Laver crowns Nadal as the best player

[TennisDawg]

The only titles Federer has won this year are the ones that Nadal did not compete in, luckily for Federer, otherwise it would have been Nadal 8 : Federer 0.

Yes, but Djoker beat Federer in the final of the Aussie Open. Federer at least went to the final. Rafa on the other hand was beaten in the wee, wee early rounds like he was owned by Wilfried Tsonga, remember that one?? Why didn't Rafa get to the final?? Federer was waiting at the final but no Rafa!!! Rafa won't dominate in the hard courts, unless his game takes a dramatic turn, there's just too many players that can blow him off the court as did Tsonga.

 

[TennisDawg]

No he didn't. But going from the text which you quoted, neither did the person who wrote it.

I stand corrected.

 

[alonsin]

Yes, but Djoker beat Federer in the final of the Aussie Open. Federer at least went to the final. Rafa on the other hand was beaten in the wee, wee early rounds like he was owned by Wilfried Tsonga, remember that one?? Why didn't Rafa get to the final?? Federer was waiting at the final but no Rafa!!! Rafa won't dominate in the hard courts, unless his game takes a dramatic turn, there's just too many players that can blow him off the court as did Tsonga.

You need to get the stats right before you post. Both Federer and Nadal lost in the semifinals.

 

[shawn1122]

Yes, but Djoker beat Federer in the final of the Aussie Open. Federer at least went to the final. Rafa on the other hand was beaten in the wee, wee early rounds like he was owned by Wilfried Tsonga, remember that one?? Why didn't Rafa get to the final?? Federer was waiting at the final but no Rafa!!! Rafa won't dominate in the hard courts, unless his game takes a dramatic turn, there's just too many players that can blow him off the court as did Tsonga.

Dude, I don't know which Australian Open you were watching, but what you said right there is way off.

 

[TennisDawg]

Dude, I don't know which Australian Open you were watching, but what you said right there is way off.

Yes, you're right they both lost in the semifinals. I thought it was in the very early rounds because Tsonga was such an unknown. And the score 6-2, 6-3, 6-2 was such a sound thrashing and I'm not off about that, Rafa couldn't wait to get off that court. Rafa will not dominate on the hardcourts, I'd love to see him play Tsonga again at the US Open.

 

[babbette]

Aww man, i don't want everybody to start kissing his ass, only to brush him aside (like they're doing to Federer) when times get shaky.:neutral:

Nadal said he's not going to put himself on an altar, he's going to remain the same, and i think he wants everyone to react the same. That's why no matter how much they ask him if he considers himself the best now, he shrugs it off and insists Roger is still the best.

Let's see what they say if he doesn't have an explosive Hardcourt season.

 

[wilsonplayer]

Isn't saying the "greatest of all time right now" nonsensical? if you are the greatest of all time, then that surpasses any interval or fragment of a time period and extends to all of time. There is no doubt that Nadal is the best this year and is playing better tennis than Federer, but I believe that Federer is the greatest player of all time and that Nadal's career won't match Fed's by the end. I believe at the end of this year Fed's going to wake up again, realize he can't roll over people anymore, dig down and break Sampras' record and we will see a rejuvenated Federer that will again show us his talent as a tennis player and as a competitor. I say Fed's got at least 3 slams left in him and at the most maybe 5 or 6. I also think we will see Nadal's extremely physical game wary over the next year or so. His knees are already taking a pounding everytime he plays and it's probably worse on a hard court.

 

[NikeWilson]

i kinda feel like Rod Laver is stabbing Roger Federer in the back. for the past 4 years everyone was hailing Federer as the greatest ever. and now to hear Laver say that Nadal is the best player, sounds suspicious. i feel that a lot of these former great players deep down inside resent Roger Federer. probably because Fed has had such a seemingly easy time accumulating his grand slam wins. but to hear Laver suddenly jump ship just because Federer lost a close match to Nadal. it just shows me that the former greats truly admire Nadal more than Fed. maybe because he's the one guy that can help save their old records from being broken by Federer. from Borg to Laver to even Sampras now, i believe all of them like Nadal better than Federer. and i believe their deeper reason for rooting for Nadal over Fed is due to the fact that they secretly don't want Fed to break their records. this way, these guys will still remain relevant in the discussion of who's the greatest player of all time.
and i know for a fact Sampras wants to keep his record in tact.
Pete Sampras watched from his home in Beverly Hills, Calif., and called the match, "Absolutely terrific. One of the best tennis matches I've ever seen. The Federer-Nadal rivalry has transcended the sport," he said.

