2020 – Year of the GOAT?
The first grand slam of the year is well underway in Australia, with Roger Federer, Rafael Nadal and Novak Djokovic all looking good.
The question of who is the tennis GOAT keeps popping up, will 2020 be the year one of these players takes a giant leap towards securing the GOAT status?
As of this moment, Federer is leading the pack with 20 majors, Nadal has 19 and Djokovic 16. But in ten days’ time, Nadal might have secured the Australian Open and with it, his 20th slam title, equalling Roger.
If Nadal does equal Federer, the discussions would surely come down to head to head victories?
Federer has other plans of course, if he lifts the trophy at the start of February, he’d build up a nice lead over Djokovic (5 majors) and build some distance between himself and Nadal.
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Djokovic would love to get his hands on another Aussie Open title and he is the favorite to do so in many tennis experts eyes.
If Djokovic manages to produce a high level of tennis throughout the calendar year, he may very well be sitting on 20 slams by the end of 2020, although it would take a monumental effort by the Serb to do so.
He has won three slams in one year before though, in 2011 and again in 2015 where he lost in the final of the French Open to Wawrinka in four sets.
Djokovic is also coming off a decade of pure dominance
Winning 15 of his 16 slams between 2011 and 2019. Nadal is not far behind though, the Spaniard managed to win 13 slams between 2010-19 and won three slams in one year also (2010).
This year could see the gap extended or narrowed, or we could see all three players sharing the majors and ending 2020 as they start it.
Or perhaps, this will be the year of the Next Generation players to take over and win majors?
Thiem is always a betting favorite at Roland Garros, Tsitsipas has the game to go far down under and on the grass at SW19, Medvedev is also a good bet heading into the second week at any major. If Kyrgios carries on his momentum from the ATP Cup, he too could have a say at what happens in the second week at the slams.
What do you think?
