Big 3 Eras: Rafa had it the hardest, Fed & Djoker had separate eras, Rafa shared those eras

[Lleytonstation]

Pretty basic.

Fed won 16 (80%) of his slams before Djoker even won 2 (8%) of his slams.

Fed had 285 weeks at number one (237 straight) before Djoker had a single week at number one.

Fed beat Sampras at WC before Sampras won his last slam. Beat Agassi in a slam final. Djoker played Carlos the Shepherd in slam finals.

Clearly Fed had his prime/peak up till 2010. Djoker did have a longer peak/prime starting in 2011-2023.

Rafa, unfortunately, had to deal with both during their peaks/primes. Dealt with Fed from 05-10 and Djoker from thereafter. Rafa had peak Fed in the beginning and peak Djoker in the end.

Just sayin.

 

[victorcruz]

Exactly. He had to unseat a goat and another goat followed him. Who can say the same? I guess Fed did that with Sampras before him and Rafa after him. But Pete was old by then.

 

[Lleytonstation]

Exactly. He had to unseat a goat and another goat followed him. Who can say the same? I guess Fed did that with Sampras before him and Rafa after him. But Pete was old by then.

Yeah similar but not the same. Just unlucky timimg. He did pretty well considering.

 

[FRV4]

he had 2010. That’s 4 slams he coulda won. No excuses

Edit: I know he won 3 of them. Big boost to his slam tally. Not djokovics and Feds fault he couldn’t beat them in their primes often enough. Though it wasn’t always them he lost to (credit to @vive le beau jeu ! for gif, found it from them)

 

[FRV4]

14 French Open titles, still loses the slam race

 

[socallefty]

Djokovic came on tour 1 year after Nadal. He dealt with Federer and Nadal also and played more matches against them than they did with each other. Unlike Nadal, he was versatile on all surfaces and so did better than him. If Nadal played better than Djokovic, he could have had his own era once Federer got knocked off the throne.

 

[Biotic]

Dead clay field tho

 

[Razer]

I get it buddy

Einstein was great at physics but he found physics really tough
Nadal won most of his slams on clay but he found clay really tough

I get it

 

[Justshort]

Only Fed had a free pass at start, later he was simply suffocated.

Nadal had to go only through Fed at first, and quickly he specialized for his sanctuary RG where many players didn't even try to push against Nadal. Later on, Nadal didn't even try to win any Major outside of clay. He would wait coast to get clear, like in 2017 and 2022.

Djokovic had the toughest road because he had to accept the fact he needs to be better than Federer, Nadal and Murray. He always had those 3 in front of him except for 2021 + but obstacles like Covid Wimbledon, ranking points, ban from AO, injuries, different narrative in press comparing to Fedal, did not help his cause either.

 

[vokazu]

Excuses excuses excuses.

Nole GOAT, deal with it.

 

[big ted]

is that why rafa has never won the WTF?

 

[Razer]

Only Fed had a free pass at start, later he was simply suffocated.

Nadal had to go only through Fed at first, and quickly he specialized for his sanctuary RG where many players didn't even try to push against Nadal. Later on, Nadal didn't even try to win any Major outside of clay. He would wait coast to get clear, like in 2017 and 2022.

Djokovic had the toughest road because he had to accept the fact he needs to be better than Federer, Nadal and Murray. He always had those 3 in front of him except for 2021 + but obstacles like Covid Wimbledon, ranking points, ban from AO, injuries, different narrative in press comparing to Fedal, did not help his cause either.

Correct, you have described the times almost as they were.

While it is true that Djokovic did have it a bit easy after 2020, it is also worth noting that Fed suffocated after 2007 due to 2 younger ATG while Nadal has always had his safe sanctuary of the french to keep the title flow going on and he could inflict some dents outside it occasionally due to the confidence of winning the french every year. His strength on that surface always helped him because he always knew that in the last 12 months no matter how bad form he was in, so that helped him.... If the 2000s were tough for Nadal who was ranked 2 behind Fed then how tough would be for Murray/Novak/Stan who were not even ranked that high we can imagine..... Nadal having the toughest competition is vastly exaggerated.

 

[Tennfan123]

The entire period was Rafa’s era

 

[NatF]

Nah.

 

[zagor]

Pretty basic.

Fed won 16 (80%) of his slams before Djoker even won 2 (8%) of his slams.

Fed had 285 weeks at number one (237 straight) before Djoker had a single week at number one.

Fed beat Sampras at WC before Sampras won his last slam. Beat Agassi in a slam final. Djoker played Carlos the Shepherd in slam finals.

Clearly Fed had his prime/peak up till 2010. Djoker did have a longer peak/prime starting in 2011-2023.

