Tennisgods
Hall of Fame
Wow. Well, I’d rather win 5 in a row personally and stuff the calendar. But, whatevs.
Most Impressive Slam Achievement?
- Thread starter Cashman
- Start date
Wow. Well, I’d rather win 5 in a row personally and stuff the calendar. But, whatevs.
Lleytonstation
Talk Tennis Guru
Well, to be fair, Rafa fans dont believe WTF exists. In reality, for him it doesnt.It's OK man. We know it's the most impressive feat in that last 40 or 50 years but we can let them have this one.Not only did he win four in a row on outdoor hard, grass and clay but he won the WTF tournament on indoor hard. He held the 5 biggest titles in his sport at the same time, all played in different types of conditions, and set a points record. Won't be duplicated for a very very long time.
tennis_pro
Bionic Poster
Prime Nadal losing at the most prestigious tournament to absolute mugs for 5-6 years. Incredible achievement.
NoleFam
Bionic Poster
Well, to be fair, Rafa fans dont believe WTF exists. In reality, for him it doesnt.
Rafa fans are still on their RG honeymoon. Don't be mean.
Lol
DSH
Talk Tennis Guru
Q: Will Laver's CYGS ever be equalled?
A: Federer and Djokovic in recent times have come awfully close to achieving it, so I'm pretty sure it is going to happen someday.
Q: Will Borg's 3 consecutive channel slams ever be equalled or surpassed?
A: Nadal has done it on 2 occasions, so it can be done, though it will be extremely difficult more so than the CYGS.
Q: Will Nadal's 12 x French Opens ever be equalled or surpassed?
A: Not in a thousand years![/QUOTE]
Wrong!
Nadal, next year will look for the Thirteenth.
DSH
Talk Tennis Guru
NatF
Bionic Poster
The myth of Sampras' grass competition is one of the most prevalent on here.
Im(moral) Winner
G.O.A.T.
Im(moral) Winner
G.O.A.T.
But it is true in the same way as Murray winning Wimbledon (titles) in the age of Federer and RAFA
DSH
Talk Tennis Guru
DSH
Talk Tennis Guru
BlueB
Legend
It would be in the same era. Unfortunately, Laver played on more homogenized surfaces and lesser competition, therefore his GS is, at the best, equal to Nole Slam. In reality probably a bit lesser...Grand Slam....................................NCYGS!
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DSH
Talk Tennis Guru
Until a male tennis player does not win the Grand Slam (all 4 Majors in the same season), Laver's achievement will not be surpassed.
Cashman
Hall of Fame
I consider that a lesser achievement than the other three. Just my opinion.
Cashman
Hall of Fame
You cannot say that Federer was ‘one flipped result away’ because there is no way of knowing how Federer would have performed at Wimbledon and Flushing Meadows with the additional pressure of a live Grand Slam streak.
Roland Garros broke the chain and everything after that is a hypothetical.
Cashman
Hall of Fame
If I win the last seven tricks of a bridge hand and the first seven tricks of the next hand, is that more or less impressive than winning 13 tricks in a single hand?
It’s called a Grand Slam for a reason.
The Green Mile
Bionic Poster
wHerE iS feDrer!?
Cashman
Hall of Fame
I’m measuring chronologically because it is a chronological achievement. As soon as someone loses, they are no longer playing for the Grand Slam and subsequent results are meaningless in that context.
Playing the US Open to get 3/4 is entirely different to playing the US Open for a potential Grand Slam. Just ask Serena Williams.
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DSH
Talk Tennis Guru
Well said, since the AO is played on hard courts, only 3 players have been able to win the first two Majors of the season: Wilander, Courier and Djokovic.
And of them 3, who had the best start was the Swede.
Wilander won the first 18 matches of the 28 required to win the Grand Slam.
Courier and Djokovic, as we know, got 16 wins before being defeated in the third round of Wimbledon.
The only person in recent years who was very close to achieving it, was Serena Williams in 2015, who after winning the titles of AO, RG and Wimbledon, inexplicably lost in the semifinals of the US Open.
In short, no male tennis player has felt the immeasurable pressure of winning the pinnacle of this sport, the acclaimed Grand Slam.
Tennisgods
Hall of Fame
Not buying it. I get the point you make, but odds on he does the calendar slam in one of 06 or 07 if he takes RG. He was that good a player. Only Nadal at RG stopped him and I see no real reason why anything would have gone differently, even taking account any additional pressure.
It’s ok, different opinions there. Fed will know he came close in those years. Didn’t do it, but he came close.
Tennisgods
Hall of Fame
Bogus comparison.
4 in a row, stopped at 5.
5 in a row, stopped at 6.
Which is more impressive? Tennis doesn’t have “hands”.
Cashman
Hall of Fame
No, it has seasons. And a ‘whole-season’ achievement has always been more highly regarded than a season-straddling one.
