Roger Federer: Refining the "GOAT" Debate in Time for the 2011 U.S. Open

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at Internationaled.org

Published: July 20, 2011

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The “Dreadful Dog Days” of tennis are upon us. Tennis pundits, or those who aspire to be relevant, roll out the old standard enticements whose primary goal is to stir a tennis fan's passions.

The surest way to engage the masses is to bounce around the old debates. For example, should Roger Federer be considered the “GOAT,” ("Greatest of all Time," for you few uninitiated) now that he seems thoroughly ensconced in the No. 3 spot in the ATP tennis rankings.

That particular debate is hopelessly circuitous and ridiculously subjective, in case you are wondering, because there is no GOAT in tennis––no player has ever worn that crown.

Still the debate rages on endlessly.

It is rather like saying Johnny Mathis was the greatest singer ever or Cole Porter was the greatest American composer or Don Drysdale was the best pitcher ever to take the mound. 

You might, however, be safe in pronouncing that the music group The Beatles have sold the most albums or that “Thriller” by Michael Jackson was the single largest selling album in the music industry’s history–according to most record-keeping sources. Few would disagree with the numbers.

The main problem with these debates remains that no one agrees on what being the “greatest” means regardless of whether you croon, compose or strike a ball.

So, how can we anoint a king without a prescribed royal resume? 

What criteria should be considered? The answer must lie in the statistics––those records that have been kept, making them marks that the tennis community agrees are worthwhile. 

 

Being Ranked No. 1:  GOAT Minimum Standard of 200 Weeks, Consecutive Weeks, 156.

There is no more obvious sign that you are the very best than achieving the rank of the No. 1 player in the world. To date there are four men who have spent more than 200...
Article Source: Bleacher Report - Tennis

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