Tennis' Era of Greatness Gives Us Two Jordans, Two Tigers

Ruth. Gretzky. Ali. Montana. Phelps. Jordan. Woods.

In sports, we love nothing more than Greatness. We can’t measure it or define it, yet we all know it when we see it. The Great athletes combine superior physical and psychological abilities to do super-human things with ease and style.

They seem to go through their careers immune to serious injuries and oblivious to distractions of fame or personal life. They bring new elements to their sport that define and elevate the way it is played. Most importantly, they win, but they don’t just win—they dominate. Their closest competitors rarely even come close.

Greatness is the rarest thing in any sport, coming around maybe once in a generation—sometimes less. Consider that it’s been 10 years since Michael Jordan won his last championship, and 12 years since Tiger Woods won his first major, yet we still wonder when we will see the “next M.J.” and when someone will emerge to challenge Tiger as the world’s best golfer.

History tells us that neither will happen soon.

I’ve often wondered what the NBA would have been like in the 1990s if there had been two “Jordans” fiercely competing for those six titles, or what the PGA would look like now if there were two “Tigers” with equal focus, drive, and skill. Would each of their accomplishments be leveled out and diminished—a Greatness zero-sum game?

Would one of them succumb with their Greatness neutralized and unfulfilled? Or would each be pushed by the other to even more sublime levels of competition and performance?

For those of you with similar musings, I offer you men’s Tennis. Specifically, Roger Federer and Rafael Nadal.

Federer is Tennis’ undisputed generational Great. The sport’s Jordan or Tiger. To understand his Greatness, you have to look at more than just his 13 major championships and consider the total impact he has had on the game, from his revolutionary style of play to his unprecedented success across the schizophrenia of Tennis’ three unique playing surfaces—grass, hard court, and clay.  

Federer began winning majors at Wimbledon in 2003. In stark contrast to the powerful serve and volley “blast and smash” play of Pete Sampras, Boris Becker and others that had dominated the game for 20 years, Federer won with a finesse style, outmaneuvering opponents with backcourt control and error-less precision.

Now, just five-and-a-half short years since Federer started winning, there is not a single serve and volley player among the top ranked players. The style of play of the entire field changed just to try to compete with Federer.

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