“He is the best,” Dominic Thiem has his say on the GOAT debate revealing the deciding factor
Dominic Thiem opens us on the hottest debate of tennis history.
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Dominic Thiem, Novak Djokovic and Rafael Nadal
Austrian former World No.3 Dominic Thiem gave his take on the never-ending GOAT (Greatest of All Time) Debate. After the record-equalling 22nd Grand Slam run by the Serbian World No.1 Novak Djokovic on Sunday last week, the numbers are almost inclining to the side of Djokovic. The only important title missing in the illustrious career of the Serbian is an Olympic Singles Gold. It’s likely that he’ll surpass Steffi Graf‘s 378 weeks of consecutive rankings as the World’s No.1 player within a month.
The Austrian says that the Grand Slam count must be the deciding factor in this debate. Considering the Serbian’s fitness, he’s likely to take that record as well. As Thiem quoted, “I am not very surprised, because Djokovic still feels like he is young. Physically, and mentally and the way he is moving on the court, it’s like he is 25 years old. We have to be honest – he is the best, so his victory wasn’t very surprising.”
When asked about his take on the GOAT debate, The Austrian responded, “In my opinion, Grand Slam titles, because those are the four biggest tournaments in tennis. Everything else is nice, but it’s just not the same. The Slams are what counts, so the GOAT will probably be the one with the most Slam titles.” (Source: Tennis Majors)
French Open 2023 will be the next battleground for the 23rd Grand Slam
When Roger Federer’s 2009 Wimbledon title overtook Pete Sampras‘ 14 Grand Slams, few thought that this record would be broken again. But the Mallorcan southpaw had different plans. He came like a secret project designed in the lab to nullify Federer’s dominance. Having beaten him 24 out of 40 times in their career and 10 out of 14 times in the all-important Grand Slam matches, Rafael Nadal entered the helm of men’s tennis.
When Nadal was breaking Federer’s records one by one, the third guy of the Big 3 started dominating the tour. With the changed diet plans and sheer determination, the Serbian gladiator Novak Djokovic became a whole different beast from 2011. In his overall matches against Federer, Djokovic beat him 27 out of 50 times. In Majors, he beat Federer 11 out of 18 times.
Now the GOAT debate (at least according to the numbers) is confined to a race between Novak Djokovic and Rafael Nadal. Both have 22 Grand Slams as of now. Though Rafael Nadal leads the head-to-head in majors by a good margin of 11-7, the overall head-to-head is almost in equilibrium with 30-29 to Djokovic now.
The French Open 2023 will be the first battleground in which both these players looking for the 23rd Grand Slam. If the Spaniard can rejuvenate in the clay season, the season is going to be another epic chapter in this rivalry.
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Vipul Payattuparambil
(552 Articles Published)