Will Nadal surpass Federer?

Who will have the better career between Federer and Nadal?


  • Total voters
    174

billnepill

Hall of Fame
Well, Federer won 0 out the last 4 majors. Nadal won 3 out of the last 4 majors.

I think it's safe to say that Federer's days are done and the Nadal express is going full speed without breaks.

Add the fact that the FO is a virtual lock for Nadal for at least another 3 years, you already have Nadal at 12 slams.

He just needs 4 random slams from USO, AO and Wimbledon to reach Federer. I think that's very, very likely.

Wow, what kind of gigantic crack pipe have you been sucking on??

Rafael just retired AGAIN at another slams. If we trust his statements ( also known as excuses) , he wasn't 100 % at the 5 of the 8 last slams.
 

TMF

Talk Tennis Guru
Well, Federer won 0 out the last 4 majors. Nadal won 3 out of the last 4 majors.

I think it's safe to say that Federer's days are done and the Nadal express is going full speed without breaks.

Add the fact that the FO is a virtual lock for Nadal for at least another 3 years, you already have Nadal at 12 slams.

He just needs 4 random slams from USO, AO and Wimbledon to reach Federer. I think that's very, very likely.

Nothing is a lock pal. Especially when history isn’t on his side since players don’t win a whole lot after the age 25. You should be thinking about him ever catching Sampras first.
 

stevorino

Rookie
Will Nadal surpass Federer?
Actually with all the threads about whether Nadal has surpassed players like Lendl or others I thought it would be more interesting to see people's opinions if Nadal will ever surpass Federer. Now bear in mind I don't think it is that close yet but Nadal is a number of years younger than Federer and who knows in the future.

Here's some of the stats
Federer-Born August 8,1981
Nadal-Born June 3, 1986
Federer-Career won-lost 722-172 for a percentage of .8076
Nadal-Career won-lost 460-98 for a percentage of .8244
Federer-Majors won-majors entered-16 majors won out of 46 entered-.348
Nadal-Majors won-majors entered-9 majors won out of 26 entered-.346
Federer-63 tournaments won out of 227 entered for .2775
Nadal-42 tournaments won out of 136 entered or .3088

So right now Nadal has a better lifetime winning percentage, wins more tournaments by percentage than Federer.

Federer wins more tournaments by percentage in majors by a fraction, he's won more overall tournaments and more overall majors.

at this moment nadal has slightly better stats, but lets compare the same stats when both have retired and i'll predict that federer will have (slightly) better stats
 

Manus Domini

Hall of Fame
As it stands how Nadal is 100% a better player and that is a fact.

No that is not a fact. Right now Nadal is playing better than Fed, but if that's the only time Nadal can get one up on Fed and truly be a better player, I'll take Fed any day. Fed was better at his prime than Nadal, that is an opinion. Fed has more slam titles than Nadal, that is a fact. Comparing players is opinion, comparing careers is a fact.
 
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NadalAgassi

Guest
No that is not a fact. Right now Nadal is playing better than Fed, but if that's the only time Nadal can get one up on Fed and truly be a better player, I'll take Fed any day. Fed was better at his prime than Nadal, that is an opinion. Fed has more slam titles than Nadal, that is a fact. Comparing players is opinion, comparing careers is a fact.

Which is why when the facts (atleast before the Australian Open for sure) said Nadal was clearly the 2nd best hard court player of this generation behind Federer you dismissed them by putting Nadal's wins downs to fluke and luck, LOL! Dont you ever get tired of talking out of your ass.
 

Nadalfan89

Hall of Fame
People said Nadal would never win a slam again after FO 09 and now they're saying the same thing again. He'll probably go on to sweep all other slams like he did last year, and then people will come up with even more outlandish excuses.

It never changes.
 
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Manus Domini

Hall of Fame
Which is why when the facts (atleast before the Australian Open for sure) said Nadal was clearly the 2nd best hard court player of this generation behind Federer you dismissed them by putting Nadal's wins downs to fluke and luck, LOL! Dont you ever get tired of talking out of your ass.

comparing players is opinion, comparing careers is fact

Fact: Nadal won the same amount of hard court slams as Safin and Djokovic.

Opinion: Djokovic is a better HC player
 

TMF

Talk Tennis Guru
at this moment nadal has slightly better stats, but lets compare the same stats when both have retired and i'll predict that federer will have (slightly) better stats

They both have something over the other at the exact same age.
 

pc1

G.O.A.T.
They both have something over the other at the exact same age.

I forgot about this thread. lol.

If Nadal stays relatively injury free he definitely should threaten Federer's current record of 16. You figure that he should win a few more French Opens plus he will be a contender at all the other majors.
 
