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What is the basis for considering Waldner a possible candidate for the GOAT spot?
From people charitable to the claim, one argument I've heard is that he pioneered a lot of the techniques that pushed the sport into the modern era
From people uncharitable to the claim, I've also heard the (somewhat snarkily offered) explanation that people hold him in high regard because he's a white guy in a sport that's been dominated by Chinese players for the past ~50 years. I understand that this explanation for his popularity feels lazy and unfair, but I admit that I sometimes wonder whether it might have *something* to do with it - if not the racial angle exactly, then at least the framing of a single individual taking on a collectivized hegemony (Waldner vs the "Chinese Wall").
From the standpoint of Waldner's playing record (impressive, but others have equaled/surpassed) and his head-to-head against his rivals (not great), I don't completely understand why he is consistently elevated above a half-dozen or so others who could have a similar claim based on their accomplishments. I realize that the "greatness" of a player in our minds is something that's difficult to fully explain or quantify, but I've always been interested in understanding why Waldner, for the past 20 years or so, has been seen as the self-evident standard of all-time-greatness that all others are compared to.
He and Persson were the last of a long line actually.
Who else has 12 singles medals in Grand Slam events?From the standpoint of Waldner's playing record (impressive, but others have equaled/surpassed) and his head-to-head against his rivals (not great), I don't completely understand why he is consistently elevated above a half-dozen or so others who could have a similar claim based on their accomplishments.