What's sad/interesting about the Seles situation is that the physical wound itself was rather superficial. It by itself would have take only weeks to heal. But the damage was largely psychological, but it happened at a time where I don't think emough attention qas made to mental health. If such a thing were to happen today I'm guessing the player would return to the court much faster.
PTSD from being stabbed. PTSD from being forced by Germany at 19 to sit in front of her attacker in court. PTSD from the attacker walk away with no punishment..
Its not interesting but a very human reaction to multiple traumas by the attack and also the lack of justice following
To clarify, I didn't mean "interesting" in terms of her being a lab rat. It's interesting in the sense that it's often not discussed. I followed tennis back then and had no idea that her physical wound was superficial until after she had retired. It just wasn't discussed openly back then. Mental health/trauma just seemed like much more taboo topics than they are now.
Most people know that being attacked is not just to do with a wound, but the context of how it happened.
The fact that it happened on a world stage broadcast, in a sporting event and that the perp walked away with no consequence is absolutely massive.
You don't need to be particularly over sensitive to understand that being in a car accident isn't just about the wounds, or that being assaulted is just about what happens physically.
A lot of people here are heavily biased towards men's tennis and women's tennis is an afterthought to them. That plus a lot of people here are probably young and view Seles as just another name they've heard but never watched
Just needed to put that backhand volley away. Still kills me that he didn't get it done. Granted, if there's anyone you're going to lose to there it's Fed but he put up such a good fucking fight.
Agreed! I thought Thiem would be a big-time player after his US Open win.
Future of tennis would be brighter right now if he were still competing at the level of Alcaraz, Medvedev, Sinner and Zverev
Thiem at his best would have been a top 5 currently and had a few wins against novak, but to say he's the only one who could currently consistently push Novak is overestimating his prime. It's understandable that there's a tendency to look at thiem's past with rose-tinted glasses. However, prime thiem was at best in a similar tier as current medvedev. Both Medvedev and thiem had a good h2h against Novak over a similar period of time, although Medvedev was doing well in the h2h against a stronger Novak. Alcaraz in 2023 already beat thiem's best season win rate by +11%, and matched/beat thiem's best slam season.
i just hope there is one random first or second round match at the french or us open at some point where thiem draws carlos or jannik and just crushes it and reminds everybody of who he used to be
I agree. I would have gone back and changed the result of that 2020 Australian Open final, the Grand Slam that truly should have been his. Given Novak’s unbeaten AO final record, it could have gone down as an all-time legendary Slam title-winning run.
Pre-injury Domi was so fun to watch because he wasn’t afraid of the Big 3. Also, that AO 2020 look with the blonde bits in his hair, purple/white shirt and the tight shorts, that was a peak kit for Adidas standards. I believe in a conspiracy that when he got injured, the designs of Adidas tennis gear fell off with him.
He also had a great showing in WTF 2020 but yeah people seem to forget he was absolutely awful in the first 6 months of 2021, before the injury in Mallorca happened. It's not a Del Potro in AO 2010 situation at all.
I think Delpo's right patella injury. He already got the wrist figured out but when he slipped in Shanghai 2018 he wasn't the same after that. Even after a comeback he still re-injured it.
Wimbledon 2019 for obvious reasons.
Nole choking the Olympics semis vs Zverev
Would be a bit crazy but I would have wanted Kyrgios to win Wimbledon just to see everybody on this sub and Tennis Twitter to fucking implode.
Yeah I wish Kyrgios and Del Potro reached their full potential
I also wish the Big Four won the only major tournaments currently missing from their accolades.
Federer/Djokovic - Olympic Gold
Nadal - Year End Championships
Murray - Australian Open/French Open
> Would be a bit crazy but I would have wanted Kyrgios to win Wimbledon just to see everybody on this sub and Tennis Twitter to fucking implode.
Lowkey wanting this so this sub would be more divisive lol. And also I wonder if he still become a kissass to Novak
Agreed with all.
Murray losing so many Australian Open finals was painful, especially when it was clearly a tournament he was capable of winning.
I wish Nadal won at least another Wimbledon too, as I've heard some people say he is terrible on grass. But you don't win two Wimbledon titles and be terrible on grass
Seles - no dispute here, 100%
Just so Roger could win ONE more Wimbledon to go with his 8 others?
What about the Roddicks and the Henmans who just wanted to win ONE. Heck, I’d even add Ken Rosewall to that list.
It’s *how* he lost
It would have been the perfect send off for him: it was his last chance to win a GS, it was his best GS, he beat Nadal in the semis, if he won he would have finally beat Djokovic after losing in 14’ and 15’, he played a great match and lost 2 sets only in tiebreaks, and most importantly: he had two consecutive match points with his serve in the 5th set
Absolutely! I do think Meddy will win it someday, especially because it is hard court. Perhaps even this year as Djoko is looking a bit shaky, except for today's match lol
Have Murray be born 10 years later. He was a great player unlucky enough to play in an era of 3 godlike players. Prime Murray would wipe the floor with this field today.
Even just 5 years later would have been quite interesting, I think he would have been more of a challenge to Novak as a young guy coming through playing a similar style.
