Rafael Nadal has excited many tennis lovers by himself confirming his much-awaited comeback into tennis in January 2024 recently. It is likely that Nadal might not contend for big titles immediately on his return as he is ranked outside the top 600 of the ATP rankings. But even then, the resumption of the Nadal vs Djokovic rivalry would perhaps be the next awaited thing on the ATP Tour.
Although Rafael Nadal has admitted that he will never catch up with Novak Djokovic in the Grand Slams race, the GOAT debate might not die down until the Spaniard retires for good from the sport. It is likely that because of Nadal still being on the Tour, the now-retired Roger Federer is still considered in the debate alongside the other two. Normally, any GOAT debate is an honor to be a part of and keeps enthusiasts discussing about the sport while showing h0w important it is to have superstars in it to be looked upto.
Prior to September 2022, the tone of the debate sounded pretty much balanced on social media since Roger Federer was still active on the Tour with 20 Grand Slams and 100+ ATP titles to his name. With Federer being the most marketable and globally recognised amongst the trio upto his retirement, he had numbers and passionate support for some solid backing. On the other hand, Rafael Nadal had crossed Federer’s Grand Slam tally, but still had lesser number of match wins and titles to his name.
Rafael Nadal is the most popular player on social media amongst the ‘Big Three’. Considering these factors, there was a narrative that Nadal was the best placed to end up as the player with the best statistics by the time Djokovic retires as well. It did not help that Novak Djokovic was banned from playing some important tournaments due to his stand on getting vaccinated and was criticised for his on-court behavior and off-court controversies when Covid-19 was at its peak.
But many Novak Djokovic enthusiasts knew what he achieved in the 2021 season. And with Rafael Nadal eventually missing most of the 2023 season, the path was almost clear for Djokovic to stamp his authority and catch up with the Swiss and the Spaniard, who found success in the sport earlier than him. The ATP Finals 2022 win made the Serb confident and the 2023 Australian Open win was a clear statement that the youngsters in the game were not ready to usurp Djokovic.
Cut to today and the debate is clearly titled in Novak Djokovic’s favor and rightly so to a huge extent. In this sport, numbers and longevity form the most important part in deciding a player’s greatness. Djokovic now has almost all records to his name and will be completing 20 years as a professional on the ATP Tour in 2024. Many of his fan clubs have put out posts on social media to support their favorite player.
But on many occasions, those posts have yet seen them compare him with Roger Federer and Rafael Nadal. The question remains – Are these fans doing this since a large section of the world media, public, marketers, pundits and administrators have sided with Federer and Nadal over the years? Novak Djokovic certainly leaned towards this point after his US Open 2023 win since he believes that the ‘western media’ hasn’t been fair to the Serb, putting him down unnecessarily on many occasions.
It is unquestionable that Roger Federer and Rafael Nadal have set a good example for future generations of players with their work ethic and by being big achievers as well as extremely well-behaved at least 9 out of 10 times on and off the court. This could also be the reason that the duo continue to remain in the GOAT debate despite many quarters of the tennis world now endorsing the opinion that the debate is now virtually non-existent.
Rafael Nadal, Roger Federer and Novak Djokovic generation once in a lifetime in tennis
No player is ever perfect and there will always be some points that can put any of the three down. Yet, the very idea of a GOAT debate is to celebrate all the players considered in it. After Pete Sampras retired in the early 2000s, it was impossible to consider the thought that a player would win 20 Grand Slams in a fiercely competitive men’s singles tennis category. But Roger Federer made that possible in 2018 at the age of 36, reaching that incredible landmark first.
Roger Federer achieved it despite winning only 1 Grand Slam title between 2012 and 2016. No player till date has achieved the Swiss legend’s peak that he had from 2004 to 2008. On the other hand, Rafael Nadal saw success at the age of 18 first and has managed to sustain it pretty much till date despite his spat of injuries and suffering from the Mueller-Weiss syndrome since his teens. Nadal will always be remembered for winning 14 French Open titles as no player before him dominated in one Grand Slam or on the same conditions and surface as a constant.
The only years Rafael Nadal did not win a Grand Slam were 2003, 2015, 2016, 2021 and now in 2023. This number is lesser than Roger Federer, who took 5 years to win his first Grand Slam and did not win any in 2019, 2020, 2021 and 2022 as well. Even Novak Djokovic took 4 years to win his first major, which was at the Australian Open in 2008. The other years the Serb struggled in this regard were in 2009, 2010, and 2017.
Novak Djokovic, being a late bloomer, was made to push himself by Roger Federer and Rafael Nadal. His ability to transform himself into a fitness icon, embracing his big two rivalries and constantly questioning accepted practices in tennis, has made him being long-lasting enough. The World No.1 also takes inspiration from other sportspersons such as Kobe Bryant and his own past when there was virtually no family money at one point to fund his tennis training in childhood, with Serbia wars in the background.
The fact that a triumvirate of players constantly challenged each other for more than 10 years in a tough sport like tennis and achieved very similar results until this year, is a once-in-a-lifetime phenomenon in any field. It could be pretty much comparable to the triumvirate of Al Pacino-Robert de Niro-Morgan Freeman in Hollywood or Bill Gates-Steve Jobs-Larry Page from the business world.
Although Carlos Alcaraz, Holger Rune and Jannik Sinner have shown some potential in their short careers so far, they are still young and have a long way to go before there could be any reasonable talk about the trio expected to have the success and rivalry levels of Federer, Nadal and Djokovic. Perhaps Roger Federer and Rafael Nadal have now become victims of the GOAT debate as Novak Djokovic’s reputation is on the rise and he will outlast both of them surely.
Recently, a female Romanian tennis player objected to a Roger Federer fan posting pictures to insult Novak Djokovic, who has never won a men’s singles Olympic gold medal till date. She quite rightly pointed out that there is no need to put down one player to praise another even though one can be a fan of just one of them. The lady insisted on X that she remains a well-wisher of Nadal and Federer even though Djokovic is her favorite, who has remarkably rewritten tennis history books.
And perhaps that is the way it should be, especially in a GOAT debate. But perhaps in an ideal world. Maybe it would all die down one day when Novak Djokovic too calls it a day and in his own words, then try to sit on a beach sharing a drink with Roger Federer or Rafael Nadal and becoming friends with them.
