How high can Djokovic climb in history

conway · Aug 21, 2014

By the end of his career how high can Djokovic climb in the all time best list. I don't think he will ever pass Laver, Gonzales, Federer, and Nadal, the top 4. Can he catch people like Sampras, Borg, Tilden, and Rosewall, or is the best he could do is climb to 9th behind those. How many slams would he need to reach that. With a 9th or 10th slam and Roland Garros title I would already rank him 9th (maybe even without a RG title when he gets to 10).

mike danny · Aug 21, 2014

He would be lucky to pass Borg in terms of number of slam wins.

As of now I rate him as an equal to Mcenroe and a bit below Lendl and Agassi. Lendl did spend 270 weeks as the no.1 player and Agassi has the career slam. If Nole wins the FO one day I say he is above Agassi. With Lendl it would be a bit more complicated.

But in the next year or two he has a chance to pass Agassi if he wins the FO. And if he wins other slams as well he can get close to Borg

Djokovic2011 · Aug 21, 2014

:wink:

dh003i · Aug 21, 2014

mike danny said:
He would be lucky to pass Borg in terms of number of slam wins.

As of now I rate him as an equal to Mcenroe and a bit below Lendl and Agassi. Lendl did spend 270 weeks as the no.1 player and Agassi has the career slam. If Nole wins the FO one day I say he is above Agassi. With Lendl it would be a bit more complicated.

But in the next year or two he has a chance to pass Agassi if he wins the FO. And if he wins other slams as well he can get close to Borg

I agree with this. I think he'll have similar numbers to Lendl, perhaps approaching Borg.

Deleted member 307496 · Aug 21, 2014

Djokovic will never pass Sampras, Nadal, Federer, Borg, and Laver. He can pass Lendl and Agassi however, but as of right now he is slightly below both (although arguments could be made for him being slightly above either).

Djokovic2011 · Aug 21, 2014

Sabratha said:
Djokovic will never pass Sampras, Nadal, Federer, Borg, and Laver. He can pass Lendl and Agassi however, but as of right now he is slightly below both (although arguments could be made for him being slightly above either).

There's no argument for Nole being above Lendl at the moment. None whatsoever.

NatF · Aug 21, 2014

He can reach Lendl and narrowly pass him, that's the best he can do though IMO.

Deleted member 307496 · Aug 21, 2014

Djokovic2011 said:
There's no argument for Nole being above Lendl at the moment. None whatsoever.

When looking at it from a statistical standpoint, no, there is no way Djokovic can be above Lendl; but Djokovic can certainly be compared to/be slightly above Agassi even without the career slam. My apologies.

MathGeek · Aug 21, 2014

I expect he'll win 3 more slam events in his career, with an outside chance at as many as 6 for a total of 10-13 career slam titles.

Djokovic2011 · Aug 21, 2014

NatF said:
He can reach Lendl and narrowly pass him, that's the best he can do though IMO.

This. He'll probably finish at the top of Tier 2 when all's said and done. Still a great career.

President · Aug 21, 2014

He could have been even higher, but he kind of "wasted" his 2009 and 2010 a bit. Like many people are saying, I think he may finish in the same league as Lendl or Connors, or maybe slightly above if he finishes very strongly (considering how strong those guys were during their careers even apart from their major victories).

FedTheMan · Aug 21, 2014

President said:
He could have been even higher, but he kind of "wasted" his 2009 and 2010 a bit. Like many people are saying, I think he may finish in the same league as Lendl or Connors, or maybe slightly above if he finishes very strongly (considering how strong those guys were during their careers even apart from their major victories).

IMO, his real chances to reach Tier 1 was his missed chances in 2012-2013. That was his prime and he was the favourite for USO12 and Wimby13 and he lost both of those. USO12 was especially there for the taking. Then he choked in RG13 semi and if he won that, he would have most likely beat Ferrer. Also, USO13 was there as he was dominating Nadal in sets 2 and 3 but lost set3 and if he won that set he would have probably broke Nadal's spirit. These were 4GS he could have had by now and if we minus Wimby13 then he would have had 3 more and in these 3 losses he had great chances.

JMR · Aug 21, 2014

conway said:
By the end of his career how high can Djokovic climb in the all time best list. I don't think he will ever pass Laver, Gonzales, Federer, and Nadal, the top 4. Can he catch people like Sampras, Borg, Tilden, and Rosewall, or is the best he could do is climb to 9th behind those. How many slams would he need to reach that.

