Your top five highest and lowest moments of the slam race as a fan of any of the big 3.

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All three have incredible highs and of course there are the lows. But how do you, the sport fans feel about which are your personal top five, and worst five moments of the slam race.

Only five of each, if you can. :cool:
 
Worst first and I am going retroactively since I didn't watch matches before 2012

5. Scurge of Nadal - Nadal comes back to win his 11th RG. Unopposed, with a shortman as his worst opponent ?

4. Fededer vs Robredo - 2013 US Open really looked like the end of the great man

3. Hurkacz Bagel - Not a good way for Wimbledon GOAT to go

2. Miracle in injury - Nadal goes down to Wawrinka. Happy for Stan but Nadal was robbed of a historic moment

1. Boycott Australian Open - One of the worst moments in tennis


Best moments

5. 40-15 Saga to start the shift. Both 2010 and 11 combined.

4. Australian resurgence - Both Fedal came back on this day. It was like looking in the past, like a time machine.

3. GOAT confirmation - Djokovic taking down Nadal in Roland Garros and effectively ending the GOAT race. Slam race was still ongoing

2. Match of the ages - Federer vs Nadal 2008 final dubbed as match of the century

1. The match to start it all - Wimbledon 2009 where Federer jumped out in joy on a mishit from Roddick and Pete Sampras giving him thumbs up
 
Highs:

2009 FO, 2009 USO, 2017 AO, 2024 AO, 2013 W

Bonus is of course any of the Wimb Serve-walkoff saga.
 
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Worst thing about it - covid/ post covid era. Fed was pretty much done, Nadal was on one leg and the rest of the competition was a cesspool.

Best thing about it - the big 3 rivalry itself. It spawned a multitude of epic encounters at majors with fans on the edge for every point sometimes for 4+ hours. It's nothing I've ever experienced before with this sport.
 
The_Order said:
Worst thing about it - covid/ post covid era. Fed was pretty much done, Nadal was on one leg and the rest of the competition was a cesspool.

Best thing about it - the big 3 rivalry itself. It spawned a multitude of epic encounters at majors with fans on the edge for every point sometimes for 4+ hours. It's nothing I've ever experienced before with this sport.
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That's actually a pretty good reply.
 
Top 5
1. W2008 F
2. RG 2020 F
3. AO 2009 F
4. USO 2013 F
5. USO 2019 F

Worse 5
1. W 2019 F (a travesty)
2. AO 2014 F
3. AO 2017 F
4. W 2007 F
5. FO 2009 4R (Soderling having a win over Rafa on Chatrier is a travesty with all due respect to him)
 
It was over after RG 2022. Djoker has a free unobstructed field thereafter or do nothing mugs. . The height was probably 2011-2012 with all three guys playing well. Went downhill after that
 
Worst five for Fedalovic in terms of the heartbreak
2019 W for F
2018 W for N
2012 AO for N
2013 F for D
2009 AO for F

Best
2008 W for N
2017 AO for F
2023 F for D
2009 AO for N
Maybe 2016 F for D?
 
5 lowest moments (in no particular order):

34 year old Djokovic being a match away from the CYGS.

The 31-36 year old Big-3 winning 13 consecutive slams.

35 year old Nadal coming back from 0-2 sets down to win the AO.

31-35 year old Djokovic winning 4 straight WB titles.

29-36 year old Nadalovic winning 8 consecutive RG titles.
 
As a Novak fan there weren’t too many lows in the slam race because for most of his career I didn’t think Novak would win it. Even the 2016/18 period prior to W18 wasn’t a low for the slam race itself, at the time I saw it more as a missed opportunity to get closer.

The Covid/AO debacle was a let down but at that time I was more confident Novak would find new opportunities.

From a tennis perspective the Big 3 have provided some of the best tennis we have ever seen and (I suspect) among the best we will ever see. I refer here to the whole drama and ups and downs of the rivalries as well as the slam race itself.

