Djokovic 2018-2023 vs Federer 2004-2009

Kralingen

Kralingen

Talk Tennis Guru
Two 6 year periods, both representing the only time two players have won 12 Slams in 6 years, or 2 Slams per year. The pinnacle of Open Era dominance over the Tour in Grand Slams.

No man has ever won more Slams over any 6 year period than these two.

Djokovic 2018-23:
53-13
21-2 in Slams
2 Slams
2 Masters
4 titles
YE #1

54-12
2 Slams
2 Masters
4 Titles

41-6
1 Slam
2 Masters
4 titles
YE #1

55-7
3 Slams
1 Masters
5 titles
YE #1

42-7
1 Slam
1 Masters
1 YEC
5 Titles

45-5
3 Slams
1 Masters
5 Titles

12 Slams
9 Masters
27 Titles
1 YEC
3 YE #1
290-50

Federer 2004-2009:
74-6
3 Slams
3 Masters
1 YEC
11 Titles
YE #1

81-4
2 Slams
4 Masters
11 Titles
YE #1

92-5
3 Slams
4 Masters
12 Titles
1 YEC
YE #1

68-9
3 Slams
2 Masters
8 Titles
1 YEC
YE #1

66-15
1 Slam
0 Masters
4 Titles

61-12
2 Slams
2 Masters
4 Titles
YE #1
14 Slams
15 Masters
50 Titles
3 YEC
5 YE #1
442-51

Thoughts?

Edit: as requested below, adding 2011-16 Djokovic

Djokovic 2011-2016:
2011:
70-6
3 Slams
5 Masters
10 Titles
YE #1

2012:
75-12
1 Slam
3 Masters
6 Titles
YEC
YE #1

2013:
74-9
1 Slam
3 Masters
YEC
YE #1

2014:
61-8
1 Slam
4 Masters
YEC
YE #1

2015:
82-6
3 Slams
6 Masters
11 Titles
YEC
YE #1

2016:
65-9
2 Slams
4 Masters
7 Titles

11 Slams
25 Masters
48 Titles
4 YECs
4 YE #1s
427-50
 
Last edited:
M

Malli

New User
24 > 22 > 20. This is a fact. All Federer, Nadal and Fedal fans should breath easy and let it be. There is no way out or round or through these numbers. Novak has beaten those two in the GOAT race. That does not necessarily diminish Federer or Nadal. Their fans can go back to loving them for the original reasons that they fell in love. As a Fed fan, I can vouch that this is the case. I feel a sense of relief. I love Federer not because he is / was the GOAT but for the aesthetics of his game. Breathe easy. Novak is the undisputed leader of the GS wins. And that is ok
 
RS

RS

Bionic Poster
So Fed fans will say he had way tougher competition >> at worst and >>>>>>>> and >>>> on average at best and he had mono in 2008. And Fed dominates even more in majors switching places and Djokovic wins way way less.

Djokovic fans will say he he missed 3 possible slams due to covid and DQ and 4-6 masters titles and he was injured in USO 19 and AO 18. And that he deals with 2005-2009 Nadal better.
 
NatF

NatF

Bionic Poster
RS said:
So Fed fans will say he had way tougher competition >> at worst and >>>>>>>> and >>>> on average at best and he had mono in 2008. And Fed dominates even more in majors switching places and Djokovic wins way way less.

Djokovic fans will say he he missed 3 possible slams due to covid and DQ and 4-6 masters titles and he was injured in USO 19 and AO 18. And that he deals with 2005-2009 Nadal better.
Click to expand...
...and Nadal fans know he's never been dominant enough to enter the discussion.
 
davced1

davced1

Hall of Fame
Phone malfunctioned didn’t intend to post but I’m fairly sure Alcaraz will at some point have a span of years even better.
 
