Lendl said it, and he is very credible
- Thread starter OddJack
- Start date
Deon Sanders
Legend
"Roger Federer is the greatest player of the Open Era"
Soooo brave
Soooo brave
True Fanerer
G.O.A.T.
Safe to say this ranks above Karlovic and Tipsarevic opinions.
tennisaddict
Bionic Poster
Greatness recognizes greatness
sbengte
G.O.A.T.
Lendl also gets extra credibility points because he has FIVE daughters.
mbm0912
Hall of Fame
This was such an elaborate and statistical article, I must have missed the point of it. What is he saying?
George Turner
Hall of Fame
What's Serena Williams opinion on this?
At the Hopman Cup she seemed to be very pro-Federer as well. She singled him out as the one player which whom she always wanted to be on the same court. I don’t think she would have acted that way if she thought Nadal or Djokovic are better.
Sport
G.O.A.T.
Ask Serena again in 2025.
"Before 1968 Wimbledon, it's Rod Laver and after '68 Wimbledon it's Roger Federer. You have two different eras. You cannot compare it, because players turned professional, while before not all of them were allowed to play Grand Slams".
LOL, so Fred is not the UNDISPUTED Greatest of All Time, like 99% of his fans believe.
How dare you, Ivan?!
LOL, so Fred is not the UNDISPUTED Greatest of All Time, like 99% of his fans believe.
How dare you, Ivan?!
What should be different then? Of course, maybe Nadal or Djokovic will indeed have overtaken Federer, but then it would be obvious to anyone and not only to Serena.
So why is Serena’s opinion that special that the other poster had to mention her, despite she actually seems to have the same opinion as Lendl right now.
AnOctorokForDinner
Talk Tennis Guru
By the way, anyone think Lendl's forehand is no worse than Fraud's forehand?
Lendl wasn't as incredibly flexible with it. Otherwise, his FH also had great power and placed with precision.
Fraud, Fred, Federico, Franz, Fedex... he has many names but people usually call him The One You Know Who.
guitarra
Professional
Fraud, Fred, Federico, Franz, Fedex... he has many names but people usually call him The One You Know Who.
How creative.
He created some crazy angles with the Adidas GTX. That racquet is a joke, not only the tiny headsize (80sqi if I remember exactly) , but the ridiculous head shape as well.
guitarra
Professional
Fraud, Fred, Federico, Franz, Fedex... he has many names but people usually call him The One You Know Who.
BTW - it's Quentin Tarantino in the picture. Are his films fraudulent?
Im(moral) Winner
G.O.A.T.
Yes, he just steals from older better directors
flanker2000fr
Hall of Fame
He created some crazy angles with the Adidas GTX. That racquet is a joke, not only the tiny headsize (80sqi if I remember exactly) , but the ridiculous head shape as well.
75 sq. in. to be precise. And yes, Lendl's forehand was incredible, one of the best I've seen. I do believe, though, that Federer's has more variation / creativity. Lendl's was a bit mechanical, and less well suited to grass.
"Before 1968 Wimbledon, it's Rod Laver and after '68 Wimbledon it's Roger Federer."
Lendl expresses the concept well but does not hit the target.
Before 1968 Wimbledon, Laver was not the greatest, perhaps not even among the top 4.
Pancho Gonzalez was the greatest.
Laver was also an incredible tennis player because he won a lot in the Open Era.
Ivan could say this: among the players who played in the pre-Open Era Laver was the greatest.
Lendl expresses the concept well but does not hit the target.
Before 1968 Wimbledon, Laver was not the greatest, perhaps not even among the top 4.
Pancho Gonzalez was the greatest.
Laver was also an incredible tennis player because he won a lot in the Open Era.
Ivan could say this: among the players who played in the pre-Open Era Laver was the greatest.
Tennis_Hands
Banned
"Before 1968 Wimbledon, it's Rod Laver and after '68 Wimbledon it's Roger Federer."
Lendl expresses the concept well but does not hit the target.
Before 1968 Wimbledon, Laver was not the greatest, perhaps not even among the top 4.
Pancho Gonzalez was the greatest.
Laver was also an incredible tennis player because he won a lot in the Open Era.
Ivan could say this: among the players who played in the pre-Open Era Laver was the greatest.
He probably meant the guys that had the bulk of their careers before 1968. As anyone reasonable would agree, nothing Earth-shattering happened with the competition between 1968 and 1969.
Pmasterfunk
Hall of Fame
Not a completely unfair statement
smoledman
G.O.A.T.
Didn't Mac say after 2016 RG that Novak was the greatest ever? That guy changes his tune every time one of the Big 3 is on a huge winning streak. He's a joke.
2009 Wimbledon - Roger is the greatest evar!
2013 US Open - Nadal is the greatest evar!
2016 RG - Novak is the greatest evar!
2019 - Run a lottery to decide
2009 Wimbledon - Roger is the greatest evar!
2013 US Open - Nadal is the greatest evar!
2016 RG - Novak is the greatest evar!
2019 - Run a lottery to decide
True Fanerer
G.O.A.T.
Don't remember that. Maybe meat & potatoes brother Patrick.
