Poll: Most Dominant RG Title Run

[Berrettini_Fan]

Borg 1978: No sets lost. Dropped 32 games in total. Beat Guillermo Vilas in Finals.
Borg 1980: No sets lost. Dropped 38 games in total. Beat Vitas Gerulaitis in Finals.
Graf 1988: No sets lost. Beat Sabbitini in SF and Natasha Zvrerev in Finals (6-0, 6-0).
Henin 2007: No sets lost. Beat Serena in QF, Jankovic in SF, and Ivanovic in Finals.
Nadal 2008: No sets lost. Dropped 41 games in total. Beat Djokovic in SF and Federer in Finals (losing just 4 games).
Nadal 2017: No sets lost. Dropped 34 games in total. Beat Thiem in SF and Wawrinka in Finals.
Swiatek 2020: No sets lost. Closest score in any set was 6-4.

 

[Mustard]

Either 1978 Borg or 2008 Nadal. The most dominant major runs probably ever.

2017 Nadal is right up there too, largely because of how well he served compared to other French Opens.

 

[Kralingen]

Taking level of competition into account the answer is very clearly 08 Nadal.

78 Borg and then Graf would be my choice in terms of just pure overall dominance

 

[nolefam_2024]

Without watching the others , I don't think I am being fair to all. But I am pretty sure it's not swiatek at all. She can get ragdolled by players like ostapenko again and again even on clay, so not a full proof player.

Graf Borg have pretty good accomplishments. Nadal though thrashed Federer in the final who is top 10 clay player in open era.

 

[canta_Brian]

Only one answer. Federer. He beat the guy who beat Rafa. Beating someone better than Rafa on clay has to be the most dominant ever.

 

[ghostofMecir]

Swiatek last year was extremely dominant outside of one match, but because she largely got outplayed in that match and was quite lucky to win, 2024 can’t be up there even though when looking at all the matches in totality, she was more dominant in 2024 than she was in 2020, especially considering the competition.

2024 Swiatek Overall Dominance Ratio: 1.61
Broken 9 times, broke 33 times; only allowed 7 break points over the last 5 matches

Rd		Score	DR
F	(1)Swiatek d. (12)Jasmine Paolini [ITA]	6-2 6-1 (ch)	1.97
SF	(1)Swiatek d. (3)Coco Gauff [USA]	6-2 6-4 (ch)	1.41
QF	(1)Swiatek d. (5)Marketa Vondrousova [CZE]	6-0 6-2 (ch)	2.26
R16	(1)Swiatek d. Anastasia Potapova [RUS]	6-0 6-0 (ch)	6.97
R32	(1)Swiatek d. Marie Bouzkova [CZE]	6-4 6-2 (ch)	1.72
R64	(1)Swiatek d. (PR)Naomi Osaka [JPN]	7-6(1) 1-6 7-5 (ch)	0.93
R128	(1)Swiatek d. (Q)Leolia Jeanjean [FRA]	6-1 6-2 (ch)	2.05

2020 Swiatek Overall Dominance Ratio: 1.59
Broken 12 times, broke 38 times, 56.5% of total points won

Rd		Score	DR
F	Swiatek d. (4)Sofia Kenin [USA]	6-4 6-1 (ch)	1.54
SF	Swiatek d. (Q)Nadia Podoroska [ARG]	6-2 6-1 (ch)	1.88
QF	Swiatek d. (Q)Martina Trevisan [ITA]	6-3 6-1 (ch)	1.44
R16	Swiatek d. (1)Simona Halep [ROU]	6-1 6-2 (ch)	2.13
R32	Swiatek d. (WC)Eugenie Bouchard [CAN]	6-3 6-2 (ch)	1.39
R64	Swiatek d. Su Wei Hsieh [TPE]	6-1 6-4 (ch)	1.42
R128	Swiatek d. (15)Marketa Vondrousova [CZE]	6-1 6-2 (ch)	1.78

 

[ghostofMecir]

Justine Henin’s 2007 run is very interesting in that it might be the title run with the least amount of variance, i.e., every match was close to being the same as far as dominance was concerned—she was in control throughout, but she never reached peak dominance in that many of the games were quite close, but she best better players.

