N
nolefam_2024
G.O.A.T.
Now that is a great list.
Rafeal Nadal Parera behind Borg, Sampras. Good for tennis.
Novak would have anyway overtaken Rafa in few years so not an issue.
Rafeal Nadal Parera behind Borg, Sampras. Good for tennis.
Novak would have anyway overtaken Rafa in few years so not an issue.
LinePainter
Professional
No Pancho? Nadal after Djokovic and Borg? What. A. List.
Tennisanity
Legend
LOL, now all of a sudden Nadal goes from being GOAT to coming after Djokovic LOL. I hope Djoko fans learn from this. Somehow I doubt they will 
nolefam_2024
G.O.A.T.
Doesn't Graph have 1 more slam and hundred plus weeks at no.1 than Serena?
Terenigma
G.O.A.T.
Yes but a bunch of people on that list are higher despite having a lower number of slams. They ranked it on greatest players and i think Serena is a MUCH better player than Graf and altho we will never know for sure. I think if they both peaked at the same time, Graf would be in the same boat as the rest of the WTA tour in being barely able to touch her.
nolefam_2024
G.O.A.T.
Isn't Djokovic gunning for top spot? Stupid comment is stupid.LOL, now all of a sudden Nadal goes from being GOAT to coming after Djokovic LOL. I hope Djoko fans learn from this. Somehow I doubt they will
Tennisanity
Legend
LOL, point proven.
nolefam_2024
G.O.A.T.
That is your opinion, but that would not make Graph who is just 15 years senior than her (we are not talking about pre open era or wood rackets) with more slams below Serena on some hypothetical matchup issue.
Plus, Serena is still active.
tennisaddict
Bionic Poster
Djokovic above Nadal ? Really ?
If Nadal had Murray as his main rival, he will be at 20 majors.
If Nadal had Murray as his main rival, he will be at 20 majors.
nolefam_2024
G.O.A.T.
Yes, stop comparing Djokovic with Nadal who won 9 slams or something before 25 and was broken later.
Tennisanity
Legend
Irrelevant. Only the total slam count matters in the end. Nobody remembers the details.
nolefam_2024
G.O.A.T.
Yes, so stop whining and let Novak win more slams.
Phoenix1983
G.O.A.T.
Emerson shouldn't be there, Gonzales and Rosewall should. The list is therefore void. End of discussion.
Odvala
Rookie
Nationality my friend. Do you really think Monika Seles would be on that list if she didn't became American citizen? If she remained Yugoslav/Serbian she wouldn't be on that list 100%.
Phoenix1983
G.O.A.T.
Gonzales was American and Emerson is Australian.
The list isn't especially American-biased (Laver is above Sampras, and Graf is above Serena, for instance).
It's just lazy.
markwillplay
Hall of Fame
Uh....why is Lendl behind Mac on any list? Makes no sense. I loved Mac, but for the most part, Lendl owned him. I would put Lendl ahead of Mac and Agassi for sure.
markwillplay
Hall of Fame
But of course, I would rather watch Mac (even still) than almost anyone on the list.
Tennisanity
Legend
Oh I didn't realize I was stopping him.
Big_Dangerous
Talk Tennis Guru
I disagree with ranking men and women into one 20 player GOAT list. As far as I'm concerned, men and women should be ranked separately, no offense.
Also, in before the weak era stuff too.
StannisTheMannis
Hall of Fame
I hope you remember This statement in a couple of years. I suspect you won't though
Phoenix1983
G.O.A.T.
Yeah, it's very difficult to combine them on one list.
The only semi-plausible way to do it, IMHO, would be:
- positions 1 and 2 have to be the GOAT male and GOAT female, in whichever order you feel they should be ranked.
- positions 3 and 4 have to be the No 2 male and No 2 female, in whichever order you feel they should be ranked.
etc.
Otherwise you run the risk of being biased towards a particular gender.
Big_Dangerous
Talk Tennis Guru
Then you have a lot other criteria to take into consideration as well. Comparing different eras, total titles won, major titles won, weeks at #1 in the world, world tour finals/year end championships, and that's not even taking into consideration what some all-time greats may have done for the game too. Like Arthur Ashe for example.
gold soundz
Professional
Why is Federer ahead of Serena and Graf considering they have more slams than him?
Phoenix1983
G.O.A.T.
