Rank the 3-Slam seasons

[RS]

We're talking about Nadal versus Djokovic though, not Djokovic against -----. Do you think there is a version of Nadal who can wrestle the title away from that Djokovic who played the 2011 final? Do you think he can outduel him when he is firing like that on all cylinders from every part of the court? If so, then we just disagree.

It was tongue in cheek about Nadal being clearly better.
A matchup would be close imo. I could see both winning in 5 sets.

 

[KINGROGER]

Yeah no - Nadal is currently competing with Djokovic and Federer for all major titles and has been for most of his career. You know the greatest three of all time, and current world number 1, 2 and 3. There is no way you can call that a weak era.

In terms of Fed's contemporaries - what a joke, put 24 - 25 year old Nadal and Djokovic in the ring with Roddick, Hewitt & Co and they would clean up too - lol. Fed's winning ratio significantly slowed after 2007 and there is a reason why, two players fully matured that were just better than him and it's shown.

Lmao at how inaccurate this is

Nadal’s competition is Anderson, Medvedev, Thiem and Wawrinka. All lesser players (Wawrinka on clay in that match up is)

I’ll give you Wimbledon 18/19 - strong wins on par with Fed’s 07/09 runs. USO/AO 19 both easy slams though.

 

[Djokovic2011]

Except 2011 Djokovic. Djokovic at his best is just a better hardcourt player than Nadal. The way he has reeled off set after set over him since 2013 is something even Nadal couldn't do to him on clay.

Nadal winning a 4th US Open really has made his fanbase go completely doolally.

 

[RS]

Nadal winning a 4th US Open really has made his fanbase go completely doolally.

Not me though it was only a joke.
I generally think that Nadal can beat Djokovic on some HCs but I said Djokovic was better overall.

 

[NoleFam]

Nadal winning a 4th US Open really has made his fanbase go completely doolally.

You have a point but not Reese though. Lol. There are quite a few level headed Nadal fans on here and he's one of them.

 

[tudwell]

Connors 74 is the hardest to place. On the surface, it is statistically the best year. 93-4 win-loss (2nd best win percentage of Open era after Mac '84), 15 titles and undefeated at slams (banned from RG). That said, most of his competition was pretty washed up and I think I recall he missed some of the bigger events that year. So not sure where to rank it.

In terms of the others:

1. Djokovic 2015 - 6 masters and YEC, 11 titles and 82-6 win loss
2. Federer 2006 - 4 masters and YEC, 12 titles, 92-5 win loss
3. Djokovic 2011 - 5 masters, crazy 41 match win streak and domination of Fedal. 10 titles, 70-6 win loss
4. Federer 2004 - 3 masters and YEC. Complete domination of top 10. 11 titles and 74-6 win loss
5. Federer 2007 - 2 masters and YEC. 8 titles and 68-9 win loss. Above 2010 due to extra title, YEC > 1 masters and slam final > slam QF. But I could go either way on this. 3 consecutive slams on different surfaces is very impressive.
6. Nadal 2010 - 3 masters, 7 titles, 71-10 win loss. Best player on all 3 surfaces
7. Wilander 1988 - 6 titles. 53-11 wins loss ratio. Clearly the least impressive, albeit still a great achievement.

This is pretty much how I see it. Nadal's 2010 is hard to place because even though in terms of raw numbers it's a bit below Fed in 04 and 07, it has two unique accomplishments: winning 3 slams on 3 surfaces and sweeping all 4 of the big European clay tournaments. I wouldn't quibble with someone ranking it a bit higher because of that.

As for Connors, the tour was still somewhat fractured in 1974 and I think Connors spent quite a bit of time cleaning up in relatively weaker tournaments. It isn't so much that his top competition was washed-up as that he simply didn't play the best players week-in, week-out. Parsing the ATP rankings for 74 and Connors' match record on the ATP site, I see no matches against No. 2 Newcombe, No. 4 Laver, or No. 5 Vilas. And just one match apiece against No. 3 Borg, No. 6 Okker, No. 7 Ashe, No. 8 Smith, and No. 10 Nastase. The only year-end top-ten player he played more than once was No. 9 Rosewall. That's 7 of his 99 matches played against the guys who would end the year in the top 10. His Australian title was also far weaker in depth than a modern Australian title – if the ATP rankings are accurate, the highest-ranked player he faced was No. 29! And the second highest No. 49!