First, you tell me how many slams Djokovic would need to "pass" Pancho. I have no idea how you are determining whether Djokovic is behind or ahead of Gonzalez.

tennis_pro · Aug 21, 2014

mike danny said:
He would be lucky to pass Borg in terms of number of slam wins.

As of now I rate him as an equal to Mcenroe and a bit below Lendl and Agassi. Lendl did spend 270 weeks as the no.1 player and Agassi has the career slam. If Nole wins the FO one day I say he is above Agassi. With Lendl it would be a bit more complicated.

But in the next year or two he has a chance to pass Agassi if he wins the FO. And if he wins other slams as well he can get close to Borg

Come on, look who Djokovic is competing against at the FO. Now look at Agassi's 1999 FO draw.

tennis_pro · Aug 21, 2014

Djokovic2011 said:
This. He'll probably finish at the top of Tier 2 when all's said and done. Still a great career.

That's a brilliant career. Who else would have such great achievements competing against Federer and Nadal?

I agree, top of tier 2 is possible but he's no Federer or Nadal.

beast of mallorca · Aug 21, 2014

mike danny said:
He would be lucky to pass Borg in terms of number of slam wins.

As of now I rate him as an equal to Mcenroe and a bit below Lendl and Agassi. Lendl did spend 270 weeks as the no.1 player and Agassi has the career slam. If Nole wins the FO one day I say he is above Agassi. With Lendl it would be a bit more complicated.

But in the next year or two he has a chance to pass Agassi if he wins the FO. And if he wins other slams as well he can get close to Borg

The Great Djoker will surpass Borg. Mark my words......:twisted:

TennisEnvy · Aug 21, 2014

Realistically, Djokovic can surpass Sampras, but I doubt he will come close to Borg.

RF-18 · Aug 21, 2014

MathGeek said:
I expect he'll win 3 more slam events in his career, with an outside chance at as many as 6 for a total of 10-13 career slam titles.

only 3? I think he has the potential of 6 more. He just had his 27th birthday, he can play many years at the top level, like roger. Djokovic is a talent, yes he is physical too but he lets his racket talk more than his feets (unlike nadal who has had maybe 100 injuries, he will never last with his style of play). So id say he will have more than 13 slams when he retires. Federer is doing his last years in the sport at this level, nadal as i said will not last, so there is djokovic left, maybe with murray as a top contender.

jimmy37 · Aug 21, 2014

as high as rafas injuries will allow him.

West Coast Ace · Aug 21, 2014

TennisEnvy said:
Realistically, Djokovic can surpass Sampras,...

I can't see the Sampras Jock Sniffers taking that sitting down... prepare for the storm...

Chico · Aug 21, 2014

Tier 1 with Fed, Laver, Sampras, Borg

He would already be there is he didn't get ridiculously difficult draws in slams for 7 years already and got at least half of lucky breaks Nadal and Fed got in both their careers.

Deleted member 307496 · Aug 21, 2014

Chico said:
Tier 1 with Fed, Laver, Sampras, Borg

He would already be there is he didn't get ridiculously difficult draws in slams for 7 years already and got at least half of lucky breaks Nadal and Fed got in both their careers.

:lol: (10chars).

RF-18 · Jun 20, 2019

The underrating of Djokovic in this thread.. damn.

Me and @Chico saw a legend in the making.

ChaelAZ · Jun 20, 2019

Third wheel, footnote in Fedal era achieved.

Nadal_Django · Jun 20, 2019

Sabratha said:
Djokovic will never pass Sampras, Nadal, Federer, Borg, and Laver. He can pass Lendl and Agassi however, but as of right now he is slightly below both (although arguments could be made for him being slightly above either).

NatF said:
He can reach Lendl and narrowly pass him, that's the best he can do though IMO.

These two, being right as usual.

TheAssassin · Jun 20, 2019

My boy has climbed very high. And I never wrote off such possibility.

NoleFam · Jun 20, 2019

Lol. So many bad predictions in here and terrible underrating. @Djokovic2011, you need to have more faith in your warrior. Disappointed to read that you had resigned so easily to Tier 2. @mike danny and @Sabratha you need to give up the prediction game. You brought poor @NatF into your shenanigans. Lol. Terrible Nat.

@RF-18, you get the gold star for today. Epic my friend. (Except for the Nadal part.)

Third Serve · Jun 20, 2019

I wouldn't give any of these guys too much flak for these predictions. At the time of thread creation, Djokovic was literally on seven slams, less than half of what he has now. I don't think many people could predict that he'd take his place with Federer and Nadal on the Tier 1 ATG list, especially considering how he'd underperformed (by his standards) the past year. He'd just lost early in both Toronto and Cincy.

