Is Nadal the only man with a realistic chance of stopping Djokovic from breaking the weeks at #1 record?

[Phoenix1983]

I didn't say his claim to be GOAT. I said his claim to be "undisputed" GOAT. That is, there was a time when the received wisdom was that he was miles ahead of anyone else. I don't think that that claim can seriously be made today absent all the discrediting of Nadal and Djokovic's achievements. Federer is indeed still slightly ahead in those three categories, but the difference is only slight in all three and not large in any of them. Federer is one Slam title ahead, 30 weeks ahead (but his lead is going to go down to 28 and very likely to continue going down), and one YEC ahead. I think he still has a decent chance of holding on to the YEC record, but that's probably the least important of the three you listed. As for the first two, it's almost certain that Nadal will end up at least tying the Slam record, and Djokovic has a very good chance of breaking the weeks at #1 record. And even if they don't break those records, they have already rendered Federer's lead so small that he can't be considered far ahead, as he used to be. In this sense, my previous post was along the lines of some posts that @GabeT has posted before.

Reasonable post.

 

[helterskelter]

Reasonable post.

Thanks. By the way, as evidence of my claim, let me note that we now normally talk about "the big three," and it's already implicit in that that they are much of a muchness, rather than Federer being far ahead.

I should add that I don't think either Nadal or Djokovic has much chance of ending up as undisputed goat, either. They will likely go down in history as the big three, with arguments about which was best that are largely unresolved.

 

[JasonZ]

After last year wimbledon everybody (including Djokovic) was sure he has the weeks number 1 record in the bag. We know what happened.

He has good chances to keep number 1 till end of wimbledon. But anything longer is up to his performances

 

[duaneeo]

Pete Sampras, the greatest grass player ever lost to Krajicek who turned out to be a one slam wonder never so much as reaching another slam final, at his peak no less on the grass of Wimbledon! I wonder if you're holding Djokovic to an impossible standard?

Unexpected losses happen, but GOAT-potential players meet the higher standard and typically don't allow them to happen. When at their peak, they mostly win matches that they should win. Sampras' loss to Krajicek is actually a great example...it being a rare loss for Sampras on grass/at Wimbledon. HC GOAT (according to many) Djokovic's 2014 loss to Wawrinka can be viewed as a rare loss for Nole on hard/at the Australian Open, but not his three consecutive losses at the USO in 2012/2013/2014.

 

[GabeT]

I didn't say his claim to be GOAT. I said his claim to be "undisputed" GOAT. That is, there was a time when the received wisdom was that he was miles ahead of anyone else. I don't think that that claim can seriously be made today absent all the discrediting of Nadal and Djokovic's achievements. Federer is indeed still slightly ahead in those three categories, but the difference is only slight in all three and not large in any of them. Federer is one Slam title ahead, 30 weeks ahead (but his lead is going to go down to 28 and very likely to continue going down), and one YEC ahead. I think he still has a decent chance of holding on to the YEC record, but that's probably the least important of the three you listed. As for the first two, it's almost certain that Nadal will end up at least tying the Slam record, and Djokovic has a very good chance of breaking the weeks at #1 record. And even if they don't break those records, they have already rendered Federer's lead so small that he can't be considered far ahead, as he used to be. In this sense, my previous post was along the lines of some posts that @GabeT has posted before.

Considering how much time we spend debating who is the GOAT you’d think we’d focus a bit more on the transition periods, when players have very similar records.

 

[mika1979]

The NextGens (players 4-6 years younger) of Djokovic/Nadal: Thiem, Dimitrov, Raonic, Sock, Goffin, Pospisil, Tomic, Pouille, Schwartzman, Evans, etc. Oh yeah, so strong and deep! It's a miracle that Nole and Rafa were able to win any slams facing such an elite group of young guns. But they've been able to dominate them and to keep them from taking over because they're simply "that good". Past ATGs are simply lucky that during their peak/prime years, they were able to avoid such a strong group of younger players, for unlike Nadal and Djokovic, they probably wouldn't have been "that good" to beat them.

