Djokovic and Bo5 in slams - a big advantage!

[R. Schweikart]

Sometimes it is claimed that having to play "best of 5" in slams makes Djokovic's successful slam runs even more impressive (esp. compared to the women's greats like Stefanie Graf).

Well, that is obviously not the case.
Djokovic would have 5 slam titles less if he had had to play only Bo3 instead of Bo5.

In the USO 2011 semis he trailed Federer with 0-2 sets.
In the AO 2012 semis he trailed Murray with 1-2 sets.
In the Wimbledon 2015 4th round he trailed Anderson with 0-2 sets.
In the AO 2020 final he trailed Thiem with 1-2 sets.
And in the FO 2021 4th round her trailed Musetti with 0-2 sets and later in the final Tsitsipas also with 0-2 sets.

He also had some losses in slams in which he lead his opponent with 2-1 and still lost; but that was always in the quarters or earlier.

Bo5 is a safeguard for the better players against unwelcome surprises. The women's top players didn't have such luxury. When they lost 2 sets they were out.

 

[Deleted member 748597]

Bo5 matches show the true greatness.

 

[Jonesy]

No one wants to see women BO5. Perhaps slam finals, but even that is a stretch.

 

[R. Schweikart]

Bo5 matches show the true greatness.

The great Steffi would have many more slams if the women had to play Bo5 instead of Bo3.
Actually I can't imagine against whom Steffi would have lost a Bo5 match!

 

[R. Schweikart]

No one wants to see women BO5. Perhaps slam finals, but even that is a stretch.

The great Steffi won the most 5-set matches ever!

 

[Deleted member 748597]

I don't really watch the women's tennis.

 

[R. Schweikart]

I don't really watch the women's tennis.

I don't do it anymore either.
Only when Serena or Naomi have lost I rewatch their matches.

 

[Sunny014]

why will slams be 3 sets ???

Just because novak drops more sets than rafa or roger in slams doesn't mean he would lose in a 3 set scenario, he would then play to win

He has 5 WTF Ttitles while Rafa has 0, Novak has most masters too, if he was weak in BO3 then he would not have had all these titles..

 

[Sunny014]

Anyway, Serena is the GOAT

Stefi is a fake GOAT, 11 of her slams belong to Gunter

Top 10 Slam count for Ladies :

01. Court : 24
02. Serena 23
03. Wills Moody : 19
04. Evert : 18
05. Navratilova : 18
06. Jean King 12
07. Graf : 11
08. Gunter Parche : 11
09. Seles 9
10. Connolly 9

 

[alexio]

thanks a lot for this post, sunny not ali

 

[UnforcedTerror]

Anyway, Serena is the GOAT

Stefi is a fake GOAT, 11 of her slams belong to Gunter

Top 10 Slam count for Ladies :

01. Court : 24
02. Serena 23
03. Wills Moody : 19
04. Evert : 18
05. Navratilova : 18
06. Jean King 12
07. Graf : 11
08. Gunter Parche : 11
09. Seles 9
10. Connolly 9

Wills Moody is my GOAT, she was beautiful but I can accept Court and Navratilova as GOATs as well. Serena and Graf are second tier.

 

[Sunny014]

Wills Moody is my GOAT, she was beautiful but I can accept Court and Navratilova as GOATs as well. Serena and Graf are second tier.

Overall if Singles+Doubles are counted then Navratilova is the GOAT

 

[R. Schweikart]

Anyway, Serena is the GOAT

Stefi is a fake GOAT, 11 of her slams belong to Gunter

Top 10 Slam count for Ladies :

01. Court : 24
02. Serena 23
03. Wills Moody : 19
04. Evert : 18
05. Navratilova : 18
06. Jean King 12
07. Graf : 11
08. Gunter Parche : 11
09. Seles 9
10. Connolly 9

And yet even US tennis fans voted for Steffi as the GOAT:

GOAT Vote: Steffi or Serena? 'The Ten' went one way; you went another. | Tennis.com

<p><strong>Watch the second episode of <em>The Ten—Wom

www.tennis.com

 

[Sunny014]

And yet even US tennis fans voted for Steffi as the GOAT:

GOAT Vote: Steffi or Serena? 'The Ten' went one way; you went another. | Tennis.com

<p><strong>Watch the second episode of <em>The Ten—Wom

www.tennis.com

Doesn't matter

Serena is ranked 1 now, 23 > 22 and 23 slams are solid slams unlike 22 where half of them are stolen

 

[UnforcedTerror]

Overall if Singles+Doubles are counted then Navratilova is the GOAT

Same with Margret. Both dominated Grand Slams tournament like no other in history and none will even come close in the future.

