[Fargif]

Tennis and non tennis. While some will call him one dimensional. I disagree. For a player to be 1 dimensional he should be good only on 1 surface or tournament. Rafa has won all 4 slams. And the main reason he hasnt won more is rather simple.
He has faced the 2 of the best players ever. But the same could be said about the other 2 and Rafa preventing more wins for them.

 

[Tezza12]

Nadal's 13 RG is an incredible record.

The only sporting record I can think of that compares is cricket related. Now I understand that many of you have no concept whatsoever of cricket, but think of it like this. A world class batsman who has a long career at the top level might average in the 45-50 range. An absolute elite (ie hall of fame level) batsman will average between 50-60, with only three or four batsmen ever getting above an average of 57. In fact, the second highest average of any batsman who played a considerable amount of cricket is 60. And then you have the guy with the highest average, Don Bradman, who somehow averaged 99.94, essentially 40 runs above anybody else. That's the sort of record Nadal has at the French Open, head and shoulders above anybody else, and almost impossible to even think about eclipsing.

 

[WeakestTennisEra]

What about Fed's 286 consecutive weeks at no 1? Essentially 4 and a half years at the top. I doubt someone would be able to break that record.
In cricket, Muralitharan(Sri Lankan player) 800 wickets(batsmen dismissals).

 

[Bakano]

None.

 

[Guru 420]

Won't say better but some other records:

Don Bradman test average 99.94 (almost double that of 2nd best of his era)

West Indies undefeated streak in test series for 15 years till 1995

Usain Bolt, Michael Phelps records especially in Olympics

Aleksandr Karelin the Greco-Roman Wrestler 887-2 record, more such great feats in wrestling in early 20th century like that of Great Gama (undefeated in a career spanning almost 5 decades)

Jahangir Khan (GOAT squash player) 500+ matches winning streak,

Indian hockey team 6 straight Olympic golds with ridiculous margins, 18 years without conceding a goal, once conceded a goal against USA in LA Olympics since goalkeeper was signing autograph and that match was a 24-1 victory (WR)

Kasparov world #1 for 20 years in an era which saw several ATGs including other world champs like Karpov, Anand, Kramnik, Topalov (FIDE)

There may be others like Jordan, Gretzky, Sir Redgrave, Ali, Anderson Silva, Floyd Mayweather Jr all greats in their own ways with some hard to break records. Teams like All Blacks, Boston Celtics (Bill Russell era), Chinese TT/badminton etc.

No point comparing different sports, Nadal is a champ just like the others. Privileged to follow his career.

 

[Nole Fan #1]

What about Fed's 286 consecutive weeks at no 1? Essentially 4 and a half years at the top. I doubt someone would be able to break that record.
In cricket, Muralitharan(Sri Lankan player) 800 wickets(batsmen dismissals).

That is impressive, but far from impossible for someone to surpass. 13 RG titles (and counting?) is a number that is almost unimaginable to be surpassed.

 

[Nole Fan #1]

Won't say better but some other records:

Don Bradman test average 99.94 (almost double that of 2nd best of his era)

West Indies undefeated streak in test series for 15 years till 1995

Usain Bolt, Michael Phelps records especially in Olympics

Aleksandr Karelin the Greco-Roman Wrestler 887-2 record, more such great feats in wrestling in early 20th century like that of Great Gama,

Jahangir Khan (GOAT squash player) 500+ matches winning streak,

Indian hockey team 6 straight Olympic golds with ridiculous margins, 18 years without conceding a goal, once conceded a goal against USA in LA Olympics since goalkeeper was signing autograph and that match was a 24-1 victory (WR)

Kasparov world #1 for 20 years in an era which saw several ATGs including other world champs like Karpov, Anand, Kramnik, Topalov (FIDE)

There may be others like Jordan, Gretzky, Sir Redgrave, Ali, Anderson Silva, Floyd Mayweather Jr all greats in their own ways with some hard to break records. Teams like All Blacks, Boston Celtics (Bill Russell era), Chinese TT/badminton etc.

No point comparing different sports, Nadal is a champ just like the others. Privileged to follow his career.

The point isn’t to compare what is most impressive, but least likely to be broken. For instance I would say Bolts 100m and 200m records are far more likely to eventually be broken than Nadal’s 13 RGs.

 

[WeakestTennisEra]

That is impressive, but far from impossible for someone to surpass. 13 RG titles (and counting?) is a number that is almost unimaginable to be surpassed.

