Novak Djokovic and Roger Federer not on Rafael Nadal’s level

Zara

G.O.A.T.
Personally I think the cut off slam titles should be 7 maximum. And if a surface sees too much domination at any point of time then adjustments should be made to that surface.

Winning more than 7 titles at slam level feels ridiculous.
 

intrepidish

Hall of Fame
I can't seem to find this interview...

The Wawrinka podcast is here (in French for anyone interested):


 

UnderratedSlam

G.O.A.T.
He was never the director of Madrid Open, he was the owner, capisce??

He and Nadal didn't get along, Nadal made him change his blue clay in Madrid, something Tiriac didn't like.

You didn't know that because you are new in tennis. Old fans remember that episode.
You seem overly emotional, as if not knowing that Tiriac was the owner as opposed to president is somehow as important as the dimensions of the tennis court.

It isn't. Not even close.

The business side of tennis is the least interesting side to me. I prefer to focus on the tennis, the players, the matches, the basics.

"Old fans" don't consider the blue clay era "old". That was just a few years ago, not in the 70s... So much for your "vast experience".
 
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UnderratedSlam

G.O.A.T.
The Wawrinka podcast is here (in French for anyone interested):


Oh right, yeah I got this result but was hoping for a clip instead, with translation.

A transcription would be nice, if there is one.
 

Topspin_80

Hall of Fame
You seem overly emotional, as if not knowing that Tiriac is the owner as opposed to president is somehow as important as the dimensions of the tennis court.

It isn't. Not even close.

The business side of tennis is the least interesting side to me. I prefer to focus on the tennis, the players, the matches, the basics.

"Old fans" aren't Big 3 fanatics...
Do you have asperges
You seem overly emotional, as if not knowing that Tiriac was the owner as opposed to president is somehow as important as the dimensions of the tennis court.

It isn't. Not even close.

The business side of tennis is the least interesting side to me. I prefer to focus on the tennis, the players, the matches, the basics.

"Old fans" aren't Big 3 fanatics...

UnderratedSlam said:
He was the director of Madrid Open until recently and may have still some tennis-related businesses in Spain, so I am not sure how honest this may be.
==============================================================================================

You never said he was the president, you said he was the director.

You don't even remember what you said a few minutes before, since since you are continuously spewing nonsense.

On top of that you fancy yourself as being funny.

You are not funny fella. Not at all.

I tennis, you are just a greenhorn, don't pretend you are an old tennis fan.
 

UnderratedSlam

G.O.A.T.
Do you have asperges


UnderratedSlam said:
He was the director of Madrid Open until recently and may have still some tennis-related businesses in Spain, so I am not sure how honest this may be.
==============================================================================================

You never said he was the president, you said he was the director.

You don't even remember what you said a few minutes before, since since you are continuously spewing nonsense.

On top of that you fancy yourself as being funny.

You are not funny fella. Not at all.

I tennis, you are just a greenhorn, don't pretend you are an old tennis fan.
Same thing...

What amazing nit-pickery. You bolded it as if I'd confused Trump with Lincoln... Hilarious.

I hope you are this detail-retentive when it comes to match stats as well. Because, owner/president/director, who cares, it's tennis, not a management course...
 

intrepidish

Hall of Fame
Oh right, yeah I got this result but was hoping for a clip instead, with translation.

A transcription would be nice, if there is one.


Well, this isn't complete but it gives an idea of what Stan said:


I wish I had time to do the translation myself but I can't at the moment. Let me know if this helps!
 

chicagodude

Hall of Fame
WTF is this? Are you going to start a thread anytime 1 person pronounces who they think is the best player? Why should we put any particular stock in what Mr. Tiriac says over, say, any other former or current player?
 

UnderratedSlam

G.O.A.T.
Well, this isn't complete but it gives an idea of what Stan said:


I wish I had time to do the translation myself but I can't at the moment. Let me know if this helps!
I read it but it's a pity that a lot of the interview is missing.

