Tougher opponent - old Agassi, old Nadal, old Djokovic

Pick one!


  • Total voters
    71
  • Poll closed .

mike danny

Bionic Poster
I don’t recall all the results but I think even if Agassi had not faced Sampras he would still have won less than Nadalovic and Nadal and Novak also had to face each other. Nadal would have an extra 4 slams without Fedovic and Novak possibly another 2-3 RGs without Nadal
Yes and now imagine if there was an actual younger ATG in the mix. How much would Djokodal's numbers drop?

And please, AO 2019 and RG 2020 were cakewalk wins. Easier wins than Fed had over Agassi.
 

BauerAlmeida

Hall of Fame
Agassi on HC was really good at old age, going toe to toe against a peak ATG like Federer.

OTOH, he didn't do much on clay and grass in the 2000s. I think he made SF of Wimbledon in 2000 and 2001 and then nothing, and didn't do anything on clay after winning in '99.

Nadal and Djokovic have stayed relevant on all surfaces, or in two at least.

I'd say Djokovic, maybe Agassi was better on HC than Djokovic, and its both players best, but Djokovic compensates being fairly ahead on the other two. Nadal won slams on two surfaces this year. If he wins Wimbledon too he can be ahead of Djokovic.
 

SamprasisGOAT

Hall of Fame
over all surfaces:

Djokovic

Nadal



Agassi


Agassi maybe > Nadal on hard and that’s literally it. He’s at best debatable with Djokovic on hard, miles behind him on the other 2 surfaces, miles and miles and miles behind Nadal on clay, and behind Nadal on grass imo from the admittedly tiny sample size we’ve seen of oldDal from 18-19
Fast hardcourt
Agassi
Djokovic
Nadal

slow hardcourt
Agassi
Djokovic
Nadal

grass
Djokovic
Agassi
Nadal

clay
Nadal
Djokovic
Agassi
 

Aabye5

G.O.A.T.
It was not guaranteed, but the guy won a slam, 4 masters, 11 titles and finished no.2. He was already a greater player than anyone today, including guys in their mid 20's.

Last year, Medvedev was #2. He won a Slam, made it to the final of a second Slam, reached the quarters of a third Slam, and won an M1000.

That is comparable, although we know he is much older. Who did he lose to at the AO? The Agassi of his time.
 
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Aabye5

G.O.A.T.
Obviously he wasn't an ATG then. It takes time to rack up numbers. But the level was there, which is all that matters. Just like Djokovic in 2011. Are gonna say Djokovic was not playing like an ATG in 2011 when he was winning 40+ straight matches?

They are not quite the same, imo. Federer won Wimbledon and then went on a tear the next year. Nole won the '08 AO and then...he was still in the mix, but he was battling against greatness. And by then, we knew they were great.

Alcaraz is the only question mark right now and even if he becomes an ATG eventually, it doesn't mean he's playing like one now. The others are very clearly not ATGs. Zverev, Med and Tsitsipas are more or less all in their mid 20's and they've proven not to be on that level at all. With them we know since they've had time to show it.

He is not the only question mark. He is the best hope for an ATG. There is a difference. But this is where your imagination is important.

Federer and Safin were both expected to do great things, but only one of them lived up to expectations.
 

aman92

Legend
I think AO and Wimb going to Djokovic, FO going to Nadal and USO going to Agassi is fair enough. Although Agassi deserves an argument at the AO as well as his 2003-2004 levels were very good.
Agassi didn't win a single USO post 30 despite it being his favourite surface and having massive crowd support .. How is this a fair argument at all?
 

Kralingen

Bionic Poster
Agassi didn't win a single USO post 30 despite it being his favourite surface and having massive crowd support .. How is this a fair argument at all?
‘01/02 Sampras and ‘04/05 Federer are like two or three levels above any opponent at the US Open since 2015.

Give Agassi an Anderson/Del Potro/Medvedev final and I wonder what would happen…
 

Crazy Finn

Hall of Fame
What old Djokodal have in their favor is that they're all-surface players, unlike Agassi who only thrived on HC at one point.

As for old Djokodal vs old Agassi on HC, I think overall they're about the same in terms of difficulty, with Djokodal being tougher on clay and grass.
Are they really "all-surface" players or have the surfaces gotten homogenized to the point that the differences aren't that significant?

Probably a little of column A, a little of column B.
 

vex

Legend
Old Nadal seems to give the younguns more fits while Djokovic seems to just slightly outplay/outlast them. But I don’t have stats to support this. It just feels like Rafa is more oppressive towards them.
 

Crazy Finn

Hall of Fame
So you're telling me Agassi is just extra bald and condensed version of Medvedev
It's a bit insulting to compare Medvedev to Agassi, who reached the quarterfinals or better at Wimbledon 7 times, the semis 5, and the finals twice (winning once, obviously) on grass when it played like grass.
 