 

[TennisDawg]

i kinda feel like Rod Laver is stabbing Roger Federer in the back. for the past 4 years everyone was hailing Federer as the greatest ever. and now to hear Laver say that Nadal is the best player, sounds suspicious. i feel that a lot of these former great players deep down inside resent Roger Federer. probably because Fed has had such a seemingly easy time accumulating his grand slam wins. but to hear Laver suddenly jump ship just because Federer lost a close match to Nadal. it just shows me that the former greats truly admire Nadal more than Fed. maybe because he's the one guy that can help save their old records from being broken by Federer. from Borg to Laver to even Sampras now, i believe all of them like Nadal better than Federer. and i believe their deeper reason for rooting for Nadal over Fed is due to the fact that they secretly don't want Fed to break their records. this way, these guys will still remain relevant in the discussion of who's the greatest player of all time.
and i know for a fact Sampras wants to keep his record in tact.
Pete Sampras watched from his home in Beverly Hills, Calif., and called the match, "Absolutely terrific. One of the best tennis matches I've ever seen. The Federer-Nadal rivalry has transcended the sport," he said.

Good points, I remember a few years back, Guillermo Villas seemed to berate, Nadal's winning record right after he had surpassed Villa's match winning record back around 1978. He seemed jealous which I think is pathetic when you see an older, aged out player still basking in those moments when they were in their hay days. They should just let it go. Laver may be doing the same thing, but in fairness, Laver does have good point. Right now Nadal is the better player, having won on the Red Clay of Roland Garros and now on Wimby grass, a notable accomplishment, especially since he's won back-to-back French-Wimby's. We have the hard court season culiminating in the US Open where Nadal won't be invincible. It will be interesting where the season winds up, who will it be Federer or Nadal, some up and coming player?? I see Federer winning at least 3 maybe 4 more grand slams, Pete's record will be surpassed.

 

[CyBorg]

Good points, I remember a few years back, Guillermo Villas seemed to berate, Nadal's winning record right after he had surpassed Villa's match winning record back around 1978. He seemed jealous which I think is pathetic when you see an older, aged out player still basking in those moments when they were in their hay days.

Were you there when this happened or did you just read some quotes that were taken out of context?

 

[TennisDawg]

Were you there when this happened or did you just read some quotes that were taken out of context?

Nope wasn't there, that's why I used phrases such as "seemed to berate" and "seemed jealous". I read the article a while back, I suppose, I could find the article and re-read it but I'm sure my opionion will still be that he seemed to be jealous and did seem to berate Nadal. Did you read the article, what did you think about the article??

 

[Otherside]

i kinda feel like Rod Laver is stabbing Roger Federer in the back. for the past 4 years everyone was hailing Federer as the greatest ever. and now to hear Laver say that Nadal is the best player, sounds suspicious. i feel that a lot of these former great players deep down inside resent Roger Federer. probably because Fed has had such a seemingly easy time accumulating his grand slam wins. but to hear Laver suddenly jump ship just because Federer lost a close match to Nadal. it just shows me that the former greats truly admire Nadal more than Fed. maybe because he's the one guy that can help save their old records from being broken by Federer. from Borg to Laver to even Sampras now, i believe all of them like Nadal better than Federer. and i believe their deeper reason for rooting for Nadal over Fed is due to the fact that they secretly don't want Fed to break their records. this way, these guys will still remain relevant in the discussion of who's the greatest player of all time.
and i know for a fact Sampras wants to keep his record in tact.
Pete Sampras watched from his home in Beverly Hills, Calif., and called the match, "Absolutely terrific. One of the best tennis matches I've ever seen. The Federer-Nadal rivalry has transcended the sport," he said.

