The Tennis GOAT debate

The Greatest of All Time (GOAT) debate is part of every sport. It is senseless in a lot of ways because you can never reach a conclusion. Yet every sport has lists, rankings and articles on who is the GOAT. Tennis has a new member in this debate, welcome to the party Rafael Nadal.

When debating the GOAT in tennis here are the criterion that I looked at.

1) Has the player won a number of major tournaments (grand slams and ATP Masters)

2) Test of Time- has the player won consistently and dominated the competition over a significant period of time

3) Has the player won against top competition

4) Has the player won under different conditions

Nadal has won 9 grand slam titles on all surfaces and holds the record for the most ATP Masters titles. He has beaten the best and holds a comfortable win-loss ratio against Roger Federer, his biggest rival. Finally, he is the greatest clay court player of all time. He has a check mark next to all the criteria. Well all, except for number 2.

The greatness of Federer is not just in the number of grand slams he has won but is also in the record streaks that establish the consistency of his domination. He is the only man to be ranked # 1 in the world for four consecutive (non calendar) years. He has reached a record 22 grand slam finals, which is five and a half years worth of grand slams. He reached 23 consecutive grand slam semi finals and to give you an idea of how difficult that is, the second place is 10 consecutive grand slam semi finals. He is the only player to win at least 10 singles titles each in three consecutive years. There are plenty more of these records which will dazzle you on this mans achievements. Click here if you want the details.

What Roger did from 2004-2007 is unheard off in almost any individual sport. When you have that kind of superior play over such a long period of time it is difficult to make someone else the GOAT.

I am not saying that Nadal will need to break all these records, that will never happen. Nadal will have his own records. All I am saying is that before we label him the GOAT let him prove himself for a little bit longer. He is currently the best player in the world. How long he cements himself in that spot will determine if he is the GOAT.

Before the screaming begins in the comments section, let me list out a few points that I think are irrelevant to the debate and so I did not consider them.

1) Davis Cup- Yes, Spain has won a few with Nadal but it is a team tournament and so not relevant

2) Olympic Gold- The Olympics come once every four years and so doesn't play a part in the GOAT debate. Leander Paes has a bronze in singles and he will never be remembered as a singles player. It is a great achievement but it doesn't apply in this debate

3) The final tally of grand slams. Roger could end up with 17 and Rafa with 15, that is barely a difference and should not play a part.

4) The number of slams Roger has won since Nadal came on to the scene. Again, not relevant. Every player has their own career path, some peak early, some later on. Will Rafa's game change once he is married, had kids? Who knows. In any case since Nadal won his first slam in 2005 Roger has won 11 of his 16 slams

5) Win-Loss record. The win-loss record of the rivalry is not relevant at this point. If however Nadal continues to win for the next two years it could become a critical point in the debate. But for now it doesn't add much value.

This article was also published at www.gqindia.com