Tennis: Federer, Nadal, Djokovic: How many majors will they have and who will hold the record

[alko]

Federer - 20, 37 years old
Nadal - 18, 33 years old
Djokovic - 16, 32 years old

At the end, who will hold the record?

For now it is Federer, but he is already 37 years old.

Click to read more...

 

[Beau Knows]

I'll say Djokovic gets to about 22.

 

[kihei]

Djokovic 21 (best ever)
Federer 20 (greatest ever)
Nadal 20 (greatest on a single surface)

....and won't that be a debate.

 

[Hadoop]

Very revealing interviews from the Djoker post-victory even as he purposefully injected some ambiguity into his responses. What I got was that he clearly does want to stand alone with the most grand slams when all is said and done. But he also knows that most of the public, at least based on current sentiments, probably does not want him to succeed in this endeavour.

 

[Hadoop]

Anyways my (unnecessarily) detailed predictions, which include each player's yet-to-come slam wins:

Djokovic: 22 ('19 USO, '20 AO, '20 USO, '21 AO, '21 Wimby, '23 AO)
Nadal: 21 ('20 FO, '21 FO, '22 FO)
Federer: 20

 

[YEM]

Djoko will be pushing 2 dozen by the time he retires
I think there's an outside chance this year's US Open is Feds last major
If I'm wrong, I think next year is his farewell tour

 

[The Abusement Park]

I’d say Nadal is probably good for 2/3 more French Opens which will put him at 20/21 and I think Federer has 1/2 more in him so he could be at 21/22. So it comes down to can Joker win 2 slams a year for 4 years? I’d say so.

 

[Say Hey Kid]

Fed 21
Rafa 20
Joker 20

 

[rangerssharks414]

I have no idea. I don't think Roger will get another one. To be honest, I was wondering when he had 17 if he'd even get another one. He's gotten three more since then. Nadal should win at least another French or two. I think Novak will get a few more. The question is though... who will step up once Roger retires?

Roger: 20
Novak: 23
Rafa: 21

Wouldn't that be crazy if Roger ended up in third?

 

[rangerssharks414]

Since Roger won his first major at Wimbledon in 2003...

Roger: 20
Rafa: 18
Novak: 16
everyone else: 11

Never mind that Rafa's first major was seven majors after Roger won his first... and Novak's first was 18 majors after Roger's first...

Heck, going back to the last 20 years worth of majors, everyone not named Federer, Nadal or Djokovic only have 26 majors between them.

 

[alko]

The question is though... who will step up once Roger retires?

Maybe no one. Maybe it will be a easiest patch to victory for Djokovic and Nadal. And therefore, they will boost their legacy even more.

 

[rangerssharks414]

Maybe no one. Maybe it will be a easiest patch to victory for Djokovic and Nadal. And therefore, they will boost their legacy even more.

I mean, I could see something like this happening...

Anyways my (unnecessarily) detailed predictions, which include each player's yet-to-come slam wins:

Djokovic: 22 ('19 USO, '20 AO, '20 USO, '21 AO, '21 Wimby, '23 AO)
Nadal: 21 ('20 FO, '21 FO, '22 FO)
Federer: 20

 

[alko]

Anyways my (unnecessarily) detailed predictions, which include each player's yet-to-come slam wins:

Djokovic: 22 ('19 USO, '20 AO, '20 USO, '21 AO, '21 Wimby, '23 AO)
Nadal: 21 ('20 FO, '21 FO, '22 FO)
Federer: 20

Why is there such big no-win window for Djokovic between '21 Wimby, '23 AO?

 

[Tuggy]

I think Federer is done winning majors. The only major I could see him winning anymore is Wimbledon and he blew that this year. We'll see next year, but I wouldn't bet on it.

Nadal is only 1 year older than Djokovic and has been relatively healthy lately. He is the king of clay and could definitely win another couple of RG titles, but he does have competition there in Thiem. I feel like Thiem is very close to breaking through in Paris.

I give Nadal no chance to win Wimbledon again and he has an ok chance at getting another AO or USO, so Nadal finishing with at least 21 wouldn't surprise me at all.

Djokovic owns HC obviously. He's the big favorite to win the USO this year and the AO next year, so give him 18 right there. I also thinks he's still playing when the other two retire, so he's got that advantage.

But who steps up to stop these 3? We've had Murray and Wawrinka as the only ones to do anything (3 title apiece).

Probably can't count on generation useless (early 90's born), but maybe next gen? We'll see.

I'm going with:

Djokovic - 23
Nadal - 21
Federer - 20

 

[MsMeow]

I would be thrilled if Roger got one more but it's going to be really tough. The question is, can Rafa and Djokovic stay healthy. Rafa is great on clay but that's once a year and while he can fight on hard and grass courts, he's going to be hard pressed to win another one, plus he's injury prone. Djokovic is the youngest and hasn't had a lot of injuries. He's going to be driven because he isn't anywhere near as well liked. I think it's in his hands to win the most majors of the 3.

 

[MsMeow]

Why is there such big no-win window for Djokovic between '21 Wimby, '23 AO?

Nobody really knows what happened.

 

[JetsWillFly4Ever]

I think people are writing Fed off a little early.

If Novak gets injured and his level comes down (we've seen it happen, so it is a possibility), Fed is the favourite for Wimby next year.