Rafa, unfortunately, had to deal with both during their peaks/primes. Dealt with Fed from 05-10 and Djoker from thereafter. Rafa had peak Fed in the beginning and peak Djoker in the end.

Just sayin.

Fed is 6 years younger than Novak, Nadal is only 1 year younger. Why did Nadal let Novak take over from 2011 if he was a better player? He was only 23-24. The supposedly weak era champ Fed at 29 played Novak closer in 2011.

Furthermore if Novak gets the flak for the inflation era without the young challengers, then so should Nadal. He won 8 slams since 2017 and had two year end number #1, all in his 30s. Some of the slams he won in that period were among the weakest I've ever seen, he didn't face a top 25 player in his 2017 USO title run, I know rankings don't always tell the whole story but dude, that's just ridiculous (especially in a homogenized era without surfaces specialists).

Sorry Nadal and his fans can't have their cake and eat it too. The reality is that Nadal usually won slams off clay when the stars aligned for him, his own superlative form combined with a cushy draw and usually off-form or beat-up main rivals. The main reason he was ever in the GOAT race was his ridiculous FO dominance, Fedovic were always better all-surface players and were far less opportunistic in their scheduling (which probably cost them additional slams).

Not to mention that the dude seriously benefited from slowing down of conditions in the modern era. He's the only GOAT who is basically a non-factor in fast conditions.

 

[Sudacafan]

The biggest difference between Nad and Nole is that Nad peaked earlier.
Between Nole and Fed, it's that Nole's dominance was longer.

 

[junior74]

Also, Rafa's draws where the toughtest in the history of the game

 

[Neptune]

Rafa, unfortunately, had to deal with both during their peaks/primes. Dealt with Fed from 05-10 and Djoker from thereafter. Rafa had peak Fed in the beginning and peak Djoker in the end.

The reality is that Nadal usually won slams off clay when the stars aligned for him, his own superlative form combined with a cushy draw and usually off-form or beat-up main rivals.

Do you think the stars align by themselves? Think twice, think thrice.

 

[Turning Pro]

14 French Open titles, still loses the slam race

16-20 slams either injured or missed. Of COURSE he loses it.

Surprised he got so close anyways bearing that in mind.

 

[Biotic]

Sorry Nadal and his fans can't have their cake and eat it too. The reality is that Nadal usually won slams off clay when the stars aligned for him, his own superlative form combined with a cushy draw and usually off-form or beat-up main rivals. The main reason he was ever in the GOAT race was his ridiculous FO dominance, Fedovic were always better all-surface players and were far less opportunistic in their scheduling (which probably cost them additional slams).

Harsh truth.

 

[The Blond Blur]

Pretty basic.

Fed won 16 (80%) of his slams before Djoker even won 2 (8%) of his slams.

Fed had 285 weeks at number one (237 straight) before Djoker had a single week at number one.

Fed beat Sampras at WC before Sampras won his last slam. Beat Agassi in a slam final. Djoker played Carlos the Shepherd in slam finals.

Clearly Fed had his prime/peak up till 2010. Djoker did have a longer peak/prime starting in 2011-2023.

Rafa, unfortunately, had to deal with both during their peaks/primes. Dealt with Fed from 05-10 and Djoker from thereafter. Rafa had peak Fed in the beginning and peak Djoker in the end.

Just sayin.

Out of the 3 he did win the most when the competition was the fiercest in the heart of the Big 3 Era (2007-2013).

 

[SonnyT]

Pretty basic.

Fed won 16 (80%) of his slams before Djoker even won 2 (8%) of his slams.

Fed had 285 weeks at number one (237 straight) before Djoker had a single week at number one.

Fed beat Sampras at WC before Sampras won his last slam. Beat Agassi in a slam final. Djoker played Carlos the Shepherd in slam finals.

Clearly Fed had his prime/peak up till 2010. Djoker did have a longer peak/prime starting in 2011-2023.

Rafa, unfortunately, had to deal with both during their peaks/primes. Dealt with Fed from 05-10 and Djoker from thereafter. Rafa had peak Fed in the beginning and peak Djoker in the end.

Without Nole, Roger would've won 5 more slams after '11! Including the three he had won, for a total of 8 after '11! He would've have been the 2nd player in the 10's, after Rafa!

Rafa would've gained also 5 more slams, for a total of 27 slams to 25 slams for Roger!!!

 

[legcramp]

24 > 22 > 20

Cope harder

 

[FRV4]

Without Nole, Roger would've won 5 more slams after '11! Including the three he had won, for a total of 8 after '11! He would've have been the 2nd player in the 10's, after Rafa!