Of particular enjoyment: seeing (portions) of the Fedal fan bases gnash their teeth as the unthinkable became the inevitable. The never ending litany of excuses.

all in all a great time
 
The best would be in the early years. 2004-13.

I got sick of hearing about the slam race after 2014. But it felt like the ATP news media just wouldn't talk about anything else. Ninety eight percent of their articles were about the Big 3 or something that pertained to the Big 3, somehow (e.g. "Grigor Dimitrov Is Super Inspired By Roger Federer's Performance.)

2020-22 was so bad that I stopped watching tennis altogether.
 
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Speaking for myself as a Nole fan, USO21 final will always be the most painful memory. Part of me secretely wanted him to win this CYGS and then announce his retirement during the trophy ceremony. Would have been the perfect fairytale conclusion. I had so many daydreams about this scenario, as if it was written in the stars. I was too nervous to watch that final live. Couldn't sleep after the Zverev Semifinal. Had Diarrheas the entire weekend. Couldn't eat anything the day of the Final. Yeah, that's how much I wanted him to win this specific match. At 8 p.m, I made my last prayer, turned on my computer and clicked "Djokovic-Medvedev" on Google. And I saw 6-4 6-4 6-4. Took me weeks to recover from it. And over a year to finally watch the full match. No other loss came close, not even RG2013 and Wimbledon2023. I got over these fast, but not USO21. Still haunts me today. He had the opportunity to burry the Goat debate forever against an opponent he'd just destroyed a few months earlier in Australia, and he blew it. At that particular moment, I was sure it would change him forever and he was never gonna win anything again. Boy I was wrong, this humiliation made him mentally stronger than ever. But it's still his lowest moment as far as I'm concerned. No other low moments for him, though... His career is perfect the way it is, I prefer to remember the high moments.

Other lowest moments for the other 2 Big-3...
AO 2012 Nadal (4-2 30-15 and this passing... probably the biggest regret of his career in a Slam)
FO 2015 Nadal (straight-setted and breadsticked by his biggest rival on his favorite court... can't think of a more humiliating moment for him)
Wim 2019 for Federer (no need to tell why)
OG 2012 Federer (because he beat Murray on the exact same court a few weeks earlier and played one of the worst matches of his career)

Best?
RG 2021 Djokovic (that's when the dream of him winning the slam race really became a reality)
Wimbledon 2011 Djokovic (his 2 biggest child dreams came true... winning Wimbledon and becoming number #1)
RG 2009 Federer
Wimbledon 2008 Nadal
AO 2022 Nadal
 
Epic matches as a Big 3 fan - 2008 Wimbledon final, 2009 AO final, 2012 AO final, 2014 Wimbledon final, 2017AO final
Worst moments as a Big 3 fan - 2009 USO final, 2012 USO final, 2013 Wimbledon final, 2015 FO final, 2021 USO final

I think I wanted Nadal to win the 2008 Wimbledon final (Federer had won too much) amd Djokovic to win the 2014 Wimbledon final (he was playing unbelievable tennis), but I didn’t care who won the other three epics because they were so well played and competitive that I was in suspense just to see who won the last point. While the 2013FO and 2018W semis were epic matches, I don’t include it in the best moments as they were not Slam finals and the winner still had one more match to win to get the title.

In terms of lowlights, I am not a Murray fan, I don’t like Medvedev and it was devastating that he was the one who prevented the historic 2021 CYGS, I wanted Federer to win the 2009USO when he was going for three Slams in a row and wanted Djokovic to finally win the FO in 2015 after he came close in 2012-2014.
 