That being said, he is old as f*** and his level could fall off a cliff anytime, but we've been saying that for like 5 years now haha.

I'll put them at Novak 22, Fed 21, Rafa 21.

 

[Hadoop]

Why is there such big no-win window for Djokovic between '21 Wimby, '23 AO?

Lol! My hypothesisis is that if my predictions are perfectly correct his 2021 Wimby title would put him at 21 slams, passing both Roger and Rafa at that moment in time. His motivation would drop considerably after that, until Rafa wins the French in 2022 to tie him at 21. The neXt gen should be ready to take over the reigns by late 2022, but I see Novak's sheer determination getting him GS 22 in early 2023.

 

[kihei]

Very revealing interviews from the Djoker post-victory even as he purposefully injected some ambiguity into his responses. What I got was that he clearly does want to stand alone with the most grand slams when all is said and done. But he also knows that most of the public, at least based on current sentiments, probably does not want him to succeed in this endeavour.

I didn't see this interview, but I read about it after the match. Nole was asked whether the support for Federer at Wimbledon (even with the sound down it was obvious) bothered him. He replied that no, he had a little trick that he used. Silly though it might be, he pretended the crowd was shouting "Nole, Nole, Nole," and it sort of worked for him. That seemed so forlorn, I wanted to hug him. In the end Djokovic will very likely end up being Henry Aaron to Roger's Babe Ruth.

Then again, he may be the last man standing. Fed and Rafa are very likely to retire first, and then what are tennis crowds going to do? They will adore Nole because he sure paid his dues, and gracefully at that. He will be the only one of the Big Three still playing and a living memory for all tennis fans of a Golden Age that will never come again, at least not in any of our lifetimes. If he can wait long enough, crowds will eventually be shouting his name, too.

 

[Maestro84]

I think Nadal's got a couple more RG titles left in him, and he'll have a decent shot at the other three majors depending on his health/form. Djokovic is pretty much the fav everywhere outside RG barring any drop-offs or injuries, but he's the furthest behind in totality. Sadly, I think this past finals was Fed's best and probably last realistic chance to win another major.

So overall, I'd have to say:
Fed - 20
Nadal - 20/21 (2 more RGs and maybe one more hard/grass slam)
Djokovic - anywhere from 18-22 (Nole is either gonna continue destroying everyone for a few more years or eventually drop-off and "only" win a couple more)

 

[kihei]

I see Nadal going deep but not winning another hard court Slam, and I doubt he gets much closer to another Wimbledon victory than he just did. But the French Open, he might get up to fourteen or fifteen Slams on that surface before he is done. The perceptual problem for him is that will only tend to underscore his incredible dominance on clay.

 

[WhatsABruinTX]

Federer really blew his chance for #21. Its tough to swallow to have two match points on your serve, then dump the next four points to get broken & continue to match. How many times have we said, "Roger Federer is done winning majors"? Many times. He was a point away from winning Wimbledon this year. I have no faith the young guys will elevate their game on grass next year. Nadal can't beat Fed on a surface that isn't clay anymore, so Novak is his only obstacle. I think (hope really) that Federer gets to 21 at next years Wimbledon. He's not winning a slam on any other surface.

Nadal has got 2 more French Opens in him, at some point Thiem will beat him at Roland Garros. Nadal has a fair shot at winning on a hard court, but I think the next gen will prevent that, plus Novak. Nadal ends with 20 grand slams.

Novak is the youngest of the group, but hes no spring chicken in terms of tennis, traditionally 32 is the tail end of a players career. Maybe 35 is the new 30 in tennis. Over the next couple of years he has to be the favorite at 3/4 of the slams. When does he start to slow down / when does next gen step up? I say he ends up with 21.

Federer 21
Novak 21
Nadal 20

Does Fed catch Jimmy Connors record for most titles? Connors is at 109, Fed 102. At this point Fed pretty much just plays Slams and Masters 1000s + Tour Finals, with that level of competition I'd so it would be tough to catch him at his age. He competes in a couple 500s on grass. I think Fed ends up around 105 at best.

 

[Say Hey Kid]

After Novak retires I think it's possible that tennis becomes more balanced and that no one wins more than 5 majors.

 

[kihei]

After Novak retires I think it's possible that tennis becomes more balanced and that no one wins more than 5 majors.

Felix is going to win 32.

 

[Florbalista]

I didn't see this interview, but I read about it after the match. Nole was asked whether the support for Federer at Wimbledon (even with the sound down it was obvious) bothered him. He replied that no, he had a little trick that he used. Silly though it might be, he pretended the crowd was shouting "Nole, Nole, Nole," and it sort of worked for him. That seemed so forlorn, I wanted to hug him. In the end Djokovic will very likely end up being Henry Aaron to Roger's Babe Ruth.

Then again, he may be the last man standing. Fed and Rafa are very likely to retire first, and then what are tennis crowds going to do? They will adore Nole because he sure paid his dues, and gracefully at that. He will be the only one of the Big Three still playing and a living memory for all tennis fans of a Golden Age that will never come again, at least not in any of our lifetimes. If he can wait long enough, crowds will eventually be shouting his name, too.

This is a good point. People forget that at his most dominant, Federer was not as much of a darling to everyone as he is now. It took time and some big losses too for public to catch on and figure out they should appreciate him. Eventually, people will soften towards Djokovic as well.