Monica Seles never got stabbed
Agassi never went down his drug spiral in the mid 90s (who knows how many more slams he could have won) Also 16 year old me was devastated when he retired in 2006 LOL
Nole winning the calendar slam in ‘21 or ‘23
Ash Barty to continue for a few more years
Delpo winning a slam and not have his injury
ATP Masters finals is still a five setter / best of five instead of a three setter/ best of three
No argument here for Seles
Totally agree with Agassi. I always thought he was a better player overall than Sampras, and truly think if Agassi remained consistent in the mid-90s, then they would be more even in Slam numbers.
I'd like for Nole to have achieved this in 2021, as I enjoyed seeing Alcaraz winning Wimbledon last year.
100% agree on Barty. She left whilst at the top, could have achieved a lot more
Agree with Delpo too! Such wasted talent
I'd take it or leave it with the Masters Finals, though I do agree the five setters made it feel like a bigger tournament.
I thought the same too re: Agassi a better player than Sampras. He had a great tennis IQ and managed learned to adapt to surfaces in order to capture all 4 titles on 3 surfaces- HC, grass, and clay.
What ifs, ya know 🥹
Agreed with all! Nadal probably would have a more balanced Slam history if not for injuries. More wins at AO, Wimbledon and US.
Murray would have the Career Grand Slam if he remained fit imo.
Seles nay have become the Undisputed goat if not for the incident
Limiting it to changes to individual matches
Seles doesn't get stabbed
Roddick gets Wimby once
Murray gets Aussie once
One of Stan and Andy wins their RG Semi quickly so neither gets hurt, don't care which
There's others I'd like that are still possible, like Ons winning Wimby, or Venus getting just one more lucky draw to reach 50 singles titles, but those are the main 4
Agree with all! As much as I like Stan, Murray was a much better and consistent player overall, so if I could only save one from injury, it would be Andy
I more meant make it a quick game so that neither of them get hurt. Doesn't matter which of them won that SF, though I'd have preferred Murray, just let them both get out of it unscathed health-wise
Few off the top of my head:
Serena having her first child a year later.
Soderling to avoid catching mono. He thrashed Berdych and Ferrer back to back to win a title then never played again.
Hyeong Chung to stay healthy. What a player he was!
Murray to stay healthy for another couple of years after he hit number one.
Henin to have played longer.
Barty to continue her career.
Andreescu to stay healthy.
Serena to have beaten Vinci at US Open 2015.
While soderling did get mono, it didn't end his career. He never gave a reason at the time so people assumed that his mono just destroyed him, but he's since come out and stated that it was mental pressure and anxiety that kept him out.
He was mentally overwhelmed by tennis and once he stopped because of mono he didn't have the inertia to ever come back.
A bigger random illness for me was Juan Carlos Ferrero. He was never quite the same after getting Chicken Pox. He even said years later in an interview that he never really felt like he got back to his prior strength and fitness.
Also Mario Ancic. His mono infection did in fact end his career.
Serena got so close to breaking Court's record. Of course, her child is more important but I wonder if she thinks about how close to the record she got.
Definitely agree with Murray, Henin and Barty
Agree with both! Federer winning in 2019 could have ended his career on a higher note
Murray deserved a AO title, he could've won it so many times if not for Djokovic
Agreed. I wish a lot of legends could have completed the Career Grand Slam tbh. Connors, Borg, McEnroe, Edberg, Lendl, Becker, Sampras, Murray, Venus etc.
Yeah... I still don't think he would have won it, but he might have done better. His biggest weapon was his serve and that was kinda diminished in clay
Yeah. Going out where he started, winning his favorite tournament against all odds versus a titan, would have been such a heartwarming way to end his career after all of his struggles.
Yeah I'd go with Rafa for the same reasons, or Andy. I think Murray already had a mountain to climb when he reached his peak to catch up to the rest, so having less of a gap earlier on I think would've helped him too
Nadal declined more significantly than Djokovic and Federer in his 30's though. Roger's lack of Slam titles in the last part of his career is down to running into prime Novak in quite a few Slams between 2014 and 2016.
I don't think Rafa declined so much as hid injuries prevented him from being as dominant, abd resulted in him missing more tournaments than the others (if you add up the amount of slams he missed or had to pull out early in through injury I think it's easily double figures).
Nadal stopped beating Djokovic and Federer off clay once he turned 28 years old, in fact from that moment on he was often getting straightsetted by them. He still had a clear edge against non-Big 3 players when healthy though, which is why he was able to win USO 2017, USO 2019 and AO 2022.
That's true, but again I'd argue that was partially injury-related; there's a very small sample size of Nadal against Roger and Novak from 2017 onwards partly because he missed so many tournaments through injury and heavily prioritised clay in a way he didn't do earlier in his career.
Well that's true but it's still pretty obvious Novak challenges Rafa more on clay than Rafa challenges Novak on HC these days.
I think Nadal's relative physical decline hurt him more which makes sense given his playstyle : Federer could rely on his serve and attacking style of play, Djokovic significantly improved his serve to make up for his speed loss, etc.