Nadalovic are now facing the NextGens of their NextGens: Medvedev, Zverev, Tsitsipas, Khachanov, Edmund, Rublev, Berrettini, Fritz, Coric...again, so strong and deep! Most are clearly GOAT or ATG potential, but yet again, Nadalovic are simply "that good" and have kept them from winning slams.

Did I get it right?

No you are casting too wide a net, and putting in guys who are clearly not top level players. I think Thiem is certainly a top level talent who whould be top ten in most eras, I think the young guys coming through are exciting especially all the russians. The top 10 I think is very balanced. The titles have been shared and there have been many exciting and even matches. Look at the last 3 slams, I cant remember three finals in a row as good as that. It's a cop out saying the big 3 are at the top, so must be weak.

 

[helterskelter]

After last year wimbledon everybody (including Djokovic) was sure he has the weeks number 1 record in the bag. We know what happened.

He has good chances to keep number 1 till end of wimbledon. But anything longer is up to his performances

But only Nadal overtook him last year, so Nadal overtaking him (before or after Wimbledon) doesn't answer the question in my OP of whether there's a realistic chance of anyone else overtaking Djokovic.

 

[Sport]

Thanks. By the way, as evidence of my claim, let me note that we now normally talk about "the big three," and it's already implicit in that that they are much of a muchness, rather than Federer being far ahead.

I should add that I don't think either Nadal or Djokovic has much chance of ending up as undisputed goat, either. They will likely go down in history as the big three, with arguments about which was best that are largely unresolved.

A similar situation can be observed in the beatiful sport of chess. In chess, I believe it is even more difficult to classify greatness, but anyway there are three main GOAT candidates: Magnus Carlsen, Bobby Fischer and Garry Kasparov. Other players also have arguments, but those mentioned are the "Big 3 of chess".

Check it out this poll with over 1.000 votes:

Who was the greatest chess player of all time? - Poll Results - StrawPoll.com

What's your opinion? Vote now: Alexander Alekhine, Viswanathan Anand, Adolf Anderssen, Levon Aronian, Efim Bogoljubov, Mikhail Botvinnik, Louis de La Bourdonnais, David Bronstein, J...

strawpoll.com

29% of the poll participants voted that Carlsen is the chess GOAT
23% of the poll participants voted that Fischer is the chess GOAT
21% of the poll participants voted that Kasparov is the chess GOAT

That is equality at its finest. Do you believe that the Big 3 of tennis will end up in a similar situation of closeness?

 

[The Guru]

Not.

Someone said in another thread that posters often just look at the opponent in a slam final to determine the toughness of competition. Nole fans will say that he faced 7-time Wimbledon champion Federer in the 2014 final, while Federer faced 0-time Wimbledon champion Roddick in the 2004 final, so Nole had the tougher competition. Wrong. 2014 Federer pales in comparison to the one who won 5 consecutive titles. And, it's not a given that Nole would win 2014 Wimbledon had he faced peak Roddick.

These posters also forget that it takes winning 6 matches to make a slam final. They love mentioning that Federer faced Gonzalez in the 2007 AO final, while not mentioning that he beat Youzhny, Djokovic, Robredo, and Roddick to reach the final.

That said, 2004 - 2007 Federer also faced peak Safin and young-gun Baghdatis in AO finals, faced peak Nadal in RG finals, faced peak Roddick/Nadal in Wimbledon finals (beat both players in 2007), and faced Agassi, Hewitt, Roddick, and Djokovic in the USO finals. Outside of finals, he faced the likes of Kuerten, Moya, Ferrero, Gaudio, Coria, and Nalbandian on clay, Hewitt, Henman, Ancic on grass, and many strong HC players, including Nalbandian, Davydenko, Haas, Blake, Karlovic, Stepanek, Ljubicic, and strong/improving young guns who would eventually become slam champions/finalists over the next several years.

