French Open 2020: Why the tennis GOAT debate is about so much more than numbers
We can point to statistics in the GOAT debate, but there is also the emotional side, writes Russell Fuller. Plus, who gets your vote?
We can point to statistics in the GOAT debate, but there is also the emotional side, writes Russell Fuller. Plus, who gets your vote?
Entering the 2020 season, Andrey Rublev had never cracked the Top 20 of the FedEx ATP Rankings. But today, the Russian becomes the eighth player from his country to make the Top 10 by ascending to World No. 10.
“I’m happy, of course. But it was not about [making the] Top 10. If you are 11 or 12 or 10, it’s the same thing. I think the main goal for me [is to test] if my level is really Top 10; if I can stay there, if I can be there, if I can improve more,” Rublev said. “It’s one thing to be there for one week or two weeks. It’s another thing to deserve to be there. For the moment I don’t feel that I deserve to be there, but I will do my best to be able to compete, to be a better player and to improve more and more and more. I hope I will be there because I deserve it.”
Before Karen Khachanov cracked the Top 10 on 10 June 2019, a new Russian hadn’t broken into the elite group for the first time since Mikhail Youzhny on 13 August 2007. With Rublev’s accomplishment, three new Russians — Khachanov, Daniil Medvedev and Rublev — have reached the Top 10 in the past 16 months.
“I would like to take this opportunity to congratulate you for your Top 10 debut,” former World No. 1 and Russian legend Yevgeny Kafelnikov said in a message to Rublev. “We all know how difficult it is to break through, but it’s probably five times harder to stay there for a very long time. All I can say is that you’ve got the tools, you’ve got the energy to be there for a very, very long time, so keep up the good work. Well done.”
The 22-year-old is second on the ATP Tour this year with 29 tour-level wins, including titles in Doha, Adelaide and Hamburg. Rublev became the first player to triumph in the first two weeks of the season since Dominik Hrbaty in 2004. Before 2020, the Russian had only captured two ATP Tour trophies.
Rublev began his campaign with two fourth-round Grand Slam appearances in his young career. He made at least the Round of 16 in all three majors this year, including his second and third Slam quarter-finals at the US Open and Roland Garros.
In 2018, Rublev missed three months due to a lower back stress fracture, sending him as low as World No. 115. The Russian was frustrated during that time off, spending three hours per day at a clinic doing magnetotherapy, eating lunch and not doing much else.
“They were on tour and I was there on the sofa doing nothing,” Rublev said of his colleagues at the time. “It was a really tough moment… hopefully it’s never going to happen again.”
Rublev came back firing. Despite missing six weeks due to a wrist injury, he quickly regained his level, triumphing in Moscow last year to gain momentum leading into 2020.
“It was a little bit strange because during this pre-season, I was thinking, ‘I’m not working enough, I’m not working enough, I need to work harder, I need to work better.’ Every day it was like this. It was not enough,” Rublev told ATP Uncovered presented by Peugeot earlier this year. “I was thinking, ‘What is this? If I want to be on a good level, this is not the game. I need to do something better, I need to work harder, I need to have a better attitude, I need to play smarter.’ The mood was never enough, never enough, never enough. But in the end, when I started the season, everything was good.”
Now, Rublev is among the 10 best players in the world. The Russian reached junior World No. 1 at 16 and in 2017 showed his professional potential by becoming the youngest US Open quarter-finalist since Andy Roddick in 2001.
“If he improves his quickness and footwork on the court as well as his first serve a little bit, he’s going to win many Grand Slams,” Kafelnikov said. “I have no doubt about it.”
Last year, six players broke into the Top 10 for the first time, the most since 2006. With today’s addition of Rublev and Diego Schwartzman to the elite group, there have been three so far this year. Denis Shapovalov accomplished the feat following his run to the Internazionali BNL d’Italia semi-finals.
One of Diego Schwartzman’s biggest dreams was to crack the Top 10 of the FedEx ATP Rankings. Following his run to the Roland Garros semi-finals, that becomes a reality today as the Argentine moves up six spots to a career-high World No. 8.
“I had good Grand Slam tournaments in the past. But when the year started, I wondered what the difference was to get into the Top 10 and it was to beat the Top 5 [players] here and there. [In the past] I couldn’t,” Schwartzman said. “In Rome and here in Paris I did and that’s why I’m going to be [in the] Top 10 for the first time.