 

[R. Schweikart]

Wills Moody is my GOAT, she was beautiful but I can accept Court and Navratilova as GOATs as well. Serena and Graf are second tier.

Graf "second tier"?
With a Golden Slam?
With 21 slams won in less than 10 years?
With 3plus slams won in 5 different years?
With each slam won at least 4 times?
With at least 6 slams won on every surface?
With the highest match win percentage in slams in the open era?
With 8 years as #1 at year's end?
With no losing record against any top player?

I don't think so...

 

[R. Schweikart]

Doesn't matter

Serena is ranked 1 now, 23 > 22 and 23 slams are solid slams unlike 22 where half of them are stolen

Even the USO 95 & 96 slams won in finals against Seles "stolen"...?

You know that you are a loser when you have to claim that the winner's titles are "stolen"!

 

[Raul_SJ]

Best Of Five is an advantage when dealing with players that have a history of choking/lack of fitness like Zverev ... Best Of Five is not an advantage per se. It is dependent on the playing characteristics of the competition.
#Zed 0-9 in majors versus Top 10.

 

[Sunny014]

Even the USO 95 & 96 slams won in finals against Seles "stolen"...?

You know that you are a loser when you have to claim that the winner's titles are "stolen"!

Yes they are stolen too because stabbing made her miss 2-3 years and the psychological trauma she had due to that is responsible for all that....so yes they are all stolen

 

[R. Schweikart]

Best Of Five is an advantage when dealing with players that have a history of choking/lack of fitness like Zverev ... Best Of Five is not an advantage per se. It is dependent on the playing characteristics of the competition.

Djokovic even trailed players like Murray and Federer with 0-2 or 1-2 in slams and still won the title.

 

[Raul_SJ]

Same with Margret. Both dominated Grand Slams tournament like no other in history and none will even come close in the future.

Everybody adores the lovely GOAT Margaret. Margaret would have won Gold if tennis was an Olympic event in her days.

Plain homely Steffi just lucked out by playing when tennis was first introduced into Olympics.

 

[UnforcedTerror]

Graf "second tier"?
With a Golden Slam?
With 21 slams won in less than 10 years?
With 3plus slams won in 5 different years?
With each slam won at least 4 times?
With at least 6 slams won on every surface?
With the highest match win percentage in slams in the open era?
With 8 years as #1 at year's end?
With no losing record against any top player?

I don't think so...

She might be first tier achievement-wise but when you take into consideration what happen with Seles, she's not.

 

[R. Schweikart]

Yes they are stolen too because stabbing made her miss 2-3 years and the psychological trauma she had due to that is responsible for all that....so yes they are all stolen

Yeah, the trauma...

It didn't raise its ugly head when Seles destroyed everybody in the first 6 rounds of the USO 95 & 96, beating 3 top ten players in 95 (personal record at the USO) and losing only 18 (!) games before the final in 96 (another personal record).
But oops, then she had to play a non-slumping Steffi in both finals and suddenly the "trauma" hit Seles.
The trauma receded in between when Seles won the AO 96 in convincing fashion (conveniently Steffi didn't participate).

Trauma, my ass...

 

[R. Schweikart]

Everybody adores the lovely GOAT Margaret. Margaret would have won Gold if tennis was an Olympic event in her days.

Plain homely Steffi just lucked out by playing when tennis was first introduced into Olympics.

Steffi "homely"...?

Maybe Court would have won Olympic gold in 64 of 68.
So what?

 

[Sunny014]

The word "vulturing" should be replaced with "grafing"

She won CYGS at a time when Martina was like 32-33 and when Evert was like 34-35 and then then won gold when no one was interested in it.
Later she became pigeon to Seles but some madman gunter gifted her 11 extra slams by taking out 19 yr old seles who was already dominating etnnis for 2-3 years....

Grafing is the right world.

 

[UnforcedTerror]

Everybody adores the lovely GOAT Margaret. Margaret would have won Gold if tennis was an Olympic event in her days.

Plain homely Steffi just lucked out by playing when tennis was first introduced into Olympics.

It's not about Olympics, it wasn't big deal then and it's not now. Court is just a different league compared to Steffi. Court completed the most impressive and toughest Grand Slam feat. A Boxed Set.

 

[Raul_SJ]

Djokovic even trailed players like Murray and Federer with 0-2 or 1-2 in slams and still won the title.

Murray was a notorious choker. The early version of Zed.