For 30 years Roy Emerson held tennis's record for men's Grand Slam titles at 12. His record seemed all but unbeatable until, finally, Pete Sampras broke it in 2000. But only barely: Sampras finished his career with 14 titles.
Then, over the course of only 20 years, three players all broke Sampras's new record. By a lot. In 2018 Roger Federer won his 20th slam. In 2022 Rafael Nadal won his 22nd.
Today at the French Open Novak Djokovic won his 23rd—and with Federer retired and Nadal injured, who's left to keep him from piling up even more? He's 36, but he beat the top seed easily in the semis and then took the final in straight sets. He might as well be 26.
My heart will always be with Roger Federer, who played an elegant game that was a joy to watch. You can't say the same about Djokovic, who plays a standard issue ball-mashing baseline game that inspires respect but not admiration.
Nevertheless, this game has made him the best of all time. Is there any serious doubt about that any longer?
Unfortunately no, there's no doubt. Like you, I prefer(red) watching Roger or Rafa- so much more variety, elegance and emotion. But hard to argue with Novak's results.
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Nevertheless, this game has made him the best of all time. Is there any serious doubt about that any longer?
Probably not, provided we leave out half the species. I'm not much of a tennis expert, so I'm curious as to how fans of the sport rank all tennis players as a group (instead of separating the sexes). I know this is not how it's usually done, but there doesn't seem to be a law of physics that prevents such comparisons. Anyway, Serena Williams also has 23 open era Grand Slams single titles. I personally thought Martina was a magnificent champion, too.
(But no doubt, Djokovic looks like a sure bet to make a run at 30).
I'm not a fan of ranking men's and women's tennis players together on the same list -- better to think of it as two different sports that just happen to have the same rules. But since you asked, it's worth noting that during the heart of Djokovic's career, Federer and Nadal were at or near their peaks. It's hard to maintain that Serena Williams faced that kind of sustained high-level competition; with the possible exception of her sister Venus, there was rarely anyone else out there who beat everybody-not-named-Serena. (But undoubtedly there are arguments on the other side, too.)
Agreed on Martina Navratilova, BTW; before Serena, she was my nominee for GOAT.
Head to head Majors record:
Nadal 11 Joko 7
Nadal 10 Federer 4
Joko 11 Federer 6
Here's the point I was going to make. You have to consider the competition when determining the GOAT.
Perhaps, but as I sit here looking at a pair of Stan Smiths which appear to be popular again (I'd worn them back in the early 80s as they have what were clay-court approved soles where I played intramural tennis), I have to wonder if anyone will be wearing "Novak Djokovics" forty-odd years after he has retired?-)
Djokovic is welcome to his record. I will keep treasuring memories of Borg, McEnroe, Sampras and Federer.
There were some great matches and long rallies with unbelievable shots. You'd see some of that now with Nadal on clay--depending on the opponent.
Tennis went to a power game, then everyone powered up--so maybe some more finesse is coming back in.
Djokovic is a great player. He has never won the Grand Slam: all four majors in the same year. He has never looked close to it. And that's with the major surfaces converging, and with travel to them and conditions off the court better than ever.
One men's player has won the Grand Slam twice, in the amateur era and in the professional era. The professional slam particularly was against competition relatively as strong or stronger than any Djokovic has faced.
Rod Laver is the best men's player of all time. Accumulating majors doesn't equal or challenge him.
The Open Era makes the Grand Slam just a bit more difficult to win than it was when Laver played. ND is the greatest.
Laver won an open Grand Slam: all four, in the same year, against a great player roster. I agree the open era is a bit tougher.
I'm not going to argue with you, but I do find this a little puzzling: "He [Djokovic] has never looked close to it." In 2021, he won the Australian, French, and Wimbledon, and reached the finals of the US Open. How much closer can you get? 🙂
Until the Roger/Rafa/Novak era, I also put Laver at the top of my all-time list (to the extent that it even makes sense to compare across eras, with different equipment, surfaces, etc.). I saw him play in person in my youth (yep, showing my age there), which was a thrill. In an era when placement and tactics were more important than raw power, he may have been the most brilliant and stylish shot-maker ever.
Mike, you are right. I suffered a brain fade on that: Djokovic did indeed come close, closer than Federer's great year when began by losing the Australian final though on form and then taking the other majors.
Nope.
Kids these days have those new fangled rackets...ruined the game.
😉
Too bad he's an antivaxxer.
Have to agree.
So much of this is good aging plus luck, but the numbers are unequivocal.
I always wonder about: Monica Seles, who was stabbed at age 19 with 8 major titles; Sandy Koufax, who was a few years too soon for Tommy John surgery; and Ted Williams, of all people, who lost 5 years of his career to military service.
What if Mickey Mantle hadn't stepped on that sprinkler and wrecked his knee?
Most tennis obsessives believe Serena would have still exceeded Seles, but the stabbing certainly made life easier for Seles' competition.
Djokovic's personal behavior is nauseating, but I doubt I'd want to be anywhere near Ted Williams, either.
This is a fantastic post. I know this is a low-content reply, but there is so much knowledge here....
I always wonder about: Monica Seles, who was stabbed at age 19 with 8 major titles
She looked unstoppable. No way Graf would've won so many titles absent that tragic attack, that's for sure. Ted Williams would probably have broken Ruth's (then) HR record, too.
It is a good question, but I wonder if we use numbers to define the greatest. It looks like if we go by numbers Wladimir Klitschko is the greatest heavyweight boxer of all time, but I seriously don't think would fly. For me personally in tennis, I give a high value to a (real)Grand Slam, which none of our big three have. I've always considered Steffi Graf the greatest, 22 majors and the Golden Slam in '88. A Golden Slam!!
I will say this. Our big three all have something that I find extraordinary. Over and over, when the chips are down, they will play better than they have all match. Its like they suspend the laws of physics or something.
If he ever wins an ACTUAL Grand Slam (all four in the same year) then I'll be impressed. 😛
He is the most accomplished, but to me the best ever is Federer.
Federer's peak from 2004 to 2010 had little overlap with Novak's peak so by the time they started meeting late in the tournaments regularly Federer was already on the downside of his career (he was still pretty good, but clearly a step or two behind were he was).
Also, during those 6 years, Federer was just a steamroller reaching a level of domination that I don't think Novak (or Nadal) have ever achieved on such a consistent basis. Had it not been because Federer ran into the best clay court player ever (Nadal), Federer would have won all 4 Grand Slams in back to back years, and ended up with another 4 slams in his record. In 2006 and 2007 he won all Slams but the French, and in both times he lost the final to Nadal.
Novak has never had such a dominant streak.
Don't know if it works for tennis but in the hockey community we tend to rank the all time greats based on three criteria:
Peak - how good was the player at their absolute best
Prime - player compared to peers during his (typically, five) best years
Career - the numbers, awards & championships