I totally agree and been doing so for 2 years now after hearing Borgs words since Wimby -06. Of course they don't want Fed to break they're records. WHo wouldn't wanna be remembered as the GOAT? The only one who seems to totally be honest is Mac who has been saying Fed is the GOAT for years simply cuz he is the most fluid perfect player ever. Agassi totally agrees, just listen to his words when commentating roddick -fed at the open.

I will always hold Fed as the all time great no matter what Nadal does simply cuz fed to me seems to be sent from the sky to play tennis.

 

[Rabbit]

It should be noted that Laver said of John McEnroe that he was 'honored to be mentioned in the same breath". He said Borg was the greatest player. He later opined that Sampras was king.

The greats all have a habit of deferring to the guy whose on top now and deflecting attention away from themselves. I think it's better considered "good form" than an absolute judgement on the last 40 years of Open tennis.

 

[tennis-hero]

nadal the GOAT?

its quite obvious laver has been smoking crack

 

[pound cat]

perhaps federer will get a taste of what nadal has been through the past what... 4 years? being number 2.

The difference is that Nadal was #2 with the anticipaion of going UP and being #1. Being #2 for Federer would be a huge step down. And that's no fun.

 

[verbatim100]

Fed now looks quite ordinary, small minded man. His fans have been deceived into believing he's still the great No.1 because of Nadal's constant public statement that he is the best in history.
I reckon Fed himself deep down knows that he is no longer the best in the world. Mark my word.

 

[tennisdude083]

Obviously Laver has never seen me play.

lol

What idiots. Have we all forgotten he failed to win on a HARD COURT GRAND SLAM? I mean Hard court season is the most predominant season right? Have we also forgotten that he only has won 1 wimbledon?

nadal the GOAT?

its quite obvious laver has been smoking crack

he didnt say rafa is greatest of all time he said rafa is best player right now

 

[Josherer]

The greats have no problem saying it as it is.
---------------------------------------------

Australian Rod Laver, one of the greatest players of all-time, echoed those sentiments. "That was the best match I've ever seen," said Laver. "Until the final, Roger was the best player in the world. Now Nadal is."

And if Federer had won one more BP?

Would Nadal be considered a failure?

Please that was one of the greatest matches o all time and both are winners in various aspects IMO (obviousy Nadal though)

Surehs stop the Fed bashing threads seriously..

Just because Nadal won one of the greatest and extremley closes matches of all time.. it dosn't mean he is the greatest player in the world!

 

[TheTruth]

Xcuse me the article didn't say Rafa is the G.O.A.T. it said he was the best player. McEnroe esentially said the same thing that Rafa was the best, but not the G.O.A.T. The best at the moment, let's wait and see how Rafa does in the next 6 years or so. You can't possibly annoint Rafa with greatest of all time, until he gets around 12 grand slams, then you can start talking about it. Should Rafa amass 12 grand slams to include a few more Wimbys, a USO title and Australian, then you can start comparing him to the accomplishments of Fed and Samrpas with 14 grandslams. And let's not discount the real probability that Fed will also win 3 to 4 more slams before it's all over. Laver didn't say Rafa is the Greatest of All time.

Why does Rafa have to get 12 slams to be anointed GOAT? Fed doesn't have 14 and many proclaim him the GOAT. If it's a numbers game, it works for Fed too! And remember, at Rafa's age, Fed had ONE!

 

[TheTruth]

Yes, but Djoker beat Federer in the final of the Aussie Open. Federer at least went to the final. Rafa on the other hand was beaten in the wee, wee early rounds like he was owned by Wilfried Tsonga, remember that one?? Why didn't Rafa get to the final?? Federer was waiting at the final but no Rafa!!! Rafa won't dominate in the hard courts, unless his game takes a dramatic turn, there's just too many players that can blow him off the court as did Tsonga.

Federer didn't make the final of the Oz either, did he? Djokovic beat him in the semi final and played Jo Willie in the final. Guess you can't fault Rafa for that. Him and Fed went out in the same round. Then Rafa beat him down at the French, and dethroned him on his stomping grounds. Hate to be so blunt, but you guys are sore losers, just like Fed!

