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Men’s Tennis: Roger Federer, Rod Laver and How the GOAT Debate Changes over Time
Published: July 15, 2012
High praise indeed from one GOAT (Greatest Of All Time) to another.
But to be honest what was "Rocket" supposed to say?
"Oh yeah, Roger's a great player, but I was better!"
GOATs tend to be very supportive of one another's achievements, and rightly so, as all were the best of their time—bar one, of course.
I'm British and fast approaching 50 years of age, but to be honest I'd never come across the term GOAT, until I joined certain American-based tennis forums.
Of course it didn't take me long to decipher the GOAT code, and upon deeper research I'm amazed at the amount of attention it receives.
So here's my take on the subject.
Roger Federer is not the GOAT.
How can he be when he has a losing 10-18 head-to-head record against his greatest rival in his own era; Rafael Nadal.
Of course many believe Laver himself to be the GOAT.
Although he only won 11 Grand Slams compared to Federer's 17, he twice won calendar-year Grand Slams.
However, how many of the potential 20 Grand Slam events that he missed between 1963-67 would Laver have won, had he not been barred for playing professionally?
Doubters of Laver claim that there wasn't same level of competition around during the 1960s as there is today.
This is something of an insult to Laver's contemporaries.
The only other man to win a calendar-year Grand Slam was American Don Budge in 1938.
The first leg of Budge's Grand Slam was won in Australia.
Guess how many men entered the men's draw?
33—of which 29 were Australian.
Therefore, it's hard to compare that Grand Slam year to Laver's of 1962 and '69.
Is it simply the n...
Article Source: Bleacher Report - Tennis
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