Will Nadal's accomplishments be better than Sampras when he is done ?

tennisaddict

Bionic Poster
Sampras has YEC, more weeks at No 1 , 3 more majors.

But Nadal has the career slam, which is the "hallmark" of a true tennis great.

Sampras was never a contender for clay, while Nadal was a genuine favorite in 2009-2010 on all 4 surfaces and he proved that as well. Rafa had genuine chances to win multiple majors on all 4 slams. Even Federer was not that close in this regard.

Masters wins lesser said the better.Both have superior H2H amongst their peers.

Pete ended with 7 wimbledons. I would guess Rafa will cross that at FO. I would give at least 1 or 2 more majors to Nadal by the time he calls it time.

Even if he does not get to 14 majors and falls 1 or 2 short, I think he is the more "accomplished" player in terms of all round success.

Any thoughts ?
 

TenTan

Rookie
Yes, i think Nadal will be historically ranked as the better player, even should he retire tomorrow. hes achieved more than Sampras and the career golden slam is hard to compete against.
 

90's Clay

Banned
Nadal may win more slams (possible) but overall I dont know. Nadal has the advantage in the masters department, and the career grand slam (Which I dont know how much it accounts for anymore, its not like Agassi winning the career slam).

Sampras has wayyyy more time on top and all those YEC titles as well (something Nadal hasn't one yet).. I dont think Nadal was on top even for a year was he?

Nadal and Pete both have dominance over their main rivals.. Both mentally tough and maybe the greatest competitors ever. Type A personalities.. They're similar in that regard

I hope Nadal does break all the records and has a long time on top to end his career. I would rather see Nadal be the dominant hands down GOAT more then I would rather see anyone other then Sampras.

Nadal's my 2nd favorite player ever.

The only thing that really hurts Nadal is he just wasn't on top for very long at #1 and he is probably gonna have to win some more non clay slams IMO. Pete was on top for 6-7 years straight.


I hope Nadal does demolish every record set though. God bless him.. He deserves it. He proved a lot of people wrong. Hes a down to earth cat, hes respectful. He isn't a freakin silver spoon primadonna pansy who thinks hes too good for everyone else regardless of how great his career is.
 
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tennisaddict

Bionic Poster
Nadal's accomplishments are all the more remarkable compared to Sampras because it came in the era of Federer and Djokovic, 2 of the all time greats.

Sampras did not have multi slam winners to contend with. Agassi was not much of a competition at the majors and there was no genuine contender at USO and Wimbledon.

Sampras does not even have a final at French. So his number of weeks at number 1 over Nadal does not really carry that much weightage as opposed to Nadal who had made multiple finals in all 4 majors.
 
Nadal may win more slams (possible) but overall I can't see how. Nadal has the advantage in the masters department, but the career grand slam (Which I dont know how much it accounts for anymore, its not like Agassi winning the career slam).

Sampras has wayyyy more time on top and all those YEC titles as well (something Nadal hasn't one yet).. I dont think Nadal was on top even for a year was he?

Nadal and Pete both have dominance over their main rivals.. Both mentally tough and maybe the greatest competitors ever. Type A personalities.. They're similar in that regard

I hope Nadal does break all the records and has a long time on top to end his career. I would rather see Nadal be the dominant hands down GOAT more then I would rather see anyone other then Sampras.

Nadal's my 2nd favorite player ever.

The only thing that really hurts Nadal is he just wasn't on top for very long at #1


I hope Nadal does demolish every record set though. God bless him.. He deserves it. He proved a lot of people wrong.




Hope so too. I guess we'll wait and see.
 

President

Legend
Nadal may win more slams (possible) but overall I dont know. Nadal has the advantage in the masters department, and the career grand slam (Which I dont know how much it accounts for anymore, its not like Agassi winning the career slam).

Sampras has wayyyy more time on top and all those YEC titles as well (something Nadal hasn't one yet).. I dont think Nadal was on top even for a year was he?

Nadal and Pete both have dominance over their main rivals.. Both mentally tough and maybe the greatest competitors ever. Type A personalities.. They're similar in that regard

I hope Nadal does break all the records and has a long time on top to end his career. I would rather see Nadal be the dominant hands down GOAT more then I would rather see anyone other then Sampras.

Nadal's my 2nd favorite player ever.

The only thing that really hurts Nadal is he just wasn't on top for very long at #1 and he is probably gonna have to win some more non clay slams IMO. Pete was on top for 6-7 years straight.


I hope Nadal does demolish every record set though. God bless him.. He deserves it. He proved a lot of people wrong. Hes a down to earth cat, hes respectful. He isn't a freakin silver spoon primadonna pansy who thinks hes too good for everyone else regardless of how great his career is.

