is he?

discuss

I absolutely adore Rafa but I'd have to say not yet, though he is well on his way. Federer has the best record.

tatocorcu said:

I want him to be and if his knees allow it he will most probably be, but for the time being good old Roger is the best...

Agreed. Nadal is up there among the all-time greats, but Roger Federer is the all-time king of tennis. He's as dominant a player that has ever played the game, but his career is definitely heading towards its twilight. Nadal may be nearing the end of his peak, but he leaves one huge rival (Federer) only to gain another one (Djokovic). And Andy Murray is part of the new blood rising in the sport.

And to think I grew up with the likes of Bjorn Borg, Jimmy Connors, John McEnroe, Ivan Lendl, Andre Agassi, and Pete Sampras....

Being one of the biggest Nadal fans in the world, I must say that Federer's style and elegance can't be matched, and that makes him, so far, the best player in history. It was an inmense pleasure to see him when he was at his best.

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However, Nadal's mental strength and the way he has grown from an only-clay player to a champion on all surfaces makes him one of the best of all time, and he certainly has chances to beat Federer's 17 Grand Slam titles.

Nah. Federer's a classic but I don't think neither could top Agassi and Sampras.

that's my point exactly

back in the day I considered Sampras/Agassi better than Borg/McEnroe

now I say that Federer/Nadal are better than Sampras/Agassi

Javi said:

Being one of the biggest Nadal fans in the world, I must say that Federer's style and elegance can't be matched, and that makes him, so far, the best player in history. It was an inmense pleasure to see him when he was at his best.

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However, Nadal's mental strength and the way he has grown from an only-clay player to a champion on all surfaces makes him one of the best of all time, and he certainly has chances to beat Federer's 17 Grand Slam titles.

It seems that Nadal works too damn hard all the time to be able to keep it up. I just don't know if his body can take it.

JoeTyler said:

that's my point exactly

back in the day I considered Sampras/Agassi better than Borg/McEnroe

now I say that Federer/Nadal are better than Sampras/Agassi

I feel like individual sports will always progress and the later players will be better. Federer grew up having to meet the challenge of playing with a Sampras in order to win, and Sampras had to grow up matching a McEnroe. And each generation builds on what the previous one did.

I think team sports are different. Tom Brady might be better than Joe Montana, but he doesn't necessarily HAVE to be better than him to win more titles because he has a team.

I do know that I prefer watching Federer play tennis over Nadal's style (but I'm not claiming to possess objective knowledge over who's better )

edit: NDRU made some points there...

[Edited 9/12/13 1:21am]

Rafael is a tennis LEGEND but when is the Ol'boy gonna start selling his own line of shorts at WalMart? Our Butts are about the same size camera-wise..I'd buy a pair in every color...LOL...

You also have to think that it is particularly praiseworthy for an originally only-clay player to have achieved so much. Players who are better on fast surfaces play on them during 9 months, whereas the clay season takes place between April and June and that's all, apart from some minor tournaments.