So who's the male tennis GOAT?

[Mark TKO]

Imo there was tougher opposition in the Borg era.

He only played for 9 seasons and entered the Australian just once. Fair comment on the US open wins but Borg was up against Connors and Mcenroe who were better on that surface eg like Fed with the French because of Nadal. He got to 4 finals.

11 slams and 5 finals in 8 seasons when he only played three of them (didn't enter the French one year when at his peak) and walked away aged 25.

That's some going

[Mark TKO]

Actually I just read up - he had just gone 26 when he walked away.

27 slams entered and won 11 of them with 5 runner ups. Surely Djok isn't close to those stats - though there is the longevity with him

[Master]

I was a fan of Lendl and researched him. He was ranked world No. 1 in singles for 270 weeks. He won eight major singles titles and was runner-up 11 times.

In each year from 1985 through 1987, Lendl's match-winning percentage was over 90%. This record was equalled by Roger Federer in 2004–2006, but Lendl remains the only male tennis player with over 90% match wins in five different years (1982 was the first, 1989 the last).

The only Grand Slam singles title Lendl never managed to win was Wimbledon. That is when I became a fan, he even gave up going to the French Open just so he could try and win. He lost to natural grass court players like McEnroe, Edberg and Becker and each time it hurt.

Lendl's trademark forehand was hit hard and with topspin, which allowed him to dictate from the back of the court. This was why he was so good on Clay playing on the baseline. His trademark shot was his running forehand, which he could direct either down the line or cross-court. Opponents had to try and target his bank hand, but he perfected a top spin on that too. He was a machine at his best.

[TitoFan]

Imo there was tougher opposition in the Borg era.

He only played for 9 seasons and entered the Australian just once. Fair comment on the US open wins but Borg was up against Connors and Mcenroe who were better on that surface eg like Fed with the French because of Nadal. He got to 4 finals.

11 slams and 5 finals in 8 seasons when he only played three of them (didn't enter the French one year when at his peak) and walked away aged 25.

That's some going

Cases can be made for both. But here's a quote from Wiki on Rod Laver:

"Rodney George Laver AC MBE (born 9 August 1938 ) is an Australian former tennis player. Laver was the world number 1 ranked professional in some sources in 1964, in all sources from 1965 to 1969 and in some sources in 1970, spanning four years before and three years after the start of the Open Era in 1968. He was also ranked the world number 1 amateur in 1961 by Lance Tingay and 1962 by Tingay and Ned Potter. Laver's 198 singles titles are the most in tennis history. This included his all-time men's record of 10 or more titles per year for seven consecutive years (1964–1970). He excelled on all of the court surfaces of his time: grass, clay, hard, carpet, wood.

Laver won 11 Grand Slam singles titles, though he was banned from playing those tournaments for the five years prior to the Open Era. Laver is the only player, male or female, to win the Grand Slam (winning all four major titles in the same calendar year) twice in singles, in 1962 and 1969; the latter remains the only time a man has done so in the Open Era. He is the first male player out of two to be winner and runner up at all four grand slams, followed by Roger Federer. He is the second of four male players to win each major title twice (preceded by Roy Emerson and followed by Novak Djokovic and Rafael Nadal). Laver also won 8 Pro Slam titles, including the "pro Grand Slam" in 1967, and he contributed to five Davis Cup titles for Australia during an age when the Davis Cup was deemed as significant as the four majors. The Laver Cup tournament and the Rod Laver Arena are named after him."

The "competition" argument should be taken with a grain of salt. A lot of it is relative. Borg had McEnroe and Connors to contend with. In Laver's era there was Ken Rosewall and Pancho Gonzales. Unknowns to most of us... both nevertheless formidable opponents to Laver.

My thing continues to be that I can't rate surface specialists. That's why I've always shied away from putting Nadal anywhere near the top of any GOAT lists. The great ones win on all surfaces.

[Mark TKO]

Agreed re Nadal - he's in the GOAT argument for sure but trailed the other two on grass and hard court.

In his prime though he'd get a straight sets win against both of them on clay.

Anyway just making a case for a man I think is too readily ignored in the GOAT argument.

[TitoFan]

I used to love the Borg-McEnroe rivalry. John was always the perfect villain... and their matchups were mostly epic.

[Mark TKO]

Have you seen the film. Very good indeed

[TitoFan]

Their rivalry is what got me into tennis.

[ykdadamaja]

Pete Sampras in his time was unbeatable.