 

[TheTruth]

Yes, you're right they both lost in the semifinals. I thought it was in the very early rounds because Tsonga was such an unknown. And the score 6-2, 6-3, 6-2 was such a sound thrashing and I'm not off about that, Rafa couldn't wait to get off that court. Rafa will not dominate on the hardcourts, I'd love to see him play Tsonga again at the US Open.

I hear you. I can't wait for Djoker and Nadal to play Fed at the Open. He's not getting past both of them.

 

[TheTruth]

Yes, you're right they both lost in the semifinals. I thought it was in the very early rounds because Tsonga was such an unknown. And the score 6-2, 6-3, 6-2 was such a sound thrashing and I'm not off about that, Rafa couldn't wait to get off that court. Rafa will not dominate on the hardcourts, I'd love to see him play Tsonga again at the US Open.

Isn't 2+3+2= to 7? Fed won how many games in that French Open final that he said he was going to win? 1+3+0=4. Rafa just keeps upstaging Fed, doesn't he? And it's killing you. Quit posting such silly stuff. If you can't come to grips with reality go and hide like the rest of the Fed ****s that have disappeared! All that bragging only to keep getting embarrassed.

 

[TheTruth]

Aww man, i don't want everybody to start kissing his ass, only to brush him aside (like they're doing to Federer) when times get shaky.:neutral:

Nadal said he's not going to put himself on an altar, he's going to remain the same, and i think he wants everyone to react the same. That's why no matter how much they ask him if he considers himself the best now, he shrugs it off and insists Roger is still the best.

Let's see what they say if he doesn't have an explosive Hardcourt season.

Uncle Toni would never allow that. He makes Rafa carry his own bags on the practice court and clean up his own mess to keep him humble. That idol worship just puts you in a trap. That's what's Federer problem is/was, believing the hype machine. He let himself get carried away, i.e. gold crested blazers, RF cardigans, etc. Didn't he realize at one point he would lose, and the moment he did they would discard him? Why people don't learn from the world around them is puzzling. What many posters don't realize, is since that's the table Fed ate from, it's also the table that he'll starve from. When the talk is no longer about him and the papers start calling for his retirement then we'll see what Fed is made of. Great champions always endure persecution. Let's see how well Federer handles it. They should test it by putting him on Court 2.

 

[TheTruth]

i kinda feel like Rod Laver is stabbing Roger Federer in the back. for the past 4 years everyone was hailing Federer as the greatest ever. and now to hear Laver say that Nadal is the best player, sounds suspicious. i feel that a lot of these former great players deep down inside resent Roger Federer. probably because Fed has had such a seemingly easy time accumulating his grand slam wins. but to hear Laver suddenly jump ship just because Federer lost a close match to Nadal. it just shows me that the former greats truly admire Nadal more than Fed. maybe because he's the one guy that can help save their old records from being broken by Federer. from Borg to Laver to even Sampras now, i believe all of them like Nadal better than Federer. and i believe their deeper reason for rooting for Nadal over Fed is due to the fact that they secretly don't want Fed to break their records. this way, these guys will still remain relevant in the discussion of who's the greatest player of all time.
and i know for a fact Sampras wants to keep his record in tact.
Pete Sampras watched from his home in Beverly Hills, Calif., and called the match, "Absolutely terrific. One of the best tennis matches I've ever seen. The Federer-Nadal rivalry has transcended the sport," he said.

No. It's human nature. Months ago when I was saying the "legends" are always touting the next best thing as the greatest ever. Posters got offended and said they would believe the "experts" over any poster on a board. Maybe they were young and didn't know the history. Laver said McEnroe, Sampras, and Federer were the best ever. Now he says Nadal. If someone puts that much emphasis on what others say, instead of having deep confidence in themselves that's their problem. If Fed believed it when they said he was the best, now he'll be forced to believe it when they say he's not. And regarding Nadal's knees. You do realize Fed relies heavily on his movement, right? And movement also goes as you age.