RS

RS

Bionic Poster
TheNachoMan said:
All the slams should be on clay
- Octo, probably
Click to expand...
We talk less about surfaces the 90s guys and Fed fans. The clay arguments only come up once in a while in comparison to the former and it's hardly ever if all 4 slams on clay it's usually what if there was a 2nd clay slam :p
 
weakera

weakera

Talk Tennis Guru
RS said:
We talk less about surfaces the 90s guys and Fed fans. The clay arguments only come up once in a while in comparison to the former and it's hardly ever if all 4 slams on clay it's usually what if there was a 2nd clay slam :p
Click to expand...

If there were 2x clay slams, Nadal would have passed 30 slams in the rearview mirror some time ago. I think everyone acknowledges this.
 
NoleFam

NoleFam

Bionic Poster
Kralingen said:
Why did he win one fewer Slam in that period compared to this 2018-23 period?
Click to expand...
Tougher competition and less mentally strong. In his 2012-2014 period, he was mentally struggling to win Slam finals. Outside of that, he dominated across the calendar in all events where his 2018-2013 version did not. He won 4 ATP Finals in a row in 2012-2015.
 
LaVie en Rose

LaVie en Rose

Hall of Fame
No matter how much fedalfanboys/girls pretending to be game analysts who care for tennis (LOL) and Novak haters /trolls can't accept reality, reality is
24/390+/39 /6/7>>> 20/310/28/6/5



9f2e3b3b3878348767f9c9e8f5757d30.gif



OP better watch tennis, before you proclaim one tight win as loser being pigeonizied
 
Kralingen

Kralingen

Talk Tennis Guru
LaVie en Rose said:
No matter how much fedalfanboys/girls pretending to be game analysts who care for tennis (LOL) and Novak haters /trolls can't accept reality, reality is
24/390+/39 /6/7>>> 20/310/28/6/5



9f2e3b3b3878348767f9c9e8f5757d30.gif



OP better watch tennis, before you proclaim one tight win as loser being pigeonizied
Click to expand...
I am complimenting both men on the two most dominant 6-year periods in the Open Era.
 
C

ChrisRF

Legend
Federer has the better overall numbers and simply played much more tennis.

At the Slams it is very close if we consider the Covid bans and Wimbledon 2020 not happening. I guess Djokovic could have won 2 of those 3 possible titles to make it 14-14. I'm not talking about the US Open DQ though, because that was entirely his own fault and would never happen to Federer in comparison.
 
Federev

Federev

Legend
Kralingen said:
Two 6 year periods, both representing the only time two players have won 12 Slams in 6 years, or 2 Slams per year. The pinnacle of Open Era dominance over the Tour in Grand Slams.

No man has ever won more Slams over any 6 year period than these two.

Djokovic 2018-23:
53-13
21-2 in Slams
2 Slams
2 Masters
4 titles
YE #1

54-12
2 Slams
2 Masters
4 Titles

41-6
1 Slam
2 Masters
4 titles
YE #1

55-7
3 Slams
1 Masters
5 titles
YE #1

42-7
1 Slam
1 Masters
1 YEC
5 Titles

45-5
3 Slams
1 Masters
5 Titles

12 Slams
9 Masters
27 Titles
1 YEC
3 YE #1
290-50

Federer 2004-2009:
74-6
3 Slams
3 Masters
1 YEC
11 Titles
YE #1

81-4
2 Slams
4 Masters
11 Titles
YE #1

92-5
3 Slams
4 Masters
12 Titles
1 YEC
YE #1

68-9
3 Slams
2 Masters
8 Titles
1 YEC
YE #1

66-15
1 Slam
0 Masters
4 Titles

61-12
2 Slams
2 Masters
4 Titles
YE #1
14 Slams
15 Masters
50 Titles
3 YEC
5 YE #1
442-51

Thoughts?
Click to expand...
I think this is prime Federer v post-prime Novak.

Be good to see 2010-2015 Novak numbers for a better comparison as I think that’s more prime v prime and same ages.
 
Biotic

Biotic

Hall of Fame
LaVie en Rose said:
No matter how much fedalfanboys/girls pretending to be game analysts who care for tennis (LOL) and Novak haters /trolls can't accept reality, reality is
24/390+/39 /6/7>>> 20/310/28/6/5



9f2e3b3b3878348767f9c9e8f5757d30.gif



OP better watch tennis, before you proclaim one tight win as loser being pigeonizied
Click to expand...
Who needs tennis when you can effortlessly troll around here.
 
