Tennis GOAT Gunned Down: The Age of the Tennis GUN

The ongoing debate of the Tennis GOAT is much like "The Highlander" movies and series mantra..."There can be only one".  Yet every once in a while tennis immortals seems to pop up and rise to the challenge. 

The resolve of establishing the greatest of all-time is also like that of the "quickening", the much touted result of there being only one sword-wielding survivor in "The Highlander".   Like the movies and series, we never really get to see "the quickening" in tennis because there always seems to more challengers that once in a while knock off those close or on the top. 

Roger Federer and Rafael Nadal have been at the top two for close to five years now.  It seems that Nadal is the one closer to the quickening.  He has certainly earned the right to establish his own highlander mastery at the French Open.  Indeed, how does one say "There can be only one." in Spanish?

As I have argued in my previous article, the GOAT term is an inflexible term that cannot cover the fluidity and changes of the ever evolving tennis arena.  The tennis GOAT must be led out to pasture to rest in peace while a new term rightfully takes its place.  Ladies and Gentleman, please stand back and make room for the tennis GUN (Greatest Until Now). 

Okay, it is not perfect but it does reflect that old records and achievements while amazing can at some point in the future be broken.  The vessel has been set and now the bullets of criteria need to be loaded so that the age of the Tennis Gun can begin. 

I would still argue that if Federer can trigger winning the French Open and smoke Pete Sampras' 14 Grand slams, he will be the tennis GUN.   However, if Nadal wins consistently for three more years and has collected a US Open along the way, then you could say he will have pistol-whipped Federer and replaces him as the new tennis GUN.  The story will continue on when a new GUN rides into town.  Who could possibly outdo both Federer and Nadal? 

"Them's fightin words!!"