BeatlesFan
Bionic Poster
Nothing tops his remarks prior to the FO 2007 when he said, "if Roger wins this, he's GOAT, no question." Even though Roger only had 7 slams at the time. Followed up with the most asinine tennis remark possibly ever made: "Rafa's the best volleyer of anyone out there."
Dilexson
Hall of Fame
He just masks them as 'Homage'.
a10best
Hall of Fame
Lendl is not biased like Tipsarevic (Serbia) or Karlovic (Croatian but adjacent country). Lendl is Czech and American and an all-time great.
I believe Lendl and not some random journeyman players in Djokovic's home country or people who are prisoners of the moment.
smoledman
G.O.A.T.
Nothing tops his remarks prior to the FO 2007 when he said, "if Roger wins this, he's GOAT, no question." Even though Roger only had 7 slams at the time. Followed up with the most asinine tennis remark possibly ever made: "Rafa's the best volleyer of anyone out there."
Rafa is a better volleyer now than 10 years ago, but he's not even in the top 50 of volleys. He's really good at putting away balls that are already above the net, like everyone. The balls at his feet, I rarely seen him even attempt those much less pull them off.
Noletheking
Hall of Fame
Greatness doesn't get owned by 2 fellow goats
True Fanerer
G.O.A.T.
There are only two current goats of any kind. Nadal is the clay goat and Federer is the goat. Djokovic is on the outside looking in like he has been his entire frickin career.
Nadalgaenger
G.O.A.T.
Zverev must feel betrayed. How outrageous!
Nadalgaenger
G.O.A.T.
Completely agree. Guy’s basically a troll. He may even poast among us!
tennisaddict
Bionic Poster
Stay Calm otherwise go to one of Serbian forums and have an orgy there.
RaulRamirez
Legend
I'm not sure what this short article proves, as would an article quoting a current or former player proclaiming Rafa, Novak, Pete or Bjorn as best of the OE.
It appears that Lendl (perhaps, 6th best of the OE and still around the tour as a prominent coach) was mostly speaking to the difficulty of comparing players of the OE to those who preceded them. Most assume that Fed is the best of the OE, and Lendl is no different. If The Big 3 all retired today, I'd probably concur with his assessment.
It appears that Lendl (perhaps, 6th best of the OE and still around the tour as a prominent coach) was mostly speaking to the difficulty of comparing players of the OE to those who preceded them. Most assume that Fed is the best of the OE, and Lendl is no different. If The Big 3 all retired today, I'd probably concur with his assessment.
wangs78
Legend
Lendl makes a point I have made many times before about why Roger should be the GOAT even if the Big 3 each end up with around the same number of Slams (within 1 or 2).
Roger has spent his entire career doing things that no one else has. Whether it is setting Slam records. Winning 3 Slams in a year 3 separate times, Winning 3 Slams and the WTF 5x or more. Playing deep into his 30s and staying generally in the Top 3 or 4. Reclaiming #1 at age 36. His accomplishments have SMASHED previous records for the most part. He also has successfully changed up his game multiple times to keep winning, which no one of his stature has really done before. He did all of this without anyone blazing the trail for him, which is HUGE.
When I think of Djokovic, he hasn't done anything new or ground breaking. Sure he has won 4 Slams in a row but to me that's not that different from Fed winning 3 Slams and making the final for the one he didn't win (the FO), where he always lost to the greatest clay courter of all time. Nadal and his 10 or 11 (I lost count) FOs are truly incredible. But the rest of his resume is not breathtaking, and in comparison to Roger, not by a long shot.
Fed really redefined what is possible in men's tennis. No one else can say they have done that.
Roger has spent his entire career doing things that no one else has. Whether it is setting Slam records. Winning 3 Slams in a year 3 separate times, Winning 3 Slams and the WTF 5x or more. Playing deep into his 30s and staying generally in the Top 3 or 4. Reclaiming #1 at age 36. His accomplishments have SMASHED previous records for the most part. He also has successfully changed up his game multiple times to keep winning, which no one of his stature has really done before. He did all of this without anyone blazing the trail for him, which is HUGE.
When I think of Djokovic, he hasn't done anything new or ground breaking. Sure he has won 4 Slams in a row but to me that's not that different from Fed winning 3 Slams and making the final for the one he didn't win (the FO), where he always lost to the greatest clay courter of all time. Nadal and his 10 or 11 (I lost count) FOs are truly incredible. But the rest of his resume is not breathtaking, and in comparison to Roger, not by a long shot.
Fed really redefined what is possible in men's tennis. No one else can say they have done that.
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tennisaddict
Bionic Poster
As it stands today, many people concur with Lendl's assessment Fed is the best of the OE.
There will be a Zverev , Tsitsipas , Shapavalov or some other player who will beat Federer or Djokovic or Nadal's record. So, it is always a point at a time assessment and there is no need to wait for a time until all of Fed, Nadal and Djoker retire.
Edhead-Fedhead
Hall of Fame
FEDRFraud, Fred, Federico, Franz, Fedex... he has many names but people usually call him The One You Know Who.