He says nothing false about Nadal. Struggling with injuries himself for so long, Stan is far better equipped to judge Nadal's comebacks than some of the posters here who seem to take the Ancient Aliens approach to logic and just flat-out refuse to acknowledge the injuries as being actual injuries but lump all of them into their bizarre Trolling Theory.

I don't necessarily agree that anybody is "greater" than anybody from the Big 3, but in the sense of overcoming many injuries and long breaks Nadal is way above the rest of the field. To deny this would be very silly.

Plus I value his opinions far more than Tiriac's, who has an agenda and is generally dishonest.
 
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mahatma

Hall of Fame
I read it but it's a pity that a lot of the interview is missing.

He says nothing false about Nadal. Struggling with injuries himself for so long, Stan is far better equipped to judge Nadal's comebacks than some of the posters here who seem to take the Ancient Aliens approach to logic and just flat-out refuse to acknowledge the injuries as being actual injuries but lump all of them into the their bizarre Trolling Theory.

I don't necessarily agree that anybody is "greater" than anybody from the Big 3, but in the sense of overcoming many injuries and long breaks Nadal is way above the rest of the field. To deny this would be very silly.

Plus I value his opinions far more than Tiriac's, who has an agenda and is generally dishonest.


Okay.
 

Topspin_80

Hall of Fame
Same thing...

What amazing nit-pickery. You bolded it as if I'd confused Trump with Lincoln... Hilarious.

I hope you are this detail-retentive when it comes to match stats as well. Because, owner/president/director, who cares, it's tennis, not a management course...
ROTFLMAO :-D

Delirious!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
 

Federev

Legend
All TTW jousting aside, I hope Roger comes back and has a nice run and above all, doesn't get reinjured, which is a common problem for older players returning from inactivity. You stress other body parts more than you realize (like Nadal with the rib and Roger himself last year) while fighting to make the jump back.

I don't think it's far-fetched to say Roger can play matches at a pretty competitive level with much of the tour at least some of the time and I agree we did see that last time around. However, the real issue is holding together for 4 or 5 matches in a row when you really can't fully replicate that kind of stress in training.
yup. all good points.
 

mattennis

Hall of Fame
The Wawrinka podcast is here (in French for anyone interested):



He said that the three of them have proved once and again that they are above the rest, that they are able to do things unthinkable for other players.

He commented a bit more the Australian Open victory of Nadal, after many months outside because of injury, how he's been able to do it many times in his career, he said it was very similar to what Federer did in the Australian Open of 2017.

He also commented on Djokovic in last year US open final, that he wasn't able to manage the huge pressure of winning the Grand Slam.

Very interesting interview in general, he sounded sincere.
 

UnderratedSlam

G.O.A.T.
He said that the three of them have proved once and again that they are above the rest, that they are able to do things unthinkable for other players.

He commented a bit more the Australian Open victory of Nadal, after many months outside because of injury, how he's been able to do it many times in his career, he said it was very similar to what Federer did in the Australian Open of 2017.

He also commented on Djokovic in last year US open final, that he wasn't able to manage the huge pressure of winning the Grand Slam.

Very interesting interview in general, he sounded sincere.
It is similar, but he said "a bit similar".

Nevertheless, a solid B- minus for summarizing...
 

intrepidish

Hall of Fame
He said that the three of them have proved once and again that they are above the rest, that they are able to do things unthinkable for other players.

He commented a bit more the Australian Open victory of Nadal, after many months outside because of injury, how he's been able to do it many times in his career, he said it was very similar to what Federer did in the Australian Open of 2017.

He also commented on Djokovic in last year US open final, that he wasn't able to manage the huge pressure of winning the Grand Slam.

Very interesting interview in general, he sounded sincere.


Yes. He talked a bit more about Nadal as well while also giving a bit of an overview of the 3 of them. There are a few other bits and pieces from after RG from Stan about Rafael which I referenced earlier in the thread if you're interested and which along with this interview, give a sense of his esteem for Nadal.
 

mattennis

Hall of Fame
It is similar, but he said "a bit similar".

Nevertheless, a solid B- minus for summarizing...

He said "similar" the first time, and "a bit similar" second time...yes.... it's a way of speaking.