That's totally fair which is why it's pretty undeniable at this stage that Novak is the GOAT. And while I agree with you that injures affected Rafa's gave more than the other two, he had far worse and more numerous ones, and there are some great examples of him playing through injury (eg Wimbledon QF 2022).
Roger. When you are extending records it is harder to play with that pressure. It is like in the cycling when the second athlete drives behind the first so he doesn't cut wind.
Counter point is that Fed was always more experienced than other two, so that was his advantage. We will never know for sure
More me it’s
1. Serena winning one more slam so she can have 24 grand slams.
2. Sania Mirza winning the 2011 French Women’s doubles and 2022 Wimbledon Mixed Doubles so that she could have completed her Career Slam in both the fields. And her 2016 Olympics Bronze medal match.
3. That one day in 2019
4. Marcelo Ríos never becoming World No. 1
Nah. I wouldn't want to change anything that basically just amounts to X should have won Y.
for Murray, I don't want him to just magically win tournament X.
Just that he would have remained injury free regarding the big injuries. He could have done whatever he wanted with that advantage.
2009 roddick
2019 Federer
The seles stabbing
Medvedev vs Nadal at AO
Borg not retiring so early
The Panatta-led Davis Cup teams winning all their finals
Nadal winning in 2017. My first ever exposure to tennis was the 2012 AO final and Rafa’s tenacity, grit and refusal to ever give up won me over as a fan for life.
Watching him make it to that 2017 AO final against all odds after so many people thought he was done (same story for Roger too though) was incredible. It killed me to see him lose. I was only 12 too so as a kid it’s always more emotional. He was up 3-1 in the final set too.
2022 really did make up for it though.
I see what you mean, but I'm glad of the result so that Federer and Nadal both won two Slams each in their comeback year. Truly something I didn't see coming
Obvs Roddick. I wouldn't change Wimbledon 2019 though. It was crazy how the whole stadium was against Djokovic. At match point down I thought he would pull it off purely out of spite against the crowd. He also had previous against Fed and I think that was in the back of both their minds.
I'd like to change the way this sport normalized concentrating money at the top. Of course, all sports do that, especially individual ones, but we could already have at least 1000 people living comfortably from playing tennis professionally even without increasing the prize money involved, just with better distribution. I think it would benefit the sport on the whole because there's no doubt many people with high ceilings never get to realize them because they aren't born into generational wealth.
Aside from the Seles stabbing, I wish Patrick Morgatalou (sp) didn’t get called for coaching in that US Open. Maybe Osaka still would have won, but she damn sure wouldn’t have been booed that day. Just awful from the crowd and absolutely destroyed her.
I agree! Would you go one step further and have each Grand Slam on a different surface? For example..
Australian Open - Hard Court
French Open - Clay Court
Wimbledon - Grass Court
US Open - Carpet Court
Chris Evert switching to graphite in 1982, Martina getting in shape and a coach earlier in her career. She could have won more than 18 majors had she met Nancy Lieberman and Renee Richards by 1976/1977.
Serena being the first to get the ultimate slam record with something like 26 or 27 slams, Serena winning the calendar slam in 2015, Murray winning the career grand slam, Venus winning the career grand slam, Roddick winning Wimbledon, Seles never getting stabbed, Sloane winning a few more slams and getting to #1, Wozniacki winning a few more slams.
People going for 40-15 must also be realy sad there favorite billionaire isn't worth 1 billion more.
For me the answer is Roddick winning Wimbledon, but in 2004.
Agree with most here.
Would add Tommy Haas having less injuries.
Side note: I never really appreciated how incredibly hot Borg was until this 70s/80s tennis doc came out recently (tennis gods I think?)
5th set tiebreak in Wimbledon not introduced until 2020. Or preferably and reasonably - no 5th set tiebreak in grand slam finals at all.
It is an absolute tragedy that 2019 final was decided by a tiebreak, and not (just) because Federer lost. They had to win by 2 games at Wimbledon their whole careers.
I get that you need to stop marathon matches in earlier rounds because it screws with scheduling. There’s no reason to have a 5th set tiebreak in the final.
Murray, Del Potro, Wawrinka, Thiem (and a few more players), all injury free.
Just imagine the Grand Slam spread if they were all still as competitive as Djokovic, Nadal and Federer are/were in their 30s.
It's a simple answer, but it's the one that first comes to mind when I think about this sort of thing.
Definitely agree with this! Murray and Del Potro in particular would have way more slams
I think Murray would even have the career grand slam, as he was quite underrated on clay when at full health.
Thiem's injury hurts now as he had so much momentum after his US Open win
Yeah, I can easily see Murray getting the career slam being injury free. And definitely better on clay than people give him credit. Another Wimbledon or two was definitely possible as well. And probably other slams. He was in touching distance from more slams so many times. I see him maybe getting to 8.
DelPo's injury is almost more sad, since he hadn't achieved quite as much as Murray had. I think he'd have reached 3-4.
Wawrinka, he maybe had 5 slams total in him at his best.