“Now I want to keep improving and stay there.”
The 28-year-old joins 22-year-old Russian Andrey Rublev as Top 10 debutants this week. The Argentine showed great form on clay in recent weeks, making his first ATP Masters 1000 final at the Internazionali BNL d’Italia — defeating Rafael Nadal in the quarter-finals — and reaching his maiden Grand Slam semi-final in Paris with a victory in the last eight against two-time finalist Dominic Thiem.
The last Argentine to crack the Top 10 was Juan Monaco on 23 July 2012. He spent eight weeks in the Top 10 (career-high No. 10) across two stints in 2012.
N8 del mundo! Cuéntenla como tengan ganas. Te quiero hermano @dieschwartzman #RG20 pic.twitter.com/5pxknE2iHV
— Juan Monaco (@picomonaco) October 9, 2020
Schwartzman, 5’7”, is the shortest player in the Top 10 since 5’6″ Harold Solomon, whose last week in the Top 10 began on 27 July 1981.
“I honestly think if someone would have told me three or four years ago that there was going to be a guy of his size that was going to be in the Top 10 of the world, I would have told you you were crazy. I just didn’t think it was going to end up happening,” Solomon said. “Just didn’t think that in this day and age that there was going to be somebody that size that would be able to withstand the barrage of the serves — even though he returns great — and be able to hang with guys on the court. I thought eventually they’d get worn down or overpowered, but he’s proven me wrong.
“I just see how great of a position he gets in on the court all the time. The footwork is the key. Just being able to get in such great positions for balls all the time so that even though he’s playing against guys who are bigger and stronger — I wouldn’t say anybody’s faster — he’s able to get himself in a position to use the strength that he has.”
Schwartzman has earned the respect of his peers, including Thiem. The Austrian was disappointed to lose his chance at claiming a second Grand Slam title at Roland Garros, but he was happy to see close friend Schwartzman succeed.
“I’m happy for him. He really deserves it. It’s an amazing achievement by him to break into the Top 10 for the first time in the career,” Thiem said. “Maybe to lose against a friend hurts a little bit less.”
World No. 1 Novak Djokovic also is impressed by Schwartzman, especially with the Argentine’s work ethic and relentless determination on court.
“He deserves to be [in the] Top 10 and deserves to win that kind of match more than many players because he works hard, he’s a super nice person, very friendly guy. Everybody loves Diego,” Djokovic said after Schwartzman upset Thiem. “I’m very happy for him. I’m proud of him. I wish him all the best. Definitely he deserves to be where he is.”
Schwartzman was not a highly touted junior. He lost in the first round of qualifying in the only junior Grand Slam he played (2010 US Open). But ever since, the Argentine has steadily climbed, cracking the Top 100 of the FedEx ATP Rankings on 9 June 2014 and the Top 30 on 11 September 2017.
Last year, six players broke into the Top 10 for the first time, the most since 2006. With today’s addition of Schwartzman and Andrey Rublev to the elite group, there have been three so far this year. Denis Shapovalov accomplished the feat following his run to the Internazionali BNL d’Italia semi-finals.
One hundred wins. Thirteen titles. And a 26-0 record when he reaches the semi-finals. Rafael Nadal proved on Sunday that he still owns Roland Garros. In a year when nothing has been normal, it seemed fitting that Djokovic-Nadal LVI took place in the final of Roland Garros, indoors, on October 10, in front of 1,000 bundled up fans in masks.
Djokovic held a narrow 29-26 ATP Head2Head edge coming into the match, but in major finals, they were even at four wins each. With heavy conditions and balls not to his liking, Nadal’s shots were reportedly jumping three inches lower than usual during the tournament. But none of his victims in the run-up to the final were playing a sad violin for him, as the Mallorcan rampaged through his half of the draw without dropping a set.
And as Nadal bageled Djokovic in the first set, one couldn’t help but wonder if all the supposedly good reasons why this would be the year where Rafa might finally lose a Roland Garros final — the balls, the weather, the closed roof, the lack of preparation — were essentially nonsense. Come on guys, it’s still Nadal at Roland Garros, and he’s still a serial killer on clay at any time of year, in any conditions.
