While Federer has the Grand Slam trophies to back up the argument that he is the best, detractors are quick to point out the holes in that argument. The biggest knock on Federer is his perceived lack of competition. While Sampras battled the likes of Andre Agassi, Jim Courier, Boris Becker, Stefan Edberg, and more, Federer’s opponents, through no fault of his own, have not been as challenging. Another opinion however, could be that Roger just makes them looks bad by handling them so easily. However, his main rival has been Rafael Nadal and Federer has not faired so well against the world’s number two-ranked player. Federer has dominated his era, however he is only 7-13 against his top foe Nadal. As Andre Agassi points out, “Roger’s numbers are hard to disagree with. And then you have a guy who’s beaten him almost twice as much. That sounds like an Achilles heel.” And as John McEnroe said, “Nadal has a winning record against him, so I guess there is a minor argument to be made that how can you be the best ever if you don’t have a winning record against every player (in your era). But the results of these matches may have been different had they played in different circumstances. There is also the “surface argument” when determining the best of all-time. Each surface hard, clay or grass play very differently and most players favor one over the others. At one time, three of the four majors were played on grass. Now two are played on hard courts with one each on clay and grass. Agassi pointed out that Federer’s consistency on all surfaces stands out in his greatness. Federer’s 20 consecutive appearances in Grand Slam finals is a testament to his all-around game on all surfaces, and is twice as long as the second best mark. Pete Sampras, is one player who would’ve greatly been assisted by playing more majors on grass, as it perfectly suits his game. Sampras’s former coach, Paul Annacone, said in reference to Pete’s grass court dominance: “How many majors would Pete have won if he were playing three out of four majors on grass?” Annacone
also made the argument that it should not always be about the majors when deciding who the top player is of all-time. He believes that Pete’s unprecedented six-year run of finishing the season number one in the world is more impressive than his 14 Grand Slam titles. Rule changes play an important role in determining the best ever as well. Rod Laver (The Rocket) would certainly have been in line for more major championships had he been eligible to play between 1963-1967. However, before 1968, only amateurs were eligible for the majors. This cost Laver, who turned pro in 1962, ample opportunities to win more titles. Clearly, there are many variables
that come into play when comparing eras and determining the best player ever. There is no right or wrong answer. The debate is good for the sports world and fun for tennis enthusiasts, but in the end, there are more questions than answers. The sport of tennis has many greats who have had tennis enthusiasts cheering for decades. While fans, media and the players themselves may never agree on a sole player as “the best ever,” one thing those players can agree on is that being mentioned in the same sentence together is a honor and us fans can agree that they have supplied us with many great tennis memories.
A closer look … Career major titles Number of titles ..................................................Player 15 ..............................................................Roger Federer 14 ..............................................................Pete Sampras 12 ................................................................Roy Emerson 11 ....................................................................Rod Laver 11 ....................................................................Bjorn Borg 10 ......................................................................Bill Tilden 8 ......................................................................Fred Perry 8..................................................................Ken Rosewall 8 ......................................................................Ivan Lendl 8 ..............................................................Jimmy Connors 8 ..................................................................Andre Agassi
Players who have won a career Grand Slam Andre Agassi Don Budge Roy Emerson Roger Federer Rod Laver Fred Perry Long Island Tennis Magazine • September/October 2009
15