Crazy Stat - Grand Slam finals reached without losing a set - Nadal - 8, Federer - 6, Djokovic - 1

McEnroeisanartist

Hall of Fame
Grand Slam finals reached without losing a set

Nadal - 8 - 2007 French Open, 2008 French Open, 2010 French Open, 2010 US Open, 2012 French Open, 2017 French Open, 2019 Australian Open, 2020 French Open
Federer - 6 - 2007 Australian Open, 2006 Wimbledon, 2008 Wimbledon, 2017 Wimbledon, 2015 US Open, 2018 Australian Open
Djokovic - 1 - 2008 Australian Open
 

AnOctorokForDinner

Talk Tennis Guru
Funny that Djokovic's first title at only 20 ended up being probably his second best slam run by level of play across the whole career (giving AO 2011 primacy with respect).
 

The Blond Blur

G.O.A.T.
08ovic was absolutely crushing the ball that year, but specifically in that AO run to the title. Definitely his 2nd best form there.
 

USO

Banned
Grand Slam finals reached without losing a set

Nadal - 8 - 2007 French Open, 2008 French Open, 2010 French Open, 2010 US Open, 2012 French Open, 2017 French Open, 2019 Australian Open, 2020 French Open
Federer - 6 - 2007 Australian Open, 2006 Wimbledon, 2008 Wimbledon, 2017 Wimbledon, 2015 US Open, 2018 Australian Open
Djokovic - 1 - 2008 Australian Open

Ouch. :-D :giggle:
 

The Blond Blur

G.O.A.T.
^ Don't fall for that Fedfan propaganda...
giphy.gif
 

The Blond Blur

G.O.A.T.
I know, some of the mantras are hard to detect before they infiltrate your reasoning..
First off I’m not a Fed fan and never have been. Their “mantra” has no bearing on my post. Second the 2008 AO was Joker’s best form and the stats back this up.
 

NonP

Legend
^ Don't fall for that Fedfan propaganda...
I know, some of the mantras are hard to detect before they infiltrate your reasoning..

FYI '08 being Novak's 2nd best AO run is hardly crazy:


Besides one could argue the final 3 of Ferru, Mono Fedr and red-hot Tsonga are a bit tougher than Birdman, Old Fred and Muzz in one of the crappiest Slam finals ever. '11 still edges out '08, but the two aren't that far apart.

History is full of talented youngsters catching fire and putting together a masterpiece before their prime/peak: '74 Borg, '79 Mac, '82 Wilander, '85 Boris, '89 Chang, '90 Pistol, etc. That '08 Nole belongs in that select company is a plus for him, not a minus.
 
Especially since it occasionally feels like he doesn't mind dropping a set early so that he gets a feel for playing under a bit more pressure early on.
It pretty much warms him up for the final stages of a tournament. Seeing the stats it's almost like it's better for him if gets challenged in the beginning to increase his chances to win the final
 

Biotic

Hall of Fame
FYI '08 being Novak's 2nd best AO run is hardly crazy:


Besides one could argue the final 3 of Ferru, Mono Fedr and red-hot Tsonga are a bit tougher than Birdman, Old Fred and Muzz in one of the crappiest Slam finals ever. '11 still edges out '08, but the two aren't that far apart.

History is full of talented youngsters catching fire and putting together a masterpiece before their prime/peak: '74 Borg, '79 Mac, '82 Wilander, '85 Boris, '89 Chang, '90 Pistol, etc. That '08 Nole belongs to that select company is a plus for him, not a minus.

It was you who admited that GW% doesn't work all that great on HC, often next to useless when analysing one single tournament. 2019 AO Nadal is a perfect example.

Besides 2008 same gw% as 2012, which was clearly a step down from 2011.

No doubt, he was good. It's just that personally, I'd trust like 3 or 4 other versions to get the job done rather than 2008.
 