Federer deserves to be the GOAT more than either of them...for all he has done to promote the sport (that your boy Petros NEVER did) for his utter dominance of the field for 4 years, and his amazing playing style. Not to mention he owns most of the important records in this sport.
 

OrangePower

Legend
When comparing career accomplishments, the most weight should be given to (1) number of slams, and (2) weeks at #1. Other criteria like masters wins, YEC wins, etc come after.

Rafa is not going to come near Sampras in terms of weeks at #1.

So the only way he can even be in the discussion to be considered more accomplished than Pete is if he ends up with 15+ slams.

As to whether that is possible: I think it is possible, but not likely. Maybe a 20% chance.
 
Sampras has YEC, more weeks at No 1 , 3 more majors.

But Nadal has the career slam, which is the "hallmark" of a true tennis great.

Sampras was never a contender for clay, while Nadal was a genuine favorite in 2009-2010 on all 4 surfaces and he proved that as well. Rafa had genuine chances to win multiple majors on all 4 slams. Even Federer was not that close in this regard.

Masters wins lesser said the better.Both have superior H2H amongst their peers.

Pete ended with 7 wimbledons. I would guess Rafa will cross that at FO. I would give at least 1 or 2 more majors to Nadal by the time he calls it time.

Even if he does not get to 14 majors and falls 1 or 2 short, I think he is the more "accomplished" player in terms of all round success.

Any thoughts ?

Federer wasn't close to winning multiple majors on each surface? You might want to check history for a second.
 

Steve0904

Talk Tennis Guru
Really good question OP. I will say no mostly because of the first line you stated. I think Nadal finishes tied with Sampras in majors and he has the career slam which Sampras doesn't, but IMO weeks at #1 and YEC titles give the edge to Sampras even if they finish tied. Mostly because Sampras blows Nadal out of the water in these categories, and I'm not sure I see Nadal ever getting back to #1, and I doubt even more that he'll ever win a YEC if it stays on indoor hard which it looks like it will. Really this all comes down to how much you rate the career GS versus say weeks at #1 and YEC titles. Pete also has more YE #1's, but Nadal has more MS titles. I think Sampras's accomplishments will be seen as slightly better than Nadal's by the time Nadal is retired.
 

tennisaddict

Bionic Poster
Federer wasn't close to winning multiple majors on each surface? You might want to check history for a second.

Rafa was more close to winning a 2nd AO and a 2nd USO than Federer was to winning a 2nd FO. Ofcourse Fed has an advantage over Nadal that he has won several majors on 3 of the 4, whereas Nadal has just 1 each at AO and USO.
 

Raz11

Professional
Can't really compare between different eras. These days, tennis has become much more commercial so the tournament directors has done what ever they can to increase the chances of the top players winning. They have included 32 seeds, slowing down of surfaces and there is a possibility of draw rigging. This applies to Federer and Djokovic as well.

You need to dominate more than one surface to be considered an all time great, imo. If Nadal can win a couple more wimbledons than I would consider him an all time great along with Federer, Borg, Sampras and Laver.
 

90's Clay

Banned
Federer deserves to be the GOAT more than either of them...for all he has done to promote the sport (that your boy Petros NEVER did) for his utter dominance of the field for 4 years, and his amazing playing style. Not to mention he owns most of the important records in this sport.


Nadal has been a great ambassador to the sport as well. What are u talking about? Utter dominance? He couldn't dominate Nadal.. He dominated everyone BUT Nadal.. And to a lesser extent Nole.

If there is anyone who deserves to be GOAT its Nadal and it isn't even close. He proved the world wrong.. Most thought he would never never do anything off of clay, he beats your boy at wimbledon.. Then they said he wouldn't anything on hard courts (Myself included), he goes out and wins BOTH hardcourt slams (beating Fed twice at the AO) and the olympics. He could have continued to get down on himself and let Nole continue to run over him? (Like Fed let Nadal).. Nope.. Nadal took Nole out 3 straight times last year.

Nadal has the upper hand on his main rivals for his career (Fed couldn't do it)

Nadal has also been the hardest working player BY FAR in the history of this game.. His training sessions are one of legends

Nadal has less talent then guys like Sampras and Fed and Laver Yet put himself into that same level of greatness due to his desire hard work and dedication
 
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Steve0904

Talk Tennis Guru
Nadal has been a great ambassador to the sport as well. What are u talking about? Utter dominance? He couldn't dominate Nadal.. He dominated everyone BUT Nadal.. And to a lesser extent Nole.