That’s why the guy who is number one at year end gets the big trophy, not the guy who got there randomly in the middle of the year. Even if he held the live ranking for longer.
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Cashman
Hall of Fame
You realise that exact comparison is where the term ‘Grand Slam’ came from, right?
Third Serve
Talk Tennis Guru
Peter Polansky Lucky Loser Slam 2018.
Checkmate.
Checkmate.
Phoenix1983
G.O.A.T.
Aside from the factual inaccuracy here (Federer and Novak Djokovic haven't come "awfully close" to equalling Laver - they both fell in the final of the 2nd leg out of 4), you're missing the point.
The question isn't what the most unrepeatable achievement is. It's what the most impressive achievement is.
Being utterly dominant across all four slams beats total domination of a particular slam.
Thus, Laver's CYGS is the most impressive achievement.
NoleFam
Bionic Poster
I have to disagree with this. What Djokovic achieved is at least on par with what Laver did in '69 and with most probably saying it was more difficult. He did it on more surfaces, played more matches to hold all of them, and did it in a more modern era of the game when it's far more physical exertion. Not to mention he also held the end of the year indoor title. Holding all four is in fact holding all four. The CYGS is mostly more difficult in name only. There is a reason only 3 men in the last 94 years of the game ever held all 4 Slams at the same time.
the green god
Professional
Karma Tennis
Legend
IMO, a lot of you are underestimating the true worth of the GRAND SLAM by quite some way.
Achieving all 4 Major Titles in a single year is one of the toughest challenges in sport.
AO in the Australian Summer.
RG on Clay
Wimbledon on Grass, 3 weeks after the end of the Clay Season.
US Open in the hot humid conditions of New York.
(And in the past, all while playing Davis Cup. Now they play Laver Cup. Soon ATP Cup.)
It is tough doing it all in the same season. No December break etc. 4 in a row across multiple seasons is also tough. But not as tough as the GRAND SLAM.
Also think of the Mental Prowess required to win that US Open after you have won the first 3. The pressure to win the GRAND SLAM would be immense.
Achieving all 4 Major Titles in a single year is one of the toughest challenges in sport.
AO in the Australian Summer.
RG on Clay
Wimbledon on Grass, 3 weeks after the end of the Clay Season.
US Open in the hot humid conditions of New York.
(And in the past, all while playing Davis Cup. Now they play Laver Cup. Soon ATP Cup.)
It is tough doing it all in the same season. No December break etc. 4 in a row across multiple seasons is also tough. But not as tough as the GRAND SLAM.
Also think of the Mental Prowess required to win that US Open after you have won the first 3. The pressure to win the GRAND SLAM would be immense.
Purplemonster
Hall of Fame
What ? No option with Federer in it ?? Blasphemy
Karma Tennis
Legend
Guy is over-rated as a Tennis Player.
If his Pro career had started the same year as Nadal's and Djokovic's, both of them would have a lot more Major Titles and Weeks at #1.
titoelcolombiano
Legend
Did not expect that answer...
lol - I like your sense of humour - you're a good poster
Tennisgods
Hall of Fame
Agree to disagree on this. I can completely see why a year end number one would be celebrated but could never agree that winning 4 slams in a row is a greater achievement than 5, based purely on when those slams were won. Bonkers.
Tennisgods
Hall of Fame
No, I’m not a card player and didn’t realise that. But it still doesn’t seem comparable to me.
Good debate though. Do you have a preference out of the 3 options?
Cashman
Hall of Fame
I really struggle to separate them. They are all very different, and really showcase the unique strengths of the players in question.
As someone who plays on both clay and grass regularly, I do think that Borg’s triple channel slam in the age of serve and volley is something very special.
Karma Tennis
Legend
I know it was only an exhibition but the 38yo Laver held up pretty well against the 20yo Borg at Hilton Head.
As much as I love Borg, I find it hard to believe that he would have been able to beat Laver in his prime at Wimbledon. Saying that, I think Laver would have had a hard time beating Borg at Roland Garros. That leaves Fast Hard Courts ... I think Laver would beat Borg 3 times out of 5 at Flushing Meadows.
xFedal
Legend
dJOKOVIC FELL IN WIMBLEDON NOT RG.... 2016 HE WON FIRST 2 SLAMS....
kevaninho
Hall of Fame
Winning 5 consecutive Wimbledon's and US open
3 times winning AO Wimbledon Us open
4 consecutive times doing the double Wimbledon Us open
playing all 4 slams finals 3 times.
Reaching 10 consecutive GS finals
Reaching 23 GS SF in a row
Ah, yes, all those great achievements in the weak era, until Nadal and Djokovic came along LOL
Phoenix1983
G.O.A.T.
Fair point, I was thinking of his best year in 2015 - which is what the other poster was referring to when he said Fed/Djoker came awfully close to winning the CYGS.
However, it still means he was nowhere near equalling Laver.
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