Djokovic had never been bageled in a major final—in fact, it was Nadal who had last whitewashed him in a set in the final of Rome last year. It took the Serb 54 minutes to win a game. After 12 French titles and 99 wins, could anyone have predicted that Nadal was saving perhaps his finest performance for win No. 100? But there he was, looking resplendent in baby blue, dancing around his backhand on the red dirt as though he was still a fresh-faced 19-year-old, blasting those lethal, inside out forehands that have given a generation of players nightmares.
Perhaps the scariest thing for every other player on the Tour to contemplate is that on Sunday on the red clay in Paris, Nadal looked better than ever at age 34 as he dismantled his great rival Novak Djokovic, 6-0, 6-2, 7-5, becoming the first man in the Open Era to win four majors without dropping a set. His form was so sublime that we must now consider the possibility that, if he wants to, the swashbuckling Mallorcan could win his favourite tournament a few more times, perhaps more!
When he finally calls it a career, how many Roland Garros titles will he own? No one in the history of the sport has won 13 times at the same tournament, but now 15 or more Roland Garros title runs doesn’t seem out of the question for the Spaniard. As long as his name appears on the draw sheet at this tournament, he’ll be the favourite. As he said on court after the match, “Roland Garros means everything to me, I’ve spent the most important moments of my tennis career here.”
It was a day for the history books and so we must now contemplate where Rafa’s achievement stands in the broader sporting picture of so-called unbreakable records. In tennis, it’s hard to imagine anyone will ever play an 11-hour match again, as John Isner and Nicolas Mahut did at Wimbledon in 2010. Will anyone have a 643 shot rally again, as Vicki Nelson and Jean Hepner did in 1984? Not a chance.
Nor is it likely that a player will come close to Chris Evert’s mark of 125 consecutive wins on clay, Steffi Graf’s Golden Slam in 1988 or Rod Laver’s two Calendar Grand Slams. Esther Vergeer won an incredible 162 singles and 134 doubles wheelchair tennis titles, a feat that will be nearly impossible to beat.
There are also a number of Olympic records that may never be broken: Michael Phelps’ 23 career medals, Bob Beamon’s 8.9m long jump, Usain Bolt’s sprinting records, Marjorie Gestring winning Olympic gold in diving at age 13, among others.
Usain Bolt is the only sprinter in history to win 100m and 200m gold medals in three consecutive editions of the Olympic Games.
Baseball is a sport of numbers with a host of records considered unbreakable: Cy Young’s 749 complete games, Joe DiMaggio’s 56-game hitting streak, Cal Ripken Jr.’s 2,632 consecutive games — over 16 seasons — played, Hugh Duffy’s .440 batting average in a single season, and Ty Cobb’s lifetime batting batting average of .367 to name several.
In basketball, no one will touch Wilt Chamberlain’s two remarkable records — averaging 50.4 points per game in 1962, and scoring 100 points in a single game on March 2 of that year. Wayne Gretzky has a trio of records in hockey that may never be broken: 92 goals and 215 points in a season, and 2,857 career points. Pele scored 760 official goals and 1,281 goals overall, along with 92 hat-tricks and won three World Cup titles, achievements that are unlikely to be duplicated. (Josef Bican is considered the all-time leading official goal scorer with 805 career goals).
In American football, Jerry Rice’s career mark of 22,895 receiving yards is likely untouchable. Boxing’s Rocky Marciano is the only heavyweight champion to finish his career unbeaten (49-0). And no golfer is ever likely to win the Masters by 12 strokes, as Tiger Woods did in 1997. The Pakistani squash champion Jahangir Khan won the British Open a record 10 times, a feat that will likely stand the test of time. Cricket’s Don Bradman’s test batting average of 99.94 is more than 36 runs better than any other batsman’s average in the history of the sport. No one believes anyone will ever come close to matching that.
Who’s going to best Nadal’s mark of 13 Roland Garros titles? In all likelihood, no one — and remember that the record may not be 13 because he’s not done yet. In order to have a shot at equaling the Spaniard’s achievement, a player would need to start winning the tournament very early in his career, probably by 20 or 21 at the latest. Remember, Nadal started winning this tournament when Facebook was still in its infancy, Twitter was still just a business plan and Capri pants and man purses were cool.