Yes, PC1, I agree. I think Nadal will threaten the record for major titles, which is currently 16. Thinking about the top four players now, here are some possibilities going forward into the 2011 ranking year, with three majors remaining. I tend to think, that over time, Nadal will be #1 and continue adding majors. I'm not sure if he'll get to 16. Federer, I think may very well still win a major title. I think Djokovic is the long term #2 (next 2-3 years). As for Murray, I tend to think that he won't be as much of a force as Djokovic, but perhaps he can turn things around with a new attitude out there and a renewed approach. I'll go with #1, #4, #5, and #7. Perhaps it'll be Nadal, Djokovic, and Murray even in 2013.


1. Nadal's injury problems will continue, and he will experience less success in the future compared to his success thus far. He will struggle to add to his major count, and will end up with perhaps 10-12 total majors.
2. Nadal will continue winning majors at a healthy clip. His surface versatility and evolved game allow him to remain #1 in the years to come, while he is only 24-29 years of age. He may very well pass Federer's record for total number of majors if this occurs.
3. Roger Federer will not win any more majors and he will begin to fade away towards retirement after 2012 or so.
4. Roger Federer will remain as a major threat to win more major titles and possibly reclaim the #1 ranking, at least for some number of weeks.
5. Novak Djokovic gets better at the French Open and Wimbledon, while remaining a big threat at the hard court majors. He challenges for the #1 spot.
6.Novak Djokovic struggles on clay and at Wimbledon, and also has inconsistent results at the US Open and the AO. He doesn't win any or many more majors.
7. Andy Murray will continue to improve as a player, and he will be able to win a major, or majors, thereby challenging the top players in the world and possibly vying for #1 in the future.
8. Andy Murray doesn't win a major and he struggles to even remain in the top five after a couple of more years.
 
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shintan17

Semi-Pro
I don't think he will. His body has taken too much pounding over th years and I doubt he can stay "FULLY" healthy for another 3-4 years. I think he can win maybe 2-3 more RG, 1-2 more Wimby, 1-2 AO/USO (together)...which totals 4-7...and add those to 9 slams he already won that would make the total 13-16...take the middle and he will end up about 14 to 15..and I don't think Federer is "COMPLETELY" done just yet....AND the competition will get tougher and tougher as younger players will be catching up as he gets older.
 
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I don't think he will. His body has taken too much pounding over th years and I doubt he can stay "FULLY" healthy for another 3-4 years. I think he can win maybe 2-3 more RG, 1-2 more Wimby, 1-2 AO/USO (together)...which totals 4-7...and add those to 9 slams he already won that would make the total 13-16...take the middle and he will end up about 14 to 15..and I don't think Federer is "COMPLETELY" done just yet....AND the competition will get tougher and tougher as younger players will be catching up as he gets older.

I agree, this could very well happen and it's not at all implausible. 13-16 total majors seems very reasonable to me. He could get more, but it's not a given. If he does all of the above, he'll be considered one of the greatest players ever, and you can't ask for much more than that in my opinion.
 
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NadalAgassi

Guest
I dont think Nadal will win any majors after 2014. Over the next 4 years there are 15 majors. I could see a distribution like this:

Nadal- 8 or 9 slams
Djokovic- 3 slams
Federer- 1 or 2 slams
Del Potro- 1 slam
Other (not Murray)- 1 slam

I think Federer and Nadal could easily end up tied or it will come down to about a 1 slam difference.
 

jackson vile

G.O.A.T.
No that is not a fact. Right now Nadal is playing better than Fed, but if that's the only time Nadal can get one up on Fed and truly be a better player, I'll take Fed any day. Fed was better at his prime than Nadal, that is an opinion. Fed has more slam titles than Nadal, that is a fact. Comparing players is opinion, comparing careers is a fact.

Yes, that is indeed a fact. In the last 12 months Nadal won 3 slams while Roger won 0, and Nadal is #1. Do you see the difference?


So, do you understand that the #1 player with 3 slams is better than all the other players with 1 or no slams, and that is one of the reasons Nadal is#1???


You are speaking career, I was speaking NOW. NOW = present time.




Get it? Got it? GOOD!
 

Manus Domini

Hall of Fame
I forgot about this thread. lol.

If Nadal stays relatively injury free he definitely should threaten Federer's current record of 16. You figure that he should win a few more French Opens plus he will be a contender at all the other majors.

If Nadal is injury free, I think his career will look something like this:

Currently 9 slams

Australian Open: 1 right now, 1 more. If Djokovic continues playing as he is playing, he will win a lot more of this title, especially of this title. So this isn't a major Nadal will win a lot of

Roland Garros: 5 now, 3-4 more. His body can't hold out forever. Regardless, having just 3 more breaks all titles at RG, and four more is a record he holds alone. But his body will break down some time, as Fed's has. But probably much more drastically around Fed's age due to grinding style. Dolgo will probably become his next threat here, but not enough to hinder him unless Rafa is injured

WC: 2 now, 2 more. I think this will be a title Fed wins again, but Nadal can win another two of them at least. Then again, his body won't hold up for eternity. But I also think that Dolgo and Raonic have big chances at this slam, especially Raonic.