But if you listened to him he means that what Nadal did in the last Australian Open, was what Federer did five years earlier, and only these kind of amazing players are able to do such a thing.

He said actually that Nadal has done it many times before as well ( being out for months and then playing at a phenomenal level when coming back).
 

UnderratedSlam

G.O.A.T.
He said "similar" the first time, and "a bit similar" second time...yes.... it's a way of speaking.

But if you listened to him he means that what Nadal did in the last Australian Open, was what Federer did five years earlier, and only these kind of amazing players are able to do such a thing.

He said actually that Nadal has done it many times before as well ( being out for months and then playing at a phenomenal level when coming back).
I agree that 22 and 17 are similar, but Stan said "bit", not "very".

Of course, that's just the translation, I have no idea how "un peu" (or whichever words he used) is used in French in this context, whether literally or to mean more than just a bit.

Anyway... That was a bit of pointless nitpickery on my part. A user earlier on this thread got me interested in nitpicking. I tried to match it, but can't.
 

Nostradamus

Bionic Poster
‘No. 1 forever!’ – Novak Djokovic and Roger Federer not on Rafael Nadal’s level, says Ion Tiriac

Rafael Nadal is the best player to ever play the game of tennis, that is according to former player Ion Tiriac. The once French Open quarter-finalist says that Roger Federer and Novak Djokovic are not comparable to the Spaniard. "Rafael Nadal is the best of all. Neither Novak Djokovic and Roger Federer are on his level," said Tiriac, as reported by Eurosport Spain.


but if Roger plays Rafa on Wimbledon grass 10 times in a row then Roger wins 8 out of 10. and if novak plays Rafa on US open hard courts 10 times in a row, then Novak wins 8 out of 10. but if Rafa plays either roger or novak on french open clay 10 times in a row then rafa wins 10 times against Roger and 9 times against Novak.

This tells you that rafa really isn't on different plane if you argue who is on who's level. so Tiriac is WRONG. lol:-D:-D
 

UnderratedSlam

G.O.A.T.
but if Roger plays Rafa on Wimbledon grass 10 times in a row then Roger wins 8 out of 10. and if novak plays Rafa on US open hard courts 10 times in a row, then Novak wins 8 out of 10. but if Rafa plays either roger or novak on french open clay 10 times in a row then rafa wins 10 times against Roger and 9 times against Novak.

This tells you that rafa really isn't on different plane if you argue who is on who's level. so Tiriac is WRONG. lol:-D:-D
Interesting theories.

RF and Nadal played 4 very competitive matches at Wimby, so to assume 8-2 is dubious.

Simple math: 3-1 doubled is 6-2. But then you go from 6-2 to 8-2, just like that. 7-3 is also easily possible.

Novak - Rafa USO, also wrong. Nadal leads Djokovic 2-1 at USO, so 2-8 is pretty absurd. That's 7 more wins in a row you're gifting Djokovic, despite Nadal being 4-1 in finals, Djokovic being 3-6 and of course H2H 2-1 for Nadal.
 

Nostradamus

Bionic Poster
Interesting theories.

RF and Nadal played 4 very competitive matches at Wimby, so to assume 8-2 is dubious.

Simple math: 3-1 doubled is 6-2. But then you go from 6-2 to 8-2, just like that. 8-3 at the very least.

Novak - Rafa USO, also wrong. Nadal leads Djokovic 2-1 at USO, so 2-8 is pretty absurd. That's 7 more wins in a row you're gifting Djokovic, despite Nadal being 4-1 in finals, Djokovic being 3-6 and of course H2H 2-1 for Nadal.
those old records are totally irrelevant, because i am talking about them playing at their best tennis level
 

UnderratedSlam

G.O.A.T.
those old records are totally irrelevant, because i am talking about them playing at their best tennis level
Nadal is 2-1 vs Djokovic at USO, and has a far better finals score than he does, so why you'd assume that Djokovic would be so dominant at USO over Nadal is baffling.

Even at AO you can't assume destruction because one of their two meetings there was 6 hours long...
 