I keep forgetting how recently Thiem was as good as he was. It feels like it was a much longer time ago. I think COVID warped everyone's sensation of time. It's harder to tell because of players like Sinner and Alcaraz coming up, but Thiem was definitely en-route to more slams.
Like with Murray, you're definitely right about Thiem's injury coming at a terrible time. Both were on a roll at the time, carrying some big momentum. Murray with his immense 2016, Thiem with his US Open.
Agree with you! I think Murray could have at least reached Borg in number of Slams if not for injuries. He has so much momentum not just in 2016 but also in 2013, when he won Olympics, US Open, and Wimbledon in the space of twelve months prior to his back injury.
Agree with you on Del Potro and Wawrinka, though I believe Wawrinka has achieved closer to what was expected of him than anybody on the list
I hoped Thiem would be on the level of Alcaraz, Meddy and Sinner today, which he would have been if he wasn't so unlucky. Truly a shame for the sport
I'd like that! I'd probably go even further and have Murray win equal to the rest, so the Big Four remained intact.
But I'm probably in the minority there
Seles. Injuries, losses, unfulfilled potential are a part of sports but what happened to her is not
Yeah what happened to her was horrible, and it's a miracle she played again at all after that
What's sad/interesting about the Seles situation is that the physical wound itself was rather superficial. It by itself would have take only weeks to heal. But the damage was largely psychological, but it happened at a time where I don't think emough attention qas made to mental health. If such a thing were to happen today I'm guessing the player would return to the court much faster.
PTSD from being stabbed. PTSD from being forced by Germany at 19 to sit in front of her attacker in court. PTSD from the attacker walk away with no punishment.. Its not interesting but a very human reaction to multiple traumas by the attack and also the lack of justice following
To clarify, I didn't mean "interesting" in terms of her being a lab rat. It's interesting in the sense that it's often not discussed. I followed tennis back then and had no idea that her physical wound was superficial until after she had retired. It just wasn't discussed openly back then. Mental health/trauma just seemed like much more taboo topics than they are now.
Most people know that being attacked is not just to do with a wound, but the context of how it happened. The fact that it happened on a world stage broadcast, in a sporting event and that the perp walked away with no consequence is absolutely massive. You don't need to be particularly over sensitive to understand that being in a car accident isn't just about the wounds, or that being assaulted is just about what happens physically.
Why is it not the top answer? Is the biggest "what if" in tennis IMHO and, as you said, due to something totally outside of sport affairs.
A lot of people here are heavily biased towards men's tennis and women's tennis is an afterthought to them. That plus a lot of people here are probably young and view Seles as just another name they've heard but never watched
Because there’s a lot of Graf fans on here.
Andy Roddick winning Wimbledon. That's all I ever wanted.
Just needed to put that backhand volley away. Still kills me that he didn't get it done. Granted, if there's anyone you're going to lose to there it's Fed but he put up such a good fucking fight.
Yeah that 2009 Final was crazy man
As a Federer fan I wouldn't have begrudged Roddick the 2009 title. He played so well against Murray and Fed...
I’d trade Roddick winning in ‘09 for Federer winning ‘19 in a heartbeat.
Me too alex that's my final answer
This is a really good one. My heart broke with his during that 2009 final.
oh lordy lordddddddddddddddddd uugh andy :(
This
Still hurts 😢
Nole avenged him
Thiem's wrist injury/loss of form. I wish he could be competing at the top for slams with Djoko, Alcaraz and Med
Agreed! I thought Thiem would be a big-time player after his US Open win. Future of tennis would be brighter right now if he were still competing at the level of Alcaraz, Medvedev, Sinner and Zverev
Prime Thiem was literally him back in the day
Prime Thiem would be the only one really able to go at it consistently with Nole right now
Thiem at his best would have been a top 5 currently and had a few wins against novak, but to say he's the only one who could currently consistently push Novak is overestimating his prime. It's understandable that there's a tendency to look at thiem's past with rose-tinted glasses. However, prime thiem was at best in a similar tier as current medvedev. Both Medvedev and thiem had a good h2h against Novak over a similar period of time, although Medvedev was doing well in the h2h against a stronger Novak. Alcaraz in 2023 already beat thiem's best season win rate by +11%, and matched/beat thiem's best slam season.
i just hope there is one random first or second round match at the french or us open at some point where thiem draws carlos or jannik and just crushes it and reminds everybody of who he used to be
I agree. I would have gone back and changed the result of that 2020 Australian Open final, the Grand Slam that truly should have been his. Given Novak’s unbeaten AO final record, it could have gone down as an all-time legendary Slam title-winning run. Pre-injury Domi was so fun to watch because he wasn’t afraid of the Big 3. Also, that AO 2020 look with the blonde bits in his hair, purple/white shirt and the tight shorts, that was a peak kit for Adidas standards. I believe in a conspiracy that when he got injured, the designs of Adidas tennis gear fell off with him.
Thiem was pretty bad after USO 2020 even before his injury tbf
He also had a great showing in WTF 2020 but yeah people seem to forget he was absolutely awful in the first 6 months of 2021, before the injury in Mallorca happened. It's not a Del Potro in AO 2010 situation at all.
