Tennis: The Top Men's Players of the Open Era

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Here is a look at the top men's tennis players of all-time. One can make a case for more than one player as the greatest of all-time. Opinions are welcome.

The oldest player here is Jimmy Connors. It’s awfully hard to compare tennis players going back to the time of Laver and Emerson and Budge and all those guys.

Grand Slams are important. However, back in the 70s and 80s, the French and Australian Opens were not as important as Wimbledon and the US Open.

Winning is very important but there is a lot to be said for coming in second, too.

Updated on September 13th, 2010

Boris Becker

Points for:
-Becker has six Grand Slam titles and four runner-ups
-Played in a record seven Wimbledon finals
-Incredible on grass and hard courts
-In 1985, he became the first unseeded player to win a Wimbledon title at 17 years old
-One of the first players to win points with a powerful service game

Points against:
-He never won a single clay court tournament but did make the semis at the French Open three times

Stefan Edberg

Points for:
-Edberg has six Grand Slam titles and five runner-ups
-Played in a record 5 Australian Open finals
-Spectacular grass and hard court player
-Regarded by many as the best volleyer ever

Points against:
-He lost in his only French Open Final to Michael Chang
-Did not dominate the game consistently

John McEnroe

Points for:
-McEnroe has seven Grand Slam titles and four runner-ups
-Head to head, he had the edge on Jimmy Connors (31-20) and was even with Bjorn Borg (7-7)
-Hit the low volley better than anyone
-May go down as the greatest doubles player ever

Points against:
-He had a very short but brilliant peak but doesn't have the stats to match some of the others
-He never won a Grand Slam on clay but did reach the finals where he blew a two set and a break lead against Lendl
-Might have more titles but he rarely played in the Australian Open

Mats Wilander

Points for:
-Wilander has seven Grand Slam titles and four runner-ups
-Has won at least two Grand Slams on grass, clay, and hard courts
-The most versatile of clay court players
-He won three Grand Slams in 1988

Points against:
-He never won at Wimbledon
-Banned for three months after testing positive for cocaine at the 1995 French Open

Andre Agassi

Points for:
-Agassi has eight Grand Slam titles and seven runner-ups
-One of only two players ever to win the Career Golden Slam (Wimbledon, US Open,
Australian Open, French Open, and Olympics)

Points against:
-Only won the French and Wimbeldon once each
-Agassi seemed to disappear for times in the late '90s
-He wore a wig