2007 Henin Overall Dominance Ratio: 1.31
Broken 18 times, broke 42 times, 54.6% of total points won

Rd		Score	DR
F	(1)Henin d. (7)Ana Ivanovic[SRB]	6-1 6-2 (ch)	1.20
SF	(1)Henin d. (4)Jelena Jankovic[SRB]	6-2 6-2 (ch)	1.36
QF	(1)Henin d. (8)Serena Williams[USA]	6-4 6-3	1.28
R16	(1)Henin d. (20)Sybille Bammer [AUT]	6-2 6-4	1.32
R32	(1)Henin d. (28)Mara Santangelo [ITA]	6-2 6-3	1.41
R64	(1)Henin d. Tamira Paszek[AUT]	7-5 6-1	1.42
R128	(1)Henin d. Elena Vesnina[RUS]	6-4 6-3	1.35

 

[ghostofMecir]

From a pure point by point basis, Nadal’s 2017 RG was the most dominant GS run of the last 35 years. The competiton was better in 2008 though.

2008 Nadal Dominance Ratio: 1.66
Broken 9 times, broke serve 51 times, 60.7% of total points won

Rd		Score	DR
F	(2)Nadal d. (1)Roger Federer[SUI]	6-1 6-3 6-0	1.91
SF	(2)Nadal d. (3)Novak Djokovic[SRB]	6-4 6-2 7-6(3)	1.29
QF	(2)Nadal d. (19)Nicolas Almagro[ESP]	6-1 6-1 6-1	2.11
R16	(2)Nadal d. (22)Fernando Verdasco [ESP]	6-1 6-0 6-2	1.77
R32	(2)Nadal d. (26)Jarkko Nieminen[FIN]	6-1 6-3 6-1	1.68
R64	(2)Nadal d. (Q)Nicolas Devilder[FRA]	6-4 6-0 6-1	1.74
R128	(2)Nadal d. (Q)Thomaz Bellucci[BRA]	7-5 6-3 6-1	1.45

2017 Nadal Dominance Ratio: 1.95
Broken 6 times, broke serve 45 times, 62.1% of total points won

Rd		Score	DR
F	(4)Nadal d. (3)Stan Wawrinka[SUI]	6-2 6-3 6-1	2.22
SF	(4)Nadal d. (6)Dominic Thiem[AUT]	6-3 6-4 6-0	1.83
QF	(4)Nadal d. (20)Pablo Carreno Busta [ESP]	6-2 2-0 RET	1.55
R16	(4)Nadal d. (17)Roberto Bautista Agut [ESP]	6-1 6-2 6-2	1.79
R32	(4)Nadal d. Nikoloz Basilashvili[GEO]	6-0 6-1 6-0	2.79
R64	(4)Nadal d. Robin Haase [NED]	6-1 6-4 6-3	2.00
R128	(4)Nadal d. Benoit Paire [FRA]	6-1 6-4 6-1	1.76

 

[Kralingen]

I feel like crazy one-sided beatdowns such as the Basilashvili or the Potapova match skew things a bit too heavily and thus are overrated in general. Like the difference between 6-1, 6-1ing a mug or taking off the gas and going 6-2, 6-3 casually is infinitesimally unimportant in the grand of scheme of things.

If I was doing my own data set I might smooth it to remove obscene DRs. Taking nothing away from Rafa or Iga, just that I don’t think it’s really meaningful data in terms of assessing level.

 

[Rafa4LifeEver]

Rafa 2008

 

[Rafa4LifeEver]

Could've been Rafa 2012 if not for the rain

 

[Sport]

Nadal beat Djokovic and Federer back to back in straight sets.

 

[Racquet_smash]

Nadal's draw 2008 was extremely difficult on paper. Almagro and Verdasco were very good clay courters back then, very respectable opponents for a RG R4 and QF, then Djokovic who was having an amazing season and was playing excellent on clay, and Federer in the final which was coming from a win over Nadal in Hamburg.

Yet they all won 22 games combined so it's extremely hard to argue it's not Nadal.

 

[Mustard]

Nadal's 2008 was extremely difficult on paper. Almagro was a very good clay courter back then, a very respectable opponent for a RG QF, then Djokovic who was having an amazing season and was playing excellent on clay, and Federer in the final which was coming from a win over Nadal in Hamburg.

Yet they all won 19 games combined so it's extremely hard to argue it's not Nadal.

Almagro made his famous comment during the 2008 French Open quarter final against Nadal "It's impossible to beat Rafa here. It's impossible to beat him here. He's going to win Roland Garros 40 years in a row. He will be 65 years old and still winning Roland Garros".

