Hoping to head down to Flushing Meadows for a night session next week. Who’s been? Any tips and/or things to avoid?
I have not been to the US Open, but they have an ATP1000 here in Cincinnati every year and it’s awesome. I absolutely love going. I am sure the scale at Flushing and NYC is just a little different than Cincy lol, so I can’t give too many recommendations, but one of the things I like to do here is venture out to the outer courts in early round play. You can get pretty up close with some of the matches and the level of tennis is mind-boggling. Even people you have never heard of seem like robots. Fitness, athleticism, consistency, touch, etc. all just off the charts good and fun to watch.
I’ve only been to Wimbledon, but since I’m assuming the US Open is similar, my best advice is to go during the early rounds, and scope out a highly ranked pro that’s playing on an outer court. You can watch from very close to the court. @LJP gets that absolutely right.
Disclaimer: I am the most casual of casual of tennis “fan”. I really only watch the championship match of majors, and still don’t watch all four in a year. Anyhow, this is a question for the avid fan. Why is Federer so widely considered the “GOAT”? So the only thing I’m basing this off of is, Nadal is 5 years younger than Federer, but has only one less major now. We can probably pencil in Nadal as the French Open champ for 2020, so unless Federer wins the Aussie Open, they will be tied, and Nadal will likely have more years to compete to get to say, 25 majors.
Are the head to head of the two the reason, or is it that 12 of Nadal’s 19 majors came at one tournament?
Nadal is way up on head to head vs Fed. I think Nadal will end up being considered the goat. Federer has always been ahead on slam count but if Nadal can even that up at the French next year I don’t see any way to consider him to be any less than Fed.
1 Like
I think it hurts Nadal that 12 of his majors are at the same major, yes. No doubt he has been ridiculously dominant there (his record is like 95-2 or something like that…) but I don’t think he’ll go down as the goat.
What is more likely, in my opinion, is that Djokovic will go down as the goat (16 majors now, younger than Nadal). It seems like he’s on track to eventually pass Rafa and Roger in terms of majors.
Of course, it’ll end up being like any other goat debate, there will be people debating all sides. I’m a huge Roger fan, and he’ll certainly be the goat in my heart forever.
I think it’s that sentiment that there are way more Roger fans than Nadal that keep him ahead in the “goat standings”. Roger is a little more diversified in slam titles but he’s got 8 at Wimbledon and only 1 french. Rafa owns him in head to head. Do agree about Djok though, if he can get past them then he’s certainly got a good case. Roger will still always be the most liked of the 3.
I think part of the Roger is GOAT arguement comes from Roger being the unquestioned #1 while all three were in their “primes.” Djokovic is a but younger so they didn’t exactly line up, but Rog took over the GOAT standings in the late 2000s, and only the later career runs of the other two are leading it to change.
I’m also more of a casual fan but follow it enough to know what’s going on. I’ve never understood the dislike for Djokovic. Is it just because he’s not Federer? I’ve always really enjoyed his game and found him to be likable in interviews and such.
It’s hard not to appreciate Nadal, but sometimes it’s hard to watch his matches when you know it’s going to go 5 sets, and he’s eventually just going to outlast his opponent. I can appreciate it, I just don’t love tennis enough to watch 4+ hours of it.
Federer plays what is pretty much unquestionably and universally the most elegant brand of tennis ever seen. On top of that he still has the most majors… therefore, widely and justly considered the goat. Easily my favorite tennis player of all time (ex-Gustavo Kuerten, because I am Brazilian).
Howeverrrrr… Federer cannot be considered the GOAT once Nadal and Djokovic pass him in major count, which at this point seems likely. Nadal’s record against Federer is also undeniable. One can “knock” Nadal for winning so many French Opens, but he also has two Wimbledon titles… Fed only has 1 French (and will only have 1 French… less than 10% chance he wins that tournament again).
It’s an incredible era for tennis having these 3 around… kind of like Messi and Cristiano Ronaldo in soccer. Federer will always be my favorite player and must-watch TV, but have to give Nadal and Djokovic their due if they make good on ending up with more majors than him.
1 Like
I think it’s insane maybe the three greatest tennis players of all time all played in the same era. Imagine if even one of them wasn’t around, the other two could easily have close to 30 majors.
Really is… Federer and Nadal have played each other in TWENTY-FOUR tournament finals (including non-slams)! Nadal leads 14-10, but if they didn’t play in same era means you could pretty much pencil in another 10 or 14 career victories for each of them.
1 Like
I hate to say this because I hate him, but imagine the career Andy Murray might have had… he was right there with them
Fed also has the highest peak as far as Slams go. His run from Wimbledon of 2005 to the US Open of 2007 included 8 Grand Slam wins and two runners up, both to Nadal in the French Open final. None of the other two have had a peak like that.
1 Like
Injuries are what did him in aren’t they? I remember how big of a deal it was when he won Wimbledon. Seemed like he was about to join the other three as the favorite in all the majors.
1 Like
Injuries and mental weakness!! (my bias showing just a little hahaha)
1 Like
I think what gives Federer the status that he has is the fact he combines a stellar record on the court with an incredibly humble and friendly personality. He plays the most elegant and visually appealing type of tennis to me. I have a tremendous amount of respect for the physical abilities of Nadal and Djokovic, and they might be “better” players, but the way Federer plays tennis has something magical. I have no doubt the other two will pass his major count, but I highly doubt they will be universally lauded as the GOAT the way Federer is. Winning alone gives you a place in the history books, not necessarily in the hearts and minds of the people.
Is Andy Murray tennis’ Lee Westwood?
3 grand slams + 8 runner ups (all to Roger or Novak)… that’s a tough comparison but I get where you’re going with it
1 Like
He won 3?! Wow… I’m not the biggest tennis fan, but I would have never guessed that, only remember one Wimbledon final against Djokovic.
I’ll scrap the Westie take and swap it for a Retief Goosen one; an excellent player born in the (for him) wrong era.
Because Federer fans are the most rabid. Tennis media is pretty much made up of complete idiots, so they pander to the Fedfans.
It’s pretty clear either Nadal or Djokovic will end up with more majors.
The beauty of Federer’s game is overrated. Sure, his one-hander looks pretty, but it’s also…not that effective. Federer’s serve is just a good solid level above - gotta be the best serve from a non-tall player.
1 Like