The biggest story in MEN's slams this year?

[USO]

I did specifically mention MEN so that there's no confusion for Chris Evert.

What in your opinion has been the biggest story this year in MEN's slams this year? Many memorable things happened, you can choose up to 2 options in the poll but it will be interesting to see you all rank them in terms of impact.

I hope I didn't forget anything.

 

[StrongRule]

Nadal winning his 20th slam. How can there be any doubt about that?

Maybe it would be Thiem winning his first slam if he beat Djokovic in AO final. But with the way he actually won his first slam...Just no. Not a very exciting story.

 

[GabeT]

I think it has to be WB cancelation. First time since WW2, IIRC. a tournament will always be more important than any one player

 

[DSH]

 

[USO]

I voted Nadal winning his 20th and Djokovic being disqualified. Those 2 things were talked about a lot.

 

[clout]

Went with Rafa tying Fed since that's something the tennis world has been predicting would happen for years now, and Novak's DQ was something I didn't expect happening either, I mean the odds of everything that came into place for that to happen was pretty rare

 

[Pheasant]

90% of this site is talking about slam counts, who's the GOAT(well, 2nd place behind MuryGOAT), weak era, geometric mean, etc.

Nadal's 20th should be the highlight in a landslide.

 

[Im(moral) Winner]

PCB making another SF

 

[USO]

Another option that I should have added is "The USO and FO being completed with no major incidents with Covid-19".

At certain points I thought that something might happen like many top players getting tested positive or governments cancelling the tournament midway.

 

[Nadal>>>>>Federer]

1. Nadals 20th
2. Djoko DQ
3. Wimbledon cancelled
4. Thiems 1st

 

[USO]

Based on the poll results so far it seems that the Thiem vs Zverev final at the USO and how other players are finally making a move didn't make much of an impact on the year.

 

[Cabeza del Demonio]

It's the US Open final and it's not even close (Coronavirus related stories aside). At last the new generation took their place in a Grand Slam final. That match was one of the most thrilling, dramatic, high-tension matches I've ever seen, with Thiem and Zverev battling their own inner demons as well as each other, fighting for the title they both so desperately wanted after so many years of being thwarted by the old guard. If any moment from the year will be remembered for the ages, it will be that incredible 5th set tiebreaker. So many twists and turns in the whole match, especially in the end stages.

After so many years, all the heartbreak at the hands of Nadal and Djokovic, all the frustratingly slow progress to the pinnacle of tennis, it culminated in a truly unforgettable, emotional victory.

Nadal's beatdown of Djokovic at RG doesn't come close. It was the most anticlimactic, inevitable victory ever (despite all the media and the fans desperately hyping up Djokovic for 2 weeks)

 

[Tshooter]

It's the US Open final and it's not even close (Coronavirus related stories aside). At last the new generation took their place in a Grand Slam final. That match was one of the most thrilling, dramatic, high-tension matches I've ever seen, with Thiem and Zverev battling their own inner demons as well as each other, fighting for the title they both so desperately wanted after so many years of being thwarted by the old guard. If any moment from the year will be remembered for the ages, it will be that incredible 5th set tiebreaker. So many twists and turns in the whole match, especially in the end stages.

After so many years, all the heartbreak at the hands of Nadal and Djokovic, all the frustratingly slow progress to the pinnacle of tennis, it culminated in a truly unforgettable, emotional victory.

Nadal's beatdown of Djokovic at RG doesn't come close. It was the most anticlimactic, inevitable victory ever (despite all the media and the fans desperately hyping up Djokovic for 2 weeks)

I can’t tell if this is satire.

Either way it works.

 

[ND-13]

It is Djokovic DQ by a long stretch.. No one imagined ever that such a thing could happen.

 

[Cabeza del Demonio]

I can’t tell if this is satire.

The final gets way too much hate for being low-quality (which it certainly was, almost cringeworthy at points). But what made the match epic was the momentum swings, the twists and turns, and a few moments of real clutch from both players. When Thiem was down a break in the 5th and started teeing off on forehands, for example.

 

[octobrina10]

This:

View this content on Instagram

View this content on Instagram

 

[ibbi]

It’s either the 20th or the 1st, though in wider non-tennis circles it’s almost certainly the disqualification.

 

[TimHenmanATG]

When the dust has settled, it's got to be Defaultovic.

The dynamics of the Grand Slam race could have taken such a different turn, but for his toddler-like petulance.