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Lauren_Girl' said:
Speaking for myself as a Nole fan, USO21 final will always be the most painful memory. Part of me secretely wanted him to win this CYGS and then announce his retirement during the trophy ceremony. Would have been the perfect fairytale conclusion. I had so many daydreams about this scenario, as if it was written in the stars. I was too nervous to watch that final live. Couldn't sleep after the Zverev Semifinal. Had Diarrheas the entire weekend. Couldn't eat anything the day of the Final. Yeah, that's how much I wanted him to win this specific match. At 8 p.m, I made my last prayer, turned on my computer and clicked "Djokovic-Medvedev" on Google. And I saw 6-4 6-4 6-4. Took me weeks to recover from it. And over a year to finally watch the full match. No other loss came close, not even RG2013 and Wimbledon2023. I got over these fast, but not USO21. Still haunts me today. He had the opportunity to burry the Goat debate forever against an opponent he'd just destroyed a few months earlier in Australia, and he blew it. At that particular moment, I was sure it would change him forever and he was never gonna win anything again. Boy I was wrong, this humiliation made him mentally stronger than ever. But it's still his lowest moment as far as I'm concerned. No other low moments for him, though... His career is perfect the way it is, I prefer to remember the high moments.

Other lowest moments for the other 2 Big-3...
AO 2012 Nadal (4-2 30-15 and this passing... probably the biggest regret of his career in a Slam)
FO 2015 Nadal (straight-setted and breadsticked by his biggest rival on his favorite court... can't think of a more humiliating moment for him)
Wim 2019 for Federer (no need to tell why)
OG 2012 Federer (because he beat Murray on the exact same court a few weeks earlier and played one of the worst matches of his career)

Best?
RG 2021 Djokovic (that's when the dream of him winning the slam race really became a reality)
Wimbledon 2011 Djokovic (his 2 biggest child dreams came true... winning Wimbledon and becoming number #1)
RG 2009 Federer
Wimbledon 2008 Nadal
AO 2022 Nadal
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Probably not, people would still complain about weak era and all that crap.
 
socallefty said:
Epic matches as a Big 3 fan - 2008 Wimbledon final, 2009 AO final, 2012 AO final, 2014 Wimbledon final, 2017AO final
Worst moments as a Big 3 fan - 2009 USO final, 2012 USO final, 2013 Wimbledon final, 2015 FO final, 2021 USO final
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2021 USO final was world peace day :D

group-happy-friends-having-beer-barbecue-party-sunny-day-resting-together-outdoor-forest-glade-backyard.jpg
 
2004-2013 was epic. Worst was undoubtably 2021-2023, as anticlimactic and unepic as it gets. Djokovic got the slam record facing Casper Ruud which sums up the latter part of his career.
 
worst
1. 2017W-2018RG period
2. Covid bans and W20 cancelled
3. RG13, RG15, RG11

best
1. post covid
2. nole-slam
3. 2011
4. 40-15 saga
 
duaneeo said:
5 lowest moments (in no particular order):

34 year old Djokovic being a match away from the CYGS.

The 31-36 year old Big-3 winning 13 consecutive slams.

35 year old Nadal coming back from 0-2 sets down to win the AO.

31-35 year old Djokovic winning 4 straight WB titles.

29-36 year old Nadalovic winning 8 consecutive RG titles.
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38 year old Federer playing top tennis on Wimbledon 2019 is not on your uNbiAsEd list?

Why bother about age factor so much? Once man reaches 29 he forgets to play tennis?

I wonder who had the most success in his career untill 29...

Again, Jordan won his all 6 rings after 29. But since Federer accomplished most of his success untill 29, that is the only way to go. Jordan, Messi, Ronaldo, LeBron, Djokovic, Nadal, Lewandowski, Ibrahimovic, Benzema, Curry, Durant, Brady, Wawrinka, all clowns for being so good after 29.​
 
Highs:

  • 2008 Wimbledon
  • 2012 Australian Open
  • 2012 US Open
  • 2013 Wimbledon
  • 2017 Australian Open

Lows:
  • 2009 Wimbledon
  • 2011 French Open
  • 2018 Wimbledon
  • 2019 Wimbledon
  • 2023 US Open

I really struggled to pick between Djoker’s slam wins in 2023 for lows. In fact I’d be tempted to swap out one of the others for RG 23
 
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Novak highs:
2012 AO, the greatest match of all time, kicking off the race.
2016 RG, Novak's CGS, the one and only NCYGS in the Open Era men's singles.
2018 WB, came back.
2023 AO, came back.
2023 USO, came back. Record.

