18 Grand Slam titles and a Career Grand Slam surely has him at the top.
But who else is in the question??
Connors? Djokovic? Sampras? Laver? Nadal?
Roger the GOAT?
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Jezza
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Not sure Federer is the GOAT despite having won the most Grand Slams, but he's definitely in the mix without question.
Credit to him for being very strong between 2004-2007 and winning 11 grand slams within those years, but the competition he faced in that period was nowhere near as difficult as Djokovic and Nadal have faced in subsequent years during their peaks. Federer dominated that era and the only player who really troubled him on a regular basis was Nadal on clay courts, but Nadal was only a teenager back then and nowhere near his peak.
Federer's W-L record against a highly-fancied rival in Nadal also raises eyebrows about his position as the potential GOAT of tennis. On all surfaces, Nadal has defeated Federer 23 times, in contrast to Federer beating Nadal on 12 occasions.
Federer is a true champion of the sport and winning a Grand Slam at the age of 35 is remarkable, but I'll be interested to see how Djokovic and Nadal compete at that age if they do continue playing to that age. Federer's longevity has definitely help cement the argument of him being one of the greatest players in the sport.
Djokovic's stats as it stands are nearly or just as good as what Federer was producing at the same age as him so he can't be ruled out of contention for being the GOAT, and Nadal can never be written off on Clay courts but his best days are definitely behind him now.
In terms of the Open Era, you'd have to regard Laver, Borg, Sampras, Federer, Nadal and Djokovic as being in GOAT contention and you could mount good arguments for why each of them are arguably the GOAT of tennis in their own right.
Credit to him for being very strong between 2004-2007 and winning 11 grand slams within those years, but the competition he faced in that period was nowhere near as difficult as Djokovic and Nadal have faced in subsequent years during their peaks. Federer dominated that era and the only player who really troubled him on a regular basis was Nadal on clay courts, but Nadal was only a teenager back then and nowhere near his peak.
Federer's W-L record against a highly-fancied rival in Nadal also raises eyebrows about his position as the potential GOAT of tennis. On all surfaces, Nadal has defeated Federer 23 times, in contrast to Federer beating Nadal on 12 occasions.
Federer is a true champion of the sport and winning a Grand Slam at the age of 35 is remarkable, but I'll be interested to see how Djokovic and Nadal compete at that age if they do continue playing to that age. Federer's longevity has definitely help cement the argument of him being one of the greatest players in the sport.
Djokovic's stats as it stands are nearly or just as good as what Federer was producing at the same age as him so he can't be ruled out of contention for being the GOAT, and Nadal can never be written off on Clay courts but his best days are definitely behind him now.
In terms of the Open Era, you'd have to regard Laver, Borg, Sampras, Federer, Nadal and Djokovic as being in GOAT contention and you could mount good arguments for why each of them are arguably the GOAT of tennis in their own right.
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Jezza
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What a player!
Australian Open = (2004, 2006, 2007, 2010, 2017, 2018)
French Open = (2009)
Wimbledon = (2003, 2004, 2005, 2006, 2007, 2009, 2012, 2017)
US Open = (2004, 2005, 2006, 2007, 2008)
Australian Open = (2004, 2006, 2007, 2010, 2017, 2018)
French Open = (2009)
Wimbledon = (2003, 2004, 2005, 2006, 2007, 2009, 2012, 2017)
US Open = (2004, 2005, 2006, 2007, 2008)
| 1902 | 1903 | 1910 | 1917 | 1919 | 1927 | 1928 | 1929 | 1930 | 1935 | 1936 | 1953 | 1958 | 1990 | 2010 | 2023 |