 

[TheTruth]

I don't recall Vilas berating Nadal. He said he wasn't even aware that he held such a record!

 

[TheTruth]

Nope wasn't there, that's why I used phrases such as "seemed to berate" and "seemed jealous". I read the article a while back, I suppose, I could find the article and re-read it but I'm sure my opionion will still be that he seemed to be jealous and did seem to berate Nadal. Did you read the article, what did you think about the article??

I read it. Words like berate and jealous don't come to mind though!

 

[superman1]

Laver did not say Nadal is the best ever. Read it again.

He just said he's the best player right now, which is statistically true and is quite obvious. No one has jumped off the Federer bandwagon just yet. Everyone is on the edge of their seat waiting to see what the great Federer will do to retaliate. If he truly is the greatest, he'd better have something up his sleeve.

 

[TheTruth]

Fed now looks quite ordinary, small minded man. His fans have been deceived into believing he's still the great No.1 because of Nadal's constant public statement that he is the best in history.
I reckon Fed himself deep down knows that he is no longer the best in the world. Mark my word.

Absolutely, Johhny Mac even said Nadal was the best player regardless of what he does at the Open this year. Talk about throwing Fed out with the bath water. People don't realize you can't listen to them commentators. They have to sell the most "product" on the market!

 

[helloworld]

Federer is no longer a contender for GOAT title. The GOAT can never be dominated by anyone in his generation. Fed is thrashed by Nadal time and time again. He is not even the GOAT of his generation. It doesn't matter if he wins 20 slams from now. He'll still have a title "Nadal's personal *****" behind his back for the rest of his life.

 

[ksbh]

LOL, now that Rafa is Wimbledon champion, the Federer fanboys have predictably picked up on his hard court record. Every post refers to that.

It won't be too long before Rafa smashes that perception as well ... that he can't perform on hard courts. Federer himself said that Rafa has already proved he can perform on all surfaces but it seems like nothing short of a major will convince some people.

By the way, who are all these new Federer fans on the forum? Where are all the old ones?

Isn't 2+3+2= to 7? Fed won how many games in that French Open final that he said he was going to win? 1+3+0=4. Rafa just keeps upstaging Fed, doesn't he? And it's killing you. Quit posting such silly stuff. If you can't come to grips with reality go and hide like the rest of the Fed ****s that have disappeared! All that bragging only to keep getting embarrassed.

 

[NikeWilson]

Federer is no longer a contender for GOAT title. The GOAT can never be dominated by anyone in his generation. Fed is thrashed by Nadal time and time again. He is not even the GOAT of his generation. It doesn't matter if he wins 20 slams from now. He'll still have a title "Nadal's personal *****" behind his back for the rest of his life.

i agree. and furthermore, this is why i've always believed if Federer(and Nadal) was playing in a time during Sampras and Agassi and some of the other great players of the 90s, Fed would not be as dominant.
Nadal is definitely on the same type of level Sampras and Agassi were at, in their primes. the past 4 years, Fed had it easy because the field was filled with weak-minded players. then came Nadal, who reminds me a lot of how the old school 90s players played like. with a lot of heart and fight.
Fed's game is just "pretty", but that doesn't mean a damn thing.

 

[bangchu]

I agree with Laver. Currently, Nadal is the best player in the world. I hope Fed will take it back by the end of the year though.

 

[NamRanger]

Federer is no longer a contender for GOAT title. The GOAT can never be dominated by anyone in his generation. Fed is thrashed by Nadal time and time again. He is not even the GOAT of his generation. It doesn't matter if he wins 20 slams from now. He'll still have a title "Nadal's personal *****" behind his back for the rest of his life.

I guess Sampras isn't considered the GOAT because Richard K. beat him up pretty badly most of the time.

 

[helloworld]

I guess Sampras isn't considered the GOAT because Richard K. beat him up pretty badly most of the time.

4-6 H2H is a very respectable record, credits to Richard. However 12-6 is a pathetic record for a so called "GOAT" of tennis.

 

[TheTruth]

LOL, now that Rafa is Wimbledon champion, the Federer fanboys have predictably picked up on his hard court record. Every post refers to that.

