There no doubt Nole is the best ever in Australia now

[tennis_pro]

Originally Posted by kragster

At the moment he is tied with fed and Andre and you can take your pick based on what additional criteria you value - more finals vs 3 consecutive slams etc etc . However I expect him to win 1 more at least and then he will be the clear leader. For now he is a cogoat.

Pretty much this. I'd say that Agassi has the worst case of the 3 as 2 of his Australians had pretty easy draws (but he beat Sampras at his best in the other 2), he has no additional finals and no consecutive streaks. He still won 3/3 editions he entered in 2000-2003.

Djokovic has 4 titles, 3 of which in a row. His next best results are quarterfinals which isn't that great. He also has the best wins - beat Murray 3 times at the AO, Federer twice (both in straight sets) and Nadal in that epic final, so technically he is 6-1 against the other members of the top 4 with his only loss coming in 2007 to peak Federer. I expect Djokovic to win at least 1 more Australian so he's gonna be the AO GOAT anyway with the most titles.

Federer also has 4 titles but most finals with 5 (tied with Edberg) and a streak of 10 years where he reached at least the SF which is insane. He's also the only player ever to win an AO without losing a set.

[90's Clay]

Didn't Pete tear his rotator cuff in 2000 in Australia though? Pete was in pretty good control of the match in 2000.

[dudeski]

There is no doubt that the OP has surpassed Clarky21 as the most annoying troll in TT.

[dudeski]

Originally Posted by 90's Clay

Didn't Pete tear his rotator cuff in 2000 in Australia though? Pete was in pretty good control of the match in 2000.

Didn't Federer play only one time in his prime against Djokovic at AO? In 2007 and he won in straight sets. Yep.

[90's Clay]

Originally Posted by dudeski

Didn't Federer play only one time in his prime against Djokovic at AO? In 2007 and he won in straight sets. Yep.

Nole wasn't in his prime in 2007 though.. What was he 18 or 19? ROFLMAO

[NadalAgassi]

Originally Posted by 90's Clay

Nole wasn't in his prime in 2007 though.. What was he 18 or 19? ROFLMAO

He was also the #15 seed. Djokovic only started to join the real upper echelon that summer. Anyway Djokovics prime is looking to be 2011-2015 or 2016 (with his peak years being 2011 and one or two years not yet known), so Federer was right in his prime and Djokovic a good 4 years from the start of his, and several months before even being a top 10 player for the first time at the time of that match. Even the 2008 Australian Open was Federer only barely past his **** designated prime, and Djokovic 3 years from the start of his, and Djokovic spanked him good (of course the mono excuse, yada yada).

[dudeski]

Originally Posted by 90's Clay

Nole wasn't in his prime in 2007 though.. What was he 18 or 19? ROFLMAO

2008 mono Federer wasn't is his prime. Same with 2011.

[RF20Lennon]

NOPE its still Fed. The only player to have won on Rebound Ace and Plexicushion

[tennis_pro]

Originally Posted by NadalAgassi

He was also the #15 seed. Djokovic only started to join the real upper echelon that summer. Anyway Djokovics prime is looking to be 2011-2015 or 2016 (with his peak years being 2011 and one or two years not yet known), so Federer was right in his prime and Djokovic a good 4 years from the start of his, and several months before even being a top 10 player for the first time at the time of that match. Even the 2008 Australian Open was Federer only barely past his **** designated prime, and Djokovic 3 years from the start of his, and Djokovic spanked him good (of course the mono excuse, yada yada).

Djokovic was in the top 10 for the first time on March 19th 2007. So since Djokovic and Federer played at the 2007 AO on January 21st your "several months" doesn't even turn out to be 2 LOL. The rankings didn't matter btw. Since the beginning of 2007 Djokovic was playing like a top 5 player, him getting to the top 5 was just a matter of time.

And Djokovic was definately at the start of his prime. He lost at the AO to Federer, lost in Dubai to Federer (even took a set), lost in the Indian Wells final to Nadal, then beat Nadal in Miami to take the title and since then reached the FO semis (lost to Nadal), Wimbledon semis (lost to Nadal) and he's been top 4 ever since. You don't achieve it when you're not in your prime.