Incognito

Legend
H2H against an individual doesn't determines who's better and greater player? It's about titles, win/loss against the playing field, streaks/records.


the Biggest record is 22 majors for the time being. Who knows, maybe Roger will break that:)
 

killerboss

Professional
those old records are totally irrelevant, because i am talking about them playing at their best tennis level

He beat Djokovic at the USO Open shortly before and shortly after his best level (2011), which was too difficult for Djokovic to maintain because of the strong era at the time. The mid 30s Djokovic you've been watching in recent times isn't his "best level" and he would get absolutely trounced by younger versions of himself. What you've been witnessing is big 3 members boosting their resumes because of recent substandard competition.
 

Sentinel

Bionic Poster
1050499-5-15.jpg

22897_original.jpg
LOL.
 

JustMy2Cents

Hall of Fame
You seem overly emotional, as if not knowing that Tiriac was the owner as opposed to president is somehow as important as the dimensions of the tennis court.

It isn't. Not even close.

The business side of tennis is the least interesting side to me. I prefer to focus on the tennis, the players, the matches, the basics.

"Old fans" don't consider the blue clay era "old". That was just a few years ago, not in the 70s... So much for your "vast experience".
you were saying Tiriac's statement was because of this false reason you claimed... you were devaluing his opinion based on non facts. So yes, in this context you should have googled before making a false reason and trying to discredit him on those grounds..

also, it's funny that you think any unfinished business in Spain can be accomplished by complimentary words about Rafa.

posters had refuted your argument with facts, now you claim it's not important.
don't you see how ridiculous it is, ascribing false commercial motives when it does not exist?
 

JustMy2Cents

Hall of Fame
It’s the whole “Nadal is incredibly good at clay so let’s pretend he’s equally good at the other surfaces” approach
actually the shoe is on the other foot.
if he is just good on one surface and his rivals are way above him on others, shouldn't their final tally of GS indicate it?
Already said that Nadal is better and greater on clay, that's it. Fedovic is ahead everywhere
do consider the fact that Rafa gets 1 go at a clay slam... his rivals have 3 every year. 22-20-20 is mindboggling when we factor that in
btw, there is no guy Fedovic.... don't lump 2 guys together.
Tiriac, and the other guys like Kyrgios and Stan referred here are talking about the greatness of individual players.... it's not a tag team .
 

clayqueen

Talk Tennis Guru
you were saying Tiriac's statement was because of this false reason you claimed... you were devaluing his opinion based on non facts. So yes, in this context you should have googled before making a false reason and trying to discredit him on those grounds..

also, it's funny that you think any unfinished business in Spain can be accomplished by complimentary words about Rafa.

posters had refuted your argument with facts, now you claim it's not important.
don't you see how ridiculous it is, ascribing false commercial motives when it does not exist?
She is not called Underrated for nothing.
 

The_Order

G.O.A.T.
Davydenko is vasty superior than Nadal on hard court because he has a positive H2H against Nadal. That makes a lot of sense. No?

H2H against an individual doesn't determines who's better and greater player? It's about titles, win/loss against the playing field, streaks/records.

Nadal doesn't only own the h2h record against Federer...

He also has:

- 2 more Majors ( the most important measurement)
- 8 more Masters
- Higher career winning percentage ( 83.3% compared to Fed's 82% )
- Higher slam winning ratio 22/64 > 20/81
- Singles Gold at Olympics
- 10 consecutive years of winning at least 1 Major
- 15 years winning at least 1 Major (Federer has 11)
- 873 consecutive weeks and counting ranked in the top 10
- 10 different seasons where he has achieved the #1 ranking at some stage... Federer has 9
- Less players with a leading h2h against him
- Most Majors won at a single event with FOURTEEN RG titles...
- 112-3 W/L record at a major
- Won 4 Majors without dropping a set
- DCGS
- Clay slam (MC + Madrid + Rome + RG )
- Summer slam (Canada + Cinci + US Open)
- Most consecutive wins on a single surface (81 on clay)
- 90 Outdoor titles
- 25+ titles on clay and hc
- 470+ total match wins on clay and 470+ total match wins on hc (Federer only has 226 wins on clay)
- 10+ titles at 4 different tournaments (Barcelona + MC + Rome + RG)
- Calendar surface slam
- Won a major in teens, twenties and thirties


There's many more too but in terms of the more important ones Rafa has him covered now.
 

