After Nadal Winning The US-Open, Who Are The 10 Greates Players Of All Time?
Of course this is not a new discussion, but after Rafael Nadal winning the US-Open, I am sure he changed the previous line-ups in many peoples opinions.
I also disagree with many others who put a lot of old names in the top 10. I don't think that 30 or 40 years ago the competition was nearly as tough as it is in today's men's tennis. Back in the 60's and 70's there were only a handful of professional players travelling around the world and tennis was an exclusive sport that only the rich people could afford. And not all of these players were training properly or even on a consistent basis. And I don't think that Roger Federer could afford to party the night before a match like Ilie Nastase. He would be beaten by a player outside the top 100 already. To put it in short words; back then they were players, today they are athletes.
Borg and Lendl were the ones who started to make tennis an athletic game and today every player is a highly trained athlete with a body-fat percentage of 10 % or less. Every player on the men's tour is 100% dedicated to his profession and faces thousands of players training as serious as they do.
That's why I don't think that we should compare players like Rod Laver, the 3 French Musketiers, Ken Rosewall, Ilie Nastase or Gillermo Vilas with today's modern athletes. And if we do so, we have to take in consideration, how much competition each generation of tennis players or athletes were facing.
So, here is my list of the 10 greatest Tennis Players of all time:
No. 10, Boris Becker!
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Boris Becker is my No. 10, because he changed the game of tennis. His big serve, the blocked returns and his diving volley were new to the game and raised it to another level.
But most of all he deserves to be in the top 10, because his game was so exciting to watch. There was never a match he won easily. So many of his matches went to the 5th set and an emotional roller coaster for himself and his fans.
He still is the youngest Wimbledon Champion ever and won 6 Grand Slam titles in total. Only the French open were missing for him to complete a career Grand Slam.
He held the No. 1 ranking for only 12 weeks, but he was facing a lot of big players throughout his career.
Sampras, Agassi, Courier, Edberg, Lendl, Wilander and even Mc Enroe were all fighting with him for the big titles and no. 1 ranking. That's quite a competition.
He also won the Davis-Cup title twice for Germany.
In my ranking he left Edberg behind to make the top 10, but it is very close between the two.
No. 9, Mats Wilander
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My no. 9 is Mats Wilander!
The Swede won 7 Grand Slam titles and the only one he did not win was Wimbledon.
He was 20 weeks the no. 1 player in the world and also won the Davis-Cup twice for Sweden.
He was not as flashy as Boris Becker, but he for sure was one of the classiest players of all times.
No. 8, John McEnroe!
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McEnroe is my no. 8, because he was one of the most exciting and talented players ever.
Besides that he won 7 majors like Wilander, 4 US-Open and 3 Wimbledon, but he held the no. 1 ranking for 170 weeks.
He also won the Davis-Cupe 3 times and was one of the best doubles players in history, winning several Grand Slams.
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No. 7, Jimmy Connors!
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Jimmy Connors is my no. 7 of the great list.
He won one more major than his great rival, John McEnroe and held the no. 1 ranking for 268 weeks.
He was one of the greatest competitors and fighters on the court ever and his matches pull the crowds out of their seats at many, many great US-Open battles.
No. 6, Ivan Lendl
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No. 6 in the list is Ivan Lendl!
He held the no. 1 ranking for even two more weeks longer (270) than Jimmy Connors and won also 8 Grand Slam events.
The only Grand Slam he never won was Wimbledon, even though he reached the finals against one of his great rivals, Boris Becker twice.
His matches against john McEnroe were also epic enounters, especially because McEnroe's talent and temper met Lendl's work ethic and controlled style of play.
No. 5, Andre Agassi!
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No. 5 is Andre Agassi!
One of the flashiest players of all time did not only change the game with his style of play, but also with his personal style and personality.
He was the greatest return player ever and the first one who started to move as close as possible to the baseline and take the balls on the rise.
He won also 8 Grand Slam events, but is only one of 3 players from the top 10 who completed a career Grand Slam.
On top of that he won the Davis-Cup 3 times for the USA and holds on of the best records in Davis-Cup history.
One of his great accomplishments was also to come back from a break down and drop to a ranking of 170 in the world and then reach the no. 1 spot again.
He held the no. 1 spot for 101 weeks, even though he faced Pete Sampras as one of his biggest rivals.
No. 4, Bjorn Borg!
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The no. in my list is Bjorn Borg, who finished his career way to early, but still managed to get 11 majors under his belt.
He was also one of the few great players who changed the game with his style of play. he was the first one to play with top-spin and his double handed back hand and footwork was also something that was new to the game. His work ethic and fitness level also changed the game and gave Swedish tennis a big boost.
He won 5 consecutive Wimbledon titles and 6 French Open titles and held the no. 1 spot for 109 weeks, even though he faced John McEnroe and Jimmy Connors as great rivals of his time.
But he failed to reach the top 3 in my list, because he won only on two different surfaces, grass and clay.
No. 3, Rafael Nadal!
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After winning the US-Open and reaching a career Grand Slam, being the first after Laver to win 3 consecutive Slams in one calender year and having now 9 total majors under his belt at the age of 24, he has to be in the top 3!
Especially reaching all this at such a young age, brings him ahead of Bjorn Borg.
He was ranked no. 1 for 62 weeks now, but if he stays healthy there seems to be no end to his reign.
He is also one of the few players who really changed the game of tennis. Nobody has ever played with his intensity. And nobody was as athletic and muscled as him. He also players with much more top-spin than any other player.
At his young age he also won the Davis-Cup twice.
And most of all he is a very classy and humble champion and role model.
That's why I see him ahead of Bjorn Borg and maybe soon on top of this list...
No. 2 Pete Sampras
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No. 2 in my list is the great Pistol Pete!
Pete Sampras still holds the record for total weeks at no. 1, with 286 week.
He won 14 Grand Slams, even though he never was able to win the French Open.
He also won the Davis-Cup 3 times and to me had the best serve ever.
he also was a class act on and off the court. A true champion and role model
No. 1, Roger Federer!
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The greatest player of all times in my opinion is ROGER FEDERER!
He might have lost against Djokovic at the US-Open and won just one major this year, but he still holds almost every record in the tennis books of history.
Even if he will not break the one that he still looks for, the most consecutive weeks at no. 1. This one is still owned by Pete Sampras, with one more week than Fed. The great Swiss was 285 weeks on top and Pete 286.
But Federer holds 16 Grand Slam titles a career Grand Slam and many, many more records that will probably never will be broken.
He is the greatest Player ever, there is no doubt in my mind!
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