I'd still probably put his 74 season at number 4 on this list because 15 titles and only 4 losses is ridiculous even if he did spend more time on a "weaker" circuit than anyone does these days. But I think people putting it over 2011 are just wrong. In early September, after all 4 majors and 7 of the 9 Masters had been contested, Djokovic had won 8 of those big titles and lost just 2 matches. That's insane. He fell off a bit in the fall and that's really the only reason it's even down there at number 3 for me. Had he kept up a similar level it'd likely be number one by a big margin.

 

[titoelcolombiano]

Lmao at how inaccurate this is

Nadal’s competition is Anderson, Medvedev, Thiem and Wawrinka. All lesser players (Wawrinka on clay in that match up is)

I’ll give you Wimbledon 18/19 - strong wins on par with Fed’s 07/09 runs. USO/AO 19 both easy slams though.

Go and have a look at who Nadal has beaten for all of his grand slams and then do the same for Federer and compare the lists.

 

[King No1e]

Here:

+1. The beginning of Earth's Mightiest Warrior!

 

[titoelcolombiano]

Fed has the most slams in his peak compared to the other 2. It’s only thanks to the recent inflation era they’ve been able to catch up.
We already did see Nadal in a ring with Fed’s guys and he got owned time and time again off clay.

When you refer to his peak are you refering to the fairytale that was 2003 - 2007? Yet you call this era with the three greatest of all time ranked 1,2 and 3 as an inflation era? lol

Yeah nice try - Let's have a look at Rafa's records against the best of Fed's generation shall we:

Nadal 7 - 3 Roddick
Nadal 7 - 4 Hewitt
Nadal 7 - 2 Ferrero
Nadal 5 - 2 Nalbandian
Nadal 2 - 0 Safin
The only one Rafa struggled with was Davydenko and still the H2H was Nadal 5 - 6 Davydenko

Let's not forget that Rafa is 5 years younger than these guys too - lol, no wonder Fed cleaned up... right time, right place, right age - that's all it is my friend. Outside of that time period Fed's stats don't look very GOATY at all.

 

[titoelcolombiano]

lol whatever. You basically just made the same points as before. Anyway, I didn't know Slam count after 30 was an important criteria in the GOAT debate. As I wrote before, these are made-up stats to inflate Nadal's resume. I might as well post prime age (that would be about 23-28, maybe 24-29) Slam counts to prove who was the best in their prime ages. It literally means nothing, just like longevity is an useless method of evaluating players, although it does indirectly help players win more Slams. One player could win their 10 Slams over a 15-year career and one could win 10 Slams over 5 years. I will still rate the players equal at the end of their careers because they won the same amount of Slams. Maybe I'll say that Player B's peak was higher since his Slam distribution is more concentrated and that Player A was more consistent over a long period of time, but that's as far as I'll go.

Truth be told, I'm not very interested in this conversation anymore so I'll just leave this here.

Let's just agree that Rafa is GOAT when the slam record falls

 

[KINGROGER]

Go and have a look at who Nadal has beaten for all of his grand slams and then do the same for Federer and compare the lists.

Fed and Djokovic on clay a lot
Thiem
Anderson
Medvedev
Berdych
Wawrinka

some competition

 

[KINGROGER]

When you refer to his peak are you refering to the fairytale that was 2003 - 2007? Yet you call this era with the three greatest of all time ranked 1,2 and 3 as an inflation era? lol

Yeah nice try - Let's have a look at Rafa's records against the best of Fed's generation shall we:

Nadal 7 - 3 Roddick
Nadal 7 - 4 Hewitt
Nadal 7 - 2 Ferrero
Nadal 5 - 2 Nalbandian
Nadal 2 - 0 Safin
The only one Rafa struggled with was Davydenko and still the H2H was Nadal 5 - 6 Davydenko

Let's not forget that Rafa is 5 years younger than these guys too - lol, no wonder Fed cleaned up... right time, right place, right age - that's all it is my friend. Outside of that time period Fed's stats don't look very GOATY at all.

Yeah the inflation era, where declined players are able to continue padding their stats because there’s 0 upcoming young players to challenge them. Started around 2015/2016.
Nadal got owned on HCs by Fed’s gen, hence why he couldn’t reach Fed once in 6 straight finals at the USO. He needed Fed to decline so he could nab a couple of USOs vs a mediocre Djokovic.

Fed is very unfortunate he’s 5 years older or else he would’ve made a farce of tennis records. The only lucky ones are Djokovic and Nadal that they get to play for years with 0 young ATG to challenge them.