Still, there was some serious underrating going on here, lol.

Jonesy · Jun 20, 2019

30 slams, not Goat tho.

NatF · Jun 20, 2019

NoleFam said:
Lol. So many bad predictions in here and terrible underrating. @Djokovic2011, you need to have more faith in your warrior. Disappointed to read that you had resigned so easily to Tier 2. @mike danny and @Sabratha you need to give up the prediction game. You brought poor @NatF into your shenanigans. Lol. Terrible Nat. @RF-18, you get the gold star for today. Epic my friend. (Except for the Nadal part.)

Guy was on a poor streak of losing big slam matches how was I supposed to know he'd go full beast mode lol.

mike danny · Jun 20, 2019

NoleFam said:
Lol. So many bad predictions in here and terrible underrating. @Djokovic2011, you need to have more faith in your warrior. Disappointed to read that you had resigned so easily to Tier 2. @mike danny and @Sabratha you need to give up the prediction game. You brought poor @NatF into your shenanigans. Lol. Terrible Nat. @RF-18, you get the gold star for today. Epic my friend. (Except for the Nadal part.)

Can you blame me since he was barely pulling even in slam finals won/lost?

Sure in hindsight it sounds ridiculous now, but back then Djoker was doing terrible for his standards in slams. Won only 1 out of the last 9 slams at one point.

And of course who could have predicted the terrible younger players?

NoleFam · Jun 20, 2019

NatF said:
Guy was on a poor streak of losing big slam matches how was I supposed to know he'd go full beast mode lol.

I am not surprised at the other two but I expect better from you.

Tennisbg · Jun 20, 2019

NatF said:
Guy was on a poor streak of losing big slam matches how was I supposed to know he'd go full beast mode lol.

So people predict how much player A will finish with based on current form.

NatF · Jun 20, 2019

NoleFam said:
I am not surprised at the other two but I expect better from you.

Hindsight is a wonderful thing lol. I liked Djokovic back then too.

NoleFam · Jun 20, 2019

mike danny said:
Can you blame me since he was barely pulling even in slam finals won/lost?

Sure in hindsight it sounds ridiculous now, but back then Djoker was doing terrible for his standards in slams. Won only 1 out of the last 9 slams at one point. He had a forehandd chance

And of course who could have predicted the terrible younger players?

He still had made 6 Slam finals in those 9. Chances was, once he got his head on straight he was going to start converting. Sorry man, but your predictions are usually bad in general. Lol.

FRV · Jun 20, 2019

I thought Nole would be a GOAT contender once I saw his domination around 2011. It was the first time I saw a player dominate (I started watching around this time). I still think he will go down as GOAT, but am a bit worried about that prediction now. If I knew more about tennis though, I probably would have been making the same predictions the people in this thread were making.

mike danny · Jun 20, 2019

NoleFam said:
He still had made 6 Slam finals in those 9. Chances was, once he got his head on straight he was going to start converting. Sorry man, but your predictions are usually bad in general. Lol.

My predictions aren't the best, but nobody here is a good predictor of events anyway.

And besides, who honestly could have predicted 9 more slams after 27? I can assure you that no one would have predicted that.

Steve0904 · Jun 20, 2019

This thread is a prime example of why you should never try to predict anything too far into the future. Certainly nothing tennis related. To be clear, I'm not bashing anyone's predictions. Just saying it's near impossible to be accurate about something with so much uncertainty attached. The only people halfway close ended up being Djokovic fans who only got lucky that their bias worked in their favour in this specific instance, which clearly hasn't always been the case. Same is true of us Federer fans and Nadal fans as well of course.

mike danny · Jun 20, 2019

@NoleFam, I just edited my previous post, maybe you ought to take a look through it a second time

mike danny · Jun 20, 2019

Steve0904 said:
This thread is a prime example of why you should never try to predict anything too far into the future. Certainly nothing tennis related.

Well, I am going to try one more:

The younger ones will never amount to anything unless the Big 3 retire

NoleFam · Jun 20, 2019

FRV said:
I thought Nole would be a GOAT contender once I saw his domination around 2011. It was the first time I saw a player dominate (I started watching around this time). I still think he will go down as GOAT, but am a bit worried about that prediction now. If I knew more about tennis though, I probably would have been making the same predictions the people in this thread were making.

I don't know about who will be GOAT (In a way I find the whole thing ridiculous in how tennis is desperate to annoint someone GOAT. I saw it with Sampras and Federer) but it was in 2011 when I saw what he was capable of. It was then that I knew he could go on to be one of the greatest even when he was losing so many finals.