It won't be too long before Rafa smashes that perception as well ... that he can't perform on hard courts. Federer himself said that Rafa has already proved he can perform on all surfaces but it seems like nothing short of a major will convince some people.

By the way, who are all these new Federer fans on the forum? Where are all the old ones?

I noticed that too. I was going to ask who were all these new posters with the same writing and thinking patterns?. Methinks it's the old posters hiding under aliases because they're too embarrassed about all the ridiculous claims they made before the final. So sad!

I know, about the hard court thing. I definitely think Uncle Toni has a plan. The man is a virtual genius. It's hard to believe that you cannot see the tremendous potential of one who at 22 already has five slams. Ironically they even called Djoker an idiot. Even Djokovic has enough sense to "I have a lot to learn."

 

[TheTruth]

i agree. and furthermore, this is why i've always believed if Federer(and Nadal) was playing in a time during Sampras and Agassi and some of the other great players of the 90s, Fed would not be as dominant.
Nadal is definitely on the same type of level Sampras and Agassi were at, in their primes. the past 4 years, Fed had it easy because the field was filled with weak-minded players. then came Nadal, who reminds me a lot of how the old school 90s players played like. with a lot of heart and fight.
Fed's game is just "pretty", but that doesn't mean a damn thing.

Agree 100% with this post!

 

[Tennis_Goodness]

Nadal has a long way to go to catch up to 12 slams. I think Federer is going to go down as the best ever. Nadal will be close though but I don't think he will get as many slams!

 

[TheTruth]

4-6 H2H is a very respectable record, credits to Richard. However 12-6 is a pathetic record for a so called "GOAT" of tennis.

Right, 4-6 means one win the other way would have made them equal. 12-6 is being twice as likely to win!

 

[TennisDawg]

I don't recall Vilas berating Nadal. He said he wasn't even aware that he held such a record!

Seems we have different recollections and therefore, opinions.


http://sports.espn.go.com/sports/tennis/french06/news/story?id=2462389

"I don't know how many he can win," Vilas said in a recent conference call. "Last year he won, so let's see what he does this year. That's the question mark that you have to ask about Nadal, because he's young. He has to repeat himself and win it two, three times. Then you can provide some idea."




A Reuters story early in the day featured Vilas quotes that sounded a little whiny.

"First of all, Nadal's performance is spanning over two years, which is not the same," Vilas told the news service. "Then, I have the feeling he added easy tournaments on his schedule just for that purpose."

 

[TennisDawg]

Seems we have different recollections and therefore, opinions.


http://sports.espn.go.com/sports/tennis/french06/news/story?id=2462389

"I don't know how many he can win," Vilas said in a recent conference call. "Last year he won, so let's see what he does this year. That's the question mark that you have to ask about Nadal, because he's young. He has to repeat himself and win it two, three times. Then you can provide some idea."

Villas seemed to be jeoulous!!




A Reuters story early in the day featured Vilas quotes that sounded a little whiny.

"First of all, Nadal's performance is spanning over two years, which is not the same," Vilas told the news service. "Then, I have the feeling he added easy tournaments on his schedule just for that purpose."

Villas seemed to berate!!

 

[TheTruth]

Seems we have different recollections and therefore, opinions.


http://sports.espn.go.com/sports/tennis/french06/news/story?id=2462389

"I don't know how many he can win," Vilas said in a recent conference call. "Last year he won, so let's see what he does this year. That's the question mark that you have to ask about Nadal, because he's young. He has to repeat himself and win it two, three times. Then you can provide some idea."




A Reuters story early in the day featured Vilas quotes that sounded a little whiny.

"First of all, Nadal's performance is spanning over two years, which is not the same," Vilas told the news service. "Then, I have the feeling he added easy tournaments on his schedule just for that purpose."

The only thing I see is a little bit of jealousy where he said, "he probably added some tournaments." The other things are true. Vilas has been around long enough to know there have been a lot of pretenders to the throne. So, you're right we do have different opinions. I think he made a jealous remark, but 90% of his response was positive. Berate, is a bit harsh imo!