Kralingen

Kralingen

Talk Tennis Guru
Federev said:
I think this is prime Federer v post-prime Novak.

Be good to see 2010-2015 Novak numbers for a better comparison as I think that’s more prime v prime and same ages.
Click to expand...
2011-2016:
2011:
70-6
3 Slams
5 Masters
10 Titles
YE #1

2012:
75-12
1 Slam
3 Masters
6 Titles
YEC
YE #1

2013:
74-9
1 Slam
3 Masters
YEC
YE #1

2014:
61-8
1 Slam
4 Masters
YEC
YE #1

2015:
82-6
3 Slams
6 Masters
11 Titles
YEC
YE #1

2016:
65-9
2 Slams
4 Masters
7 Titles
427-50
11 Slams
25 Masters
4 YECs/YE #1s
48 Titles.
 
Last edited:
Pheasant

Pheasant

Legend
There's a lot more to tennis than 4 tournaments a year. This is why 2004-2009 Fed easily beats 2018-2023 Novak. To be fair to Novak here, he was very old by tennis standards from 2018-2023. No other old player could have done what Novak did from ages 31-36, regardless of how allegedly weak that era was.

A more interesting comparison would be 2011-2016 Novak vs 2004-2009 Fed. In that case, they are only 1 year apart in age. And that Novak had much better numbers than old Novak, despite much tougher competition.
 
Razer

Razer

Legend
2018-2023 Djoker will wipe the floor with the field of 2002-2007 minus Federer, however when Federer is introduced in the mix then some slams Djoker will lose, especially the later years ones of 2004 onwards..
 
Kralingen

Kralingen

Talk Tennis Guru
Pheasant said:
There's a lot more to tennis than 4 tournaments a year. This is why 2004-2009 Fed easily beats 2018-2023 Novak. To be fair to Novak here, he was very old by tennis standards from 2018-2023. No other old player could have done what Novak did from ages 31-36, regardless of how allegedly weak that era was.

A more interesting comparison would be 2011-2016 Novak vs 2004-2009 Fed. In that case, they are only 1 year apart in age. And that Novak had much better numbers than old Novak, despite much tougher competition.
Click to expand...
Will add to the OP.
 
RF-18

RF-18

Talk Tennis Guru
A heavily reduced schedule to focus/aim towards peaking in slams vs Federer who played every tournament in the calender year.

fantastic periods for both.
 
S

SonnyT

Legend
Which ATG's reached playing maturity during 2004-09? Federer

Which ATG's reached playing maturity during 2011-16? Djokovic, Nadal, Murray, Wawrinka, Del Porto, Cilic
 
Pheasant

Pheasant

Legend
Kralingen said:
Will add to the OP.
Click to expand...
Your OP is a good one. I'm curious to see how many people pick the much older version of Djoker in this HTH comparison.

With that being said, I cannot pick between 2004-2009 Fed and 2011-2016 Djoker. Granted, Fed had a lot more weeks at #1 and an extra 3 slam titles. But Djokovic had an extra WTF title, 10 Masters, and 9 more wins vs the top 5. I.e, I think that Djoker handled top opponents better. It's tough to pick between their two peaks. I'd probably lean towards Federer by a smidge; perhaps fueled by my bias. But Djoker has clearly aged much better than anybody since Rosewall. Ergo, he's got the better career of these two players. I've never witnessed a player revamp his game more than Djoker has. That part has been amazing. He's proof that hard work trumps everything. If you want to be the greatest, then you must outwork everybody. Most of us want to see the most "talented" guy win, or the guy with the "prettiest game". I'll admit that I'm one of those people. But incredible dedication and hard work will ultimately trump a guy with a little more talent.

