Muristek
Rohit Mahajan
WE thought, in the last 18-odd years, we'd see everything this magical trio could do. And we thought the age of miracles was past — the three have worn bodies, sinews stretched and torn by extreme use, and they've been cut by the surgeon's scalpel. Yet they endure.
But surely, the Big Three is over, and now there are but two ndash; the age of miracles is definitely over for Roger Federer, who turns 41 in August. But Rafael Nadal and Novak Djokovic are still capable of creating magic. Last year was Djokovic's — and this year could be Nadal's. He's got past the other two to 21 Grand Slam titles, the most for a male player, and the next Grand Slam is the French Open, where he's won 13 titles and would fancy a 14th this year.
So, is Nadal the greatest tennis player ever — GOAT, Greatest of All Time, in Spanish the Mayor Jugador of tennis?
21 is not enough
I want to be the one with the most Majors out of the three of us, I would love that, but I'm not obsessed, absolutely not. —Rafa Nadal
Amazing trio
The greatest of all time is certainly one among these three. Rod Laver is considered the greatest, and his feat of winning the calendar Grand Slam ndash; two times! ndash; is unlikely to be ever matched. One asterisk to his achievement, though, is that in his time, three of the four Slams were played on grass. If Pete Sampras, say, was playing three out of four Slams on grass in the 1990s, when he was untouchable, he surely would have ended up with at least 20 Grand Slam titles — though he never would have won the French Open to complete his calendar Grand Slam.
Bjorn Borg is the other name that's in the mix — his feats were mad because he won six French Open titles to go with his five Wimbledon crowns. Three times ndash; in 1978, 1979 and 1980 ndash; he won the French Open and Wimbledon the same year. We've not seen a feat parallel to this, for a French Open claycourt baseliner most often quickly perishes on the grass of Wimbledon. Borg also lost four US Open finals and never condescended to travel to the Australian Open after going there once in 1974.
Three GOATs?
Federer was the first man to 20 Grand Slam titles, and almost universally anointed the GOAT a decade ago, when Djokovic was only getting stronger and Nadal was closely pursuing Federer; Nadal, in fact, had compiled a positive head-to-head record against Federer early on, casting his own hat in the GOAT debate.
Last year on September 12, the GOAT deal came very, very close to getting settled — that day Djokovic was going for the calendar Grand Slam, last achieved in tennis in 1988 (Steffi Graf), and in 1969 by a man (Rod Laver).
Djokovic was having the year of a lifetime — he had recorded his ninth win at the Australian Open, then demolished Nadal in the semifinals of the French Open to get to the final against a raging Stefanos Tsitsipas. But Tsitsipas sent him to the brink with stunning play in the first two sets — did the Greek then let up? The title in his grasp, he seemed to doubt himself ndash; and that's when the likes of Djokovic and Nadal are most dangerous. They have matchless physical and mental strength, and Djokovic turned the final around, winning in five.
Djokovic won Wimbledon, too, in four set against Matteo Barrettini, while Federer, coming from knee surgery, got blanked in three sets in the quarterfinals. Djokovic's Grand Slam count was now 20, the same as the other two members of the Big Three, and the US Open was going to be the tournament where he would be anointed the greatest ever — Slam, and his 21st Major. All to play for on September 12.
But Daniil Medvedev demolished a listless Djokovic in the final. The GOAT question remained open-ended, down to individual preferences, beyond mathematical certainty.
Nadal's fans would love Medvedev ndash; he denied Djokovic in New York in September, and he succumbed to Nadal from two sets up in Melbourne, and the Spaniard is thus the first man to 21 Grand Slam titles.
In most minds, the Grand Slam title count is the decisive factor in settling the GOAT debate. The thing that counts for Federer is beauty ndash; no one played the game like him, and no one does, for he conjures the wooden-racquet artistry with a graphite racquet. If beauty of play was a factor, he'd be GOAT, for he has the numbers to go along with it. Also, he came close to Grand Slam twice, denied at the French Open by none other than Nadal.
Nadal is GOAT, too, though 13 of his 21 Slams coming on the Paris clay might detract just a very little bit from his claim.
Djokovic is GOAT, for he has all the right numbers, a positive win-loss record against both Federer and Nadal, and he's been the year-end No. 1 a record seven times.
But the race isn't over, though the oldest horse, aged and hobbled, is out — these are exciting times, for Nadal and Djokovic are in a race to 25, a number that seemed unthinkable when 'Pistol' Pete Sampras created the record of 14 back in 2002. The next year Federer took over, and then came Nadal and Djokovic, making the last 20 years the most thrilling times ever in tennis. The magical show is nearing the end, and we might as well enjoy it while it lasts — the GOAT debate will settle itself.