Fairytale? You mean Nadal’s entire clay career or 2016- present weakest era of tennis history?

 

[Third Serve]

Let's just agree that Rafa is GOAT when the slam record falls

The greatest of the Big 3? Yeah, I can do that. The greatest of all time? I don’t think we can even determine that. I didn’t even think Federer was the GOAT because it’s too difficult to compare across eras.

 

[titoelcolombiano]

Fed and Djokovic on clay a lot
Thiem
Anderson
Medvedev
Berdych
Wawrinka

some competition

If you want a real good chuckle, have a look at this list:

Rafa x 4 (twice against baby Rafa on grass)
Roddick x 4
Murray x 3
Cilic x 2 - lol
Baby Djokovic x 1
Safin x 1
Hewitt x 1
Old Agassi x 1
Soderling x 1
Philippoussis x 1 - lol
Baghdatis x 1 - lol
Gonzalez x 1 - lol

 

[titoelcolombiano]

he couldn’t reach Fed once in 6 straight finals at the USO. He needed Fed to decline so he could nab a couple of USOs vs a mediocre Djokovic.

Just give me a second, I'm taking notes here:

Nadal was expected to make finals at the US Open between 2004 and 2008 (age 18 - 22) when Fed didn't make a final there until the age of 23..... right, noted...

Also, Djokovic was mediocre in 2010 and 2013 - lol you are on fire today

Nadal got owned on HCs by Fed’s gen

Yeah, except he didn't

Nadal 4 - 3 Roddick on hard
Nadal 2 - 3 Hewitt on hard (interesting to note that Hewitt's three victories came in 2004 and 2005 against an 18 and 19 year old Nadal - how was Federer going at that age? - lol)
Nadal 2 - 1 Ferrero on hard
Nadal 4 - 2 Nalbandian on hard
Nadal 2 - 0 Safin on hard

I do like the attempt though by trying to selectively pick one of the three surfaces on tour - keep trying you'll get there one day

Fairytale? You mean Nadal’s entire clay career or 2016- present weakest era of tennis history?

Fed & Djoker are weak opponents, noted. I don't agree with you but good to know your opinion on the matter.

 

[KINGROGER]

Just give me a second, I'm taking notes here:

Nadal was expected to make finals at the US Open between 2004 and 2008 (age 18 - 22) when Fed didn't make a final there until the age of 23..... right, noted...

Also, Djokovic was mediocre in 2010 and 2013 - lol you are on fire today



Yeah, except he didn't

Nadal 4 - 3 Roddick on hard
Nadal 2 - 3 Hewitt on hard (interesting to note that Hewitt's three victories came in 2004 and 2005 against an 18 and 19 year old Nadal - how was Federer going at that age? - lol)
Nadal 2 - 1 Ferrero on hard
Nadal 4 - 2 Nalbandian on hard
Nadal 2 - 0 Safin on hard

I do like the attempt though by trying to selectively pick one of the three surfaces on tour - keep trying you'll get there one day



Fed & Djoker are weak opponents, noted. I don't agree with you but good to know your opinion on the matter.

Never said he was expected to do anything, merely pointing out he never beat the best USO player to win any of them (Fed/Djoko are the same at RG tbf)

yes he did, otherwise he would’ve made a HC slam final during Fed’s peak.

yes Djokovic was mediocre in those finals. 4 sets??? If he was any good he would’ve won or it would’ve went to 5.

Yes, they are weak opponents at RG. Only ONCE did they make it to a 5th set.

 

[KINGROGER]

If you want a real good chuckle, have a look at this list:

Rafa x 4 (twice against baby Rafa on grass)
Roddick x 4
Murray x 3
Cilic x 2 - lol
Baby Djokovic x 1
Safin x 1
Hewitt x 1
Old Agassi x 1
Soderling x 1
Philippoussis x 1 - lol
Baghdatis x 1 - lol
Gonzalez x 1 - lol

12 RG won vs his pigeons.... only 1 tough SF/F match vs Djokovic in 2013 hahahahahahaha
rafa is the weak era king.

 

[JaoSousa]

12 RG won vs his pigeons.... only 1 tough SF/F match vs Djokovic in 2013 hahahahahahaha
rafa is the weak era king.

 

[KINGROGER]

Which part would you like to refute? Or are you one of these clueless posters who thinks 2008 RG was a tougher slam than say 04 AO/W

 

[titoelcolombiano]

12 RG won vs his pigeons.... only 1 tough SF/F match vs Djokovic in 2013 hahahahahahaha
rafa is the weak era king.

So are you saying that Fed and Djokovic are Rafa's pigeons?