Phoenix*

Professional
Nadal doesn't only own the h2h record against Federer...

He also has:

- 2 more Majors ( the most important measurement)
- 8 more Masters
- Higher career winning percentage ( 83.3% compared to Fed's 82% )
- Higher slam winning ratio 22/64 > 20/81
- Singles Gold at Olympics
- 10 consecutive years of winning at least 1 Major
- 15 years winning at least 1 Major (Federer has 11)
- 873 consecutive weeks and counting ranked in the top 10
- 10 different seasons where he has achieved the #1 ranking at some stage... Federer has 9
- Less players with a leading h2h against him
- Most Majors won at a single event with FOURTEEN RG titles...
- 112-3 W/L record at a major
- Won 4 Majors without dropping a set
- DCGS
- Clay slam (MC + Madrid + Rome + RG )
- Summer slam (Canada + Cinci + US Open)
- Most consecutive wins on a single surface (81 on clay)
- 90 Outdoor titles
- 25+ titles on clay and hc
- 470+ total match wins on clay and 470+ total match wins on hc (Federer only has 226 wins on clay)
- 10+ titles at 4 different tournaments (Barcelona + MC + Rome + RG)
- Calendar surface slam
- Won a major in teens, twenties and thirties


There's many more too but in terms of the more important ones Rafa has him covered now.
Fed is ahead on 2 surfaces and he also pigeoned him on hc. 2>1
 

mahatma

Hall of Fame
Nadal doesn't only own the h2h record against Federer...

He also has:

- 2 more Majors ( the most important measurement)
- 8 more Masters
- Higher career winning percentage ( 83.3% compared to Fed's 82% )
- Higher slam winning ratio 22/64 > 20/81
- Singles Gold at Olympics
- 10 consecutive years of winning at least 1 Major
- 15 years winning at least 1 Major (Federer has 11)
- 873 consecutive weeks and counting ranked in the top 10
- 10 different seasons where he has achieved the #1 ranking at some stage... Federer has 9
- Less players with a leading h2h against him
- Most Majors won at a single event with FOURTEEN RG titles...
- 112-3 W/L record at a major
- Won 4 Majors without dropping a set
- DCGS
- Clay slam (MC + Madrid + Rome + RG )
- Summer slam (Canada + Cinci + US Open)
- Most consecutive wins on a single surface (81 on clay)
- 90 Outdoor titles
- 25+ titles on clay and hc
- 470+ total match wins on clay and 470+ total match wins on hc (Federer only has 226 wins on clay)
- 10+ titles at 4 different tournaments (Barcelona + MC + Rome + RG)
- Calendar surface slam
- Won a major in teens, twenties and thirties


There's many more too but in terms of the more important ones Rafa has him covered now.
But.... does he have the grace. No grace, no race. sorry.
 

T23

Semi-Pro
It's not just about number of slams. Before Djokovic's sudden conversion in 2011 and when Rafa's frequent injuries started in the middle of 2012, he was way ahead in his h2h against Federer and Djokovic even on hard court.
This is a great point everyone else specially helmet-head fans likes to forget…
 

T23

Semi-Pro
Well America and Australia have made sure Djokovic will never be at nadals level. They have screwed Djokovic royally and if I was him I’d stick my 2 fingers up at them and retire. They don’t deserve all the revenue and sponsors he brings to the game if they treat him like this. For a virus that’s not even a big thing anymore
Get over it - the criminal screwed himself by lying and cheating, he thought he’d get away with falsifying stuff this time as well, well aussies had balls.
 

UnderratedSlam

G.O.A.T.
you were saying Tiriac's statement was because of this false reason you claimed... you were devaluing his opinion based on non facts. So yes, in this context you should have googled before making a false reason and trying to discredit him on those grounds..

also, it's funny that you think any unfinished business in Spain can be accomplished by complimentary words about Rafa.

posters had refuted your argument with facts, now you claim it's not important.
don't you see how ridiculous it is, ascribing false commercial motives when it does not exist?
Is Tiriac still involved in some businesses in Spain? You simply assume by no longer being the tournament owner he somehow has nothing there anymore.

