Future GOAT?

What do people think about Grigor Dimotrov? Do people think he has the potential be GOAT?

what's funny? by this age federer hadnt won any slams either

whats wrong legend killar gone back to your hiding place?? ahahhaa

He doesn't have the mental strength to get to world number 1, forget GOAT

Erm he got to the semis of Wimbeldon before Federer ever did.... awkward...

Federer won Wimbledon when he was 23, Dimitrov will turn 24 by the next he next plays Wimbledon... and he has no chance even then.

Nishikori and Raonic look much stronger out of the players Dimitrov's age anyway.

Nishi and Raonic have both failed on the big stage, and show no signs of improvement. Only Dimitrov looks capable of emulating the GOATs

rugbygod2 wrote:what's funny? by this age federer hadnt won any slams either

Federer won his 1st slam when he was 21, go check the stats, Fed was 21 years and 10 months, contrastingly Dimitrov is 23 and yet to reach a finals and just 1 semi-finals to his credit.

I would be happy for you if Dimitrov can win at the least 1 slam, which at the moment looks very unlikely.

It Must Be Love wrote:Federer won Wimbledon when he was 23, Dimitrov will turn 24 by the next he next plays Wimbledon... and he has no chance even then.

Nishikori and Raonic look much stronger out of the players Dimitrov's age anyway.

Federer won Wimbledon in 2003, he was born in 1981 August 8th, so how come he was 23 when he won the Wimbledon?

Two jokers

Yes sorry, I meant 21.

That proves my point even more.
Federer won his first slam when he was 21, Dimitrov hasn't a hope in well in winning Wimbledon even when he's 24 this year.

Science has come a long way, maybe he could be a future goat.

Federer had 4 slams at Dimi's age, this must be a wind up..

Oh ok sorry guys I read an article in the Sun, I still have hopes for him though... awkward

rugbygod2 wrote:Oh ok sorry guys I read an article in the Sun, I still have hopes for him though... awkward

We were all newbies at one point, Dimitrov is always compared to Federer for his style of play. While there are similarities the Bulgarian isn't quite as fluid as Federer, and he defends a bit more extravagantly. He has a lot of game but I would personally say he isn't quite as good as Kei Nishikori. I see him always being a threat at Wimbledon but feel his game goes walkabouts on slower surfaces and wasted too much time against 'lesser' players. To quote Tim Henman "he is someone who can end anyones tournament but will never win it himself"

rugbygod2 wrote:Oh ok sorry guys I read an article in the Sun, I still have hopes for him though... awkward

He is talented yes, but success at the top is not just by talent but couple with hardwork, if he keeps doing it he will attain his goal.

Good to see Dimi got some unique fan base.

Indeed science has come a long way. Maybe he can be a goat in the future

I do think with the lack of talent out there Dimi probably has a slam or two in him.

Said the same about Raonic.

socal1976 wrote:I do think with the lack of talent out there Dimi probably has a slam or two in him.

I completely agree with socal.

That tremor you just felt was the forum architecture creaking under the strain of a fundamental realignment of reality.

rugbygod2 wrote:whats wrong legend killar gone back to your  hiding place?? ahahhaa

I didn't hide, I think my response was well justified. So on that basis I shall indulge the un-educated like yourself who quite obviously doesn't really follow the sport given your rather 'educated' claims on this thread.

Let me put this into perspective for you. Dimitrov will turn 24 come May right before the French Open. To date he has 4 career titles. At the age of 22 he won his first ATP title. Whoa stop the press. I am feeling iminent GOAThood already. His highest title win to date was Acapulco which is a 500 event. So let's stretch this out a bit. Out of the 25 Masters 1000 Events that he has made the main draw, he has reached 2 semi-finals. Yep I knew it. I am dealing with the GOAT of all GOAT's. His highest ranking to date is 8 in the world. Right now he is outside the top 10. Dizzy heights when compared with others.

Right now I have managed to capture the Dimitrov CV in a few sentences, when we consider GOAT's and their merits we need to look at a few things. Take Laver. Prior to Borg, many considered him to be the GOAT. No pro since 1969 has managed a Calendar Year Grand Slam. Even the great McEnroe considered him the GOAT. Then Borg happened. So let me put his achievements into context.

He won 11 Slams
5 consecutive Wimbledons
15 equivalent Masters titles
109 weeks at number 1
64 career titles

He won his first Slam at the age of 18. Made number 1 at the age of 21.

For nearly 2 decades he was considered amongst many as the GOAT. He achieved all that before he turned 26! There was mileage in that debate. Before retiring McEnroe beat him at the US Open and Wimbledon. Now imagine that. Borg's peak was slightly fading at 25. Look at McEnroe. He passed his peak at 25 when a young Lendl and Wilander came on the scene. So again you look at the numbers, there is a trend. 2 greats losing the strength of their powers at 25. Lendl, Becker, Wilander and Edberg pushed the peak age to around 27-28.

Then along came Sampras. Won his first Slam at 19 and took the Number 1 Ranking at 21. Again look at the numbers. You could argue the competition wasn't as tough as for other GOAT candidates, but he still went on and had one hell of a career given some think his game was limited.