 

[titoelcolombiano]

Never said he was expected to do anything, merely pointing out he never beat the best USO player to win any of them (Fed/Djoko are the same at RG tbf)

yes he did, otherwise he would’ve made a HC slam final during Fed’s peak.

yes Djokovic was mediocre in those finals. 4 sets??? If he was any good he would’ve won or it would’ve went to 5.

Yes, they are weak opponents at RG. Only ONCE did they make it to a 5th set.

You're funny - He beat the world number 1 twice in a US Open final.

You say that Fed & Djoker are weak clay opponents, I can't agree there. If not for Rafa Fed would have won 5 maybe 6 RG titles and along with them won The Grand Slam three times in a row and I'm sure you would be saying how good he is on clay then right?

 

[KINGROGER]

.

 

[Hitman]

So are you saying that Fed and Djokovic are Rafa's pigeons?

Let me rephrase that question back to you. Who isn't Rafa's pigeon at RG?

 

[Badasaplayer]

Djokovic was already at his peak in the USO 2010. He had dramatically improved and beat Federer in the USO SF. In the USO 2009 SF, Djokovic lost in 3 sets to Federer. But in the USO 2010 SF Djokovic beat Federer with the same result than in the USO 2011 SF, indicating that he already had peaked. It is not like Djokovic was non-peak the 31th of December of 2010 and suddenly became peak the 1st of January of 2011. He peaked in the last months of 2010, at the USO 2010.

Roddick NEVER defeated Federer in a Grand Slam match.

Late 2010 Djokovic >>>> any version of Roddick.

Roddick beat Djokovic at both Canada and Cincinnati masters leading into USO 2010. Yes, Djokovic played great match to beat federer in the SF but calling him peak is absurd. So going by your own logic he wasn't peak 1week before USO when he lost to Roddick but magically turned peak at USO?

 

[mike danny]

Nadal prime had a better field than Federer prime imo but I don’t see how Nadal faced better opponents in 2010 on all surfaces than Federer did in 2004.

Competition has certainly evened out for all of the Big 3 after the last 4 years.

 

[RS]

Competition has certainly evened out for all of the Big 3 after the last 4 years.

That post was over year ago still. I did say only in prime anyways hardly said overall or it was a wash.

 

[mike danny]

That post was over year ago still.

Hey, you're not the only one who likes to bump threads

 

[RS]

Hey, you're not the only one who likes to bump threads

Made a edit but i see

 

[TheFederer]

1969 was in the open era.

I think he meant purely three Slam seasons.

Yup, otherwise 2005 would be on there, even though fed only won 2 GS.

 

[Rafa4LifeEver]

In the Open Era, how would you rank each 3-Slam season by dominance? I'm weighting statistical dominance over level of play here, which is why I rate Djoker's 2015 above his 2011 despite his 2011 level being clearly superior (no one else in history can match Peak Nadal the way he did)

1. Djokovic 2015
2. Connors 1974
3. Federer 2006
4. Djokovic 2011
5. Federer 2007
6. Nadal 2010
7. Federer 2004
8. Wilander 1988

Djokovic's 2015 takes the cake because of how near-perfect it was - made every single final except Doha, won 3 Slams, 6 M1000's, World Champion, just one match from CYGS, a winnable match on paper at that. I had a lot of trouble putting 2-4 in a particular order, as they were all GOAT seasons in their own way - Connors not losing a Slam match and having a 96% win rate, Federer winning an ungodly amount of titles, Djokovic going 41-0 and outclassing his competition repeatedly. I could also rank Nadal's 2010 above Fed's 07 for the 3-surface trifecta, but Fed played much better outside the Slams and won the World Championship in 07, so slight edge to him.

No

 

[Lew II]

Hard to compare different eras. Djokovic 2011 and 2015 are top two among Big3's seasons, as he dominated the Big4 in them (12-2 and 15-4 respectively).

 

[Lew II]

If you want a real good chuckle, have a look at this list:

Rafa x 4 (twice against baby Rafa on grass)
Roddick x 4
Murray x 3
Cilic x 2 - lol
Baby Djokovic x 1
Safin x 1
Hewitt x 1
Old Agassi x 1
Soderling x 1
Philippoussis x 1 - lol
Baghdatis x 1 - lol
Gonzalez x 1 - lol

Nadal x3.