gamelovergold
Semi-Pro
Who remembers agassi as a more all round player than Sampras. People remember Sampras 14 agassi 8.where the gold medal fits in the argument
Olympic gold is given far too valuation than it deserves. Looks good as patrotic feeling but slam numbers are critical
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KingCarlitos
Hall of Fame
It’s a great individual accomplishment but hardly contributes much in the GOAT debate.
Lleytonstation
Talk Tennis Guru
Idk I need more threads till I have enough information to decide.
TripleATeam
G.O.A.T.
OG = YEC. Roughly.
Rosstour
G.O.A.T.
He'd feel differently if he had less Slams
It definitely matters, no doubt. But the behavior of stars like Sinner today and other notables in the past shows where it really ranks. A player who wins slams is remembered for that, and a player who only wins an Olympic medal would not be considered the better of the two.
Rosstour
G.O.A.T.
Disagree. The YEC happens every year so there is far less excuse for a great player to never win it. Plus there are no Matthew Ebdens in R1
Let's ask Nadal what his greatest achievement is.
TripleATeam
G.O.A.T.
Never winning YEC is worse than never winning OG. Agree. 16 chances vs 4 chances. But then there's added pressure on the years you do. I'd say OG is more prestigious than a single YEC (AKA I think Dimitrov would swap his 2017 YEC for the 2016 OIympic Gold) despite the competition being closer to M1000 level, but it's worse to see the YEC hole on the resume than an OG hole.
Especially since if you counted only Olympic years, Rafa would have no AOs or USOs - despite winning 2 AOs and 4 USOs in reality. Federer would be missing his RG. Djokovic would be missing his USOs as well.
But then there would be less to compare to! If he has 24 Slams (with every tournament telling a unique story) and the Olympics is still the most important (and he very explicitly said that), then it only adds to the Olympic legacy. Obviously if someone has one Slam and one Olympic title, the win at the biggest sports event in the world will look even bigger.
But all that is very logical. Why should someone make a win with 16 chances for every single chance at the highest international stage actually the BIGGER incident? THAT is actually what would need mental gymnastics. The "explanations" why just in tennis the Olympics isn't the biggest event were something that always felt forced and artificial.
You also see how important the Olympics is when an athlete builds his career and retirement plans around it. Djokovic immediately said now he wants to compete until LA 2028. Not until a certain Wimbledon or a different year or whatever.
yash_chanda72
Rookie
you are absolutely correct, slams are more important than olympics gold, but nonetheless an athlete bringing glory to his/her nation is also a big "patriotic" achievement,it depends on the athelte how patriotic he/she is!
if you are referring to djokovic's recent glorification of olympics thats because he had lost too many times in olympics that's why it makes this win for him very special.
but you are right, slams count is what matters and djokovic is current GOAT (unless anyone passes the slam count)
prev GOATs :
- Laver
- Borg
- Sampras
- Federer
- Nadal
- Djokovic (Current)
if you are referring to djokovic's recent glorification of olympics thats because he had lost too many times in olympics that's why it makes this win for him very special.
but you are right, slams count is what matters and djokovic is current GOAT (unless anyone passes the slam count)
prev GOATs :
- Laver
- Borg
- Sampras
- Federer
- Nadal
- Djokovic (Current)
Indigo
Professional
Olympic Gold to Novak is the missing link, it's the Holy Grail of his quest, an icing on the cake, a perfect ending of the career filled with trophies. What else is there in Novak universe when he has just reached the star? Everyone has his greatest achievement and that may be personal. For Nadal it may be his RG collection for Roger that may be his WBs. Novak said it: Olympic Gold is the greatest sporting achievement of my career. He said it well, he said sporting and that means it encompasses all of the tennis and beyond. He's become a Golden Olympian, he became something that existed thousands of years before tennis became a sport we know it today. With all his tennis success at ATP tour he has now proved among Olympians, a rare specie of exquisite athletes competing for their countires way back in ancient times throughout the history of mankind. Novak is now in touch with the past, present and future, he's become eternal...
ActualTennisPlayer
Professional
This.
It’s slams by far.
Followed by being ranked number 1.
Followed by OG and YEC.
Then masters 1000.
Also note that OG got a big boost to its standing because of Nadal, Murray and Djokovic really caring about it and because the main national team competition, Davis cup, became unimportant.
weakera
Talk Tennis Guru
In tennis, the value of the OGM can vary depending on the era, context, and individual achievements. People tend to be stubborn and intransigent, making it difficult to reconcile that the importance of the OGM can actually change over time. This inflexibility in recognizing the evolving context of tennis history contributes to this being a never-ending debate.
GoldenMasters
Semi-Pro
We know this and Djokovic already had all other important records. Winning this shuts down the trolls who used this only hole in Djokovic's career to make fun of him, so its very sweet.
longtimelurker
Professional
Another coping thread, keep them coming. If enough threads like this are made it might just dethrone Novak as the GOAT 
Sport
G.O.A.T.
Which is the reason why the Olympic Gold in singles is so special. You need extra clutchness to win it, and it's far more difficult to achieve due to its limited number of editions.
The World Cup is the most special football tournament because of its limited number of editions and how much of a challengue it represents. No one said "Oh, the World Cup is played every 4 years, so Messi is excused from having no World Cup". No. He was constantly compared to Maradona and Pele, and he was criticized for not having a World Cup. It was the biggest hole of his resume. Messi was called "pecho frío" (meaning unclutch).
Now, Olympics at football has to compete with the WC and also has a sub-23 rule for males, but in tennis? In tennis the Olympics are the ONLY relevant tennis tournament played every 4 years and also is not limited to players sub-23. Thus the OG in singles is the holy crown of a tennis achievement only behind Grand Slams, and in the same tier as ATP Finals.
Big Titles' tiers:
Tier 1: Grand Slams.
Tier 2: Olympics + ATP finals.
Tier 3: Masters 1000.
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weakera
Talk Tennis Guru
TearTheRoofOff
G.O.A.T.
Even Novak understands the subjective nature of greatness.
Juice4080
Semi-Pro
His answer has probably changed in the last 48 hours
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