Rafa would've gained also 5 more slams, for a total of 27 slams to 25 slams for Roger!!!

I can concede now that Nadal was probably better than Fed in general but Nadal and Djoker are the same age. There really are no excuses besides injuries, which is part of the game.

 

[Lleytonstation]

Do you think the stars align by themselves? Think twice, think thrice.

Djoker and Fed didnt play in the same era. Facts bud.

 

[Lleytonstation]

24 > 22 > 20

Cope harder

Different eras. Can not compare.

 

[FRV4]

16-20 slams either injured or missed. Of COURSE he loses it.

Surprised he got so close anyways bearing that in mind.

I don’t disagree but his injuries weren’t due to factors outside of the sport. I don’t mind saying Nadal would have been GOAT if not for injuries.

 

[BlueB]

Rafa, the transitional champ.

 

[vokazu]

Nadal really had it the toughest, he said he had to play every Masters Cup on indoor hard courts.



Oh wait, lol.

In ATP tournaments everybody plays on the same surface and they all play the same sport lol.

Nadal: Playing the Masters Cup every year on indoor hard is not fair

Nadal said. ''is something that is I feel that I am very unlucky, that all the Masters Cup that I played was in indoor hard. Is a tougher surface for me to play well. Is not the day to say, but is something that I feel that is not fair. Because at the end, you qualify for the last...

tt.tennis-warehouse.com

 

[SecondToNone]

The hardest road in question

https://imgur.com/L0oI5mO

 

[jackson vile]

That’s true, but Nadal had no competition to any degree at the FO ie he had his own FO era all by himself.

He was a clay court specialist that broke free from all limitations, which is absolutely amazing.

 

[Third Serve]

Ned technically hit his prime during a strong overall period but his actual Slams tended to be the outliers, like US Open 2013. Bery tough wins in 2007-2009 though

 

[Mustard]

Rafa, unfortunately, had to deal with both during their peaks/primes. Dealt with Fed from 05-10 and Djoker from thereafter. Rafa had peak Fed in the beginning and peak Djoker in the end.

Just sayin.

Nothing unfortunate about it, really. Nadal beat them both in the biggest matches most of the time. That is epic for Nadal, and why he has a strong case to be better than both.

 

[legcramp]

Different eras. Can not compare.

Novak literally played Federer 60 times, the same amount of matches he played Nadal who is only one year older.

Like I said, cope harder

 

[Lleytonstation]

Novak literally played Federer 60 times, the same amount of matches he played Nadal who is only one year older.

Like I said, cope harder

16 slams before djoker had 2 lol.Not at all same Eras. Fed was beating sampras and Agassi while djoker was losing to Carlos.

Fed had finished his peak when djoker started peaking. Fed shared an era but also had his own.

285 weeks at number one before djoker even showed up. Fed didn't even know where he was from lol. Just some younger kid while rafa and Fed played tennis.

 

[objection_]

Nadal really had it the toughest, he said he had to play every Masters Cup on indoor hard courts.



Oh wait, lol.

In ATP tournaments everybody plays on the same surface and they all play the same sport lol.

Nadal: Playing the Masters Cup every year on indoor hard is not fair

Nadal said. ''is something that is I feel that I am very unlucky, that all the Masters Cup that I played was in indoor hard. Is a tougher surface for me to play well. Is not the day to say, but is something that I feel that is not fair. Because at the end, you qualify for the last...

tt.tennis-warehouse.com

LOL
Lets see what happens if they make it "fair" rotating atp finals on surfaces but we have the US open indoors instead of outdoors for equal distribution, 1 less clay masters, 1 more indoor hard and 2 grass masters.
Nadal can take his 3 or 4 clay atp finals while fedovic end up with 28+ slams each and 45+ masters - fair deal to me

 

[Clay lover]

Depends on the Q - if the argument is that he's unlucky because he can't be the GOAT with two other GOATS around him, I don't have much sympathy - to be able to have the most slams you kinda need a GOAT game on hard and grass but his game is ATG-level at best.

 

[metsman]

We have era A and era B, one of A and B must be stronger than the other (something tells me it's not the one with the Berritini and Anderson opens). The Ned was (allegedly) in both eras, therefore his era cannot be stronger than both A and B barring the convenient logic where the eras are only strong if Ned is winning slams in them.

 

[Fabresque]

Rafa is the same age as Djoker. If he really was that good he would’ve made it his era instead of it becoming Novak’s.

Outside of RG Nadal simply was not potent enough which in the end cost him the slam race.

 

[Lleytonstation]

Rafa is the same age as Djoker. If he really was that good he would’ve made it his era instead of it becoming Novak’s.

Outside of RG Nadal simply was not potent enough which in the end cost him the slam race.