14 Slams
7 Wimbledons
286 weeks at Number 1
11 equivalent Masters titles
64 career titles
5 World Finals titles

So let's move forward to the current 'future' GOAT's

Roger Federer. His list of achievements is so much I haven't got time or room to list them. Again was 21 when he won his first Slam. Was 22 when he made number 1 and held onto that for 237 weeks in a row! That's nearly 4 and half years!

Has won 17 Slams (the Career Grand Slam)
Has spent 302 weeks at Number 1
Has won 23 Masters titles
83 career titles to date
Won Wimbledon 7 times (5 in a row)
Won the US Open 5 times in a row
Won over 1000 ATP matches
6 World Finals Titles

Then there is Nadal. Again widely not held in high regard by some quarters, won his first Slam at 18 and made number 1 in the world at 22, but again look at the numbers.

14 Slams (the Golden Career Grand Slam)
Has won 27 Masters titles (The current record)
Won the French Open 9 times (5 times in a row)
141 weeks at Number 1
Won 8 consecutive Monte Carlo's
64 career titles to date

So for me for Grigor Dimitrov to be a future GOAT he will need to win 2 Slams per year for the next 10 years (including the Career Grand Slam). 3 Masters titles for the next 10 years and be ranked number 1 for at least 7 out of those 10 years.

If he does that. Then yes I will acknowledge him as the GOAT in 10 years time

Dimitrov is a decent player, although is a bit streaky and his movement is not quite up to the level of the very best. The 'Baby Fed' label I don't think has done him any favours in making fans expect too much too soon.

I think he's one of that generation of players currently between about 22 and 26 who have somewhat disappointed in not taking the game to the big guns more. My feeling is that this group lacks a player that will go on to the 'All Time Great' status of the likes of Becker or Djokovic (with his current resume), and will probably be a bit like the Roddick-Hewitt generation where there are a few guys win one or perhaps 2 slams but are then surpassed by the next Great(s).

I concur with socal and bogbrush. He certainly has a slam or two in him but future GOAT? No. For the future GOAT I certainly don't see one that is playing at the moment from the current young crop of players.

GOAT ???  what is that ? we cant even agree if we have one at the moment let alone if there will be a future one among this current bunch. Cannot envisage any of them achieving the sort of slam record of the top three. If there is to be player who can waive a stick at Fed/Nadal/Djoko he hasn't yet arrived imo

.

rugbygod2 wrote:Do people think he has the potential be GOAT?

Would you care to define what quantitative criteria define a GOAT?

A qualitative definition will never get a consensus on any Tennis discussion, as long as Tennis is played.

Qualitatively and subjectively (and IMVHO), Borg is the GOAT. Laver is a close second (for today), methinks.

bogbrush wrote:

socal1976 wrote:I do think with the lack of talent out there Dimi probably has a slam or two in him.

I completely agree with socal.

That tremor you just felt was the forum architecture creaking under the strain of a fundamental realignment of reality.

We don't agree on much. But the next generation guys have been a big misfire so far and therefore you won't see too many golden era comments from me especially with the continued ageing and injury of the big 4.

socal1976 wrote: But the next generation guys have been a big misfire so far ...

You do not like Veseley and Kyrgios?

Dimitrov/Young/Harrison/Raonic/Tomic have not achieved much, but the jury is out on Nishikori.

With Wawrinka's resurgence, Top 4 is a misnomer.

Resurgence? Not more just.... surgence :P ?

LuvSports! wrote:Resurgence? Not more just.... surgence :P ?

I do recall 2008 and the initial surgence. He was in Top 10 in June/August when Federer kept pushing him for the Olympics.

http://www.atpworldtour.com/Tennis/Players/Top-Players/Stan-Wawrinka.aspx?t=rh&y=2008#

What a perfomance from Dimitrov today against Murray, whilst I retract my statement saying that hes a future GOAT, surely hes a future number one

Dimitrov should have pushed it to the fifth set.

rugbygod2 wrote:What a perfomance from Dimitrov today against Murray, whilst I retract my statement saying that hes a future GOAT, surely hes a future number one

Maybe, I could see him being a slam winner maybe even a double major winner. It is not outside the realm of possibility but to me I still feel like he doesn't return serve very well and he has some mental frailty issues. It certainly could happen but I would put the odds at a little less than 40-60

He needs to stop blowing away chances firstly. The very best players take the few chances they can find compared to Grigor they are much more convincing. This summer will be interesting to see if he can replicate the Wimbledon of last year and do something in Paris.

I see Grigor perhaps making #1 in the next 3 years but won't be a long lasting #1.

Wow JM I actually find myself agreeing with you

No you don't

Yes it was a bit of a shock to me too

laverfan wrote:

socal1976 wrote: But the next generation guys have been a big misfire so far ...

You do not like Veseley and Kyrgios?

Dimitrov/Young/Harrison/Raonic/Tomic have not achieved much, but the jury is out on Nishikori.

With Wawrinka's resurgence, Top 4 is a misnomer.

I mean look at what other champions had achieved at their age, even in the modern era. I mean forget about fedal standards, they don't approach Djoko or even Murray for ealy to middle period success. If we say that Fed, Nadal, are beyond the standard derivation they haven't achieved very much. So GOAT talk and all that is way premature. One of them has to win a slam or at least a couple of masters before 24 or 25. The next generation after Fed, Nadal, and then Djokovic has so far been an epic fail. After every golden era there is a transitional period as I have often said progression is not always linear.