Wayne Gretzky has set records many think will stand the test of time.
We haven’t seen youngsters winning majors in the Big 3 Era and given the physicality of the sport, this dynamic isn’t likely to change anytime soon. Roland Garros is arguably the most physically challenging major to win, which makes Rafa’s achievement even more impressive. But it isn’t any more likely that a player will win 13 or more titles at any of the majors either.
Consider a few of the sport’s brightest stars aged 21 or less: Jannik Sinner (19), Alex de Minaur (21), Casper Ruud (21), Denis Shapovalov (21), and Felix Auger-Aliassime (20) are players who will be a joy to watch over the next decade or more. But it’s hard to imagine any of them reeling off 13 or more at the same major as Nadal has.
And what about Carlos Alcaraz? He’s 17 and will be 18 by the start of next year’s Roland Garros. Alcaraz has had some promising results on the ATP Challenger Tour and today in Barcelona won his second Challenger title. He’s already inside the Top 200 of the FedEx ATP Rankings. But only time will tell if he’s ready to tangle with the sport’s heavyweights.
Margaret Court won the Australian Open 11 times but before Nadal came along, the notion of any man winning even 10 of the same major title seemed unthinkable. Even when Nadal won La Decima in 2017, almost no one predicted he’d soon have 13. The beauty of sport is that seemingly unbreakable records do sometimes fall.
But Rafa’s accomplishment is a moon landing for the sport, he’s done the unthinkable — his mark of 13 Roland Garros titles is right there alongside Rod Laver’s two Calendar Grand Slams as the most impressive records in the history of men’s tennis.
After Rafael Nadal beats Novak Djokovic to win his 13th French Open, BBC Sport examines why the ‘King of Clay’ reigns supreme.
Rafael Nadal says he had doubts over when he could win the French Open this year and that he needed to play “amazing” tennis to do so in his victory over Novak Djokovic.
At last year’s St. Petersburg Open, Daniil Medvedev ended a 15-year title drought for Russian players at the event by lifting his first trophy on home soil.
The World No. 5 returns to the ATP 500 this year seeking to successfully defend an ATP Tour crown for the first time in his career. As the top seed and defending champion, the Moscow native is placing some pressure on his shoulders as he attempts to snap a three-match losing streak.
“Naturally, [as defending champion] there is some pressure, of course… If I show good tennis, I will have a good result,” said Medvedev. “I can play tennis, and if something doesn’t go well, then you can lose, so it’s a pressure on myself that you can feel during the match.”
Medvedev is joined in St. Petersburg by a stellar field of ATP Tour stars. The 32-man draw features five members of the Top 20 with each of the eight seeds present in the Top 30 of the FedEx ATP Rankings.
“Judging by the draw, the lineup is very strong… I [have] got a difficult draw, but sometimes it’s better to start a tournament with tough opponents,” said Medvedev. “I will have to show my best game at the tournament from the get-go. In any case, I always have a philosophical attitude towards the draw. I can’t change its results, so I am just preparing for my next opponent. I hope to show a good [level of] tennis.”
Medvedev will open his title bid against former World No. 7 Richard Gasquet. The Frenchman is making his return to St. Petersburg 11 years after losing in the first round to Marat Safin on his tournament debut.
Seven-time tour-level titlist Medvedev will be attempting to claim his first win against Gasquet in his second ATP Head2Head contest against the 34-year-old. Gasquet won their only previous encounter 6-0, 6-3 at the 2018 Open Sud de France in Montpellier.
“I will try to train as much as possible to prepare for the tournament… It seems to me that two or three days are enough to be ready to play the tournament when you are switching from clay to hard, so I feel that I am ready. [We] will see during the matches but I think I’ll be 100 per cent ready.”
Roger Federer hails his “greatest rival” after Rafael Nadal equals his record of 20 Grand Slam men’s singles titles in devastating fashion.
Rafael Nadal produces one of his finest French Open displays to stun Novak Djokovic and equal Roger Federer’s record of 20 Grand Slam men’s titles.
Rafael Nadal sensationally won a historic 13th Roland Garros crown under a closed roof on Court Philippe-Chatrier on Sunday, which also marked his 100th match win at the clay-court major championship.
