GOAT

GOAT

Friends, I am not going to write this blog on animals of the same name. Here GOAT is an acronym for Greatest Of All Times. In the tennis world, there have been discussions going around for the last few years about who is the greatest of all time Roger Federer, Rafael Nadal, and Novak Djokovic. By winning his 23^rd Grand Slam title, Novak Djokovic has surpassed the 22 Grand Slam titles won by Rafael Nadal, whereas Roger Federar has won 20 Grand Slam titles. The fact is Federer has retired, Nadal has become injury prone, and his fitness is always under the radar. In the case of Djokovic, his fitness level is still great, which he has proven by beating his 14 year junior Casper Ruud in the recently concluded French Open, Grand Slam.

No one denies one fact these three players have ruled the men’s tennis world for the last two decades. For your information Roger Federer won his first Grand Slam in 2003 when he won his first Wimbledon, Rafael Nadal won his first Grand Slam in  2005 when he won his first French Open, and Djokovic won his first in 2008 when he won Australian Open. So from 2003 till the first half season of 2023, there have been 81 Grand Slam tournaments and 65 have been won by these three players, that is an amazing 80.25%. Who are the other players who won during this period Andre Agassi (2003-AO), Andy Roddick (2003-USO), Marat Safin (2005-AO), Juan Martin del Petro (2009-USO), Andy Murray (2012-USO,2013-Wim, 2016-Wim), Stan Wawrinka (2014-AO, 2015-FO, 2016-USO), Marian Cilic (2014- USO) Dominic Thiem (2020-USO), Daniil Medvedev (2021-USO), and Carlos Alcaraz (2022-USO). So this proves that these three were the most dominant players from 2003, and still, the dominance of Djokovic continues, and to some extent of Nadal on Clay Courts.

Other Achievements of these three players

Djokovic- yearend ATP finals-6, ATP Masters tournaments-38, weeks at number 1 spot (till mid June 2023)-388 weeks, Olympic Gold-nil

Nadal- yearend ATP finals-nil, ATP Masters tournaments-36, Olympic Gold-1, weeks at number 1 spot-209 weeks.

Federar- yearend ATP finals-6, ATP Masters tournaments-28, Olympic Gold-nil, weeks at number 1 spot-310 weeks.

Here also Djokovic is having the upper hand, except that he has not won Olympic Gold, which Nadal has won.

Here are the details of Novak Djokovic’s Grand Slam Finals

• 2007 US Open lost to Roger Federer 7-6, 7-6, 6-4
• 2008 Australian Open beat Jo Wifred Tsonga 4-6,6-4, 6-3, 7-6
• 2010 US Open lost to Rafael Nadal 6-4, 5-7, 6-4, 6-2
• 2011 Australian Open beat Andy, Murray, 6-4, 6-2, 6-3
• 2011 Wimbledon beat Rafael Nadal 6-4,6-1,1-6, 6-3
• 2011 US Open beat Rafael Nadal 6-2,6-6,6-7,6-1
• 2012 Australian Open beat Rafael Nadal 5-7,6-4,6-2, 6-7, 7-5
• 2012 French Open lost to Rafael Nadal 6-4, 6-3, 2-6, 7-5
• 2012 US Open lost to Andy Murray 7-6,7-5,2-6,3-6,6-2
• 2013 Australian Open beat Andy Murray 6-7,7-6,6-3,6-2
• 2013 Wimbledon lost to Andy Murray 6-4,7-5,6-4
• 2013 US Open lost to Rafael Nadal 6-2,3-6,6-4,6-1
• 2014 French Open lost to Rafael Nadal 3-6,7-5,6-2,6-4
• 2014 Wimbledon beat Roger Federer 6-7,6-4,7-6,5-7,6-4
• 2015 Australian Open beat Andy Murray 7-6,6-7,6-3,6-0
• 2015 French Open lost to Stan Wawrinka 4-6,6-4,6-3,6-4
• 2015 Wimbledon beat Roger Federer 7-6,6-7,6-4,6-3
• 2015 US Open beat Roger Federer 6-4,5-7,6-4,6-4
• 2016 Australian Open beat Andy Murray 6-1,7-5,7-6
• 2016 French Open beat Andy Murray 3-6,6-1,6-2,6-4
• 2016 US Open lost to Stan Wawrinka 6-7,6-4,7-6,6-3
• 2018 Wimbledon beat Kevin Anderson 6-2,6-2,7-6
• 2018 US Open beat Juan Martin del Petro 6-3,7-6,6-3
• 2019 Australian Open beat Rafael Nadal 6-3,6-2,6-3
• 2019 Wimbledon beat Roger Federar 7-6,1-6,7-6,4-6, 13-12
• 2020 Australian Open beat Dominic Thiem 6-4,4-6,2-6,6-3,6-4
• 2020 French Open lost to Rafael Nadal 6-0,6-2,7-5
• 2021 Australian Open beat Daniil Medvedev 7-5,6-2,6-2
• 2021 French Open beat Stefanos Tsitsipas 6-7,6-4,6-4,6-3
• 2021 Wimbledon beat Matteo Barrettini 6-7,6-4,6-4,6-3
• 2021 US Open lost to Daniil Medvedev 6-4,6-46-4
• 2022 Wimbledon beat Nick Krygios 4-6,6-3,6-4,7-6
• 2023 Australian Open beat Stefanos Tsitsipas 6-3,7-6, 7-6
• 2023 French Open beat Casper Ruud 7-6,6-3,7-5

So out of 34 appearances in Grand Slam finals, Djokovic has won 23 Grand Slam titles, and his victories have always been over top-ranked/seeded players of that year. Winning percentage-67.65%

Roger Federar on the other hand appeared in 31 Grand Slam finals, and winning 20 of them. Winning percentage-64.5%

Whereas Rafael Nadal has appeared in 30 Grand Slam finals and won 22 of them. Winning percentage-73.3%

Although Nadal’s winning percentage in Grand Slam finals is better than Djokovic, and Federer, Djokovic’s appearance in 34 finals is proof of his physical and mental strength. He is just a few months younger than Nadal, but he is still going strong whereas Nadal has become injury prone. Djokovic is still capable of winning more Grand Slam titles, in Nadals’s case he may not win any more Grand Slams looking into his body’s health and injuries, he might win a French Open in 2024 if his body that time is 100% fit.

If you consider these three players, no one can deny the finesse and mastery of Federar’s game, the power of Nadal’s game on clay courts, and Djokovic’s all-around game on all surfaces. Djokovic is the only player in the modern era who has won all the Grand Slams at least three times, his tally is Australian Open-10, Wimbledon 7, French Open 3, and US Open 3. He could have more to his tally but he was not allowed to compete in Australian Open in 2022, and US Open in 2022 because of his Covid vaccination status.

Considering all the above facts, can Djokovic be considered as Greatest of All Time (GOAT)? In my opinion YES, but there are many people who will vote for Federar for his finesse and ease of playing strokes, or Rod Laver of 1960-70s, who won all the Grand Slams in a single year twice. But one thing is certain even if he is not termed as GOAT, Djokovic will always remain FIRST AMONG EQUALS.

Waiting for your views on this blog.

Anil Malik

Mumbai, India

23^rd June 2023