If he is, and is giving an interview for Spanish media, would it be so strange for him to favour Nadal in the Big 3 discussion? Who cares if he and Nadal had a tiff over blue clay, that was years ago.

In this context (whether Tiriac is being honest based on his ties to Spain), it isn't relevant whether he was president, director or whatever. To nitpickers it may be though...

Besides, if you know anything about what a controversial figure Tiriac is, you'd be suspicious anyway. German TV ran reports about his very dodgy "businesses" as far back as the 90s, and his alleged ties to organized crime and Romania's former dictator.

2 cents worth, very precise.
 

T007

Hall of Fame
‘No. 1 forever!’ – Novak Djokovic and Roger Federer not on Rafael Nadal’s level, says Ion Tiriac

Rafael Nadal is the best player to ever play the game of tennis, that is according to former player Ion Tiriac. The once French Open quarter-finalist says that Roger Federer and Novak Djokovic are not comparable to the Spaniard. "Rafael Nadal is the best of all. Neither Novak Djokovic and Roger Federer are on his level," said Tiriac, as reported by Eurosport Spain.

Atp madrid open owner saying this ..hmmmm

I agree with him but only on clay
 

TMF

Talk Tennis Guru
WTF is this? Are you going to start a thread anytime 1 person pronounces who they think is the best player? Why should we put any particular stock in what Mr. Tiriac says over, say, any other former or current player?
A testament of desperate and insecure
 

TMF

Talk Tennis Guru
Nadal doesn't only own the h2h record against Federer...

He also has:

- 2 more Majors ( the most important measurement)
- 8 more Masters
- Higher career winning percentage ( 83.3% compared to Fed's 82% )
- Higher slam winning ratio 22/64 > 20/81
- Singles Gold at Olympics
- 10 consecutive years of winning at least 1 Major
- 15 years winning at least 1 Major (Federer has 11)
- 873 consecutive weeks and counting ranked in the top 10
- 10 different seasons where he has achieved the #1 ranking at some stage... Federer has 9
- Less players with a leading h2h against him
- Most Majors won at a single event with FOURTEEN RG titles...
- 112-3 W/L record at a major
- Won 4 Majors without dropping a set
- DCGS
- Clay slam (MC + Madrid + Rome + RG )
- Summer slam (Canada + Cinci + US Open)
- Most consecutive wins on a single surface (81 on clay)
- 90 Outdoor titles
- 25+ titles on clay and hc
- 470+ total match wins on clay and 470+ total match wins on hc (Federer only has 226 wins on clay)
- 10+ titles at 4 different tournaments (Barcelona + MC + Rome + RG)
- Calendar surface slam
- Won a major in teens, twenties and thirties


There's many more too but in terms of the more important ones Rafa has him covered now.

Federer also has:

-6 WTF
-only player to win at least 5 slams at 3 different venues
-won 3 slams/year 3 different occasions
-10 consecutive slam finals
-101 more weeks at #1
-3 consecutive calendar years as wire-to-wire No. 1 (2005–2007)
-4+ consecutive finals on Grass, Clay, and Hard courts
-reach 4 slam finals in a year at 3 different occasions
-spent 237 consecutive weeks at the top
-only player to win 5 consecutive titles at 2 slams(Wimbledon & USO)
-won slams without dropping a set at 2 distinct surface
-only player to went undefeated against top 10 in a year(18-0)
-joined Connors as the only player with 100+ career titles
-sunshine double at 3 different occasions
-won 24 consecutive finals
-most consecutive wins on grass(65)
-most consecutive wins on hard court(56)
-maintains a 90+ winning percentage in year at 4 different occasions
-23 consecutive slam semifinals
-more wins over top 10 players
-most hard court titles 71
-most grass titles 19
-15,000+ ATP points(2006)

There's more to it but no need to continue to list more
 
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