Lows:
2021 USO, lost without a good fight despite the best opportunity to win CYGS.
2016 Olympics, disappointing result starting two whole years of poor tennis.
2013 WB, lost without a good fight.
2014 USO, bad loss.
2024 AO, lost without a good fight.
 
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Spin Diesel said:
But the AI will be based on Federer‘s elegance, Nadal’s fighting spirit and .. uhm I guess nothing from Djokovic, because it is a robot already ;) No, and Djokovic‘s clutchness.
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No, it will be based on Isner's serve. Maybe 400 km/h, such that new balls will have to be invented since the current ones explode under that kind of force. Just serve after serve and no rallying.
 
I don't understand how 2004-2013 can be considered epic for the Big 3 when 2004-2007 was the all Federer era with Nadal and Djokovic as pups. I'd say that 2008 Wimbledon kicked off the epic era as Federer's dominance was halted and it now became a real competition then 2011 Djokovic kicking it into gear marking the true beginning of The Big 3 Era.
Epicness didn't end in 2013 either. 2017 AO, 2018 Wimbledon, 2019 Wimbledon, 2021 RG among others, still plenty of epic Big 3 matches post 2013.

The low was 2023 outside of the Wimbledon final. Nadal injured, Fed long gone, Djokovic beating mugs and a hampered Alcaraz in FO, Sinner not yet in prime form, guys like Tsitsipas and Ruud making finals, Medvedev and Zverev ruining the party at USO. Awful
 
NYTennisfan said:
I don't understand how 2004-2013 can be considered epic for the Big 3 when 2004-2007 was the all Federer era with Nadal and Djokovic as pups. I'd say that 2008 Wimbledon kicked off the epic era as Federer's dominance was halted and it now became a real competition then 2011 Djokovic kicking it into gear marking the true beginning of The Big 3 Era.
Epicness didn't end in 2013 either. 2017 AO, 2018 Wimbledon, 2019 Wimbledon, 2021 RG among others, still plenty of epic Big 3 matches post 2013.

The low was 2023 outside of the Wimbledon final. Nadal injured, Fed long gone, Djokovic beating mugs and a hampered Alcaraz in FO, Sinner not yet in prime form, guys like Tsitsipas and Ruud making finals, Medvedev and Zverev ruining the party at USO. Awful
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The Fedal matches between 05-07 and Federer’s unrivalled peak dominance/level made it epic for me. Certainly better than years like 2015/2021/2023. 2017-2019 were pretty good too I’d say with a decent big 3.
 
NYTennisfan said:
I don't understand how 2004-2013 can be considered epic for the Big 3 when 2004-2007 was the all Federer era with Nadal and Djokovic as pups. I'd say that 2008 Wimbledon kicked off the epic era as Federer's dominance was halted and it now became a real competition then 2011 Djokovic kicking it into gear marking the true beginning of The Big 3 Era.
Epicness didn't end in 2013 either. 2017 AO, 2018 Wimbledon, 2019 Wimbledon, 2021 RG among others, still plenty of epic Big 3 matches post 2013.

The low was 2023 outside of the Wimbledon final. Nadal injured, Fed long gone, Djokovic beating mugs and a hampered Alcaraz in FO, Sinner not yet in prime form, guys like Tsitsipas and Ruud making finals, Medvedev and Zverev ruining the party at USO. Awful
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As a person who followed tennis during this time, 2005-07 was a very exciting time to be a tennis fan. Looking back on it today, it's easy to call it the Federer era since he won 3 out of 4 slams for 3 out of 4 years.

But Roger's dominance at the slams was always in question, due to his notorious struggles against Nadal.

I can't remember watching a single tournament back in this time where I felt that Roger had it in the bag no matter what.

