"I think talk about if I am better or worse than Roger is stupid."
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BorisBeckerFan
Professional
"I don't think it's the right moment to talk about that..."
That is a very telling satement.
That is a very telling satement.
bluetrain4
G.O.A.T.
Who knows what he really thinks. These players have professional agents, media people. I don't always give a lot of value to what they say in interviews and articles. Sometimes it's genuine, sometimes it's entirely scripted.
BreakPoint
Bionic Poster
But Nadal also said this:
"The titles say he's much better than me, so that's true at the moment," stated Nadal. "I think it will be true all my life.
Honestly I respect Nadal for all his accomplishments. He is a living legend today. But if people believe some of the things he says, then I am sorry, you need help. He could be playing Olivier Rochus on clay and he will address the media saying he *expects* a tough match.
Like I said, I respect Nadal for all his accomplishments but he goes a bit too much with the underdog thing. The total slam records are on his sight now whether he or his team admit it and it is very much possible for him to accomplish it.
Like I said, I respect Nadal for all his accomplishments but he goes a bit too much with the underdog thing. The total slam records are on his sight now whether he or his team admit it and it is very much possible for him to accomplish it.
bizarre_opinion
Rookie
It doesn't matter what nadal says. We all have seen fed get destroyed by rafa multiple times. Rafa is better then fed, end of discussion.
baseline_monster
Professional
When he says that he is just showing respect for his opponent, and I guess he was not expecting a tough match against Soderling last year?
Grass_for_cows
Semi-Pro
With a quick edit it can be made into,
According to Rafael Nada, "...Roger is stupid."
According to Rafael Nada, "...Roger is stupid."
P_Agony
Banned
Nadal is so fake. He knows he's better than Roger at the moment and he's just forcing being humble, but its just downright fake. God, can't he admit the truth already?
I wonder what he'll say when he wins his 17th slam. "No, Roger is still the best in chistory, no? He win 4 Masters Cup and I don't win any, no?"
I wonder what he'll say when he wins his 17th slam. "No, Roger is still the best in chistory, no? He win 4 Masters Cup and I don't win any, no?"
MichaelChang
Hall of Fame
Nadal is still a "boy". He is shy in public, he doesn't know what to say, so he speaks what his uncle told him to say. He is a machine, when in front of microphone. He doesn't speak his mind.
P_Agony
Banned
No, he's not, and his fans will believe anything that comes out of his mouth. Nadal is phony, fake, his humbleness is forced, you can see that. I have never seen such a dishonest player in mt life. Granted, Federer's is too honest at times, which annoys me as well, but I would take that over what Nadal is doing. Can't he just be honest for once and say what we all know already, that he's the best player in the world and it'll be very, very tough to stop him?
Michael Essien
Semi-Pro
Whereas Federers arrogance and smugness is unforced yeah? Cool.
MichaelChang
Hall of Fame
calm down man. don't let the envy/jealousy of Nadal, and disappoointment of Fed, get the better of you.
Nadal is a kid, compared to Federer, who is a man. That is as much I can say. And that is obvious for everyone to see.
P_Agony
Banned
This is not new for Nadal, he's done it time after time. The disappointment for Fed was not even there when he lost in the semis, so why would it be here now? That makes no sense. To me what's obvious is that his interviews are very much like his on court antics, which says a lot.
MichaelChang
Hall of Fame
That is because he's always been a kid, uncle Toni's "good boy". Though he did improved in tennis, he didn't grow up as a man. On the other hand, Federer married and became a father, and didn't improve on his tennis.
P_Agony
Banned
Federer was like that for years. Never wastes time on court, never takes fake MTOs, never gets coaching warnings, so naturally, he's as honest in interviews as he is on court. Nadal is as fake in interviews as he is on court. The way they talk in interviews is the exact reflection of how they play:
Federer is the intelligent and honest one who can come off as being arrogant at times.
Nadal is the fake one who always speaks highly of others regardless if they deserve it or not, talking safe, with a lot of spin.
MichaelChang
Hall of Fame
yeah
that is what he does. And it works for media. He is never in trouble of what he said in front of media. whereas sometimes Federer/Murray/Safin/Agassi/etc got into little trouble because they spoke their mind.Let him be, man. Nadal is the #1 in the world right now, no matter what he says. To me, he is just a kid, faking or not.
Cindysphinx
G.O.A.T.
There's just no making some people happy.
If Rafa is humble and respectful to his opponents, he is being "downright fake."
If Serena disses her opponents and attributes her losses to anything and everything other than the fact that her opponent made her play poorly, she is . . . well, I can't even repeat what people say about that.
Come on. Rafa is saying exactly what the facts suggest: At this moment, Fed is the GOAT. At the end of of Rafa's career, whoever has more slams will be the GOAT. There's nothing wrong with that.