USO: 1 now, 0 more. If Djokovic plays as well here as he did at AO, if Del Potro gets back to his best game, and if Harrison, Raonic, and Dolgo do fully get to where they are hyped up to be, they will have really good chances here. Definately the worst growth place for Rafa

So that means at most (from my antiNadal calculations) he can end up with 16 majors but not surpass Federer. That being said, I don't know how the up and coming players will end up growing into or when Nadal's injuries will become too dangerous for him, so that is an "at most and probably not" estimate
 

TMF

Talk Tennis Guru
I forgot about this thread. lol.

If Nadal stays relatively injury free he definitely should threaten Federer's current record of 16. You figure that he should win a few more French Opens plus he will be a contender at all the other majors.

Yep, assuming Federer never win another slam, I think he has a shot. Any upcoming slam event Nadal failed to win, it lessen his chance to catch Roger. What’s worse is if Fed continue to win more slam which put rafa in check.
 

TMF

Talk Tennis Guru
I dont think Nadal will win any majors after 2014. Over the next 4 years there are 15 majors. I could see a distribution like this:

Nadal- 8 or 9 slams
Djokovic- 3 slams
Federer- 1 or 2 slams
Del Potro- 1 slam
Other (not Murray)- 1 slam

I think Federer and Nadal could easily end up tied or it will come down to about a 1 slam difference.

You got to be kidding.:shock:

I would say a much more likely scenario is Murray win one slam over Nadal winning additional 8/9 slams by the time they are done.
 

cigrmaster

Semi-Pro
My prediction is this when all is said and done.

Federer= 17

Nadal =17

Then the fun will really start as to who had the better career.
 
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Deleted member 77403

Guest
My prediction is this when all is said and done.

Federer= 17

Nadal =17

Then the fun will really start as to who had the better career.

That is when the H2H will come into it, and Nadal leads Federer there.
 

autumn_leaf

Hall of Fame
is rafa at his prime yet? i remember not wanting to watch tennis when fed was in his prime because...well, it was never really close. o the tennis match is on, lets watch federer totally obliterate a guy that is totally caught off guard every other shot and will soon have to take pills for depression for bashing federer is going to impose on him.

with rafa, i tune in too see if there will be an upset. i keep thinking that the players will put up a better fight, but in GS finals (maybe because it's his opponent's first time in a GS final) the opponent gets trounced. In a way it's the same, it gets kind of boring to watch because the outcome is so defined.

rafa and fed will be fairly equal to me unless something really changes from the way they are. and i gotta hand it to rafa, he really has come a long way as a player. remember how many people hated him when he first came onto the scene, the shadow boxing incident that was so talked about.
 

pc1

G.O.A.T.
Yep, assuming Federer never win another slam, I think he has a shot. Any upcoming slam event Nadal failed to win, it lessen his chance to catch Roger. What’s worse is if Fed continue to win more slam which put rafa in check.

Federer over his career is obviously very consistent in making the semis of just about every major. He's rarely upset so I would think it's very possible he'll add to his total.

The Nadal control of the French is important. If Nadal continues to win the French like he always seems to do he clearly will end up with many more majors because he has proven he is either the favorite or one of the favorite to win the non-French Open majors. So he's an overwhelming favorite (as of now) to win the French every year and he favorite if not "the" favorite to win the other three. That's why it seems to me now that he's going to add a number of majors to his total.

You can never tell however. John McEnroe was almost unbeatable in 1984 when he won two of three majors and was in the finals of the other. You figure he would have been a lock to win a lot more majors yet he never won another one again.
 
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NadalAgassi

Guest
You got to be kidding.:shock:

I would say a much more likely scenario is Murray win one slam over Nadal winning additional 8/9 slams by the time they are done.

Nadal is the heavy favorite for the French until he majorly slows down or his body breaks downs. He is the favorite for Wimbledon (although less overwhelmingly than the French) until that point too. And a major contender to win any hard court slam he enters. You do the math.

Murray cannot hope to win any major unless he doesnt play Federer, Djokovic, or Nadal in the final. Good luck with that.
 

SoBad

G.O.A.T.
Nadal is already better than Federer on every count. Federer won his slams because of no competition, while Nadal had to deal with prime Soderling, Berdych, and Djokovic to win his last three.

P.S. Anyone have Tennis Channel on? I think the broadcasters have lost their mind, they are showing some 3.5 hack match from some English public park on TV.
 

SStrikerR

Hall of Fame
You can't go by those numbers. So many tournaments that Nadal enter are on clay, where he's almost a lock to win. Federer plays on all surfaces all the time, so of course his percentages might suffer a little.

Judging players by stats is stupid.
 