Well not exactly 13 RG titles. But it is certainly possible for someone to achieve a similar feat in a different slam, like Wimbledon or AO or FO. If some future legend comes it's possible. But 286 weeks consecutively implies that a person was dominating year in and year out(weak era or not).

What's more impossible is a future player winning 10 Slams on each surface or on each Slam. That will most likely never be done.

 

[Mong Mong]

What about Fed's 286 consecutive weeks at no 1? Essentially 4 and a half years at the top. I doubt someone would be able to break that record.
In cricket, Muralitharan(Sri Lankan player) 800 wickets(batsmen dismissals).

No one cares about weeks at #1. It's all the slam count people are about.

 

[RandomFan]

Magnus Carlsen 125 games without a loss(more then 2 years time wise)

 

[Guest82]

Lorenzo Musseti will have 15 RG's in 2037.

 

[Guru 420]

The point isn’t to compare what is most impressive, but least likely to be broken. For instance I would say Bolts 100m and 200m records are far more likely to eventually be broken than Nadal’s 13 RGs.

I think most if not all the ones I mentioned are very very difficult to break. Yes even Bolt's world records and his 100/200 double gold across 3 Olympics. Carlsen may break Kasparov's record after 10 more years but he has come close to losing it already in his peak years. The cricket ones will never be broken, same with Phelps' feats.

OP asked which one do I rate higher. Well I don't rate one higher than the other, all are impressive in their own way. Maybe you are right, Nadal's RG run may never be broken.

 

[WeakestTennisEra]

The point isn’t to compare what is most impressive, but least likely to be broken. For instance I would say Bolts 100m and 200m records are far more likely to eventually be broken than Nadal’s 13 RGs.

Well Don Bradman's 99.94 record will certainly never be broken . It implies a batter will score almost 100 each match. At least there is some chance of 13 Titles in a slam to be broken , but 99.94 never.

 

[Nole Fan #1]

Well not exactly 13 RG titles. But it is certainly possible for someone to achieve a similar feat in a different slam, like Wimbledon or AO or FO. If some future legend comes it's possible. But 286 weeks consecutively implies that a person was dominating year in and year out(weak era or not).

What's more impossible is a future player winning 10 Slams on each surface or on each Slam. That will most likely never be done.

You don’t necessarily need to be a dominant player to be #1. Obviously in the big 3 era you do in order to stay ahead of other big 3 players, but in another era it could literally just be about being the most consistent player and just winning like 1 slam a year.

An example would be in the WTA where Wozniaki for instance was able to hold onto the #1 ranking for like 14 months without even winning 1 slam in the process.

Of course we are talking about more than 4 years straight which is much harder than 14 months, but the point is that it does not necessarily represent a sign of complete domination.

 

[Nole Fan #1]

Well Don Bradman's 99.94 record will certainly never be broken . It implies a batter will score almost 100 each match. At least there is some chance of 13 Titles in a slam to be broken , but 99.94 never.

I never suggested otherwise. I was simply stating that some of the listed records aren’t as unbreakable.

 

[Supercell]

What about Fed's 286 consecutive weeks at no 1? Essentially 4 and a half years at the top. I doubt someone would be able to break that record.
In cricket, Muralitharan(Sri Lankan player) 800 wickets(batsmen dismissals).

Fed has never been 286 weeks at #1 consecutively. His non-stop #1 record is 237 weeks so a year less.

 

[El_Toro]

Well not exactly 13 RG titles. But it is certainly possible for someone to achieve a similar feat in a different slam, like Wimbledon or AO or FO. If some future legend comes it's possible. But 286 weeks consecutively implies that a person was dominating year in and year out(weak era or not).

What's more impossible is a future player winning 10 Slams on each surface or on each Slam. That will most likely never be done.

Roger has 237, not 286, consecutive weeks at #1. While that is very impressive and unlikely to be matched, it is not mind boggling. To win a GS 13 times in 16 years while fending off repeated challenges from other greats is truly mind boggling.

I would say that Don's test average is the only thing that is more outstanding

 

[Harryman86]

I dont see any feat as big as this one. Nadal winning 13 RGs plus is something that will stand the test of time. The most impressive record in all of sports

 

[Harryman86]

What about Fed's 286 consecutive weeks at no 1? Essentially 4 and a half years at the top. I doubt someone would be able to break that record.
In cricket, Muralitharan(Sri Lankan player) 800 wickets(batsmen dismissals).

Feds record is impressive for sure. But Nadals is beyond imagination, something that will never ever be broken.

 

[zebez20]

I mean if you class it as a sport, Phil Taylor's 16 World Championships in darts is a similar type of record...