Rafa was an early bloomer and Djoker a late one. Hence why it was the worst time to be an ATG.

 

[Mustard]

Rafa is the same age as Djoker. If he really was that good he would’ve made it his era instead of it becoming Novak’s.

Outside of RG Nadal simply was not potent enough which in the end cost him the slam race.

Nadal is a year older than Djokovic, so not the same age. Nadal's 2005 is also the greatest calendar year by any teenage male tennis player.

In some ways, Nadal has the greatest longevity, considering his 2005 and his 2022, and winning at least 1 major for 10 consecutive calendar years (2005-2014) and a total of 15 calendar years when you add 2017-2020 and 2022.

 

[vokazu]

Rafa is the same age as Djoker. If he really was that good he would’ve made it his era instead of it becoming Novak’s.

Outside of RG Nadal simply was not potent enough which in the end cost him the slam race.

Exactly. Nole is better than Nadal and Federer.

 

[Jonas78]

Its a valid point, but the "problem" is that Federer didnt really prevent Rafa from winning many slams, Rafa mainly lost to other players. From 2008-2014 Federer didnt stop him once.

 

[Jonas78]

16 slams before djoker had 2 lol.Not at all same Eras. Fed was beating sampras and Agassi while djoker was losing to Carlos.

Fed had finished his peak when djoker started peaking. Fed shared an era but also had his own.

285 weeks at number one before djoker even showed up. Fed didn't even know where he was from lol. Just some younger kid while rafa and Fed played tennis.

Yeah its a bit strange. With 60 matches its definitely a rivalry, but they were far from peers. Federer had the slam record when Djokovic still had just one slam, and Djokovic didnt beat him at Wimbledon before Fed was past 30.

 

[MichaelNadal]

Haters aren't ready for this lol

 

[Jonas78]

Haters aren't ready for this lol

Sure, but the question is how "hard" was Federer for Nadal 2005-2014? Federer only stopped Nadal twice in slams all those years, and that was in Nadals early years. At USO they never met. Nadal prevented Federer from winning a lot more than the other way around. Djokovic was of course the player that hurt both Nadal and Federer the most... Unfortunately...

Its strange, Federer won a sh1tload of slams from 2004-2012, but at the same time his presence didnt affect Rafas career much. From 2008-2014 they never met at USO and only once at W (which Rafa won). At RG noone could beat Rafa anyway and at AO Rafa was 3-0.

 

[weakera]

Pretty basic.

Fed won 16 (80%) of his slams before Djoker even won 2 (8%) of his slams.

Fed had 285 weeks at number one (237 straight) before Djoker had a single week at number one.

Fed beat Sampras at WC before Sampras won his last slam. Beat Agassi in a slam final. Djoker played Carlos the Shepherd in slam finals.

Clearly Fed had his prime/peak up till 2010. Djoker did have a longer peak/prime starting in 2011-2023.

Rafa, unfortunately, had to deal with both during their peaks/primes. Dealt with Fed from 05-10 and Djoker from thereafter. Rafa had peak Fed in the beginning and peak Djoker in the end.

Just sayin.

It's all true, hence the hate

 

[Fabresque]

Nadal is a year older than Djokovic, so not the same age. Nadal's 2005 is also the greatest calendar year by any teenage male tennis player.

In some ways, Nadal has the greatest longevity, considering his 2005 and his 2022, and winning at least 1 major for 10 consecutive calendar years (2005-2014) and a total of 15 calendar years when you add 2017-2020 and 2022.

A year older makes no difference. Same era.

 

[Fabresque]

Rafa was an early bloomer and Djoker a late one. Hence why it was the worst time to be an ATG.

Oh well. That’s how the cookie crumbled. Call it luck, call it good timing, whatever. Nadal had his chances to win the slam race and he didn’t take them. It’s not as if Djokovic had it easy either.

 

[vokazu]

You can say Nadal had it the toughest because he's been injured since birth, but hey he could choose not to play tennis if he wanted to.

Nadal failed to win a title this year on his favourite surface clay, losing to Nuno Borges in the final.

Nole had to play against the current French Open champion, on his least favourite surface clay, in order to win Olympics Gold at Roland Garros. Not only that, he also beat Nadal on the way.

Nole has the highest level wins and toughest opponents. Most of his titles are big titles and not Mickey mouse titles. He's won all the available Masters Titles twice while Nadal and Federer haven't won all the available Masters Titles.


Nole has the most wins against Big 3, Top 5 and Top 10 players compared to Nadal and Federer.

	Nole	Nadal	Federer
Big 3 wins	58	53	39
Top 5 wins	123	93	104
Top 10 wins	259	186	224