Just a word to all the @rogerfederer fans in the world …he is the GOAT ! 2006 was even better than 2015 but give @DjokerNole respect!!!
— Boris Becker (@TheBorisBecker) November 23, 2015
There was an interesting twist after Djokovic defeated Federer 6-3, 6-4 Sunday to win the World Tour Finals and cap of his reason in style. Boris Becker made the above tweet claiming that Federer is the GOAT and that Federer’s 2006 season was even better than the season Djokovic chalked up this year.
If you read my previous post you will also remember that I said Djokovic’s 2015 season is now officially better than Federer’s 2006 season. That is of course just my opinion. But for interest sake let’s compare the two seasons. I couldn’t find a proper comparison anywhere online so I took the liberty of making one myself:
| Federer 2006 | Djokovic 2015 | |
| 3 | Slam titles | 3 |
| 1 | Slam Finals | 1 |
| 1 | World Tour Finals Titles | 1 |
| 4 | Masters 1000 Titles | 6 |
| 1 | ATP 500 Titles | 1 |
| 3 | ATP 250 Titles | 0 |
| 92-5(94.84%) | Win/Loss Record | 82-6(93.18%) |
| 22 | Wins Over Top 10 Opponents | 31 |
| 17 | Tournaments Played | 16 |
| 12 | Titles | 11 |
| 16 | Finals | 15 |
| 11 | Consecutive Finals | 15 |
| 15495 | ATP Points Total | 16585 |
As you can see it is very close. Why did I say Djokovic’s season if officially better? One, the two more Masters Series titles. Two, the 9 more wins over top 10 opponents. Three, the ATP points total(Federer’s points have been adjusted for 2015).
Number three may be the most telling stat because it shows that even though Djokovic played one fewer event than Federer he still has more than a 1000 point lead over him. The reason Federer played only one more event than Djokovic but 10 more matches is because in 2006 the seeds still had to play 6 matches to win a Masters, as opposed to 5 today.
The finals were also best of five sets, not three sets like it is currently. So even though the number of matches you play must count for something the main thing is the win-loss percentage and the importance of the matches that you won.
As far as the win-loss percentages go there is nothing in it, but there is quite a lot in it when it comes to the importance of the matches won as evidenced by the 2 more Masters won by Djokovic and the 9 more wins over top 10 opponents.
If you want to argue that the best of five-set finals they played at Masters and the Masters Cup in 2006 gives Federer an advantage then I submit to you that Djokovic is both fitter and better at five-set matches than Federer was in 2006. He would arguably have won the Montreal and Cincy finals as well if they were best of five.
So yes, my honest opinion is that 2015 was better than 2006 if you go by the numbers alone. Then there is, of course, the competition to consider about which there will never be a consensus among tennis fans depending on which fanbase you are from.
If you want to make an argument that Federer’s era was stronger then I can easily make a counter argument that he kept losing to the only guy who was truly a good player. There were no really good players behind Nadal.
After Nadal, the top 5 were filled up by Roddick, Hewitt, and Davydenko. Currently, it is Murray, Federer, Wawrinka, and Nadal. That translates to 17-35 in slams titles won, a difference of 18 slam titles in the two groups.
Anyway like I said it is pretty subjective so I will let the Fed supporters off the hook there and just look purely at the numbers, and going by that I have to go with Djokovic.
What About What Becker Said, You Say
No one fucks with Fed’s mind better than Becker. Lol Remember what he said after Wimby? ‘Yeah Novak rekt you there but you’re the GOAT man don’t worry.’ And then the SABR comments?! ‘Dont you pull off that shit on us.’
Becker knows perfectly when to apply cold showers and when to apply hot showers. When Fed is in ruins praise him, when he’s elated bring him down – thus keeping him always in a mediocre emotional state which in turn does not translate into proper motivation and willpower.
Sly fox this Becker. Nole fans need to relax this is most likely all part of the plan to usurp the GOAT throne.
At first I wasn’t quite sure what to make of Becker’s tweet. I thought he was just being classy, but then I read the above post by someone on Men’s Tennis Forums and I remembered that Becker is not exactly known for his classiness. Not by Fedfans anyway.
Becker is thoroughly under the skin of Fedfans and after reading the above post I had to admit this guy had a point. Remember Becker said after the 2014 Wimbledon final that Federer is the GOAT. I even made a post about it.
Back then I thought Becker was just being nice. But then he began with what seemed almost like mind games. First it was his new book where he said that Federer and Djokovic don’t really like each other and that Federer could not possibly be as nice as he seems.
And then it was the SABR thing where Becker said it is almost disrespectful from Federer and that in his day they would not have allowed it. But let’s not forget that things get sensationalized by the media and that maybe Becker did not have any intention of getting under Federer’s skin in either of those situations.
That said, it certainly seemed to get under the skins of Fedfans on social media. I’m not going to sensationalize anything here. I will let you decide for yourself if Becker had a hidden agenda. As far as I’m concerned he may well have meant everything he said without an alterior motive.
Then again, he did also say that the game lacks characters and maybe he is just trying to make things a little more interesting in this boring PR era. If that is indeed the case then I am all for it. Some controversy is always entertaining.
Whether Becker was trying to get under Federer’s skin or not, after all the defeats to Djokovic in big matches, he probably has regardless. Federer’s reponses to what Becker said suggest a certain amount of irritation as well.
So whether Becker meant it or not, I think by now he is well under Federer’s skin. So while I’m not going to say the post I quoted is a fact I wouldn’t be surprised at all if it is the case. It just seems like a plausible theory.
If it is indeed the case then Becker must be some kind of genius. An evil genius Fedfans would argue, but a genius nonetheless. It does appear to me like Becker is playing some kind of mind game with Federer and that Federer is taking the bait.
Federer also appears to me like the kind of person who would be susceptable to those kind of mind games. He was always the one playing the mind games and now someone is turning the tables on him. How dare they!
In some ways he takes himself very seriously and like I said what Becker says seems to irritate him a lot judging by his responses.
On the flip side, when Becker compliments him he probably feels flattered. That’s just who Federer is. He loves to be praised and hates to be criticized. As far as I can tell Becker knows this and may be consciously using that against him.
And if that is true, whether you like it or not, Becker is a pretty damn smart guy. One thing that can’t be denied is that it has worked for Djokovic. It seems that Becker is taking praise of Federer to a whole new level now. Not only is he calling Federer the GOAT but he is now saying that 2006 was better than 2015, even though the numbers tell a different story.
So instead of allowing Federer to be in complete ruins after yet another crushing moment against Djokovic he throws him and his fans a bone to keep them afloat. Just enough so that Federer doesn’t become really mad and motivated to turn things around.
We can’t be certain if this theory is true. Only Becker and the Djokovic camp would know for sure. But it certainly seems plausible. Becker may be taking advantage of Federer’s biggest weakness, which is his vanity.
We have seen how Nadal and his uncle has done it in the past by always praising Federer as the GOAT after Nadal gave him another crushing defeat. That way Federer never got so mad that he actually decided to change something.
The Nadal camp just kept him afloat by stroking his ego and Federer in return kept brining the same old tactics to the court against Nadal without adapting, which lead to more crushing losses and his main rival owning him at the end of the day. It was a great arrangement for the Nadal camp and a smart one at that(for that I give uncle Toni the credit).
Well, I think I have said enough about this issue. Let me know if you have anything to add.
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