depends on the surface. for me the best hardcourt performance I ever saw in the last 25 years was safin beating sampras at the 2000 US Open final. but in terms of clay court tennis the best performance I ever saw was nadal at 2008 french open.
Highest level regardless of surface!! Or on any surface!!
lol at Davydenko being there.
can't say which was better. because each required a different style and skill set. each was amazing in its own way. in terms of raw tennis skill, i would put sampras and safin's performance over nadal.
both matches. wimbledon 1999 final and US Open 2000 final. watch them bothWas it really that good that match?
He can play insanely good for a period of time I think. Perfect groundies and movement.
both matches. wimbledon 1999 final and US Open 2000 final. watch them both
He's not in the running for best of the last 25 years - half your list isn't tbh, some other players definitely would deserve to be in there over the likes of Davy and Del Potro IMO.
2007 USO QF Roddick is up there
Deserves to be on the list more than Davydenko lol.
But Davy leads H2H 6-5 vs the GOAT.
Davy is 2-6 against Djokovic though Guess who leads the h2h between Roddick and Djokovic?
I think this match is every bit as good as Safin's mythical peak at the AO but this opinion will get me tarred and feathered on TTW.
Of course.2007 USO QF Roddick is up there
And PETE was making every baseliner with competent passing shots look good from late 2000-2002. Yet for some reason Safin's USO '00 performance (which was actually less dominant than Hewitt's USO '01 performance) is somehow this unbeatable GOAT peak lol?Nadal has been making players look like God's at the AO for like 14 years lol.
And PETE was making every baseliner with competent passing shots look good from late 2000-2002. Yet for some reason Safin's USO '00 performance (which was actually less dominant than Hewitt's USO '01 performance) is somehow this unbeatable GOAT peak lol?
For starters, Sampras probably wasn't running on fumes by the 2000 final as opposed to 2001.And PETE was making every baseliner with competent passing shots look good from late 2000-2002. Yet for some reason Safin's USO '00 performance (which was actually less dominant than Hewitt's USO '01 performance) is somehow this unbeatable GOAT peak lol?
For starters, Sampras probably wasn't running on fumes by the 2000 final as opposed to 2001.
I was making a facetious point tbh lol. Although the Hewitt thing is actually a real belief of mine, the fact that Hewitt destroyed Pete the next year takes a little luster off the '00 final in retrospect.Except Agassi? lol. Sampras actually played decently in the 00 final tbf. I do agree that Tsonga's level in that AO SF is arguably up there with anyones, Nadal does have a hand in making some of these players look that good though.
I was making a facetious point tbh lol. Although the Hewitt thing is actually a real belief of mine, the fact that Hewitt destroyed Pete the next year takes a little luster off the '00 final in retrospect.
I felt Pete was playing directly into Safin's hands in the '00 match when I watched it awhile back. Surely a great performance by Safin but let's not act like this was peak Pete, his explosiveness was noticeably lacking. My point is that Safin mainly just had to hit good passing shots over and over again and serve well. It was very much a man out of time in Sampras being introduced to the new age by a young baseliner.
Tsonga on the other hand had a lot more to do and had an insane volleying/touch performance, and he straight up bullied peak/prime HC Nadal from the baseline.
Perhaps the question is less about Safin and more about why Hewitt’s 01 performance doesn’t get enough credit?Pete was definitely worse in 2001 than 2000, but for sure I think his pure S&V style in later years wasn't ideal against the New Balls Gen. He would have been better served hanging back and blasting the forehand, waiting for his chance to come in - he was too predictable in those match-ups.
While we're talking match ups I definitely think there's a reason three different guys GOAT'd in back to back to back years against Nadal at the AO. He didn't hit a penetrating enough ball and it meant those guys could tee off on his shots and take the racket out of his hands. It still required a great level to execute it to that degree but I don't think it's more impressive than what Safin did - similar is probably fair as per your original post.
Perhaps the question is less about Safin and more about why Hewitt’s 01 performance doesn’t get enough credit?
Hewitt's laser like passes made him feel his age
safin's performance is regarded more highly than hewitt for a reason. sampras wasn't gassed in the 2000 us open final. sampras was serving much better in the us open 2000 final compared to the 2001 final, and safin still beat him.
As a Nadal fan, I ruefully write in Robin Soderling.
While it's impossible to compare surfaces between them, I think that's the answer.2008 FO final
Good choice based on Djokovic’s level and Nadal’s comments afterwards. In a Slam, it might be the 2008RG final or 2019AO final considering that a Big3 player in good form was beaten soundly.Djokovic vs Nadal Doha 2016 final
2008 FO final