As to the rest of your post, I disagree. Again, we're talking Djokovic, who many now call both the GOAT and HC GOAT. Not only should a peak Djokovic not lose to Nishikori, but he shouldn't lose to Murray or Wawrinka (who he had beaten 14 consecutive times heading into 2014). One could also argue that peak Nole shouldn't lose to Nadal at the USO (he definitely shouldn't lose without taking it to 5 sets!).

You say people name drop when evaluating competition then procede to name drop 07 AO teenage Djokovic as strong competition. Safin was relevant in two slam tournaments from 03-07 and Fed beat him once. Also, trashing Stan as competition and hyping Safin seems a little ridiculous. Lol at "young gun" Baghdatis. If I said Djokovic beat "young gun" Dimitrov at W 14 you'd laugh in my face. Prime Nadal is certainly good competition on clay but then again he never beat him. He did not beat Roddick at W 07 Gasquet did. It's honestly pretty funny to see you justifying strong competition with guys like Blake, Karlovic (OmegaLul), Haas, Stepanek, and Ljubicic. Hewitt's a great player but if he's the best player out there that's concerning. Roddick in 04 was a better player than his 0 Wimbledon titles suggest I grant you that for sure. However, I don't think he beats W 15 Federer.

Djokovic has contested with two GOATs Nadal and Federer in most of his slam wins. Sure Federer was past his peak but he was still a great player. Just as Nadal and Djokovic are past their peaks now but are still great players and beating them now in a slam is impressive. He's beaten a Big 4 member in 16 of his 17 slams. Not to mention numerous tier 2 and tier 3 players like Wawrinka, Del Po, Cilic, Ferrer, Tsonga, Berdych, Nishikori, Raonic, Thiem etc. Those guys blow the guys you listed out of the water and there even more I didn't list who are better than those guys. I don't want to get to into the weeds right now but acting like Fed in the 10s is worse than Hewitt, Safin, or Roddick is crazy and incredibly disrespectful to Fed.

 

[helterskelter]

A similar situation can be observed in the beatiful sport of chess. In that sport, I believe it is even more difficult to classify greatness, but anyway there are THREE main GOAT candidates: Magnus Carlsen, Bobby Fischer and Garry Kasparov. Other players also have arguments, but those mentioned are the "Big 3 of chess".

Check it out this poll with over 1.000 votes:

Who was the greatest chess player of all time? - Poll Results - StrawPoll.com

What's your opinion? Vote now: Alexander Alekhine, Viswanathan Anand, Adolf Anderssen, Levon Aronian, Efim Bogoljubov, Mikhail Botvinnik, Louis de La Bourdonnais, David Bronstein, J...

strawpoll.com

29% of the poll participants voted that Carlsen is the chess GOAT
23% of the poll participants voted that Fischer is the chess GOAT
21% of the poll participants voted that Kasparov is the chess GOAT

That is equality at its finest. Do you believe tennis will end up with a similar situation?

Similar in a way in that the three will all have their partisans. But different in that they are all more or less contemporaries (okay, Federer is 10,000 years older than Nadal and Djokovic but the other two are more or less contemporaries).

By the way, do you play chess a lot?

 

[I Am Finnish]

@StrongRule

 

[helterskelter]

You say people name drop when evaluating competition then procede to name drop 07 AO teenage Djokovic as strong competition. Safin was relevant in two slam tournaments from 03-07 and Fed beat him once. Also, trashing Stan as competition and hyping Safin seems a little ridiculous. Lol at "young gun" Baghdatis. If I said Djokovic beat "young gun" Dimitrov at W 14 you'd laugh in my face. Prime Nadal is certainly good competition on clay but then again he never beat him. He did not beat Roddick at W 07 Gasquet did. It's honestly pretty funny to see you justifying strong competition with guys like Blake, Karlovic (OmegaLul), Haas, Stepanek, and Ljubicic. Hewitt's a great player but if he's the best player out there that's concerning. Roddick in 04 was a better player than his 0 Wimbledon titles suggest I grant you that for sure. However, I don't think he beats W 15 Federer.