2005 US Open - Fed was in poor form until the final.
2006 Australian Open - He was coming off of an injury and Baghdatis was playing mind-blowingly well.
2006 Wimbledon Federer - Had a tough draw, which included Nadal in the final.
2006 US Open - There was still the threat of Nadal. Even when he lost, Roddick was playing better than ever due to his work with Connors.
2007 Australian Open - Maybe this one was a bit of a foregone conclusion.
2007 Wimbledon - Nadal was a serious contender to win the title. And he almost did.
2007 US Open - Easy time reaching the final. But Djokovic had Fed in trouble in both of the first two sets. Great performance from young Djokovic, here.
 
My best Djokovic moments are: 1) '12 AO, 2) '14 WB, 3) '18 WB

Worst Djokovic moment are: 1) '13 US, 2) '13 RG, 3) '12 WB, 4) '12 US, 5) '15 RG
 
There were only two low moments for me, which was the unjust deportation Djokovic got in Australia and the unfair disqualification he got at USO.

Injuries happen to all players so I don’t count those as lows.

Best moments probably for Djokovic was US open 2011 vs Federer, for Nadal it was probably WB 2008 vs Federer, and for Federer it was probably Wimbledon 2009 when he first broke the men’s slam record.

Djokovic’s 2011 uso match vs Federer is also the defining moment in the big 3 era for me.
 
soldat said:
There were only two low moments for me, which was the unjust deportation Djokovic got in Australia and the unfair disqualification he got at USO.

Injuries happen to all players so I don’t count those as lows.

Best moments probably for Djokovic was US open 2011 vs Federer, for Nadal it was probably WB 2008 vs Federer, and for Federer it was probably Wimbledon 2009 when he first broke the men’s slam record.

Djokovic’s 2011 uso match vs Federer is also the defining moment in the big 3 era for me.
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RG 2018 I was losing hope. This Nadal will just rack up 100 rg I thought. Pretty depressing time.
 
mike danny said:
One low is seeing Djokovic anti-climactically break the slam record against Ruud while Fedal at least had to survive some epic matches to win #15 and #21 respectively.
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I, for one, didn't see that coming. Novak winning was almost sure, but Ruud (a solid clay courter) not getting a single set? That was shocking.

If they meet in 2024 at RG do you think Novak can still beat Ruud in 3? I doubt it.
 
AO13 said:

Why bother about age factor so much? Once man reaches 29 he forgets to play tennis?

​
Click to expand...


Yes.

Look at Wawrinka, Agassi, Connors, etc.

Once you reach 30 you are ready for the nursing home, if you win anything it doesn't count because it means you played bad competition.
 
1. WB08 final (slam race begins)
2. Davis Cup Serbia 2010 and the first half of 2011 (Novak's mental breakthrough)
3. RG16 final (Novak's mental exit)
4. 2017 (the return of Fedal)
5. WB18 semi-final (Novak's return)
6. WB19 (fall of Federer)






1.WB20(cancellation)
2. US20 (disqualification)
3.2022 (banning Novak from playing in Australia and USA)
 
Highest 5 for me

3 × 40:15
RG SF 21
USO F 23

Lowest

RG SF 11
RG F 13
RG F 15
USO F 21

Fifth Lowest is outside slams, WTF 16, so much lost in only one loss...
 
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BauerAlmeida said:
Look at Wawrinka, Agassi, Connors, etc.

Once you reach 30 you are ready for the nursing home, if you win anything it doesn't count because it means you played bad competition.
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Players in their 30s winning slams. Little apples.
Players in their 30s dominating the slams. Huge oranges.
 
Lowest for Rafa was probably 2009 Rotterdam -MC 2010.

Also the losses to Novak in IW and Miami in 2011 shattered his confidence the whole year against djoko.

Fed was not the same after 2009. He belonged to that generation of greats who start losing speed and agility at age 28 (Edberg, Becker, Sampras, Stich etc). Fed was old school tennis.
 
duaneeo said:
Players in their 30s winning slams. Little apples.
Players in their 30s dominating the slams. Huge oranges.
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Dominating the tour even more in your 30s than your prime years… looks weird to me? Playing lower level tennis but winning at a higher rate.
 
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