And stop jumping to conclusions, Djokovic's prime will probably be 2007-2014 just like every other player in history has an 8-year prime period like Federer in 2003-2010, Nadal in 2005-2012, Sampras in 1993-2000 etc.

[TMF]

If we value consecutive wins very high to put Nole at the top in AO then Federer is at the top in USO and Wimbledon.

[forzamilan90]

Yep, Novak is made to rule these Australian Open courts. A worthy champion, and I'm sure he'll win here again to get the open era all to himself. Might even beat Emerson's record one day.

[tennis_pro]

Originally Posted by 90's Clay

Didn't Pete tear his rotator cuff in 2000 in Australia though? Pete was in pretty good control of the match in 2000.

No. Sampras lost the match when he lost the 4th set as he was never going to beat Agassi in 5. He even got breadsticked.

[forzamilan90]

Originally Posted by TMF

If we value consecutive wins very high to put Nole at the top in AO then Federer is at the top in USO and Wimbledon.

I certainly think so. Not to mention Fed has the superior winning % on those two slams.

[Numenor]

All 3 of them (Andre, Fed, Nole) have their selling points for AO GOAT imo. For Andre, it's winning three of them in his late 20's and early 30's. For Fed, he has titles on both rebound ace and plexicushion. Nole has 3 in a row.

Probably I'd give the edge to Nole. Obviously if he wins another he'll be undisputed AO GOAT.

[NadalAgassi]

Originally Posted by tennis_pro

And stop jumping to conclusions, Djokovic's prime will probably be 2007-2014 just like every other player in history has an 8-year prime period like Federer in 2003-2010, Nadal in 2005-2012, Sampras in 1993-2000 etc.

So now Federers prime lasted until 2010. I have NEVER heard you or other Federer fans say this before. The future cannot be told yet, but I also would be surprised if Djokovic starts a major decline only 1 year from now. Does he look even close to slowing or breaking at this point? Meanwhile even if he did he and Murray especialy would still be in the top 3 or 4 and fighting for all the big titles until 2016 atleast, as there is nobody coming up that would get there until 2016 or 2017 atleast, people like Raonic and Tomic are too weak and so one has to look at generations younger than them who are still in juniors. Djokovic could decline technically and in speed and reflexes, and he would still probably be a better player than he was even in late 2007-2008 (let alone 2009/2010) based on mental toughness and fitness alone. That period his mental toughness and fitness was so far removed from what it is now, and that was really the only thing holding him back, and the huge difference in him as a player in general. Back then despite being top 3 he was largely known as a major headcase and a soft egg when it came to lasting in tough matches and tough conditions.

The main point though is until Indian Wells nobody thought of Djokovic as a top player. At the time of the 2007 Australian Open he was still a total nobody. One only has to compare that match to their matches in summer 2007 to see how much Djokovic had already improved by then, despite it bein g the same year.

[RF20Lennon]

I honestly dont think he is. He is tied for titles with Andre and Fed.

[jokinla]

As with most tournaments, Fed is equal or greater than him.

[Gonzo_style]

I agree, with 3 consecutive titles and two victory against Federer Djokovic is best AO player.

Both players are better than Agassi...

[kishnabe]

Originally Posted by NadalAgassi

He was also the #15 seed. Djokovic only started to join the real upper echelon that summer. Anyway Djokovics prime is looking to be 2011-2015 or 2016 (with his peak years being 2011 and one or two years not yet known), so Federer was right in his prime and Djokovic a good 4 years from the start of his, and several months before even being a top 10 player for the first time at the time of that match. Even the 2008 Australian Open was Federer only barely past his **** designated prime, and Djokovic 3 years from the start of his, and Djokovic spanked him good (of course the mono excuse, yada yada).

Djokovic was part of the pack in IW and Miami 2007. Australia was not too far away....that could mean he could play as capable as his summer 2007.

2007 encounter was legit against the last 2 weeks of Peak Federer. Federer destroyed Novak...and would have done the same to today's Novak.

[Federer20042006]

If Federer had beaten Safin in the 2005 SF, he'd have won 4 in a row.

Let's see Djokovic against in-form Safin. Wait, we've seen that before...and it wasn't pretty from Djokovic's end.

Just saying.

I'll agree that accomplishment-wise, Djokovic is probably going to be the greatest ever at the Australian Open. Who knows how it would've played out if they stayed on rebound ace, though.