Peter Szucs
Semi-Pro
Rafa bashers i have a good and a bad news for you.... the good one is that i can assure you that you will ALWAYS find something to bash him for the bad one is that he will still be getting better and kicking ass regardless of what u say...
the sad truth is that the world has a great champion who does not like to pose in the spotlight... shame on him..
the sad truth is that the world has a great champion who does not like to pose in the spotlight... shame on him..
namelessone
Legend
Nadal was talking about skill and titles geniuses.
Is he at Roger's skill level? Nope, he has to improve and he already knows he WON'T get there(at roger's level) but if he improves aspects of his game in order to win more titles before he retires. He has said that Roger's improvement since Fed became nr.1 has been an inspiration for him cause the swiss didn't rest on his laurels.
Does he have the same nr. of titles as roger?
Nope, he needs another 9 GS and about another 20 something titles.
Rafa doesn't think about Roger in the present, when he compares himself to Roger he is talking about Roger's peak level and his innate abilities, not where he is ranked right now or how he is doing in GS's. Fed is finished to many people now but he has the innate qualities to win another couple of slams.
In Rafa's mind it's kinda like this:
-guy can do more on court.
-guy has more titles than me.
-guy has more GS's than me.
-guy has more historical achievements than me.
Sure, I beat this guy but in all other categories he beats me. So how am I better?
Is he at Roger's skill level? Nope, he has to improve and he already knows he WON'T get there(at roger's level) but if he improves aspects of his game in order to win more titles before he retires. He has said that Roger's improvement since Fed became nr.1 has been an inspiration for him cause the swiss didn't rest on his laurels.
Does he have the same nr. of titles as roger?
Nope, he needs another 9 GS and about another 20 something titles.
Rafa doesn't think about Roger in the present, when he compares himself to Roger he is talking about Roger's peak level and his innate abilities, not where he is ranked right now or how he is doing in GS's. Fed is finished to many people now but he has the innate qualities to win another couple of slams.
In Rafa's mind it's kinda like this:
-guy can do more on court.
-guy has more titles than me.
-guy has more GS's than me.
-guy has more historical achievements than me.
Sure, I beat this guy but in all other categories he beats me. So how am I better?
Bhagi Katbamna
Legend
Yup. These people have agents telling them what to say. Lawyers write the statements that they "release". If people have any doubts, read any apology statement released by a NFL player or NBA player. These people can barely read and can't say two words without using "you know" in between and yet release articulate apologies.
P_Agony
Banned
This isn't about being a GOAT, which is a stupid concept to begin with. This is about who's the best atm. Nadal wins the last 3 majors and he says Roger is still the best? Please! Give me a break! why doesn't he just say "For sure Novak is the better on chard courts, no?"
D
decades
Guest
it is stupid and I cringe when these so called tennis journalists keep harping on this. It's embarrassing. who cares who is the "considered" the best? someone please tell me why it matters.
jackson vile
G.O.A.T.
BreakPoint
Bionic Poster
If Federer can't be arrogant? Who can?
BreakPoint
Bionic Poster
It's hard to grow up when you still live at home.
BreakPoint
Bionic Poster
Until Nadal makes 24 consecutive Grand Slam semis, he can't be better than Federer. Consistency is what makes someone a "great" player.
Ultra2HolyGrail
Hall of Fame
........:lol:
BreakPoint
Bionic Poster
Um....No.
To say "at the moment" is Motivation.
To say "for all of my life" is Capitulation.
P_Agony
Banned
Oliver Rochus is how shall I say very tough opponent, no? Sure is unbelievable to beat him but I have to play my best, no?
Grass_for_cows
Semi-Pro
Cultural difference.
Nadal already IS a great player, no matter what nerds on a forum say. I can also say until someone wins 3 GS in a row, they cannot be called great. Or go into RG and Federer. But that would be BS, because Federer is also a great player. So all this talk is silly.
Nadal's press conference, and what he said regarding this, is more intelligent than any post I've read here in this thread.
HunterST
Hall of Fame
That's silly. Rafa and Fed's matches have mostly been five set, momentum swinging, epic matches. Nadal "destroyed" fed ONCE when Federer had mono at the French.
The fact: Roger will be the greatest until Nadal beats his number of GS titles. This is very possible, but you can't claim he's better than Fed until then.
Until Federer wins the Olympic Singles Gold, he can't be better than Nadal.
hostingtrouble
New User
Nadal's mind games
Let's put it this way:
Roger WAS the best, for a long time.
Rafa IS the best, right now. And Rafa IS the GOAT of clay, and also the best in history.
But until Rafa equals Roger's accomplishments, Roger will always be GOAT overall in historical terms. Think about this: head-to-head doesn't really matter in historical terms, since there is absolutely NO MENTION of head-to-head when you talk about any of the REAL tennis legends: Don Budge, Rod Laver, Connors, McEnroe, Borg, Lendl, Navratalova, Evert, Billie Jean, etc.). Nobody knows (or cares) whether Borg beat Connors head-to-head. It doesn't matter. Just like it won't matter that Rafa leads Roger by a substantial margin in head-to-head. History just doesn't care.
