So who's the male tennis GOAT?

[Denilson3.0]

1. Nadal
2. Federer
3. Novak

In Boxing terms. Nadal is like a prime Tyson. He puts his all and tries to knockout his opponent with every shot. Nadal seems generally loved and appreciated by all camps. It’s very easy to see how much work he puts into his tennis. You can hear and feel it with every stroke he hits.

Federer is like a prime Mayweather. Very pretty to watch. Technically brilliant. People may think his persona isn't true or is overly engineered, but he’s at least very consistent with that image. This is in addition to the gracefulness in movement and play that he displays on the court.

Novak is like Carl Froch or Holyfield. Not great at anyone thing. But very good at everything. Very tough. Very durable. Never quits. Hard to put down. Hard to discourage and just keep on coming and coming and coming.

Novak for whatever reason is the least popular by far and that annoys him.

His personality is not as smooth as Federer's, or as humble as Nadal. He is somewhere in between and it’s just hard to figure out.

It’s easy to root for this



Or this



But not so much this



I think a lot of it is classism and snobbishness. Novak is a Serb. He's an eastern European. The tennis crowd is mostly European and European Americans. They are more Anglophilic. If Novak was French, Spanish, Scandinavian or American it would be different.

If your an Eastern Europe and you kick ass you're not going to be popular. Go and ask Navratilova or Ivan Lendl.

Now if your on Eastern European that has one or two ass kicking moments like when Goran ivanisevic won Wimbledon in 2001 then o sh*t, the crowd will go nuts for you. Or if your eastern European female and ppl think your attractive ? Like a Maria Sharapova or a Anna Kornikova or a Ana Ivanevic then yeah they'll cut you some slack too.

When Djokovic came to the scene, he was a number 3 player for a long time. Federer and Nadal were winning all the big titles and Djokovic was… just there. He was good, but he wasn’t winning. Obviously, the fandom began to develop for Federer and Nadal at a rapid pace.

So when Djokovic started winning. He was seen as this new kid who was beating their heroes and he was beating them IN THEIR PRIMES.

If a young Djokovic was to come along NOW and start beating Nadal and Federer then it would have been much easier for the crowds to take.

Timing is important. Nadal and Federer came at the right time.

They smoothly took the baton off Sampras and Agassi who were the two dominant players before them and who were bowing out the game. By the time Djokovic started winning most people were already firmly in the Federer or the Nadal camp.

Djokovic has proven that he can play tennis as well as the other two guys. But there is a lot more that goes into making fans love someone. Sometimes the reasons are obvious. And sometimes, they’re not as clear. But that’s just how it works.

[Master]

Did you know that Nadal signs with his right hand and is not naturally left handed?

https://www.essentiallysports.com/th...p-tennis-news/

[TitoFan]

1. Nadal
2. Federer
3. Novak

In Boxing terms. Nadal is like a prime Tyson. He puts his all and tries to knockout his opponent with every shot. Nadal seems generally loved and appreciated by all camps. It’s very easy to see how much work he puts into his tennis. You can hear and feel it with every stroke he hits.

Federer is like a prime Mayweather. Very pretty to watch. Technically brilliant. People may think his persona isn't true or is overly engineered, but he’s at least very consistent with that image. This is in addition to the gracefulness in movement and play that he displays on the court.

Novak is like Carl Froch or Holyfield. Not great at anyone thing. But very good at everything. Very tough. Very durable. Never quits. Hard to put down. Hard to discourage and just keep on coming and coming and coming.

Novak for whatever reason is the least popular by far and that annoys him.

His personality is not as smooth as Federer's, or as humble as Nadal. He is somewhere in between and it’s just hard to figure out.

It’s easy to root for this



Or this



But not so much this



I think a lot of it is classism and snobbishness. Novak is a Serb. He's an eastern European. The tennis crowd is mostly European and European Americans. They are more Anglophilic. If Novak was French, Spanish, Scandinavian or American it would be different.

If your an Eastern Europe and you kick ass you're not going to be popular. Go and ask Navratilova or Ivan Lendl.

Now if your on Eastern European that has one or two ass kicking moments like when Goran ivanisevic won Wimbledon in 2001 then o sh*t, the crowd will go nuts for you. Or if your eastern European female and ppl think your attractive ? Like a Maria Sharapova or a Anna Kornikova or a Ana Ivanevic then yeah they'll cut you some slack too.

When Djokovic came to the scene, he was a number 3 player for a long time. Federer and Nadal were winning all the big titles and Djokovic was… just there. He was good, but he wasn’t winning. Obviously, the fandom began to develop for Federer and Nadal at a rapid pace.

So when Djokovic started winning. He was seen as this new kid who was beating their heroes and he was beating them IN THEIR PRIMES.

If a young Djokovic was to come along NOW and start beating Nadal and Federer then it would have been much easier for the crowds to take.

Timing is important. Nadal and Federer came at the right time.

They smoothly took the baton off Sampras and Agassi who were the two dominant players before them and who were bowing out the game. By the time Djokovic started winning most people were already firmly in the Federer or the Nadal camp.

Djokovic has proven that he can play tennis as well as the other two guys. But there is a lot more that goes into making fans love someone. Sometimes the reasons are obvious. And sometimes, they’re not as clear. But that’s just how it works.

Nice boxing analogy... except you probably should've put an asterisk on the Federer-Mayweather analogy with a big ass footnote underneath saying... "ONLY AS FAR AS TECHNIQUE IN THEIR CRAFT".
That's because their personalities are not even in the same galaxy, and it pains me to see both names in the same sentence.