Steve0904 · Jun 20, 2019

mike danny said:
Well, I am going to try one more:

The younger ones will never amount to anything unless the Big 3 retire

You might be on to something there.

King No1e · Jun 20, 2019

He's #4 in OE, #5 history right now in my book, behind Laver, Rosewall, (Gonzales), and Federer, and above Sampras, Lendl, Connors, and Borg. Personally, I do think he's passed Nadal because of the NCYGS, weeks at#1, and having all big titles, although that's a very debatable claim.
There's pretty much no way he surpasses Laver. He'd need to win another NCYGS or something that drastic if he wants to surpass Federer, Rosewall, or Gonzales. He's pretty much locked between #4-5 (#3-4 for OE) between him and Nadal.
Tennis's most epic rivalry just gets more and more epic. A race to the finish for GOAT ranking supremacy.

FRV · Jun 20, 2019

Steve0904 said:
This thread is a prime example of why you should never try to predict anything too far into the future. Certainly nothing tennis related.

I saw GOAT contender in his soul. Did you ever play a sport where you had some healthy competition with a teammate and there was a consensus that your teammate was better than you, but you kind of knew you were going to surpass him, and then you knew you were better than him, and then everyone else started realizing you were better than him, and then you moved on? That's a process I often went through playing sports. Not saying I saw/see the same thing happening with Djokovic, but it's possible those kind of experiences shape my predictions.

NoleFam · Jun 20, 2019

mike danny said:
@NoleFam, I just edited my previous post, maybe you ought to take a look through it a second time

OK fair enough...and what about the other bad predictions? Lol

mike danny · Jun 20, 2019

NoleFam said:
OK fair enough...and what about the other bad predictions? Lol

Well, I already forgot what bad predictions I made in the past.

RF-18 · Jun 20, 2019

Steve0904 said:
This thread is a prime example of why you should never try to predict anything too far into the future. Certainly nothing tennis related. To be clear, I'm not bashing anyone's predictions. Just saying it's near impossible to be accurate about something with so much uncertainty attached. The only people halfway close ended up being Djokovic fans who only got lucky that their bias worked in their favour in this specific instance, which clearly hasn't always been the case. Same is true of us Federer fans and Nadal fans as well of course.

Don't know if you are referring to me but I always saw Djokovic as Tier 1 territory/talent even when he was losing all those major finals. I've never been more sure over a prediction that Djokovic would end up with so many slams. I remember back then people were predicting hed win 1 or 2 slams more and I was the one who tried to convince People in other threads aswell Djokovic is 12/13+ slam quality. Cause he was that good of a player. I knew it.

DSH · Jun 20, 2019

Tennisbg said:
So people predict how much player A will finish with based on current form.

Exactly, Prediction is the act of guessing an event, and in this case, the achievements of a certain player and means trusting your hunches and seeing beyond what is happening at that moment of having made that augury.
What is irrational is also fun.
Many were scandalously mistaken, others believed in their idol, beyond the gifts of divination, thanks to the unshakeable faith in which they deposited their trust and devotional love.

King No1e · Jun 20, 2019

FRV said:
I saw GOAT contender in his soul. Did you ever play a sport where you had some healthy competition with a teammate and there was a consensus that your teammate was better than you, but you kind of knew you were going to surpass him, and then you knew you were better than him, and then everyone else started realizing you were better than him, and then you moved on? That's a process I often went through playing sports. Not saying I saw/see the same thing happening with Djokovic, but it's possible those kind of experiences shape my predictions.

I remember having that feeling in the 2011 AO final. The commentators and fans were calling it a 50/50 contest, some even giving Murray the edge. I still pride myself on predicting the Djokovic blowout. I knew Djokovic would be the next ATG, not Murray. He had a mindset and belief that set him apart from Murray and marked him for stardom.

FRV · Jun 20, 2019

King No1e said:
I remember having that feeling in the 2011 AO final. The commentators and fans were calling it a 50/50 contest, some even giving Murray the edge. I still pride myself on predicting the Djokovic blowout. I knew Djokovic would be the next ATG, not Murray.

I used to think Murray was just way worse than the other Big4 and would never win a slam in his life lol. It's funny how stupid one is when they start learning something new. The difference is now I know I'm stupid. I was probably right an equal amount when I went off gut instincts, but it is different having a bit of knowledge about the sport. I doubt I would have seen Djokovic's dominance coming if I had followed tennis closely since birth.

How high can Djokovic climb in history

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