 

[Racquet_smash]

Almagro made his famous comment during the 2008 French Open quarter final against Nadal "It's impossible to beat Rafa here. It's impossible to beat him here. He's going to win Roland Garros 40 years in a row. He will be 65 years old and still winning Roland Garros".

He wasn't wrong all things considered. I bet nobody besides him could predict Nadal winning 11 more FOs.

 

[platypus50]

Nadal's draw 2008 was extremely difficult on paper. Almagro and Verdasco were very good clay courters back then, very respectable opponents for a RG R4 and QF, then Djokovic who was having an amazing season and was playing excellent on clay, and Federer in the final which was coming from a win over Nadal in Hamburg.

Yet they all won 22 games combined so it's extremely hard to argue it's not Nadal.

Agree with what you mentioned except for the bolded part - Federer beat Nadal in Hamburg in 2007, not 2008 (although in the 2008 final, Fed had multiple chances to win the 1st set but just could not close it out, ended up losing in 3)

 

[Hitman]

Its Borg, his 1978 run is unmatched.

It probably will never be beaten, heck Nadal couldn't do it.

 

[ghostofMecir]

I feel like crazy one-sided beatdowns such as the Basilashvili or the Potapova match skew things a bit too heavily and thus are overrated in general. Like the difference between 6-1, 6-1ing a mug or taking off the gas and going 6-2, 6-3 casually is infinitesimally unimportant in the grand of scheme of things.

If I was doing my own data set I might smooth it to remove obscene DRs. Taking nothing away from Rafa or Iga, just that I don’t think it’s really meaningful data in terms of assessing level.

lol at “obscene DRs.”

I see what you’re saying, and it’s akin to an NBA playoff game won by 35 points vs. 19 points even if both were wire to wire—the 35 point win will skew SRS/MOV numbers.

On the other hand, the RARITY of slam matches won with a DR above 2.5 has to give it some sort of value if also surrounded by high DRs.

 

[ghostofMecir]

Could've been Rafa 2012 if not for the rain

Pretty crazy that Rafito was only broken one time heading into the finals lol. Even without the rain, that final would be competitive enough to make the overall dominance a little less than 2008 or 2017.

 

[BauerAlmeida]

Borg '78.

It could be Nadal 2008 if it wasn't for the set that he had to save set points vs Djokovic and ended up winning in a TB. That aside they are pretty even.

 

[boredone3456]

Going with Nadal 2008.

However I'm throwing in an Honorable mention to the 1994 ladies French. Vicario flattened everyone without dropping a set to win the title, including Pierce in the final who had thrashed Graf and everyone else before the final herself.

 

[Racquet_smash]

Pretty crazy that Rafito was only broken one time heading into the finals lol. Even without the rain, that final would be competitive enough to make the overall dominance a little less than 2008 or 2017.

Pretty sure Nadal up until the rain kicked in got broken only 2 or 3 times the entire tournament. It would be considered even better than 2008 had he won it in 3.

 

[The Blond Blur]

Went with 08dal simply for the competition being better overall. If we’re talking just pure numbers then it’s 78 Borg.

 

[Mustard]

Going with Nadal 2008.

However I'm throwing in an Honorable mention to the 1994 ladies French. Vicario flattened everyone without dropping a set to win the title, including Pierce in the final who had thrashed Graf and everyone else before the final herself.

Pierce's run to the 1994 French Open final saw her drop just 10 games in 6 matches. Sanchez Vicario dropped 28 games in getting to the final. Sanchez Vicario won the final 6-4, 6-4.

 

[Mustard]

Pretty sure Nadal up until the rain kicked in got broken only 2 or 3 times the entire tournament. It would be considered even better than 2008 had he won it in 3.

2008 saw Nadal beat Djokovic and Federer.

 

[Racquet_smash]

2008 saw Nadal beat Djokovic and Federer.

Yes, but 2012 Djokovic was probably better than 2008 which was his best opponent that year.

It would be very close for sure choosing which would be the better run.

 

[boredone3456]

Pierce's run to the 1994 French Open final saw her drop just 10 games in 6 matches. Sanchez Vicario dropped 28 games in getting to the final. Sanchez Vicario won the final 6-4, 6-4.

They both went to town on everyone. Pierce's gets all the credit because of what she did to Graf in the SF. But Vicario actually played great that entire tournament (scoring a breadstick in 4 of her first six rounds). Her 2 toughest matches were against hometown favorites. Pretty dominant on both ladies parts in getting to the finals.