The Spaniard superstar won a tactical masterclass against World No. 1 and 2016 titlist Novak Djokovic of Serbia 6-0, 6-2, 7-5 to capture a record-equalling 20th major single trophy, to drawing level with all-time leader Roger Federer.
Nadal combatted Djokovic’s ploy to drop shot and force the Spaniard into the net, with groundstroke depth and a willingness to strike forehand winners on the run to keep the World No. 1 behind the baseline. Through two sets, Nadal had committed just eight unforced errors to put Djokovic under extreme pressure in their 56th ATP Head2Head meeting.
Djokovic first-serve winning percentage improved significantly in a high-quality third set, from as low as 30 per cent in the first set, and he became a different player when he broke Nadal for the first time at 2-3. Djokovic started to mix up his tactics and, on occasion, serve and volleyed, but struck his fourth double fault at 5-5, 30/40, to hand Nadal’s a golden chance for his historic victory in Paris. Nadal finished with an ace, his third of the encounter.
Nadal’s victory in their ninth Grand Slam championship final was his first over Djokovic since May 2019 in the Internazionali BNL d’Italia final in Rome. The 34-year-old, who improves to a 22-4 record on the 2020 season, is now just one match win away from becoming the fourth player to record 1,000 career victories — and joining Jimmy Connors (1,274), Federer (1,242) and Ivan Lendl (1,068).
Djokovic, who had been attempting to clinch his 18th major crown, is now 37-2 on the season, which includes four titles at the Australian Open (d. Thiem), the Dubai Duty Free Tennis Championships (d. Tsitsipas), the Western & Southern Open held in New York (d. Raonic) and Rome (d. Schwartzman).
FIRST SET
Djokovic’s slice and drop shot was a real weapon, initially, and he led 40/15 in the opening game, but Nadal played close to the lines and worked his way back to break, courtesy of a backhand wide down the line. Nadal settled, appearing to consistently target Djokovic’s backhand to open up the court. The Spaniard’s early sharpness reaped dividends with a second service break for a 3-0 advantage, when Djokovic hit a crosscourt backhand into the net at 30/40.
In a huge fourth game, Nadal dug deep to save three break points through sheer variation of his groundstrokes, forcing Djokovic each time to run the width of the court. Djokovic led 40/15 in his next service game, but Nadal won four straight points and took a 5-0 lead, with a powerful backhand winner on his third break point.
Interestingly, both times Nadal hit a drop shot in the first set, Djokovic re-dropped and won the point. Djokovic, who set the tone with four drop shots in the first game, hit three of his 11 drop shots in the net. In total, Djokovic seven of 11 points in which he hit a drop shot, while Nadal was 0-2 in first set.
SECOND SET
There was no let up for Djokovic, who won 30 per cent of his first-serve points in the first set and came under extreme pressure in the first game of the second set. He managed to save three break points and it appeared a big psychological hold, but Nadal was ruthless on the run in Djokovic’s next service game at 1-1. A sensational backhand slice winner from inside the service box across Djokovic, who hit a drop shot, gave Nadal a third break point.
Nadal broke when Djokovic struck a backhand into the net and soon took a double-break advantage, with a 4-1 lead after a routine forehand from Djokovic bounced off the net and wide. In the sixth game of the second set, Djokovic’s seventh service game, he did not face a break point for the first time. But Nadal wasn’t to be denied, closing out the 47-minute set on his third set point.
Through two sets, 18 of the 21 drop shots in the match have come off the backhand wing. Nadal has hit three drop shots, and lost all three points. Djokovic won four of seven drop shots in the second set.
THIRD SET
Djokovic’s first serve percentage improved, up to 51 per cent in the third set, but mistakes continued to cost the Serbian, who was broken to love at 2-2 after two consecutive forehands errors. Minutes later, Djokovic converted his second break point with a backhand approach winner behind Nadal, for his first service break of the match. The World No. 1 sparked into life, appearing quicker up the court and laterally to wide groundstrokes. On occasion, Djokovic serve and volleyed, but Nadal remained calm and took care of his own serves. Just as the set appeared to be heading to a tie-break, Djokovic struck his fourth double fault to hand Nadal an opportunity to serve for a historic victory.