Bender

G.O.A.T.
Don’t forget compact
condensed, compact, compressed, same thing no?
It's a bit insulting to compare Medvedev to Agassi, who reached the quarterfinals or better at Wimbledon 7 times, the semis 5, and the finals twice (winning once, obviously) on grass when it played like grass.
The field evolved, bru. In this era, Sampras would be a journeyman playing for pennies in Stuttgart.
 
Combination of old Djokovic and old Nadal is a handful which is what they are currently dealing with. Especially when both are super motivated racing each other for the slam record.
 
AO:
2019 Djoko
2000/2001/2003/2004 Agassi
2017 Dal
2020/2021 Djoko
2005 Agassi
2018-2021 Dal
2022 Dal

RG:
2017 Dal
2018-2020 Dal
2021 Djoko
2022 Dal ~ 2019-2020 Djoko

Wimb:
2018 Djoko
2018 Dal
2000/2001 Agassi
2019 Djoko
2021 Djoko
2017/2019 Dal

Not entirely sure where to place Agassi given the different grass in 2000/2001

USO:
2001 Agassi
2004 Agassi
2018 Djoko
2017 Dal
2002 Agassi
2005 Agassi
2019 Nadal
2021 Djoko

Agassi was easily the best on HCs and had two good runs at Wimbledon.

Nadal clearly on clay.

Djoko the most well rounded across 4 Slams.
 

abmk

Bionic Poster
I'll take Djokodal because they can win on any surface. AA didn't do much on clay/grass after 1999

AA only lost in 5 set high quality SFs to Rafter in 00/01 at Wimbledon.
Please learn something/check things instead of writing ignorant stuff like this.

not as significant, but still matters ->
Agassi won Rome in 02, was only taken out by Ferrero/Coria in QFs of RG in 02/03
Agassi was only taken out on grass in 3rd set TB at Queens and 5th set by Scud at Wim in 03
 

jl809

Legend
So basically everyone just ignored the premise of this thread and made it about hypothetical matchups just to fit their favourite Big 3 player’s agenda? This was never about whether old Agassi would beat old Djokovic lol
 

abmk

Bionic Poster
As for old Djokodal vs old Agassi on HC, I think overall they're about the same in terms of difficulty

disagree.
AO 03/04 Agassi > AO 20/21 Djokovic.
if we're taking 2 more years back, AO 19 for djokovic does bridge the gap, but he failed in AO 18.
AO 00/01/03/04 Agassi > 18-21 AO djokovic

(if you want to say arm injury for djoko in AO 18, fine, then take AO 17 - he was fine physically, but got upset by Istomin)

Agassi at USO 01-05 >> Djokovic USO 18-current.
Agassi USO 01 ~ Djokovic USO 18
But rest of it, Agassi easily takes it. took out Hewitt in 02, Blake in 05, stretched fed to 5 in 04 etc.
taken out by Sampras playing at his best/peak fed in 4 of the 5 years in competitive matches.even ferrero played at his best when taking out Agassi in USO 03.
djoko OTOH went out to post-prime Wawa, default, Med with a whimper. at the USO
 

AnOctorokForDinner

Talk Tennis Guru
2004-05 Agassi clearly tougher than post-2019 AO Djokovic (let alone Nadal) on HC by some margin, especially in slams. Of course he didn't do anything on the natural surfaces (one run to Rome SF in 05 is basically nothing in comparison).
 

mike danny

Bionic Poster
Are they really "all-surface" players or have the surfaces gotten homogenized to the point that the differences aren't that significant?

Probably a little of column A, a little of column B.
Be that as it may, Djokodal have performed better on all of these surfaces than Agassi.
 

NeutralFan

G.O.A.T.
Propaganda destroyed :cool:

Tier 3 ATG at 36 in era where 30 years old use to be retired against a player at his absolute peak

Tier1GOATs in mid 30s at era where sportsperson plays toll late 30s against goat player who are in mid30 themselves.

It should be no brainer. Some people just don't want to understand it.
 

DSH

Talk Tennis Guru
'Oldal' is the best of the three.
His willpower is unmatched in the Open Era, at least.
:alien:
 

nolefam_2024

Bionic Poster
I'm less convinced of that now than I was before the AO, but Sinner may still be banned and that would open the door for a lot of things.
You will be soon.

Even with your unconvincing self , remember where Nadal was last year at same age?

A nobody going out in r1 of rg.
 
I'm less convinced of that now than I was before the AO, but Sinner may still be banned and that would open the door for a lot of things.
Yes, if Sinner is banned, the only gatekeeper for Djokoray = Alcaraz, and we all know he is capable of throwing in a stinker. That'd let Djokovic win any of the last three majors, in all of which I predict he will go deep.
 
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