Novak Djokovic won his ninth grand slam title when he beat
Roger Federer in the final of Wimbledon 2015. It could have been a hat trick of
grand slams this year for Djokovic, but for that heartbreaking loss in the
final of this year’s French open. Djokovic started the year by winning the
Australian open, and almost everybody other than Stanislas Wawrinka believed
that Djokovic will win the French open as well. That belief had just got firmer
when the world no. 1 had beaten Rafael Nadal in straight sets in the highly
anticipated French open quarter final.
Federer fans cheered him to the T when he attempted to win his 18th grand slam title, but it was in vain. However, the Swiss champion is still on top of the all-time list of grand slam winners with a mammoth 17 titles. Close behind him is Rafael Nadal tied with Pete Sampras at 14 titles. Nadal is going through a lean (read horrible) patch, but his fans hope that by 2016 he would be back to his best. That would be great for tennis, as there is hardly anyone who can match the competitive spirit of the Spaniard.
Just going by the numbers alone, one would be tempted to think that Roger Federer is indeed the greatest Tennis player of all time. However, that is far from the truth. It’s all about the era. It’s all about the kind of competition you face. Federer would have been considered as great as he is today, even if he had not won 17. That’s because the quality of his game had reached unprecedented levels. But his head to head record against Nadal is terrible. Nadal always had and will continue to exploit the weak Federer backhand. Nadal has beaten Federer, simply too many times. So does that make Nadal the greatest ever?
Now with Djokovic winning so consistently, and improving his head to head records against both Nadal and Federer, the question of being the greatest ever is still wide open. Expectations are riding high and a win at the US open 2015, will take Djokovic into double figures, as far as the number of grand slam titles is concerned. With at least 2 good years of tennis left in the Serb, Nadal’s record of 14 wins is in jeopardy. But even if he overtakes the Spaniard, I doubt we would have found our answer.
Numbers are the biggest yardstick to measure greatness. But ONLY numbers are not enough. Reason is simple. SUBJECTIVITY! Last year, a Hindi film PK made big waves in Indian cinema. Its lifetime earning is over Rs. 700 crores which makes it the top grossing Indian film of all time. However, it is still not the greatest Hindi film ever. That coveted title is with ‘Sholay’. As I end this piece, Baahubali (a Telugu Magnum Opus) has raked in more than Rs. 300 crores and still going strong!
Federer fans cheered him to the T when he attempted to win his 18th grand slam title, but it was in vain. However, the Swiss champion is still on top of the all-time list of grand slam winners with a mammoth 17 titles. Close behind him is Rafael Nadal tied with Pete Sampras at 14 titles. Nadal is going through a lean (read horrible) patch, but his fans hope that by 2016 he would be back to his best. That would be great for tennis, as there is hardly anyone who can match the competitive spirit of the Spaniard.
Just going by the numbers alone, one would be tempted to think that Roger Federer is indeed the greatest Tennis player of all time. However, that is far from the truth. It’s all about the era. It’s all about the kind of competition you face. Federer would have been considered as great as he is today, even if he had not won 17. That’s because the quality of his game had reached unprecedented levels. But his head to head record against Nadal is terrible. Nadal always had and will continue to exploit the weak Federer backhand. Nadal has beaten Federer, simply too many times. So does that make Nadal the greatest ever?
Now with Djokovic winning so consistently, and improving his head to head records against both Nadal and Federer, the question of being the greatest ever is still wide open. Expectations are riding high and a win at the US open 2015, will take Djokovic into double figures, as far as the number of grand slam titles is concerned. With at least 2 good years of tennis left in the Serb, Nadal’s record of 14 wins is in jeopardy. But even if he overtakes the Spaniard, I doubt we would have found our answer.
Numbers are the biggest yardstick to measure greatness. But ONLY numbers are not enough. Reason is simple. SUBJECTIVITY! Last year, a Hindi film PK made big waves in Indian cinema. Its lifetime earning is over Rs. 700 crores which makes it the top grossing Indian film of all time. However, it is still not the greatest Hindi film ever. That coveted title is with ‘Sholay’. As I end this piece, Baahubali (a Telugu Magnum Opus) has raked in more than Rs. 300 crores and still going strong!