 

[Aabye5]

Only one answer. Federer. He beat the guy who beat Rafa. Beating someone better than Rafa on clay has to be the most dominant ever.

Fail

 

[Aabye5]

Yes, but 2012 Djokovic was probably better than 2008 which was his best opponent that year.

It would be very close for sure choosing which would be the better run.

But Rafa was better in 08

 

[AleYeah]

You hand Roger his worst ass-whooping in a Slam final after dropping no sets along the way and that's an easy vote for 2008 Rafa for me.

 

[Rafa4LifeEver]

Pretty crazy that Rafito was only broken one time heading into the finals lol. Even without the rain, that final would be competitive enough to make the overall dominance a little less than 2008 or 2017.

Without rain, Rafa was winning the 3rd set like 62

 

[Moose Malloy]

Justine Henin’s 2007 run is very interesting in that it might be the title run with the least amount of variance, i.e., every match was close to being the same as far as dominance was concerned—she was in control throughout, but she never reached peak dominance in that many of the games were quite close, but she best better players.

2007 Henin Overall Dominance Ratio: 1.31
Broken 18 times, broke 42 times, 54.6% of total points won

Rd		Score	DR
F	(1)Henin d. (7)Ana Ivanovic[SRB]	6-1 6-2 (ch)	1.20
SF	(1)Henin d. (4)Jelena Jankovic[SRB]	6-2 6-2 (ch)	1.36
QF	(1)Henin d. (8)Serena Williams[USA]	6-4 6-3	1.28
R16	(1)Henin d. (20)Sybille Bammer [AUT]	6-2 6-4	1.32
R32	(1)Henin d. (28)Mara Santangelo [ITA]	6-2 6-3	1.41
R64	(1)Henin d. Tamira Paszek[AUT]	7-5 6-1	1.42
R128	(1)Henin d. Elena Vesnina[RUS]	6-4 6-3	1.35

Interesting that Henin was broken so many times with those lopsided scores(you don't have links for 5 of the matches, did you get all those stats from TA?)

Also do you know how many times Serena was broken when she won '13 and '15 RG? Are there full tournament stats available somewhere?

 

[Third Serve]

Dominance is something that I think is more statistically quantifiable than measuring the “best.” In that case it’s pretty obviously Borg 1978. He was so far ahead of the field it was ridiculous.

But I think Nadal 2008 was probably the best, considering competition. I don’t think Borg faced anyone as good as Djokovic was in that SF, but I could be wrong.

 

[Berrettini_Fan]

Interesting that Henin was broken so many times with those lopsided scores(you don't have links for 5 of the matches, did you get all those stats from TA?)

Also do you know how many times Serena was broken when she won '13 and '15 RG? Are there full tournament stats available somewhere?

Why is there this false belief in a correlation between number of times being broken and dominance? Is it not better to be broken but win the set 6-2 than to not be broken and win the set 7-6?

 

[ghostofMecir]

Interesting that Henin was broken so many times with those lopsided scores(you don't have links for 5 of the matches, did you get all those stats from TA?)

Also do you know how many times Serena was broken when she won '13 and '15 RG? Are there full tournament stats available somewhere?

Stats are from TA. You can filter by year and event and then just kind of count things up, which doesn’t take too long.

2013 Serena at RG: broken only six times, twice in the finals and then four times versus Kuznetsova. 1.87 DR. This is the most dominant RG run that we have complete stats for aside from Nadal’s 2017 RG.

2015 Serena at RG: broken 16 times.

 

[Moose Malloy]

Stats are from TA. You can filter by year and event and then just kind of count things up, which doesn’t take too long.

2013 Serena at RG: broken only six times, twice in the finals and then four times versus Kuznetsova. 1.87 DR. This is the most dominant RG run that we have complete stats for aside from Nadal’s 2017 RG.

2015 Serena at RG: broken 16 times.

Thanks. I had a feeling Serena '13 might be tops. I watched all her matches that year and felt she was playing at a higher level than when she won it in '02. Her game was much cleaner, a lot less errors, hold % was higher. I know Henin is considered clay GOAT by many, and talent wise she probably is, but at the time I felt like the women's game on clay was a bit sloppy(so many breaks, ue's etc). That Serena-Henin '03 RG SF despite all the drama, crazy crowd etc was a pretty poorly played match by both, which many said at the time. Now some posters say it was peak WTA...

When it comes to DR, I have no doubt that some of Serena's AO/W/USO wins from the '12 to '17 period are higher than any of her major wins from '99 to '08.