Speaking of absolutely ridiculous discipline, I think that Aleksandr Karelin is the greatest athlete ever. That guy was absolutely obsessed with working out and perfecting his craft, which is perhaps why he was undefeated for 13 years straight. But you have to give respect to a guy that weighs 286 pounds that can do 50 pullups inside of a minute, do the splits, and do back flips. That guy was perhaps even more disciplined that Djoker. His training days were absolutely incredible.
 
T

TMF

Talk Tennis Guru
It's very simple.

Peak/prime Federer is better than peak/prime Djokovic. Both players played their highest level of tennis in their 20s, but Federer is a notch above Djokovic. The number of records/streaks that Federer set in 2000s are staggering. There's no tennis player has ever dominate the sport like Federer did during his peak/prime years.

Federer has stronger competition overall, particularly when compare both players at 30s. Federer turned 30 in 2011 when the competition was still strong. Djokovic turned 30 in 2016 when the era was weak. The NextGen and the rest of the 90s' born players were utterly disappointed
 
Kralingen

Kralingen

Talk Tennis Guru
Pheasant said:
Speaking of absolutely ridiculous discipline, I think that Aleksandr Karelin is the greatest athlete ever. That guy was absolutely obsessed with working out and perfecting his craft, which is perhaps why he was undefeated for 13 years straight. But you have to give respect to a guy that weighs 286 pounds that can do 50 pullups inside of a minute, do the splits, and do back flips. That guy was perhaps even more disciplined that Djoker. His training days were absolutely incredible.
Click to expand...
From what I’ve read it’s him, the squash guy Khan who won 550 straight matches or something, and Phil Taylor in darts who were the most dominant in an absolute sense over individual sports.
 
T

TMF

Talk Tennis Guru
Malli said:
24 > 22 > 20. This is a fact. All Federer, Nadal and Fedal fans should breath easy and let it be. There is no way out or round or through these numbers. Novak has beaten those two in the GOAT race. That does not necessarily diminish Federer or Nadal. Their fans can go back to loving them for the original reasons that they fell in love. As a Fed fan, I can vouch that this is the case. I feel a sense of relief. I love Federer not because he is / was the GOAT but for the aesthetics of his game. Breathe easy. Novak is the undisputed leader of the GS wins. And that is ok
Click to expand...
Slams is NEVER the be-all and end-all. Numbers doesn't tell the whole story due to many factors, especially when the depth and level of competition determines your stats. All GOAT candidates has a case but there will never be an undisputed GOAT
 
RF-18

RF-18

Talk Tennis Guru
TMF said:
It's very simple.

Peak/prime Federer is better than peak/prime Djokovic. Both players played their highest level of tennis in their 20s, but Federer is a notch above Djokovic. The number of records/streaks that Federer set in 2000s are staggering. There's no tennis player has ever dominate the sport like Federer did during his peak/prime years.

Federer has stronger competition overall, particularly when compare both players at 30s. Federer turned 30 in 2011 when the competition was still strong. Djokovic turned 30 in 2016 when the era was weak. The NextGen and the rest of the 90s' born players were utterly disappointed
Click to expand...

Is this a fact or an opinion?
 
P

paolo2143

Professional
If you look at Novak's 2011-16 record when you consider he was playing peak Rafa and near peak Roger on all surfaces during that period (Rafa was what 26-31 and Roger 29-34) and also had peak Murray and Warwinka during those years, his record is more impressive.

Roger's 2004-09 was against aging Agassi, a declining leyton Hewitt and his pigeon Roddick. Rafa only became a real threat in non clay majors from about 2008. So i would say Novak had much tougher opponents
 
You must log in or register to reply here.

Similar threads

Towny
  • Poll
Federer 2004 vs 2007
2 3
Replies
141
Views
5K
RS
RS
N01E
Big 3 Seasons Ranked
Replies
4
Views
274
helterskelter
H
T
Not all Year End #1 are equally impressive
5 6 7
Replies
301
Views
14K
Mr.Snrub
M
Neptune
Fed 2004-09 vs Nole 2011-16 vs Nole 2018-23
2
Replies
81
Views
1K
Neptune
Neptune
Monster07
2009 federer Vs 2017 federer
2
Replies
51
Views
2K
abmk
abmk
Top