 

[duaneeo]

It is Djokovic DQ by a long stretch.. No one imagined ever that such a thing could happen.

I agree, and it's likely why the slam count is 20-20-17 rather than 20-19-19.

 

[StrongRule]

I agree, and it's likely why the slam count is 20-20-17 rather than 20-19-19.

How exactly the DQ stopped Djokovic from winning RG?

 

[Shaolin]

This:

View this content on Instagram

View this content on Instagram

Yawn. Nadal shoveling more RGs onto his clay heap. Zzzzzz

 

[Subway Tennis]

This:

View this content on Instagram

View this content on Instagram

Definitely this. Tennis is obsessed with 2 things: Majors and the GOAT debate, and this covers both those topics.

Additionally I think the performance of Nadal in that final made it an even bigger story because there was a lot of shock about him looking so dominant against a guy who had only lost one match all year.

 

[Mike Sams]

I agree, and it's likely why the slam count is 20-20-17 rather than 20-19-19.

19 for Djokovic? You mean Djokovic should've won both USO and RG back to back? I didn't think he looked anything spectacular in either event.

 

[King No1e]

Djokovic's DQ was the most bizarre. Nadal equalling Fed was the most significant. But the most memorable story of the year was the Thiem Dream. Finally breaking the Fedalovic stranglehold, even if in their absence.

 

[Mike Sams]

Definitely this. Tennis is obsessed with 2 things: Majors and the GOAT debate, and this covers both those topics.

Additionally I think the performance of Nadal in that final made it an even bigger story because there was a lot of shock about him looking so dominant against a guy who had only lost one match all year.

That's not how I saw it. Leading up to the final, we saw Djokovic having all sorts of trouble in the QF and SF. Just over 3 matches, he had to defend against 37 Break Points against guys who aren't even in the same league as Nadal on Paris clay. And it turned out exactly as expected. Djokovic having to face 18 BPs against Nadal in the final. Djokovic has regressed on clay. He's definitely not as strong as he was in 2011-2016. Nadal took him to the woodshed as he should've. Nadal is indestructible when he smells blood in Paris. And Djokovic was a lamb to the slaughter that day.

 

[Mike Sams]

The funniest thing leading up to the RG final is that Djokovic's gameplan seemed to be to hit the dropshot. I think anyone who's basing their whole plan on executing the dropshot against Nadal in an RG final is already dead!

 

[duaneeo]

How exactly the DQ stopped Djokovic from winning RG?

I think having both the AO and USO titles heading into RG would've helped him mentally.

 

[Beckerserve]

I did specifically mention MEN so that there's no confusion for Chris Evert.

What in your opinion has been the biggest story this year in MEN's slams this year? Many memorable things happened, you can choose up to 2 options in the poll but it will be interesting to see you all rank them in terms of impact.

I hope I didn't forget anything.

Is she on here?

 

[Tshooter]

The final gets way too much hate for being low-quality (which it certainly was, almost cringeworthy at points). But what made the match epic was the momentum swings, the twists and turns, and a few moments of real clutch from both players. When Thiem was down a break in the 5th and started teeing off on forehands, for example.

I saw the 5th. I thought it was fascinating actually. I was entertained. But 2020 USO, IMO, will be remembered for the pandemic and the default not as some watershed nextgen event.

What Rafa did giving a beatdown to the #1 player for win number 13 FO and 20 Majors was historic.

 

[Antonio Puente]

I think having both the AO and USO titles heading into RG would've helped him mentally.

In the RG final, Djoker needed a little more than a slight mental boost.

 

[MichaelNadal]

Rafa getting 20 and playing the match like it was 2010

 

[Mike Sams]

I think having both the AO and USO titles heading into RG would've helped him mentally.

Djokovic had won Rome Masters leading up to RG. So quite clearly the USO default didn't affect him at all. And all the commentators and experts and most people on here were saying he was even more driven and hungry to win after what happened at USO. Maybe he's just getting old and unable to maintain focus and form over the long haul? That could be possible.

 

[pj80]

I did specifically mention MEN so that there's no confusion for Chris Evert.

What in your opinion has been the biggest story this year in MEN's slams this year? Many memorable things happened, you can choose up to 2 options in the poll but it will be interesting to see you all rank them in terms of impact.

