The Greatest Tennis Player in History

The Champions, Champion

Everybody is a Marketer as everyone is an armchair Quarterback as everyone knows who the greatest sporting heroes are of every sport in every generation.  In the world of tennis the debate rages on but amongst the games learned elite and those who actually have a grasp of history, the answer is simple: Roger Federer was and is the greatest player to ever grace a tennis court. Ask Pete Sampras who he thinks is the greatest player of all time and he will gladly tell you Roger Federer and will make sure you also know “he dominated the game more then I ever did”. And when the Fed Express started slowing down last year and not winning every major tournament on the tour he reminded us that “he created this monster that could only win, that couldnt ever lose.” This accolade alone seperates these 2 champions and I will address that shortly.

The truth is Roger Federer has set such a standard of tennis, such a high level, that it has actually brought guys like Rafael Nadal along with and have helped them motivate their game to new heights. But lets get back to my original point, those in the know will all tell you Federer is the greatest. Why? Is it his 13 Grand Slams in 4 years? Is it his consecutive weeks ranked at number one somewhere around 4 and a half years? Is it his 5 Wimbledons or 5 US Opens titles in a row? Or is it his featuring in 18 of the last 19 Grand Slam finals? The answer is NO.  NO and NO! The answer is simple, he is just the most talented player of all time and can do things with a tennis racquet on all surfaces that is simply out of this world.  Yes, all those numbers and accomplishments are impressive and argument enough to place him as the greatest but these are simply just a result of his artistry, wizardry and the level of tennis he has created for such a long and consitent time. The question now becomes how can i quantify this and actually prove Federer is the greatest of all time?  The answer is simple again, i have to go to the numbers and make a meal out of it, so i will. But in order to do this there is only one man standing in Fed’s way and that is the great Pete Sampras. Yes you can love Agassi, Rod Laver, Borg or even Nadal but if you dont hover around 13 Grand Slams or have dominated Wimbledon or have been World Number One for an eternity you simply dont qualify.

Whatever You Can Do I Can Do Better

Andre Agassi once said, “You play as hard as you can againt Pete and you lose 7-5, you play as hard as you can against Roger and you lose 6-1.” And this is where the difference lies between Pete Sampras and Roger Federer, DOMINANCE. Yes, we will go through the numbers but the qualitative reality is that Roger Federer for the most part has dominated every player on every surface in every match for a period of 4 years in history that may be never matched; the most amazing thing is it seems he did it without breaking a sweat. Yes, Pete Sampras is a worthy champion and has 14 Grand Slams but those titles were amassed over 14 years, and not in the 4 years it took Federer to win 13 Grand Slams. Sampras won his 14th slam 4 years after his 13th and Federer is still moving along and looking fresh to win at least a few more. At Age 27 Federer has a lot of great tennis left in him and should break Pete’s record but if he doesnt I still argue he has done a lot more.

How can I say that? Why? We can break it down to not only versatility of Grand Slam success but actually who has the better game and shots and here is where i will start. Pistol Pete is exactly that, the man who may have the best serve of all time that powered him to countless Wimbledon and US Open titles but to not even 1 French Open Final. Why? Because Sampras’s serve was the key to his success and clearly doesnt have the all round game and shots Federer has. Federer has made it to 3 French Open finals, has snapped Nadals clay winning streak on more than one occasion, and one can suggest that without Nadal, Federer may have 3 or 4 calendar Grand Slams and could also be the best clay court player of his generation; this is remarkable even though Nadal exists but the point is all can see Federer’s talent on all surfaces.

 So yes, the crux of my argument is even if Sampras finishes ahead of Federer in the number of Grand Slams won, the quality and level of tennis played to date in both careers still leaves Federer ahead of the pack. Federer’s greatest rival, friend and nemesis Rafael Nadal said it best, “1, 12, 13, 15 or 17 Grand Slams, it doesnt matter his level is the best in history”. So while Nadal is enjoying his time at number one and dominating the mens tennis scene, expect one more push, one more Federer renaissance and one more reason to say Roger you are definately the greatest of all time. See you at Roland Garros