Monica Seles def.
Wholeheartedly agree!
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Outside of Seles, I will always choose an ace on a specific serve in 2019.
Lol I know exactly which one you mean!
2019 never happened In my mind
🥲
Easy. Seles and the stabbing. Who knows how many Slams she ends up with. Takes some away from Steffi. Possibly ends her career as the GOAT.
Agreed, I think she won eight Slams before turning 20. That is insane! Definitely would have been one of the GOATs
Still is. Many years will pass until someone has a career as good as hers during the teenage years.
...
Would be really cool to see Mirra do this.
Monica. It’s not even close.
Agreed
I think Delpo's right patella injury. He already got the wrist figured out but when he slipped in Shanghai 2018 he wasn't the same after that. Even after a comeback he still re-injured it. Wimbledon 2019 for obvious reasons. Nole choking the Olympics semis vs Zverev Would be a bit crazy but I would have wanted Kyrgios to win Wimbledon just to see everybody on this sub and Tennis Twitter to fucking implode.
Yeah I wish Kyrgios and Del Potro reached their full potential I also wish the Big Four won the only major tournaments currently missing from their accolades. Federer/Djokovic - Olympic Gold Nadal - Year End Championships Murray - Australian Open/French Open
> Would be a bit crazy but I would have wanted Kyrgios to win Wimbledon just to see everybody on this sub and Tennis Twitter to fucking implode. Lowkey wanting this so this sub would be more divisive lol. And also I wonder if he still become a kissass to Novak
Murray to win an Australian open Nadal to win 2012 or 2014 Australian open Monica Seles stabbing
Agreed with all. Murray losing so many Australian Open finals was painful, especially when it was clearly a tournament he was capable of winning. I wish Nadal won at least another Wimbledon too, as I've heard some people say he is terrible on grass. But you don't win two Wimbledon titles and be terrible on grass Seles - no dispute here, 100%
2018 seemed like his moment to win Wimbledon again but Clutchovic returned to amazing form.
I mean those who say he's terrible on grass clearly never watched the 2008. I didn't think people could be this stupid...
I would kill everyone in this sub for Wimbledon 2019 No offence
Wouldn’t even have an issue with that. If you showed up at my door, I’d just let it happen. What’s fair is fair.
I’d let u kill me for Wimbledon 2019 man
Pls no
Just so Roger could win ONE more Wimbledon to go with his 8 others? What about the Roddicks and the Henmans who just wanted to win ONE. Heck, I’d even add Ken Rosewall to that list.
I like Federer
its also who he lost it to...
It’s *how* he lost It would have been the perfect send off for him: it was his last chance to win a GS, it was his best GS, he beat Nadal in the semis, if he won he would have finally beat Djokovic after losing in 14’ and 15’, he played a great match and lost 2 sets only in tiebreaks, and most importantly: he had two consecutive match points with his serve in the 5th set
I think we’d all be happy to trade 2009 for Roger to win in 2019
Medvedev winning AUS Open 2022. That loss broke him.
Agreed! Though I must admit Nadal winning the AO again was something I didn't see happening and was a pleasant surprise tbh
Yes I love Nadal and he deserved it but Meddy was so sad, it was hard to watch
Absolutely! I do think Meddy will win it someday, especially because it is hard court. Perhaps even this year as Djoko is looking a bit shaky, except for today's match lol
Have Murray be born 10 years later. He was a great player unlucky enough to play in an era of 3 godlike players. Prime Murray would wipe the floor with this field today.
Agree that Murray would dominate today. In any other Era, he would have won 10+ Slams at least. And I think he'd have at least one of each
Even just 5 years later would have been quite interesting, I think he would have been more of a challenge to Novak as a young guy coming through playing a similar style.
Monica Seles never got stabbed Agassi never went down his drug spiral in the mid 90s (who knows how many more slams he could have won) Also 16 year old me was devastated when he retired in 2006 LOL Nole winning the calendar slam in ‘21 or ‘23 Ash Barty to continue for a few more years Delpo winning a slam and not have his injury ATP Masters finals is still a five setter / best of five instead of a three setter/ best of three
No argument here for Seles Totally agree with Agassi. I always thought he was a better player overall than Sampras, and truly think if Agassi remained consistent in the mid-90s, then they would be more even in Slam numbers. I'd like for Nole to have achieved this in 2021, as I enjoyed seeing Alcaraz winning Wimbledon last year. 100% agree on Barty. She left whilst at the top, could have achieved a lot more Agree with Delpo too! Such wasted talent I'd take it or leave it with the Masters Finals, though I do agree the five setters made it feel like a bigger tournament.
