Tennis: Australian Open 2019

[varsaku]

I loaded up on caffeine last night for this. While I don't regret watching this dominant performance, I was hoping for a much more competitive match.

It was still really entertaining to see Djokovic look so dominant

 

[kihei]

And that breaks Nole's tie with Sampras. Roger, Rafa and Nole are now officially in a league of their own. Very satisfying.

 

[varsaku]

Djokovic was on a roll and Nadal had no answer

 

[rangerssharks414]

Federer, Nadal and Djokovic have combined to win 52 of the last 63 majors. Incredible.

 

[Fighter]

I've never seen Nadal getting demolished this way EVER. Clinical performance from Nole, scary to say but he was in total control, like he was two levels above Rafa. I'm ecstatic!

Further cemented his status as top 3 tennis player ever. Sorry Sampras.

 

[CupofOil]

I prepared myself for about 4-5 hours of intense tennis and got a 2+ hour domination. Never bet against Djokovic in top form on a hard court especially the Aussie Open where he's almost French Open Nadal-like when he's healthy.

Anyway, time to walk the dog then back to sleep for me.

 

[darko]

And that breaks Nole's tie with Sampras. Roger, Rafa and Nole are now officially in a league of their own. Very satisfying.

Do you think he catches Fed? Fed may have a Wimbledon win in him but that's probably about it.

 

[Maestro84]

As a Rafa supporter, I ain’t even mad cuz Djoker is clearly the AO goat and this match was one way traffic the entire way. The finals in 2017 and 2012 were gutwrenchers though cuz I thought he was actually gonna win but this time around, he got destroyed period.

I still think he can win some more majors even outside clay as he’s a Novak upset away from being the clear favourite at pretty much all the majors but still, he’s 33 and his chances of eclipsing Fed are getting smaller and smaller.

Overall, I’m just glad that all members of the big three are still playing this well given their age. As a Rafa fan since 2005, I’ve already been spoiled rotten for almost 15 years.

 

[Novak Djokovic]

Perfection. That's all I have to say.

 

[Hadoop]

Absolute masterclass in hard court tennis from Djokovic at his signature slam. Brilliant stuff.

 

[Tuggy]

Not much doubt in that match. Perfect from Djokovic.

 

[MsMeow]

I didn't see this coming!

 

[kihei]

Do you think he catches Fed? Fed may have a Wimbledon win in him but that's probably about it.

5 more GSs is a lot of Grand Slams to win in your 30's. I think he has a chance to catch Roger, but I would estimate that chance to be in the 10% to 20% range, not impossible but a real task to pull off.

However there is a mitigating factor in his favour. The rest of the demigods are beginning to slow down, but no serious new threat has emerged to take their place. He is a great player who might just be in the right time and the right place in terms of the level of competition he will face in the next couple of seasons.

 

[kihei]

Funny thing. The two best tennis players in the world at the moment, both in their 30's, manage to find a way to significantly improve their service games this tournament. That's pretty phenomenal when you think about it.

 

[Dr John Carlson]

I wonder what the odds are that all three of them end up finishing with 20 Slams...

 

[Beau Knows]

It's so crazy to think that the 3 best players ever played at the same time that I wonder if in the future people will look back and accept that. Maybe they'll try to claim these guys played in a weak era or something.

 

[tony d]

Joker is an awesome player. I don't think he's better all time than Sampras but both him and Nadal are in the conversation for 3rd greatest male tennis player ever.

 

[MsMeow]

I wonder where we'll be after the US Open. Rafa's only realistic shot these days is the French. He had a really easy time of it in this tourney while Djokovic had some struggles and then killed it in the semis and finals. Roger, I think is out of the picture, unfortunately. Will any of the young guys finally step up and take a major or two?

 

[Fighter]

Joker is an awesome player. I don't think he's better all time than Sampras but both him and Nadal are in the conversation for 3rd greatest male tennis player ever.

Sampras wasn't better than Nole or Rafa. He was a zero on clay...

 

[darko]

Joker is an awesome player. I don't think he's better all time than Sampras but both him and Nadal are in the conversation for 3rd greatest male tennis player ever.

Joker and Sampras are a toss up for me. Nadal is clear #2 behind Fed. Mind you Joker will very shortly pass Sampras (if he hasn't already).

 

[Maestro84]

Joker and Sampras are a toss up for me. Nadal is clear #2 behind Fed. Mind you Joker will very shortly pass Sampras (if he hasn't already).

After his output the last 6 months, I’ve personally put Djoker solidly ahead of Sampras. Sampras leads Nole in weeks and year end number one but one, Sampras didn’t have to deal with Fedal and two, Nole needs just one more YE1 and 50 more weeks on top to equal Pete, both of which are doable.

Nole has jumped ahead of Pete in several other categories as well including:
- one more slam
- Nole Slam
- Career Slam
- Same # of WTFs but Nole won 4 in a row
- 32 Masters Title + Golden Masters compared to just 11 from Pete
- 73 titles compared to 64 for Pete
- Novak also had a significantly better overall win %
- Djoker had a higher peak and was more versatile across all three surfaces
- Nole now has 52 “big titles” (Majors, WTFs, Olympics and Masters) compared to 30 from Sampras
- more wins vs top 10 players and played against a much tougher field of talent

With all due respect to Pete, who was the GOAT of the 90’s generation, I think it’s say to safe Nole has now eclipsed him in terms of career greatness and only Federer and Nadal in the OE are still ahead of him

 

[Pavel Buchnevich]

Is it good for men's tennis that there's not a player under 30 whose won a Grand Slam? Or should it not be considered an issue because the three best ever are playing in this era?

 

[Hadoop]

Not an issue IMO. This phenomenon is unlikely to ever happen again because the odds of having arguably the three best players in ANY sport playing at the same time is very very low.

 

[kihei]

Joker is an awesome player. I don't think he's better all time than Sampras but both him and Nadal are in the conversation for 3rd greatest male tennis player ever.

Sampras was not an elite clay court player by any means. I think Nole is a far more complete player and he has managed to accumulate 15 GS wins playing concurrently with the two best players in history. Way ahead of Sampras in my book--plus, he obviously looks like he has a fair ways to go yet.

 

[kihei]

This is the greatest era in tennis history by light years. Forget the big three or the big four or the big five, the next two generations couldn't dislodge Tomas Berdych from his perennial spot in the Top Ten for years and years. There has never been anything like this kind of excellence and depth in tennis history.