Tennis is one of the most popular sports in the world. Lots of tennis players have been popular in different eras and each of them have got their own way of and style of playing. A couple of decades back , when Pete Sampras won his 14th Grand Slam titles, it looked that his record would not be broken sooner or even later. But as Roger Federer emerged in the scene , things started changing. Not only did he comfortably passed 14 Grand Slam mark of Pete Sampras, but he also became the most popular tennis player of all times. Soon Nadal followed his success and kept on winning consistently to become one of the best players of all time and probably the best player of clay in the era of tennis. Right now, with Novak Djokovic also looking strong in last 6 to 7 years and dominating the world of tennis in all surfaces , it looks very interesting as who out of these three players would end up becoming, the greatest tennis player of all times. In this article, we will compare the life and times of these 3 players and analyze the present standings. We shall also try to determine who amongst them stands the best chance of ending as the greatest tennis player of all time.
Greatest of All Times – The GOAT
With Rafael Nadal winning his 18th Grand Slam title of tennis and 12th French Open title, the heat between goat has ignited yet again. This is not the first time that fans of Nadal and Federer are debating on one of the most interesting and hot subject of the century as who is the greatest tennis player of all times. In this article, we will analyze different aspects of Rafael Nadal and Roger Federer and evaluate their present standing in terms of Goat.
If we compare the career graph of Rafael Nadal and Roger Federer, we are going to find some interesting features in each of them. While Rafael Nadal started winning quite early in his career and he was even quick to win his first Grand Slam before 20, Roger Federer didn’t have such a great start. Although he too became Grand Slam champion in his early twenties and kept on winning consistently, yet, the kind of early start that Nadal enjoyed is unparalleled and unmatched in the history of tennis.
Comparing the Stats
As far as carrier titles and statistics are concerned, Roger Federer is far ahead of Rafa Nadal in almost every terms. At the same time, we cannot deny Rafael Nadal clay Court excellence and there might be some doubt about who is the greatest player of all time but hardly any tennis fan would debate that Rafa is undisputedly the greatest clay Court players of all eras. His phenomenal record on clay is unmatched and unparallel. Nobody in the history of tennis have ever been able to perform on a given surface that Rafael Nadal has performed.
Although Roger Federer leads most of the statistics that are considered while determining a better player, Rafael Nadal is 5 years younger than Federer and hence he has got enough time to recover and cover all the shortcomings. Provided that both of the players play the way they are playing right now, it is very hard to determine where they would end.
The carrier of Both players have seen lots of twists and turns. While Rafael Nadal keeps on getting injured every second or third season and takes a break every couple of months in every year, Roger Federer has been known for his fitness and he holds fitness record in terms of participating in most number of consequent Grand Slam titles that it speaks about his fitness. There have been times when both of these players have been struggling with their form and rankings but they have successfully passed that phase and they still acquire the top positions in their early thirties and late thirties respectively. If you just look at the kind of achievements these two players have achieved in their career, then and it would be hard to find someone matching their records.
The Third contender!
The only players that comes close to them is Novak Djokovic . Novak Djokovic has performed phenomenally in last 6 to 7 years and though he was suffering from injury last year, he has reverted back with a bang and has occupied top ranking once again. He has won the last three of the four grand slams and if this continues for a couple of years, he would give a tough Run and competition to Nadal as well as Federer.
Considering the overall performance of Novak Djokovic, if he keeps on winning more Grand Slam titles, then he has a very good chance of passing Rafael Nadal and Roger Federer. While the race of the greatest tennis players of all times might mean a lot to their fans, Nadal, Federer and Djokovic are quite cool with their achievements and hardly cares about the number one race. Personality wise, all of them have got identical hobbies of liking more than one sports and while Nadal likes to spend his time fishing, Federal prefers to play cards and he might be even found on any of the popular live roulette casino sites. Djokovic, is known for his Jolly nature and his funny mimic talent.
Conclusion
To sum up, it would be very hard to determine who among these three players is going to end in the top in terms of achievement. Considering their present form, they are likely to continue strong in the coming years and depending on their performance in the coming years, the rankings might very. For the time being, we can say that what Roger Federer has achieved in is remarkable carrier, not only in terms of achievements and tournaments and fitness level but also what is given to the sports and popularity that enjoys, he is presently quite comfortably ahead in this race. However, the future is uncertain and depending on the kind of performance from these three players, the fate of the greatest player of tennis of all times will be determined.