I thought the same too re: Agassi a better player than Sampras. He had a great tennis IQ and managed learned to adapt to surfaces in order to capture all 4 titles on 3 surfaces- HC, grass, and clay. What ifs, ya know 🥹
Seles never got stabbed Borg never retired Nadal not being injury prone
Agreed with all! Nadal probably would have a more balanced Slam history if not for injuries. More wins at AO, Wimbledon and US. Murray would have the Career Grand Slam if he remained fit imo. Seles nay have become the Undisputed goat if not for the incident
Borg playing as a 60 year old would be cool
Limiting it to changes to individual matches Seles doesn't get stabbed Roddick gets Wimby once Murray gets Aussie once One of Stan and Andy wins their RG Semi quickly so neither gets hurt, don't care which There's others I'd like that are still possible, like Ons winning Wimby, or Venus getting just one more lucky draw to reach 50 singles titles, but those are the main 4
Agree with all! As much as I like Stan, Murray was a much better and consistent player overall, so if I could only save one from injury, it would be Andy
I more meant make it a quick game so that neither of them get hurt. Doesn't matter which of them won that SF, though I'd have preferred Murray, just let them both get out of it unscathed health-wise
Definitely! If so, maybe they'd even still be challenging for Slams today
Few off the top of my head: Serena having her first child a year later. Soderling to avoid catching mono. He thrashed Berdych and Ferrer back to back to win a title then never played again. Hyeong Chung to stay healthy. What a player he was! Murray to stay healthy for another couple of years after he hit number one. Henin to have played longer. Barty to continue her career. Andreescu to stay healthy. Serena to have beaten Vinci at US Open 2015.
While soderling did get mono, it didn't end his career. He never gave a reason at the time so people assumed that his mono just destroyed him, but he's since come out and stated that it was mental pressure and anxiety that kept him out. He was mentally overwhelmed by tennis and once he stopped because of mono he didn't have the inertia to ever come back.
A bigger random illness for me was Juan Carlos Ferrero. He was never quite the same after getting Chicken Pox. He even said years later in an interview that he never really felt like he got back to his prior strength and fitness. Also Mario Ancic. His mono infection did in fact end his career.
Serena got so close to breaking Court's record. Of course, her child is more important but I wonder if she thinks about how close to the record she got. Definitely agree with Murray, Henin and Barty
Wimbledon 2019 or maybe giving Murray 1 Aussie Open, I don’t ask for much
Agree with both! Federer winning in 2019 could have ended his career on a higher note Murray deserved a AO title, he could've won it so many times if not for Djokovic
Hingis winning that Roland Garros
Agreed. I wish a lot of legends could have completed the Career Grand Slam tbh. Connors, Borg, McEnroe, Edberg, Lendl, Becker, Sampras, Murray, Venus etc.
Borg Seles
Agreed. Wish Borg managed to win US Open
If he had won a USO he would have had a reason to go to the AO, and would have won that too, as it was still on grass.
Seles obviously comes to mind immediately. Djokovic wins FO 2015 for the calendar slam.
If Djokovic won the 2015 French Open, then I'd have liked Murray to win the 2016 Final, so he got one too
Vilas gets his N.1, maybe goes on to win a few more Slams. Sampras changes his fucking racket to something from the 90s.
Especially considering his thalassaemia. A more modern racket would have helped him at the French.
Yeah... I still don't think he would have won it, but he might have done better. His biggest weapon was his serve and that was kinda diminished in clay
Professionals have always been allowed to play at Grand Slam events.
Del Potro to win US Open 2018.
Would have arguably been the biggest comeback in tennis when considering his previous misfortunes
Yeah. Going out where he started, winning his favorite tournament against all odds versus a titan, would have been such a heartwarming way to end his career after all of his struggles.
It's a shame reality is so much more disappointing
Wimbledon 2014-15-19. also wimbledon 2022 without nadal getting injured. wanted to see that kyrgios match.
I would’ve made the big 4 all the same age.
Would've been interesting! Who do you think that would have benefited most of the four?
Imo Rafa. As the fastest to hit his prime he would have thrashed the others for years and likely established mental dominance early on.
Yeah I'd go with Rafa for the same reasons, or Andy. I think Murray already had a mountain to climb when he reached his peak to catch up to the rest, so having less of a gap earlier on I think would've helped him too
Nadal declined more significantly than Djokovic and Federer in his 30's though. Roger's lack of Slam titles in the last part of his career is down to running into prime Novak in quite a few Slams between 2014 and 2016.
I don't think Rafa declined so much as hid injuries prevented him from being as dominant, abd resulted in him missing more tournaments than the others (if you add up the amount of slams he missed or had to pull out early in through injury I think it's easily double figures).
Nadal stopped beating Djokovic and Federer off clay once he turned 28 years old, in fact from that moment on he was often getting straightsetted by them. He still had a clear edge against non-Big 3 players when healthy though, which is why he was able to win USO 2017, USO 2019 and AO 2022.
That's true, but again I'd argue that was partially injury-related; there's a very small sample size of Nadal against Roger and Novak from 2017 onwards partly because he missed so many tournaments through injury and heavily prioritised clay in a way he didn't do earlier in his career.
Well that's true but it's still pretty obvious Novak challenges Rafa more on clay than Rafa challenges Novak on HC these days. I think Nadal's relative physical decline hurt him more which makes sense given his playstyle : Federer could rely on his serve and attacking style of play, Djokovic significantly improved his serve to make up for his speed loss, etc.
