Time to crown Novak the GOAT?
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Nadalfan2013
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Still hasn't won a slam without dropping a set, not even once. Nadal, Borg, Federer have all done it several times. Djokovic isn't dominant and excellent enough to blast the competition in straight sets to win as slam. He can never be GOAT or the BOAT without this. Winning a slam is great, but winning it without losing a set is beyond epic.
shawnbm
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Nadalfan2013
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Yes, part of absolute greatness is how dominant you are, and not being able (even at your absolute peak!) to win a slam without dropping a set, shows that you have never reached extremely high level. Djokovic has never managed to do it, ever. He always had moments where he struggled or seemed beatable on his way to a slam title, not very goat-like in the opinion of most fair and objective analysts.
easyYes, part of absolute greatness is how dominant you are, and not being able (even at your absolute peak!) to win a slam without dropping a set, shows that you have never reached extremely high level. Djokovic has never managed to do it, ever. He always had moments where he struggled or seemed beatable on his way to a slam title, not very goat-like in the opinion of most fair and objective analysts.
Haaaaaaa, haaaaaa, haaaaa...
Nadalfan2013
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It's the talk of the tennis world right now after Djokovic's latest win, that he still hasn't been able to win one without dropping a set, even with a super weak draw. If you would stop being a blind fanboy and put aside your infatuation for Novak for only a few seconds you would realize how big of a deal this is.
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As usual (always), you're cherry-picking to serve your agenda. But the problem is, you can find numerous other stats and angles to provide different results. For instance, answer this question, in terms of dominance: how many three-Slam years do different players have? Isn't that a measure of dominance? Here, I'll do it for you:
OPEN ERA: 3+ Slams in a Year
4: Laver
3: Novak x3, Roger x3, Wilander, Connors, Nadal
Or what about weeks at #1? That's surely a sign of consistent dominance. Novak is at 374, and has a chance of doubling Rafa's total of 209.
Or peak Elo? Novak's is 2629, the highest in the Open Era - and well above Rafa's (2552) and Roger's (2550).
I could go on and on.
Rafa is a great player - one of the very greatest of all time. But Novak's record is better, than both his and Roger's.
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Yeah, hard to see that. That's the total of Edberg and Becker after turning 36 years old. Novak is amazing, but he's not that amazing.
Plus, his Elo level has dropped from his peak in 2011-16, in which he was consistently above 2500, then dropped below that "super-elite" level in early 2017, presumably for good. Since mid-2017 he's been consistently in the lower 2400s...which is still higher than any active player has been, except for Rafa and Andy (and Roger).
My point being, Novak's level--according to Elo--since 2017 is all-time great level, but not GOAT level, which means he's more beatable and his margins are smaller. I can see him getting two or three more Slams, but not six.
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His personality is a bit grating - he doesn't have the charm of Rafa, or the elegance of Roger, and we all remember the annoying shirt ripping. But on the other hand, he's the guy that, during the lockdown, tried to get money to lower ranked players from higher ranked players. He's been more supportive of the "working man" than Roger or Rafa. So big kudos for that.
Hmmm the guy who put on a tennis tour in the 1st lockdown, then caught covid and went out and gave it to everyone but it's okay because he donated a bit of $$$ to lower ranked players
Is that a true stat? I'm amazed I thought he had won AO without dropping a set many times
shawnbm
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To me winning 3 majors in one year is amazing evidence of outright dominance against the best in the most storied of venues over best of five sets. I mean so you lose a set? Big deal--the win is what matters. I failed to realize Novak tied Roger's seemingly unreachable record of three different years winning 3 of the 4 majors in a calendar year. Top notch!
Nadalfan2013
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Is that a true stat? I'm amazed I thought he had won AO without dropping a set many times
Nope! Despite being handed so many easy draws he still was never good enough to do it.
I bet you or me can take a set off of him in slam!
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Yes, agreed, though it gets a bit tricky going back to the 80s and before. McEnroe, Borg, and Connors all frequently only played three Slams...for instance, I'd argue that Borg's two-Slam seasons are almost as impressive as the later three-Slam seasons.
Unfortunately for Roger he was never the most dominant player over all 3 major surfaces concurrently. That alones goes to Novak & Nadal.
Rafa beat Fedovic back to back at RG 08 without dropping a setNope! Despite being handed so many easy draws he still was never good enough to do it.
I bet you or me can take a set off of him in slam!
Well unlike most of his opponents we wouldn't give up before we get on court 
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Now you’ve officiallyNope! Despite being handed so many easy draws he still was never good enough to do it.
I bet you or me can take a set off of him in slam!