So ultimately, until Rafa equals Roger's records of such things as: # of Slams, Consecutive weeks at #1, Consecutive finals (and semis) at Slams, # of Master's Titles, etc.), he really can't be considered the GOAT. Sure, the Olympic Gold means something, but it's just really not that significant, since tennis wasn't an Olympic sport from 1924 through 1988, so those other tennis legends didn't really even have a chance to get one. Maybe someday in the future it might, but not in the next 4-5 years, which will be the absolute maximum of Nadal's remaining good years.
Nadal would really have to win at least 16 Slams, AND make, say, 12 consecutive semis in Majors (which is HALF of Roger's total) to even THINK about contesting Roger for GOAT status. I think people are way too focused on head-to-head and not their individual accomplishments.
Roger WAS the best, for a long time.
Rafa IS the best, right now. And Rafa IS the GOAT of clay, and also the best in history.
But until Rafa equals Roger's accomplishments, Roger will always be GOAT overall in historical terms. Think about this: head-to-head doesn't really matter in historical terms, since there is absolutely NO MENTION of head-to-head when you talk about any of the REAL tennis legends: Don Budge, Rod Laver, Connors, McEnroe, Borg, Lendl, Navratalova, Evert, Billie Jean, etc.). Nobody knows (or cares) whether Borg beat Connors head-to-head. It doesn't matter. Just like it won't matter that Rafa leads Roger by a substantial margin in head-to-head. History just doesn't care.
So ultimately, until Rafa equals Roger's records of such things as: # of Slams, Consecutive weeks at #1, Consecutive finals (and semis) at Slams, # of Master's Titles, etc.), he really can't be considered the GOAT. Sure, the Olympic Gold means something, but it's just really not that significant, since tennis wasn't an Olympic sport from 1924 through 1988, so those other tennis legends didn't really even have a chance to get one. Maybe someday in the future it might, but not in the next 4-5 years, which will be the absolute maximum of Nadal's remaining good years.
Nadal would really have to win at least 16 Slams, AND make, say, 12 consecutive semis in Majors (which is HALF of Roger's total) to even THINK about contesting Roger for GOAT status. I think people are way too focused on head-to-head and not their individual accomplishments.
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BreakPoint
Bionic Poster
Yes, both Nicholas Massu and Mark Rosset will go down in history as being greater tennis players than Roger Federer in all the record books. :roll:
BreakPoint
Bionic Poster
Doesn't matter why he lives at home. It's still hard to grow up to be your own man when your mom cooks for you, does your laundry, and your parents take care of all the responsibilities of life that you would have to take care of yourself if you lived on your own. You need to leave the nest to stand on your own two feet.
BreakPoint
Bionic Poster
Um....Federer has won 3 Slams in a row many times. He has also made 23 consecutive Slam semis and like 19 of 20 Slam finals. Nadal? Nope, not even close.
T
TennisandMusic
Guest
Nadal has enough money where he could hire you to do all that for him. Except you probably wouldn't do a good enough job.
I kid, I kid.
veroniquem
Bionic Poster
Why mind games? He's still young and has a lot more to achieve. Rafa respects his opponents and lets his racket do the talking. Perfectly laudable (and unfortunately rare) "aktitude" (ha ha).
I think that is a little bit unfair towards Nadal. There are some things he's done that are questionable -- the time between points, injury timeouts -- but I don't think his interview style is one of them. That's just the way he is. We ought to try to give people a charitable interpretation. If Federer fans have the least charitable interpretation possible of Nadal, it'd be hypocritical to criticize Nadal fans for having the least charitable interpretation possible of Federer.
It is obvious to me Nadal does love the game, though.
Like it or not -- and I don't, nothing against Nadal, more about how much some people here want to bring down Federer -- if Nadal wins the AO in 2011, he will be a part of the discussion of the greatest ever players in the Open Era. I don't think he'll have as good an argument for it as Federer, but he'll have one.
Imo, if Nadal wins the AO in '11, he'll have an argument for the greatest ever.
If he eventually wins 4 slams in a row and gets to the # of slams Federer ends up with, he'd arguably have a clearly better argument for it than Federer (to do this, I imagine he'd need to rack up many more weeks at #1, so he'd approach Fed's and Sampras' total # of weeks at #1).
If he doesn't ever win 4 slams in a row, I think he needs to one-up Federer in total # of slams won.
So there it is, I'm laying my criteria out there...objectively. I'm sure some Nadal fans wouldn't agree with me and will argue Nadal is already the GOAT (ridiculous, imo), but at least I'm being fair in openly stating my criteria without any wiggle room.
PS: There's also the 23 consecutive SF in a row, which could be a factor if they both end up with the same number of slams and Nadal doesn't ever win 4 slams in a row.
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