via Getty
Novak Djokovic of Serbia shakes hands with Roger Federer of Switzerland at the net following victory in his Men’s Singles final during Day thirteen of The Championships – Wimbledon 2019 at All England Lawn Tennis and Croquet Club in London, England. (Photo by Laurence Griffiths/Getty Images)
via Getty
Novak Djokovic of Serbia shakes hands with Roger Federer of Switzerland at the net following victory in his Men’s Singles final during Day thirteen of The Championships – Wimbledon 2019 at All England Lawn Tennis and Croquet Club in London, England. (Photo by Laurence Griffiths/Getty Images)
The never-ending GOAT debate has been spiced up again. Well, not exactly the GOAT of tennis as a whole this time. Ever since Novak Djokovic’s unprecedented 23rd grand slam title at this year’s Roland Garros, the Serb has had quite an exceptional case for being the greatest male player of all time. However, the greatest player on individual surfaces still turns out to be a strong debate. A former American tennis star has reignited the debate among fans.
Well, as far as clay is concerned, Rafael Nadal comes out as a clear winner. But on faster surfaces, Roger Federer and Novak Djokovic are engaged in a neck-and-neck battle.
Mardy Fish adds spice to grass-court GOAT debate while siding with Novak Djokovic
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Well, it just took a simple tweet from Mardy Fish to engage fans in this fierce debate. Fish did not just open the gates for the debate. He also sided with Novak Djokovic and solidified his case with a breathtaking stat.
via Reuters
Tennis – Wimbledon – All England Lawn Tennis and Croquet Club, London, Britain – July 10, 2022 Serbia’s Novak Djokovic celebrates with the trophy after winning the men’s singles final against Australia’s Nick Kyrgios REUTERS/Hannah Mckay
Fish tweeted, “Who is the greatest Grass Court player ever? Djokovic hasn?t lost on Centre Court at Wimbledon in 10 years! Gotta be him, right??“. Fans came up with responses that made cases for both Roger Federer and Novak Djokovic.
A strong case was made for Federer while focusing on the Serb’s age advantage.
No it's obviously Federer.
Djokovic was barely able to beat pensioner Fed in three Wimbledon finals. https://t.co/P0u4KQOE1j
— Jim Clark (@ClarkAboveAll) July 5, 2023
The Swiss Maestro’s playing style also strengthens his case according to a fan.
Roger Federer. Why? Because he's the only player who's demonstrated the ability to play serve and volley tennis as needed on the older grass courts (see his win over Pete Sampras) and adapt to the slower grass of the modern era. Novak and Rafa would struggle in the 80's/90's.
— Kaiju Lightsaber (@KaijuLightsaber) July 5, 2023
Djokovic fans weren’t silent on this and agreed with the American. Pete Sampras was brought up as well.
Djoker is probably best all time but looking at whose grass game was best compared to the their overall game, def Sampras.
— Evan Serpick (@Serps) July 5, 2023
Another fan gave the statistic edge to the Serb here.
If Novak wins one more title than Roger, it has to be him. But for now, i can't chose between Sampras, Federer and Djokovic. But Djokovic with one more title will be the clear answer.
— lis_03 (@lis_1090) July 5, 2023
A particular account summed up the case for Sampras, Djokovic and Federer wisely.
Right now I’d vote for a three-way tie between Federer, Sampras and Djokovic.
But I suspect one of these men is going to continue winning Slams at Wimbledon, and in a few years it will be a no-brainer.— Bagels and Breadsticks 6061 (@Anthony606061) July 5, 2023
The debate can rage on for eternity, but who has the best case for the grass court GOAT title?
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Sampras, Djokovic, Federer- who is the grass GOAT?
There is very little to separate the three here in terms of numbers. However, Federer does have the edge with 8 Wimbledon titles to his name compared to 7 each for the other two. But, one must also note that Sampras won seven titles in eight years in an era where playing in the late thirties wasn’t the norm. Djokovic, on the other hand, is still dominating the slams and can add a few more Wimbledon titles to his name. Moreover, his Centre Court invincibility stat must also be considered.
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In short, there is no clear-cut winner here and this particular debate is as subjective as one can get. It might get easier or rather more difficult when Djokovic retires with an exact number.
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