Interesting take on the "snobbish" component of it. I can't dispute that, since I'm not European. But I'll just say that if Federer had a boorish personality, it would matter little that he's Swiss. He wouldn't be so much of a crowd favorite. Also, there's more to Djokovic than just being Serbian. He had a horrific childhood, to which the childhoods of Federer and Nadal couldn't possibly compare. That of course has had a lot to do with Novak's scrappy attitude, and that laser focus he's got on eventually being all-consensus tennis male GOAT. Let's face it. That doesn't exactly endear him to some people.

Me? I still root for Djokovic over Nadal in head-to-heads (although by all rights I should be rooting for the Spaniard), mainly because I have a problem with someone being male GOAT on the strength of Roland Garros alone. Which is why I have Nadal # 3 behind Novak and Roger.

Good point about the timing also. I myself hated when Federer (my favorite of the three) began losing to Novak when it was supposedly still Roger's "time." I resented a young upstart coming in and cutting Federer's run short, instead of letting Roger accumulate a few more majors and maybe put that career record out of reach. But all credit goes to Djokovic, who did just that.

[Denilson3.0]

Nice boxing analogy... except you probably should've put an asterisk on the Federer-Mayweather analogy with a big ass footnote underneath saying... "ONLY AS FAR AS TECHNIQUE IN THEIR CRAFT".
That's because their personalities are not even in the same galaxy, and it pains me to see both names in the same sentence.

Yeah true was speaking just styles not personalities

Interesting take on the "snobbish" component of it. I can't dispute that, since I'm not European. But I'll just say that if Federer had a boorish personality, it would matter little that he's Swiss. He wouldn't be so much of a crowd favorite. Also, there's more to Djokovic than just being Serbian. He had a horrific childhood, to which the childhoods of Federer and Nadal couldn't possibly compare. That of course has had a lot to do with Novak's scrappy attitude, and that laser focus he's got on eventually being all-consensus tennis male GOAT. Let's face it. That doesn't exactly endear him to some people.

I do think the snobbish part hurts Novak big time. It's like in central America Puerto Rico is more of a respected country than Guatemala or Honduras. In South America Brazil and Argentina are more respected than Ecuador and in terms of snobbishness Switzerland were Federer is from, snobbish wise, is arguably the most snobbishly respected country in Europe, EG Swizz watch. Swizz Bank and all that and Spain is very respected too.

Where as Novak was brought up in the Slobdoan Milosevic (Former President of Serbia) brutal genocidal era. Look up Srebrenica massacre (when 8732+ civil Bosnians were massacred by the Serbs the biggest European massacre since WW2) and then NATO responded by Bombing Serbia in 1999.

(I'm no expert on Balkan history so I'm ready to be corrected if someone in Saddo lives in that part of the world. But that what's I've read but you never know who to believe)

Novak could easily been killed when he was a kid in the NATO response. He's talked about it many times. I guess that why he has a bit of that Ivan Drago "If he dies, he dies" vibe on the court

So basically Novak isn't from a HYPE COUNTRY. Not so much to do with his personality really. John McEnroe was a madman on court but he was from a hype country (America) so he was seen as edgy.

Nor does Novak come from a rich or well to do family (Rare in tennis). And all that bothers ppl. As if the audience says "You don’t belong here". But he does. Since he is a true fighter and one can actually learn a lot from his perseverance.

[X]

I don’t agree with your argument about Djokovic being from a less snobbish respected country, but I do think you’re onto something about his socio economic status.

Its definitely true that many tennis players (and fans) are firmly upper or middle class. Djokovic has had to scrap against the odds all his life much more than his peers, and that fight and determined spirit runs through his game. Maybe that’s what some fans don’t like?

[X]

So Djokovic has tumbled out of the Olympics without winning a medal

He flung a racket into the empty stands and smashed another against the net post. It’s is just unlikeable behaviour and incredibly bad sportsmanship, especially at the Olympics.

Bad. And he wonders why he is not loved like Federer and Nadal.

[Master]

So Djokovic has tumbled out of the Olympics without winning a medal

He flung a racket into the empty stands and smashed another against the net post. It’s is just unlikeable behaviour and incredibly bad sportsmanship, especially at the Olympics.

Bad. And he wonders why he is not loved like Federer and Nadal.

Shame he has failed to get the golden slams. That would have elevated him to a bigger head than he has already.

[Mark TKO]

Just seen the footage. Great Olympic spirit shown there. Never understood why pro sports were allowed in but that's the way it is now I guess.

[Syntax Error]

I say Nadal.

Djokovic and Federer are also legitimate calls and I would not argue with anyone that chose either of those two.

Each one of them has individual statistics that set them apart in one area.

For me, why I say Nadal is because of the amount of French Opens he won.

He destroyed everyone on that surface, even Djokovic and Federer when he was in his pomp and that’s what marks him out for me.

I also believe he would be clear at the top but for injuries.

His intense playing style meant he suffered many injuries.

What is spooky though is that the 3 greatest male tennis players all played at the exact same time.

In boxing terms that would have been like having Joe Louis, Muhammad Ali and Larry Holmes all fighting at the same time.

[TitoFan]

Personally I was glad to see Novak win the US Open. Plus I hope he tacks on a few more majors before he's done. That way he distances himself from anybody else.

I could root more for Nadal, being of a similar culture as myself. But I could never go with the "dominant on clay" argument to choose a GOAT.

There is reason you have 4 major sites... 3 on different surfaces (hard court, grass, clay). To be a true GOAT you have to dominate and have multiple championships on all three.