If there is anyone who deserves to be GOAT its Nadal and it isn't even close. He proved the world wrong.. Most thought he would never never do anything off of clay, he beats your boy at wimbledon.. Then they said he wouldn't anything on hard courts (Myself included), he goes out and wins BOTH hardcourt slams (beating Fed twice at the AO) and the olympics. He could have continued to get down on himself and let Nole continue to run over him? (Like Fed let Nadal).. Nope.. Nadal took Nole out 3 straight times last year.

Nadal has the upper hand on his main rivals for his career (Fed couldn't do it)

Nadal has also been the hardest working player BY FAR in the history of this game.. His training sessions are one of legends

Nadal has less talent then guys like Sampras and Fed and Laver Yet put himself into that same level of greatness due to his desire hard work and dedication

Federer is more accomplished, thus if anyone deserves to be the GOAT it is him. It's very simple actually. I don't care how hard Nadal worked. You can't say Federer or anyone else for that matter didn't have to work as hard. If you don't have the better list of accomplishments you won't be the GOAT.
 

90's Clay

Banned
Federer is more accomplished, thus if anyone deserves to be the GOAT it is him. It's very simple actually. I don't care how hard Nadal worked. You can't say Federer or anyone else for that matter didn't have to work as hard. If you don't have the better list of accomplishments you won't be the GOAT.

Fed didn't have to work nearly as hard as Nadal did. Fed isn't notorious for those grueling training sessions like Nadal is. Nadal had to almost re-evaluate and revamp his game to become a major threat outside of clay. Fed just also had just more raw talent then Nadal (and the gift of better health, Nadal came into pro tennis with foot problems). Nadal had to do ALOT more to be an all time great then Pete or Roger did who had more talent and raw ability on more then just one surface at a younger age.
 
Federer is more accomplished, thus if anyone deserves to be the GOAT it is him. It's very simple actually. I don't care how hard Nadal worked. You can't say Federer or anyone else for that matter didn't have to work as hard. If you don't have the better list of accomplishments you won't be the GOAT.

Wait til their careers are over then, before making your final judgement.
 

TMF

Talk Tennis Guru
Sampras is one tier below Federer, so stop comparing the two.

As for Nadal, he's getting closer and closer to Sampras. Both players have strength and weaknesses. With Sampras it's the clay, too few MS. Nadal has no WTF.
 
Sampras is one tier below Federer, so stop comparing the two.

As for Nadal, he's getting closer and closer to Sampras. Both players have strength and weaknesses. With Sampras it's the clay, too few MS. Nadal has no WTF.

Haha, I like your signature TMF.
I guess helloworld is a Sampras diehard......:twisted:
 

TMF

Talk Tennis Guru
Wait til their careers are over then, before making your final judgement.

If he can break Roger's slam count, weeks at #1, WTF, and piled up countless of tennis records then he should be put ahead of Federer. As of now, Roger is widely considered as the greatest(same for Graf).
 

fed_rulz

Hall of Fame
Fed didn't have to work nearly as hard as Nadal did. Fed isn't notorious for those grueling training sessions like Nadal is. Nadal had to almost re-evaluate and revamp his game to become a major threat outside of clay. Fed just also had just more raw talent then Nadal (and the gift of better health, Nadal came into pro tennis with foot problems). Nadal had to do ALOT more to be an all time great then Pete or Roger did who had more talent and raw ability on more then just one surface at a younger age.

you should quit talking about things you know little about...

http://straightsets.blogs.nytimes.com/2011/01/19/training-with-federer-in-dubai/
 

timnz

Legend
Sampras has YEC, more weeks at No 1 , 3 more majors.

But Nadal has the career slam, which is the "hallmark" of a true tennis great.

Sampras was never a contender for clay, while Nadal was a genuine favorite in 2009-2010 on all 4 surfaces and he proved that as well. Rafa had genuine chances to win multiple majors on all 4 slams. Even Federer was not that close in this regard.

Masters wins lesser said the better.Both have superior H2H amongst their peers.

Pete ended with 7 wimbledons. I would guess Rafa will cross that at FO. I would give at least 1 or 2 more majors to Nadal by the time he calls it time.

Even if he does not get to 14 majors and falls 1 or 2 short, I think he is the more "accomplished" player in terms of all round success.

Any thoughts ?

One must not forget that the career slam was made significantly easier since rhe massive slow down of Wimbledon grass a little over a decade ago.one would ha e to doubt Nadal getting further than the semis on 90's grass
 

The-Champ

Legend
One must not forget that the career slam was made significantly easier since rhe massive slow down of Wimbledon grass a little over a decade ago.one would ha e to doubt Nadal getting further than the semis on 90's grass


Yeah, because Malivai and Pioline are so much better than Nadal...
 

Blocker

Professional
Yeah, because Malivai and Pioline are so much better than Nadal...