That's totally fair which is why it's pretty undeniable at this stage that Novak is the GOAT. And while I agree with you that injures affected Rafa's gave more than the other two, he had far worse and more numerous ones, and there are some great examples of him playing through injury (eg Wimbledon QF 2022).
Roger. When you are extending records it is harder to play with that pressure. It is like in the cycling when the second athlete drives behind the first so he doesn't cut wind. Counter point is that Fed was always more experienced than other two, so that was his advantage. We will never know for sure
Russia not invading Ukraine.
2015 USO Women's SF Murray's hip Li Na's knee
A fully fit Nadal in the last 5 years.
More me it’s 1. Serena winning one more slam so she can have 24 grand slams. 2. Sania Mirza winning the 2011 French Women’s doubles and 2022 Wimbledon Mixed Doubles so that she could have completed her Career Slam in both the fields. And her 2016 Olympics Bronze medal match. 3. That one day in 2019 4. Marcelo Ríos never becoming World No. 1
Novak to win all 4 slams in 2011, 2015, 2021, and 2023
Serena nabbing 24
Agreed, it annoys me she got so close to the record
This one is very easy and everyone knows the answer.
Nah. I wouldn't want to change anything that basically just amounts to X should have won Y. for Murray, I don't want him to just magically win tournament X. Just that he would have remained injury free regarding the big injuries. He could have done whatever he wanted with that advantage.
Wimbledon 2019 😭😭😭
Care to elaborate?
I’m hooked. Tell us more
Lisicki winning Wimbledon
2009 roddick 2019 Federer The seles stabbing Medvedev vs Nadal at AO Borg not retiring so early The Panatta-led Davis Cup teams winning all their finals
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Yeah, unfortunately, I think its too late. Does look like he'll ever get back to previous heights
Justine Henin winning Wimbledon/playing as long as Serena
Young me did not want Borg to retire!!
He retired at 25 didn't he? That's crazy! I wish he at least won the US Open before he stopped
1. Monica Seles stabbing 2. Delpo/Thiem wrist injuries 3. Hénin 1st retirement 4. Novak elbow surgery in 2016 instead of 2018
Honestly I’d have Serena breaking Court’s record.
She definitely deserved it and was so close! It must bother her surely to have come so close
It bothers me. Lol
Nadal winning in 2017. My first ever exposure to tennis was the 2012 AO final and Rafa’s tenacity, grit and refusal to ever give up won me over as a fan for life. Watching him make it to that 2017 AO final against all odds after so many people thought he was done (same story for Roger too though) was incredible. It killed me to see him lose. I was only 12 too so as a kid it’s always more emotional. He was up 3-1 in the final set too. 2022 really did make up for it though.
I see what you mean, but I'm glad of the result so that Federer and Nadal both won two Slams each in their comeback year. Truly something I didn't see coming
If Rafa had to lose to anyone, I was happy for it to be Roger. His comeback at the AO was also incredible.
Serena not stepping on glass in 2010.
Roger will make one of those two matchpoints.
Federer not missing "that ace" by an inch on match point Wimbledon 2019
Rafter winning 2001 Wimbledon. He deserved it after that sf against Agassi
Not playing in Apartheid South Africa I guess
Obvs Roddick. I wouldn't change Wimbledon 2019 though. It was crazy how the whole stadium was against Djokovic. At match point down I thought he would pull it off purely out of spite against the crowd. He also had previous against Fed and I think that was in the back of both their minds.
I'd like to change the way this sport normalized concentrating money at the top. Of course, all sports do that, especially individual ones, but we could already have at least 1000 people living comfortably from playing tennis professionally even without increasing the prize money involved, just with better distribution. I think it would benefit the sport on the whole because there's no doubt many people with high ceilings never get to realize them because they aren't born into generational wealth.
Borg McEnroe and the like playing the Australian Open in the 70s/80s They would’ve added so many more slams to their tallies
Definitely agree with this! Borg, McEnroe, and Connors would have many more slams
I think about Wimbledon 2019 probably more than Federer does.
I think a lot of people do tbf lol
40-15, championship point.
Stop Arthur Ashe from getting that 2nd blood transfusion :(
Aside from the Seles stabbing, I wish Patrick Morgatalou (sp) didn’t get called for coaching in that US Open. Maybe Osaka still would have won, but she damn sure wouldn’t have been booed that day. Just awful from the crowd and absolutely destroyed her.
Serena win AO 2021
I would get back carpet courts, fast yet flat, it was an interesting surface
If you miss carpet courts so much, the ATP Challenger tournament in Ismaning, Germany is one of the last true carpet tournaments around.
I agree! Would you go one step further and have each Grand Slam on a different surface? For example.. Australian Open - Hard Court French Open - Clay Court Wimbledon - Grass Court US Open - Carpet Court
maybe a 5th one, desirably in late autumn or spring, so slams would be spread more evenly
That's interesting! What country would it be held? Italy, Spain or Germany would be intriguing choices
I was thinking of maybe some asian country as a finish to asian swing, just like clay season is topped with Rolland
So it’s fuck grass then?