Last edited:

Sunny014

Legend
Grand Slam finals reached without losing a set

Nadal - 8 -
2007 French Open, 2008 French Open, 2010 French Open, 2010 US Open, 2012 French Open, 2017 French Open, 2019 Australian Open, 2020 French Open
Federer - 6 - 2007 Australian Open, 2006 Wimbledon, 2008 Wimbledon, 2017 Wimbledon, 2015 US Open, 2018 Australian Open
Djokovic - 1 - 2008 Australian Open

What does this say?
 

NonP

Legend
It was you who admited that GW% doesn't work all that great on HC, often next to useless when analysing one single tournament. 2019 AO Nadal is a perfect example.

No doubt, he was good. It's just that personally, I'd trust like 3 or 4 other versions to get the job done rather than 2008.

His return game would definitely improve, yes, but he had a young punk's swagger and I seriously doubt he ever served clearly better than during that coming-out party so I still rate that run very highly. No problem if you think 3-4 other Novaks were even better.
 

GabeT

G.O.A.T.
Grand Slam finals reached without losing a set

Nadal - 8 - 2007 French Open, 2008 French Open, 2010 French Open, 2010 US Open, 2012 French Open, 2017 French Open, 2019 Australian Open, 2020 French Open
Federer - 6 - 2007 Australian Open, 2006 Wimbledon, 2008 Wimbledon, 2017 Wimbledon, 2015 US Open, 2018 Australian Open
Djokovic - 1 - 2008 Australian Open
Based on this:

times a Big 3 player won a Slam beating another player that reached the finals without losing a set

Novak: 2 times (USO15, AO19)
Nadal: 1 time (WB08)
Federer: 0


This assumes no other players in the Big 3 era reached slam finals without losing a set. Is this correct?
 

roysid

Legend
The only thing that matters is the win in championship point. And not how dominant you are while going for it.

Djokovic is very smart in the sense that he peaks during semis and finals. He's much relaxed in earlier round matches and invariably loses some set here and there
 

NoleIsBoat

Hall of Fame
Very telling stat

Federer best of the 3 at steamrolling lesser players, and Nadal same at RG

Novak more prone to slip up and drop sets early on, but dials his game in the SF/F and wins the close matches vs ATG opponents.
 

duaneeo

Legend
Djokovic often should've won sets/matches in lesser games/sets. This hasn't affected him late in his career, but it did when he faced stronger competition.
 

BGod

G.O.A.T.
Okay? There's this thing called a draw and it often determines how hard or easy the road to a final might be.

Funny that Djokovic's first title at only 20 ended up being probably his second best slam run by level of play across the whole career (giving AO 2011 primacy with respect).

LOL. On paper? Even then that's a big maybe. Novak beat broken Hewitt, pre-juicing Ferrer, Mono-Fed and Tsonga.

Just 2015 Wimbledon he beats Anderson, Cilic, Gasquet (yeah I know) and zoning Fed. I personally wouldn't have 08 AO even in his Top 10 to be honest.
 

Third Serve

Talk Tennis Guru
FYI '08 being Novak's 2nd best AO run is hardly crazy:


Besides one could argue the final 3 of Ferru, Mono Fedr and red-hot Tsonga are a bit tougher than Birdman, Old Fred and Muzz in one of the crappiest Slam finals ever. '11 still edges out '08, but the two aren't that far apart.

History is full of talented youngsters catching fire and putting together a masterpiece before their prime/peak: '74 Borg, '79 Mac, '82 Wilander, '85 Boris, '89 Chang, '90 Pistol, etc. That '08 Nole belongs in that select company is a plus for him, not a minus.
You could say Fed in ’03 too. Had probably his best ever Wimbledon win but it still sat in the middle of his inconsistent streak. He didn’t hit his prime till the Masters Cup that year, after which he became more consistent in producing a high level.
 

SonnyT

Legend
The other side of this stat is (ready, Fedfans and Rafans) that Roger and Rafa found it very hard to come through, when the resistance was medium to strong.
 

RelentlessAttack

Hall of Fame
Funny that Djokovic's first title at only 20 ended up being probably his second best slam run by level of play across the whole career (giving AO 2011 primacy with respect).

Makes sense since it was his first win of the strong era and his main rivals hadn’t yet declined, unlike the lions share of his wins in the inflation era
 
Top