Yes, agreed on all that....but having said, all those issues are present even when comparing players of the same gender!
Big_Dangerous
Talk Tennis Guru
Also true as well.
Phoenix1983
G.O.A.T.
OK, I'll pretend to take this list seriously for a moment, but I'll break it down into their top contenders on the men's and women's sides:
This is what they say:
Men
1. Federer
2. Laver
3. Sampras
4. Borg
5. Djokovic
6. Nadal
7. McEnroe
8. Connors
9. Agassi
10. Lendl
This is clearly an Open Era-only list (Laver always gets in because of his 1969 CYGS, but this is a bit inconsistent, as I don't think that alone should get him as highly ranked as No 2). For an Open Era-only list, it's not bad, but McEnroe is too highly ranked.
One thing that is interesting is that they now place Djokovic ahead of Nadal (which I agree with), and also Borg has moved back above him (a few years ago, I don't think many publications would have said that). Sad to say for Nadal fans, but unless he wins something big in the future, he'll likely be seen as the clay GOAT, but always ranked slightly behind the other Open Era players in the same league as him (Sampras/Borg/Djokovic).
Women
1. Graf
2. S Williams
3. Navratilova
4. Evert
5. King
6. Court
7. Seles
Clearly only Open Era greats considered again. How on earth King can be above Court I don't know (and with due respect, the list should be about tennis only, not civil rights achievements away from the court).
This is what they say:
Men
1. Federer
2. Laver
3. Sampras
4. Borg
5. Djokovic
6. Nadal
7. McEnroe
8. Connors
9. Agassi
10. Lendl
This is clearly an Open Era-only list (Laver always gets in because of his 1969 CYGS, but this is a bit inconsistent, as I don't think that alone should get him as highly ranked as No 2). For an Open Era-only list, it's not bad, but McEnroe is too highly ranked.
One thing that is interesting is that they now place Djokovic ahead of Nadal (which I agree with), and also Borg has moved back above him (a few years ago, I don't think many publications would have said that). Sad to say for Nadal fans, but unless he wins something big in the future, he'll likely be seen as the clay GOAT, but always ranked slightly behind the other Open Era players in the same league as him (Sampras/Borg/Djokovic).
Women
1. Graf
2. S Williams
3. Navratilova
4. Evert
5. King
6. Court
7. Seles
Clearly only Open Era greats considered again. How on earth King can be above Court I don't know (and with due respect, the list should be about tennis only, not civil rights achievements away from the court).
Lendl owned McEnroe starting in 1987, but, before then, McEnroe led the H2H 14-12. Also, the ESPN piece makes clear that they're considering both singles and doubles. For instance, the piece notes that "McEnroe holds the men's record with 149 tournament wins in the Open era: 77 in singles and 72 in doubles."
Tennisanity
Legend
Hey if Djoko gets 18 slams then he is > Federer.
tennisaddict
Bionic Poster
I doubt. Just like Emerson's slams are undervalued, so would Djokovic's be if he gets 12 of 18 majors in a horrible, weak era.
D
Deleted member 716271
Guest
Mixing men and women is very stupid
markwillplay
Hall of Fame
Ahhh gotcha. I did not consider doubles. I was thinking of the 7-3 slam head to head. Once Lendl came into his own, Mac had real difficulty beating him. I remember watching those matches. But the doubles makes sense.
Odvala
Rookie
I agree, let's not count Federer majors from 2004-2007 then. Win-win combination!
tennisaddict
Bionic Poster
The current top 10 ( Stan, Berdych, Ferrer, Gasquet) were fringe players during 04/07 era
Tennis_Hands
Banned
Yes, it is settled: ESPN are idiots.
Weren't Ferrer gasquet in the top 10 in 2007/08?
mightyrick
Legend
This list is a complete joke.
Don Budge??? But no Gonzales, Tilden, or Laver? Unbelievable.
Don Budge??? But no Gonzales, Tilden, or Laver? Unbelievable.
Odvala
Rookie
google a bit better
tennisaddict
Bionic Poster
Are you referring to Ferrer and Gasquet seeing top 10 for 2 weeks during those period ?
Obviously Ferrer did not reach #3 or #4 , reach slam finals then. He had to take advantage of weak era, Same with Gasquet and Stan .
Gasquet ended 2007 at no 8, Ferrer at no 5.
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