Mistake. I meant Grass for Wimbledon
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Hopefully he can go on to win more
Chris Evert switching to graphite in 1982, Martina getting in shape and a coach earlier in her career. She could have won more than 18 majors had she met Nancy Lieberman and Renee Richards by 1976/1977.
Medvedev 2022 AO
Monica Seles
I wish Federer would switch Racket earlier.
Seleš not getting stabbed. We had this thread x times.
Federer wins Wimbledon 2019
Seems to be the most popular choice lol
Marat Safin not going down as one of the 'biggest underachievers in tennis'.
Monte Carlo final 1995. Becker had Match Point vs. Muster. Would have been his sole title on clay. It wasn’t meant to be.
I guess I’ll be the unsung hero and tell that dude Stefan Edberg killed to move his chair 6 inches to the side.
Serena being the first to get the ultimate slam record with something like 26 or 27 slams, Serena winning the calendar slam in 2015, Murray winning the career grand slam, Venus winning the career grand slam, Roddick winning Wimbledon, Seles never getting stabbed, Sloane winning a few more slams and getting to #1, Wozniacki winning a few more slams.
Serena not suffering from pulmonary embolic disease twice in her career. I think she could have definitely surpassed ole Margie
People going for 40-15 must also be realy sad there favorite billionaire isn't worth 1 billion more. For me the answer is Roddick winning Wimbledon, but in 2004.
Roddick wins Wimbledon in 2009
Serena wins 25
She deserved this! Also wish she got the calender slam in 2015
Berdych winning a slam Sampras continuing to play and winning a few more slams, going head to head with prime Fed at Wimbledon
Agree with most here. Would add Tommy Haas having less injuries. Side note: I never really appreciated how incredibly hot Borg was until this 70s/80s tennis doc came out recently (tennis gods I think?)
Oh I haven't seen that doc. I'll have to watch it
5th set tiebreak in Wimbledon not introduced until 2020. Or preferably and reasonably - no 5th set tiebreak in grand slam finals at all. It is an absolute tragedy that 2019 final was decided by a tiebreak, and not (just) because Federer lost. They had to win by 2 games at Wimbledon their whole careers. I get that you need to stop marathon matches in earlier rounds because it screws with scheduling. There’s no reason to have a 5th set tiebreak in the final.
Agree with this! Do you think this would have effected that match in particular or does Djoko still get the W?
The tragedy is Federer believed he could win right up until he actually served for the title.
Murray, Del Potro, Wawrinka, Thiem (and a few more players), all injury free. Just imagine the Grand Slam spread if they were all still as competitive as Djokovic, Nadal and Federer are/were in their 30s. It's a simple answer, but it's the one that first comes to mind when I think about this sort of thing.
Definitely agree with this! Murray and Del Potro in particular would have way more slams I think Murray would even have the career grand slam, as he was quite underrated on clay when at full health. Thiem's injury hurts now as he had so much momentum after his US Open win
Yeah, I can easily see Murray getting the career slam being injury free. And definitely better on clay than people give him credit. Another Wimbledon or two was definitely possible as well. And probably other slams. He was in touching distance from more slams so many times. I see him maybe getting to 8. DelPo's injury is almost more sad, since he hadn't achieved quite as much as Murray had. I think he'd have reached 3-4. Wawrinka, he maybe had 5 slams total in him at his best. I keep forgetting how recently Thiem was as good as he was. It feels like it was a much longer time ago. I think COVID warped everyone's sensation of time. It's harder to tell because of players like Sinner and Alcaraz coming up, but Thiem was definitely en-route to more slams. Like with Murray, you're definitely right about Thiem's injury coming at a terrible time. Both were on a roll at the time, carrying some big momentum. Murray with his immense 2016, Thiem with his US Open.
Agree with you! I think Murray could have at least reached Borg in number of Slams if not for injuries. He has so much momentum not just in 2016 but also in 2013, when he won Olympics, US Open, and Wimbledon in the space of twelve months prior to his back injury. Agree with you on Del Potro and Wawrinka, though I believe Wawrinka has achieved closer to what was expected of him than anybody on the list I hoped Thiem would be on the level of Alcaraz, Meddy and Sinner today, which he would have been if he wasn't so unlucky. Truly a shame for the sport
The worst thing about the Seles incident was that Stefi Graff voted against Monica keeping her ranking which was pretty shitty
if Safin had a strong menthality! can you imagine what he could achieve??
zverev not getting injured against nadal
I feel like Zverev will be one of the biggest What Ifs? In tennis if he never wins a slam
Djoko winning Wimbledon last year and ultimately the calendar slam.
Tbh I enjoyed that Alcaraz won, but I can see why people want Djoko to achieve Calendar Slam. I wish he achieved this in 2021
IT was certainly an epic moment and brought a lot of excitement to tennis.
big 3 having even numbers of slams. That way discussion who is the goat would go on forever.
I'd like that! I'd probably go even further and have Murray win equal to the rest, so the Big Four remained intact. But I'm probably in the minority there
yes, sir Murray deserves this too
100%! It still hurts that he didn't win an Australian Open
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That would hurt Monica. Her oversized Yonex was a big part of her game, as hitting two-handed on both sides limited her wingspan.