But that's the thing, I would fancy Pioline against Nadal on 90s grass. Honestly how long you been watching tennis for? A fish out of water is the best analogy I can use when picturing Nadal on 90s grass.
 
But that's the thing, I would fancy Pioline against Nadal on 90s grass. Honestly how long you been watching tennis for? A fish out of water is the best analogy I can use when picturing Nadal on 90s grass.

He's actually a tiger in the jungle because Wimbledon isn't water anymore. Wake up, grandpa, it's 2013.
 

firepanda

Professional
Roger is best. Nadal is ahead of Sampras certainly, by virtue of the career slam. I'd say Borg is ahead of both fractionally and Lendl, Connors and Agassi are close, though. I tend to ignore Rosewall, Laver, Tilden simply because it was a completely different game and level.
 

Flash O'Groove

Hall of Fame
Roger is best. Nadal is ahead of Sampras certainly, by virtue of the career slam. I'd say Borg is ahead of both fractionally and Lendl, Connors and Agassi are close, though. I tend to ignore Rosewall, Laver, Tilden simply because it was a completely different game and level.

It not the career slam as much as Pete overall failure on clay. The career slam was impressive when you had truly different surfaces and surface specialist, but now that we will have three player in a row achieving the career slam, it shows that it is no longer an exceptional feat.
 

vive le beau jeu !

Talk Tennis Guru
One must not forget that the career slam was made significantly easier since rhe massive slow down of Wimbledon grass a little over a decade ago.one would ha e to doubt Nadal getting further than the semis on 90's grass
it's even insulting to compare the great pistol pete to the nadal.
 

joeri888

G.O.A.T.
I don't know. I think that Sampras will always be the best of a era, while Nadal (despite not from the exact same generation) always has Federer in front of him. Nadal wasn't the absolute best for very long.

I think it'll be close, but Sampras will be better. 12 years between his first and last grandslam also makes him memorable.

However, to tennis historians, Nadal's clay records will always be looked at with amazement.
 

Steve0904

Talk Tennis Guru
Fed didn't have to work nearly as hard as Nadal did. Fed isn't notorious for those grueling training sessions like Nadal is. Nadal had to almost re-evaluate and revamp his game to become a major threat outside of clay. Fed just also had just more raw talent then Nadal (and the gift of better health, Nadal came into pro tennis with foot problems). Nadal had to do ALOT more to be an all time great then Pete or Roger did who had more talent and raw ability on more then just one surface at a younger age.

I.... DON'T..... CARE! Nadal "deserves" nothing more than what he actually accomplishes.
 
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zagor

Bionic Poster
Actually following the logic of die hard Petros fans, Nadal has already surpassed Sampras.

@Fed_rulz, where's that post of yours on the topic?
 

joeri888

G.O.A.T.
Actually following the logic of die hard Petros fans, Nadal has already surpassed Sampras.

@Fed_rulz, where's that post of yours on the topic?

Following Pete's diehard groupies logic, Berdych has been a better player than Federer since 2010.
 

Warmaster

Hall of Fame
Nadal has still got some work to do. Being #2 for the majority of his career doesn't help him either. He needs to win a few more majors before we can start discussing this imo.
 

Steve0904

Talk Tennis Guru
Following Pete's diehard groupies logic, Berdych has been a better player than Federer since 2010.

Yes where is this logic? I'd love to see it. If I had to guess I'd say it's because Berdych has beaten Federer at Wimbledon and/or he's 2-0 in majors since Wimbledon 2010.
 

joeri888

G.O.A.T.
Yes where is this logic? I'd love to see it. If I had to guess I'd say it's because Berdych has beaten Federer at Wimbledon and/or he's 2-0 in majors since Wimbledon 2010.

He's 2-0 in majors (1-0 in wimbledon aka the holy grail) and 4-3 overall. Since you cannot be better than someone if you have a losing record against them, Berdych has been better than Federer since 2010.
 

joeri888

G.O.A.T.
Lol, wut? That's ridiculous beyond measure.

1456197027_128814154730829266_xlarge.jpeg
 

Clarky21

Banned
He's 2-0 in majors (1-0 in wimbledon aka the holy grail) and 4-3 overall. Since you cannot be better than someone if you have a losing record against them, Berdych has been better than Federer since 2010.


Maybe only when they play each other but that's it. Otherwise Berdych has not been better than Fed who is still winning masters and slams even at his age. Has Berdych even won a title lately?
 

joeri888

G.O.A.T.
Maybe only when they play each other but that's it. Otherwise Berdych has not been better than Fed who is still winning masters and slams even at his age. Has Berdych even won a title lately?

I hope you are getting the sarcasm and actually agree that this argument against Federer's greatness is just (re)****ism.

Berdych won titles in Montpellier and Stockholm last year.
 
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