Djokovic has contested with two GOATs Nadal and Federer in most of his slam wins. Sure Federer was past his peak but he was still a great player. Just as Nadal and Djokovic are past their peaks now but are still great players and beating them now in a slam is impressive. He's beaten a Big 4 member in 16 of his 17 slams. Not to mention numerous tier 2 and tier 3 players like Wawrinka, Del Po, Cilic, Ferrer, Tsonga, Berdych, Nishikori, Raonic, Thiem etc. Those guys blow the guys you listed out of the water and there even more I didn't list who are better than those guys. I don't want to get to into the weeds right now but acting like Fed in the 10s is worse than Hewitt, Safin, or Roddick is crazy and incredibly disrespectful to Fed.

Thank you for pointing out the name dropping. The post you quoted was, of course, a long list of names in search of an argument.

 

[Sport]

Similar in a way in that the three will all have their partisans. But different in that they are all more or less contemporaries (okay, Federer is 10,000 years older than Nadal and Djokovic but the other two are more or less contemporaries).

By the way, do you play chess a lot?

I used to play chess in the school club when I was a child, but then I lost interest and dind't play a single game in 16 years or so. As an adult, I started to play again in local tournaments and online in chess.com.

 

[mehdimike]

I used to play chess in the school club when I was a child, but then I lost interest and didn't play a single game in 16 years or so. As an adult, I started to play again in local tournaments and online in chess.com.

I used to play as a kid but then soon lost interest in it. Then back in 2010 I just got attracted to chess out of the blue and have been watching almost all Carlsen's matches live on chessbomb.com and other sites while for instance I have been into tennis only since RG2019!
Happy to see another chess.com addicted member besides me

 

[Sport]

I used to play as a kid but then soon lost interest in it. Then back in 2010 I just got attracted to chess out of the blue and have been watching almost all Carlsen's matches live on chessbomb.com and other sites while for instance I have been into tennis only since RG2019!
Happy to see another chess.com addicted member besides me

I also enjoy watching the games of Carlsen and other professional players, in particular I always enjoy the funny game analyses by the youtuber Agadmator .

Yes, I am glad to see another chess.com fan!

 

[Deleted member 744633]

Unexpected losses happen, but GOAT-potential players meet the higher standard and typically don't allow them to happen. When at their peak, they mostly win matches that they should win. Sampras' loss to Krajicek is actually a great example...it being a rare loss for Sampras on grass/at Wimbledon. HC GOAT (according to many) Djokovic's 2014 loss to Wawrinka can be viewed as a rare loss for Nole on hard/at the Australian Open, but not his three consecutive losses at the USO in 2012/2013/2014.

Duane, agreed

 

[King No1e]

Yes. And if Thiem surges during clay season, then he can knock Nadal off and Djokovic will have a golden opportunity to grab the record.

 

[Mike Sams]

Yes. And if Thiem surges during clay season, then he can knock Nadal off and Djokovic will have a golden opportunity to grab the record.

Do you think Djokovic can go through Thiem and Nadal back to back at RG?

 

[King No1e]

Do you think Djokovic can go through Thiem and Nadal back to back at RG?

No. I meant if Thiem wins RG and knocks Nadal off the #1 spot. Djokovic probably won't beat either of them.

 

[Mike Sams]

No. I meant if Thiem wins RG and knocks Nadal off the #1 spot. Djokovic probably won't beat either of them.

I have Nadal for RG, Djokovic for Wimbledon, and USO will be open to either of them or a possible new winner.

 

[King No1e]

I have Nadal for RG, Djokovic for Wimbledon, and USO will be open to either of them or a possible new winner.

I have Thiem for RG, Djokovic for Wimbledon, and Medvedev/Thiem for USO.
Although Nadal is the common sense favorite for RG, and some possibilities like Tsitsipas winning W/USO, Nadal winning Wimb, or Djoker winning USO are there.

 

[Mike Sams]

I have Thiem for RG, Djokovic for Wimbledon, and Medvedev/Thiem for USO.

You seem like you're picking Nadal to lose at RG for some very odd reason which you've yet to explain. Who's going to beat him at RG if he's in top form? You realize it's French Open main court right? That means you gotta win 3 sets off Nadal to beat him. Who's going to do it?

