mine, just characterises what tennis players should be like. Great sport, very calm/even tempered and just a grounded human being. Made the most of his enormous talent and was beautiful to watch when he was going for it

But seriously it's hard to split between Nadal and Federer. Both absolute legends of the game. If you are ever looking for a good autobiography read Nadal's and federers, great insight and captivating.

David Foster Wallace also wrote beautifully about Federer.

 

[Unbreakable]

Loved tennis when I was younger - Agassi was always my favourite. Also thoroughly enjoyed watching Hewitt, Sampras & Roddick.

For me Federer is the greatest of all time, but if we're talking about a pure 'Who would win a 5-set match at the peak of their powers?' I'd say Rafa. Injuries slowed him down quite a lot, he was incredible at peak fitness, even Fed was terrified of him.

 

[Galah]

You take clay away from Nadal it’s easily fed for the win.

Plus I can’t stand him picking his fucking undies and his hair tuck before EVERY FUCKING SERVE.

 

[Huge]

McEnroe. Had the most talent and was the most exciting to watch. Must admit Fed, Dok, Rafa are all brilliant. Quite a few to choose from. Imagine having them all playing at the same time and same age, say 25. Borg, Connors, Becker, Macca, and not forgetting Lendl. Quite a few others to round out the 30 greatest. ****, that'd make the tennis the greatest sporting spectacle ever.

 

[Sproj]

Good shout out to Agassi and Sampras, soupy - I grew up watching those two blokes... always preferred Sampras. My favourite player growing up though was Marat Safin, loved the angry, big-hitting Russian!

As for the question at hand, it's easily Federer for me. @Allo's post is pretty much word for word what I'd say. It's that gracefulness he has around the court. He has no discernible weaknesses, and the one-hand backhand is a thing of beauty when you witness it with such technique.

I always had a one-handed backhand back in my playing days. All the other kids were doing two-handed backhands, and I was like what the **** is this weird arse shit. Keep it classic, amigos!

A perfectly executed one-handed backhand winner down the line is like sex.

Safin at his best was as good as any of the big three he just never had the consistency. When he was on though, wowee he was like a hurricane.

 

[The True King]

Safin at his best was as good as any of the big three he just never had the consistency. When he was on though, wowee he was like a hurricane.

Stan Wawrinka falls in the same category. If he was having a good day he was virtually unstoppable even for the likes of Rafa and Fed. Arguably the greatest ever backhand too.

 

[Sproj]

Stan Wawrinka falls in the same category. If he was having a good day he was virtually unstoppable even for the likes of Rafa and Fed. Arguably the greatest ever backhand too.

Oh yeah, forgot about him but he was sublime when he was on.