 

[TennisDawg]

The only thing I see is a little bit of jealousy where he said, "he probably added some tournaments." The other things are true. Vilas has been around long enough to know there have been a lot of pretenders to the throne. So, you're right we do have different opinions. I think he made a jealous remark, but 90% of his response was positive. Berate, is a bit harsh imo!

Villas said "added some easy tournaments" I call that berating, if you'd like I can rephrase it and use diminish. Villas was diminishing Nadal's record.

Hey, I am a Federer fan, anyway, but I would never disparage Nadal's tennis. Still think Federer will win 3 to 4 more grand slams and we'll see many more Fed-Nadal battles

 

[MONOIMMORTAL]

Nadal's best tennis is still in front of him. His serve has a lot more improvement left, and that will lead to the occasional serve-volley. We are talking about a player getting off the best start possible and still have major upside in the tank.

I've heard the Becker argument a lot, but it doesn't make any sense since Becker played in the most legendary era of all-time with most of the greats coming from the 80s. I don't see any greats in this era apart from Federer and Nadal. Djok looks like the most fragile slam Champion I've ever seen, and a quitter to boot.

Most of the most promising players are around Nadal's age, so they'll always be chasing him. And that Chang argument is silly, since Chang only won ONE slam, was never a dominator.

What I find interesting is obviously one day Nadal will get old and sure he might stop winning Roland Garros when that happens, but Wimbledon will be the slam he relies on to increase his total slams record, as its the slam he will likely never drop a set in or never drop a set until the final, and the points are quicker. Wimbledon victories will be what Nadal is known for as he continues to rack them up in his later years.

 

[NamRanger]

4-6 H2H is a very respectable record, credits to Richard. However 12-6 is a pathetic record for a so called "GOAT" of tennis.

Eight or Nine of his wins are on clay, which is his best surface and Federer's worse. If you subtract clay out of the equation, Federer and Nadal are about even.

 

[mcenroefan]

Actually, they are not even....Fed owns a winning record over Nadal on both grass and hard courts.

Nadal only has a lifetime advantage on clay.

Those are the facts as they currently stand.

 

[Steady Eddy]

But Laver must have forgotten about Venus Williams when he said that, because according to a thread here, Venus would beat Nadal. Does this Laver guy know anything about tennis? Was he too busy winning two grand slams to understand the game? :twisted:

 

[mcenroefan]

Laver is the GOAT

 

[bangchu]

i agree. and furthermore, this is why i've always believed if Federer(and Nadal) was playing in a time during Sampras and Agassi and some of the other great players of the 90s, Fed would not be as dominant.
Nadal is definitely on the same type of level Sampras and Agassi were at, in their primes. the past 4 years, Fed had it easy because the field was filled with weak-minded players. then came Nadal, who reminds me a lot of how the old school 90s players played like. with a lot of heart and fight.
Fed's game is just "pretty", but that doesn't mean a damn thing.

I beg to differ. The era comparison is just bs to me. Fed era was filled with the so-called weak-minded because he himself is just too good. Like I said before, Federer is just unfortunate to be so good on clay and run into a much tougher opponent like Nadal. Their records are 6-12; 10 of those were decided on clay. If those 10 was on grass, it would be much different. Again I agree that Nadal is very good on grass but it would be a whole different story. To say Fed's game "doesn't mean a damn thing" is just plain stupid and single-minded.

 

[bangchu]

Actually, they are not even....Fed owns a winning record over Nadal on both grass and hard courts.

Nadal only has a lifetime advantage on clay.

Those are the facts as they currently stand.

Totally agree. I wish they had met 10 times on grass and only 3 on clay

 

[MONOIMMORTAL]

Actually, they are not even....Fed owns a winning record over Nadal on both grass and hard courts.

Nadal only has a lifetime advantage on clay.

Those are the facts as they currently stand.

The facts are 5-1 Nadal leads at age 22. Head-to-head at Wimbledon its 2-1 Federer, but extremely close to 2-1 Nadal. Head-to-head at Roland Garros Nadal leads 3-0 including the most lopsided Final in history.
0-0 at Australian Open and US Open.