 

[King No1e]

You seem like you're picking Nadal to lose at RG for some very odd reason which you've yet to explain. Who's going to beat him at RG if he's in top form? You realize it's French Open main court right? That means you gotta win 3 sets off Nadal to beat him. Who's going to do it?

The only one who can do it is Thiem. It's very likely to be a Thiemdal final (or SF), and this is Thiem's best chance to get the job done. He's known how to beat Nadal on clay since 2016, and now he knows he can win BO5. Not to mention Rafa will be 34.
It's now or never for the Thieminator. As for my reasoning, it's no secret that I like Thiem and want him to win RG.

 

[Mike Sams]

The only one who can do it is Thiem. It's very likely to be a Thiemdal final (or SF), and this is Thiem's best chance to get the job done. He's known how to beat Nadal on clay since 2016, and now he knows he can win BO5. Not to mention Rafa will be 34.
It's now or never for the Thieminator. As for my reasoning, it's no secret that I like Thiem and want him to win RG.

I don't know about that. I can see Thiem having his opportunities in 2021 and 2022 as well as he continues to grow and evolve his game. Nadal may have 2-3 more strong years at RG. It'll be interesting to see though who comes out on top.

 

[Fiero425]

I don't know about that. I can see Thiem having his opportunities in 2021 and 2022 as well as he continues to grow and evolve his game. Nadal may have 2-3 more strong years at RG. It'll be interesting to see though who comes out on top.

I guess Nadal fans think he can limp into Paris in 2030 and keep his run going! What a bunch of "IDK what!" Federer owned Wimbledon for a while! His reign had to come to an end sooner or latter! It did & his name is Djokovic! Rafa will go down sooner or later; preferably sooner! We need someone different in Paris even if it isn't Nole!

 

[Mike Sams]

I guess Nadal fans think he can limp into Paris in 2030 and keep his run going! What a bunch of "IDK what!" Federer owned Wimbledon for a while! His reign had to come to an end sooner or latter! It did & his name is Djokovic! Rafa will go down sooner or later; preferably sooner! We need someone different in Paris even if it isn't Nole!

What I've always found strange is why there are 2 hardcourt masters tournaments (Indian Wells and Miami) followed by the clay court season. Wouldn't it make more sense to have a bunch of hardcourt tournaments that lead up to a hardcourt grand slam before moving onto clay? That's how the clay court season works which ends with the French Open....same as the north american hardcourt season which is ends with the US Open.

 

[helterskelter]

I used to play chess in the school club when I was a child, but then I lost interest and dind't play a single game in 16 years or so. As an adult, I started to play again in local tournaments and online in chess.com.

I play on chess.com too. I almost never play in person, though.

 

[Mike Sams]

I play on chess.com too. I almost never play in person, though.

Chess???? Who the heck plays chess??? Why not go out and play tennis? It's way better and more fun!

 

[duaneeo]

You say people name drop when evaluating competition then procede to name drop 07 AO teenage Djokovic as strong competition. Safin was relevant in two slam tournaments from 03-07 and Fed beat him once. Also, trashing Stan as competition and hyping Safin seems a little ridiculous. Lol at "young gun" Baghdatis.

Djokovic has contested with two GOATs Nadal and Federer in most of his slam wins. Sure Federer was past his peak but he was still a great player.

If you Nole fans drop past-prime Federer, why not Federer fans dropping pre-prime Djokovic? And, nothing to laugh at with Baghdatis. He was one of many strong 21-and-under players to make slam finals against Federer during his peak...something peak/prime/past-prime Djokovic never experienced. And as I've stated in another thread, Baghdatis also made the 06 Wimbledon SF and the 07 USO QF. Compare these slam results with those of the young guns of Nole's era.