I hope I didn't forget anything.

you forgot djokovic beating federer in straight sets yet again in AO

 

[duaneeo]

Djokovic had won Rome Masters leading up to RG. So quite clearly the USO default didn't affect him at all. And all the commentators and experts and most people on here were saying he was even more driven and hungry to win after what happened at USO. Maybe he's just getting old and unable to maintain focus and form over the long haul? That could be possible.

Winning Rome does not "quite clearly" mean anything regarding how he was affected by the USO default. And, it's also possible that the DQ put too-much-to-handle pressure on him to win Roland Garros.

 

[USO]

you forgot djokovic beating federer in straight sets yet again in AO

I can’t wait till Djokovic is 38 to see how invincible he will be. Would he even make a SF in a slam? Would he even still be playing? I doubt it.

 

[GabeT]

Way too much recency bias in the responses, as is always the case at TTW

the one event that is unlikely to repeat itself for decades is canceling Wimby, no other comes even near

there will be plenty of first time slam winners in the near future.

nadal winning 20 is the second time a player has done so in the last three years and another may do it again in the next few years

DQ was a stupid move by Novak and very uncommon in tennis but nowhere near as rare as the top tournament in the world not even opening

 

[Lebsta]

Seriously there is only one answer to this question, Rafa getting to 20.

It seems finally now if we get four slams next year, then 2021 will decide who GOAT is

 

[MichaelNadal]

Seriously there is only one answer to this question, Rafa getting to 20.

It seems finally now if we get four slams next year, then 2021 will decide who GOAT is

It definitely will, interesting.

 

[Lebsta]

Djokovic's DQ was the most bizarre. Nadal equalling Fed was the most significant. But the most memorable story of the year was the Thiem Dream. Finally breaking the Fedalovic stranglehold, even if in their absence.

It was great for Thiem winning but there will always be an asterisk. To break the big 3 stranglehold the next gen will need to actually beat them in a slam final consistently.

 

[USO]

It was great for Thiem winning but there will always be an asterisk. To break the big 3 stranglehold the next gen will need to actually beat them in a slam final consistently.

Thiem has beaten the Big 3 many times before, there is no asterisk. He was long overdue.

 

[Lebsta]

Thiem has beaten the Big 3 many times before, there is no asterisk. He was long overdue.

There was an asterisk since Djokovic was DQ & Rafa the defending champion & 4 time winner was absent. Plus if we're honest the final was a choke by Zverev. Once Thiem or anyone else starts beating the big 3 in Slam Finals then we can say the stranglehold is over.

 

[Mike Sams]

Winning Rome does not "quite clearly" mean anything regarding how he was affected by the USO default. And, it's also possible that the DQ put too-much-to-handle pressure on him to win Roland Garros.

I didn't think he looked that good at USO either to be honest. He was wrong footed and took a spill against PCB, couldn't convert BPs, got broken, and was irritated. I don't think it was a certainty he was going to get through Shapovalov, Zverev and Thiem to win the US Open. I still think it's a sign of aging. He's not the same guy he was in 2015-early 2016. He has flashes of brilliance at times and other times he can look very beatable.

 

[THUNDERVOLLEY]

OP: Nadal winning major #20 which tied him with Federer. There's no bigger story in men's tennis this year by any stretch of the imagination.

Next would be Djokovic being disqualified at the USO for the most packed-on, BS fantasy "reason" ever concocted at the event.

 

[r2473]

I did specifically mention MEN so that there's no confusion for Chris Evert.

What in your opinion has been the biggest story this year in MEN's slams this year? Many memorable things happened, you can choose up to 2 options in the poll but it will be interesting to see you all rank them in terms of impact.

I hope I didn't forget anything.

The Evert - Navratilova rivalry.

 

[duaneeo]

I didn't think he looked that good at USO either to be honest. He was wrong footed and took a spill against PCB, couldn't convert BPs, got broken, and was irritated. I don't think it was a certainty he was going to get through Shapovalov, Zverev and Thiem to win the US Open. I still think it's a sign of aging. He's not the same guy he was in 2015-early 2016. He has flashes of brilliance at times and other times he can look very beatable.

There have been many times Nole didn't look good at a slam and still eventually won. And, he (and Nadal) have been showing signs of aging for years now, but in this current era, they're still the best there is in the game. All evidence points towards a certain win had he not been disqualified, as the final showed two players still not mentally ready to actually win a slam, and they (along with the other young guns) showed their uselessness weeks later at RG.

 

[EdSWright]

Rafa is now 6 ahead of Lance.