Bud

Bionic Poster
You can't go by those numbers. So many tournaments that Nadal enter are on clay, where he's almost a lock to win. Federer plays on all surfaces all the time, so of course his percentages might suffer a little.

Judging players by stats is stupid.

Lol!

Please list the tournaments to bolster your argument.

Nadal has played only 4-5 clay tournaments annually since 2005-06

Federer plays more HC tournaments per year (by far) versus Rafa on clay.
 
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Deleted member 777746

Guest
Nothing is a lock pal. Especially when history isn’t on his side since players don’t win a whole lot after the age 25. You should be thinking about him ever catching Sampras first.
I'd say we can now worry about catching Fed now (or rather Fed can worry about being surpassed now)
 
I'd say we can now worry about catching Fed now (or rather Fed can worry about being surpassed now)

Fed will not worry in his lifetime, and several times over after that, so you can have a cool drink on him.

smiley_emoticons_santagrin.gif
 

clout

Hall of Fame
If Nadal is injury free, I think his career will look something like this:

Currently 9 slams

Australian Open: 1 right now, 1 more. If Djokovic continues playing as he is playing, he will win a lot more of this title, especially of this title. So this isn't a major Nadal will win a lot of

Roland Garros: 5 now, 3-4 more. His body can't hold out forever. Regardless, having just 3 more breaks all titles at RG, and four more is a record he holds alone. But his body will break down some time, as Fed's has. But probably much more drastically around Fed's age due to grinding style. Dolgo will probably become his next threat here, but not enough to hinder him unless Rafa is injured

WC: 2 now, 2 more. I think this will be a title Fed wins again, but Nadal can win another two of them at least. Then again, his body won't hold up for eternity. But I also think that Dolgo and Raonic have big chances at this slam, especially Raonic.

USO: 1 now, 0 more. If Djokovic plays as well here as he did at AO, if Del Potro gets back to his best game, and if Harrison, Raonic, and Dolgo do fully get to where they are hyped up to be, they will have really good chances here. Definately the worst growth place for Rafa

So that means at most (from my antiNadal calculations) he can end up with 16 majors but not surpass Federer. That being said, I don't know how the up and coming players will end up growing into or when Nadal's injuries will become too dangerous for him, so that is an "at most and probably not" estimate
Harrison, Raonic and Dolgopolov :-D :-D :-D :-D posters were crazier then than they are now
 

Phoenix1983

G.O.A.T.
I have been here just over 8 years, and during that time, Novak Djokovic has won 12 slams, Nadal 9, Federer and Wawrinka 3 apiece, Mury GOAT 2, Cilic and Thiem 1.

What it tells us?
 
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Deleted member 777746

Guest
I have been here just over 8 years, and during that time, Novak Djokovic has won 12 slams, Nadal 9, Federer and Wawrinka 3 apiece, Mury GOAT 2, Cilic and Thiem 1.

What it tells us?
That in a strong era, Federer would have a Murray-like career. And enough with the age crapola - he's been making finals and semifinals (media's favorite fourth place metric) like crazy since 2010. Only thing that's changed is he's had Nole or Rafa waiting for him instead of Roddick, Baghdatis or Kiefer

'nuff said
 
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clout

Hall of Fame
I have been here just over 8 years, and during that time, Novak Djokovic has won 12 slams, Nadal 9, Federer and Wawrinka 3 apiece, Mury GOAT 2, Cilic and Thiem 1.

What it tells us?
I started watching tennis in the late 90s when Agassi was my fav player but I kinda stopped watching in the early/mid 2000s until I got back into it around 2007 after I started playing it again myself in fall 06 with some high school friends.

I think the first tournament I paid a lot of attention to in my second era of watching tennis was AO 2007 so the slam count for me would be 18 slams for Rafa, 17 slams for Djokovic, 11 slams for Federer, 3 slams for Murray/Wawrinka, 1 for Delpo/Cilic/Thiem. That's also 6 YEN1s for Djokovic, 5 for Nadal, 2 for Federer & 1 for Mury GOAT.
 

Linelicker

Rookie
That in a strong era, Federer would have a Murray-like career. And enough with the age crapola - he's been making finals and semifinals (media's favorite fourth place metric) like crazy since 2010. Only thing that's changed is he's had Nole or Rafa waiting for him instead of Roddick, Baghdatis or Kiefer

'nuff said

Who has been waiting for Djokovic and Nadal? Do you think Sampras too would have a Murray-like career in their presence?

I am a Nadal fan, but I must be honest and say the tour has never been worse than 2016-2021. Absolutely no new stars. Federer had to play 2/3 of the best players ever at their hungriest and best. He was born 5/6 years earlier than the other two. Is this difficult for you to comprehend?

You're probably one of those guys who constantly trolls, just because it's fun, but if not you're truly underestimating Federer's ability.
 
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