In regards to Djokovic contesting with two GOATs: Since 2011, Federer won 4 slams, 11 Masters, 1 WTF, spent 25 weeks at #1, and beat Djokovic twice at the slams. Murray won 3 slams, 8 Masters, 1 WTF spent 41 weeks at #1, and beat Djokovic twice at the slams (both finals). Past-prime Federer (he was way past-peak during Nole's era) was still a great player, but not GOAT-great. He was more Murray-great.

 

[helterskelter]

Chess???? Who the heck plays chess??? Why not go out and play tennis? It's way better and more fun!

I can't really pop down to the courts to play a game of tennis when I'm bored at work and be back at my desk in 10 minutes. I can play a game of (speed-ish) chess in that time.

 

[BeatlesFan]

I used to play chess in the school club when I was a child, but then I lost interest and dind't play a single game in 16 years or so. As an adult, I started to play again in local tournaments and online in chess.com.

@Sport

 

[helterskelter]

If you Nole fans drop past-prime Federer, why not Federer fans dropping pre-prime Djokovic? And, nothing to laugh at with Baghdatis. He was one of many strong 21-and-under players to make slam finals during Federer's peak...something peak/prime/past-prime Djokovic never experienced. And as I've stated in another thread, Baghdatis also made the 06 Wimbledon SF and the 07 USO QF. Compare these slam results with those of the young guns of Nole's era.

In regards to Djokovic contesting with two GOATs: Since 2011, Federer won 4 slams, 11 Masters, 1 WTF, spent 25 weeks at #1, and beat Djokovic twice at the slams. Murray won 3 slams, 8 Masters, 1 WTF spent 41 weeks at #1, and beat Djokovic twice at the slams (both finals). Past-prime Federer (he was way past-peak during Nole's era) was still a great player, but not GOAT-great. He was more Murray-great.

You should google the concept of "reification." It's what you do to the notions of "peak" and "prime." And they aren't even very helpful notions to begin with.

 

[Fiero425]

What I've always found strange is why there are 2 hardcourt masters tournaments (Indian Wells and Miami) followed by the clay court season. Wouldn't it make more sense to have a bunch of hardcourt tournaments that lead up to a hardcourt grand slam before moving onto clay? That's how the clay court season works which ends with the French Open....same as the north american hardcourt season which is ends with the US Open.

We do have 3 clay Masters leading into RG! The thing is Miami and IW are American tourneys and it's our turn! If we have events, they tend to be on HC these days! When we tried to promote more clay events, the USO @ Forest Hills went to Har-Tru, but Europe and South America took over the top rankings! We didn't have much in the way of clay talent; Connors just powering his way to '76 USO over Borg! We had Solomon and Dibbs (the Bagel Twins), Jimmy Arias, Aaron Krickstein, Brian Gottfriend (made '77 FO final), Vitas Gerulaitis (made '80 FO final), and a few others that couldn't match up to players who grew up on the stuff! Just about every clay event I remember growing up watching went to HC; USTA Clay became USTA HC and so on! We capitulated instead of getting better! Even the Canadian Open changed to accommodate the lead in to the USO back in '78! Look at Acapulco; a clay event for years and it's now turned to HC!

 

[MichaelNadal]

You seem like you're picking Nadal to lose at RG for some very odd reason which you've yet to explain. Who's going to beat him at RG if he's in top form? You realize it's French Open main court right? That means you gotta win 3 sets off Nadal to beat him. Who's going to do it?

Every year they seem to forget how the ball sounds coming off of Rafa's racquet on Chatrier and the way he gets the ball back no matter where he is and how his FH leaps off the court like crazy #MakeEmRemember

 

[The Guru]

If you Nole fans drop past-prime Federer, why not Federer fans dropping pre-prime Djokovic? And, nothing to laugh at with Baghdatis. He was one of many strong 21-and-under players to make slam finals against Federer during his peak...something peak/prime/past-prime Djokovic never experienced. And as I've stated in another thread, Baghdatis also made the 06 Wimbledon SF and the 07 USO QF. Compare these slam results with those of the young guns of Nole's era.

In regards to Djokovic contesting with two GOATs: Since 2011, Federer won 4 slams, 11 Masters, 1 WTF, spent 25 weeks at #1, and beat Djokovic twice at the slams. Murray won 3 slams, 8 Masters, 1 WTF spent 41 weeks at #1, and beat Djokovic twice at the slams (both finals). Past-prime Federer (he was way past-peak during Nole's era) was still a great player, but not GOAT-great. He was more Murray-great.

So you say name dropping is bad then proceed to do it and then defend it. Cool. There is absolutely something to laugh at with Baghdatis. Nishikori and Raonic both made a final and many more runs to quarters/semis than he did and if I said they were strong competition you'd say I was crazy. Djokovic at the USO in 07 was good competition but he did a lot of maturing between the AO and the USO that year. I have no issue with you using slamless Djokovic at USO 07 as a good competitor that Fed beat. I don't know what definition of prime you use but to me it's pretty tough to say someone who is world number 1 is not in their prime. Fed's peak was 04-07 his prime is probably like 03W-18IW. Fed had an extraordinarily long prime because he's an extraordinary guy. I'd say Djokovic's prime is 08 to present. Because again with my definition of prime if you are a top player in the world it's hard for me to say you're out of your prime. I don't really want to argue about the definition of prime though I just want to explain my reasoning for saying he's prime. Anyway, if Fed's career started in the 10s imo he'd be an ATG. He'd have 5 slams and a butt load of semis and finals playing against two of the GOATs in their peaks/primes. That's pretty spectacular. Is it stupid to say oh Djok beat Fed in AO 2020 so stronk era? Absolutely. But saying Djokovic's wins over Fed in USO and W 15 are extremely high quality wins is not.

 

[Mike Sams]

Every year they seem to forget how the ball sounds coming off of Rafa's racquet on Chatrier and the way he gets the ball back no matter where he is and how his FH leaps off the court like crazy #MakeEmRemember

I think the new roof is swaying peoples' opinions going into RG2020. They might be thinking the roof will be a factor if the matches are contested indoors. If it's Nadal/Djokovic or Nadal/Thiem under a closed roof at RG, that might be the reason people are thinking Nadal could have some trouble on his hands as the sun and heat won't be as big a factor nor will his FH jump off the clay as effectively.

 

[ABCD]

I didn't say his claim to be GOAT. I said his claim to be "undisputed" GOAT. That is, there was a time when the received wisdom was that he was miles ahead of anyone else. I don't think that that claim can seriously be made today absent all the discrediting of Nadal and Djokovic's achievements. Federer is indeed still slightly ahead in those three categories, but the difference is only slight in all three and not large in any of them. Federer is one Slam title ahead, 30 weeks ahead (but his lead is going to go down to 28 and very likely to continue going down), and one YEC ahead. I think he still has a decent chance of holding on to the YEC record, but that's probably the least important of the three you listed. As for the first two, it's almost certain that Nadal will end up at least tying the Slam record, and Djokovic has a very good chance of breaking the weeks at #1 record. And even if they don't break those records, they have already rendered Federer's lead so small that he can't be considered far ahead, as he used to be. In this sense, my previous post was along the lines of some posts that @GabeT has posted before.

Your post is absolutely spot on in terms on present, but there is one thing that should be said about the future. At the moment, Djokovic is 3GS, 30 weeks and 1YEC short. It is possible that Djokovic will overtake Federer in all 3 categories. If that happens, Djokovic would be generally accepted as a better player than Federer. In my opinion, whether Djokovic will overtake Federer in all categories or not depends on Djokovic's motivation. If he is set out to do it and prepared to suffer many loses until he gets it (similarly to what Federer has done in 2012-2017 period), he has very good chances.

 

[GoldenMasters]

Nadal can't stop it. He can only prolong it in my opinion. The record will eventually fall, be it this year or next year. However this year would be sweet.

Certain Fed fans please stop crying about age.

 

[mehdimike]

I also enjoy watching the games of Carlsen and other professional players, in particular I always enjoy the funny game analyses by the youtuber Agadmator .

Yes, I am glad to see another chess.com fan!

Agadmator is the sweetest thing related to the chess IMO!