THE GREATEST MALE TENNIS PLAYER OF ALL TIME?
- Peter Radan
- Jan 28, 2019
- 3 min read
Updated: Oct 24, 2019
Peter Radan (28 January 2019)
A favoured topic for debate for sportswriters, pundits, and sports fans between major sporting events is over who is the greatest player in any particular sport.
Novak Djokovic's 15th grand slam tennis title in the 2019 Australian Open brings to the fore the question of who is – or will become – the greatest male tennis player of all time. Many will argue that it is Roger Federer, given his 20 grand slam titles and that he will remain so for the foreseeable future unless his great contemporaries Rafael Nadal, with 17, or Djokovic, with 15, catch and surpass him before they all retire.
Whether or not the simple number of grand slam titles is the best way to determine the greatest of all time is debatable, but if we accept that it is, at least, a significant factor to be taken into account, a bit of fine tuning on that number may offer a better basis to judge who is the greatest of all time.
The fine tuning suggested here is to evaluate that number against the number of grand slams played between a player’s first and last grand slam titles. This can be justified on the basis that, before the first title, the player was developing into a major player and because, after the last title, he or she was past their best.
On this basis, Federer (between 2003 and 2018) competed in 56 grand slams, winning 20 (35.7%) and being a losing finalist in 10 (17.9%).
Nadal (between 2005 and 2018) competed in 47 grand slams, winning 17 (36.2%) and being a losing finalist in 7 (14.9%).
Djokovic (between 2008 and 2019) competed in 44 grand slams, winning 15 (34.1%) and being a losing finalist in 8 (18.2%).
Although none of these players has achieved the elusive Grand Slam (all four grand slam titles in one calendar year), Djokovic has once achieved the slightly less elusive Minor Grand Slam (four consecutive grand slam titles). Each of them has gone close to a Minor Grand Slam by winning three consecutive grand slam titles, with Djokovic and Federer doing it twice and Nadal once. If Djokovic wins the 2019 French Open, he will achieve his second Minor Grand Slam.
On the basis of the percentage of grand slam titles won in the above number of grand slams in which each of them has competed, although there is not much between the three, Nadal comes out on top, followed by Federer and then Djokovic. However, if a Minor Grand Slam is given some weighting, it is arguable that Djokovic displaces Nadal at the top of the list. If Djokovic can maintain the form he displayed in this year’s Australian Open for the rest of 2019, he may, in any event, top the list by year’s end.
What, however, is sometimes missed in the debate over the greatest male tennis player of all time, is that, on the above winning percentage analysis, there is one player who is far ahead of Nadal, Federer, and Djokovic.
In 19 grand slams, between 1960 and 1969, Rod Laver won 11 (57.9%) and was and was the beaten finalist in 5 (26.3%). One can also point to the fact that Laver achieved the Grand Slam twice – the only player ever to do this. It is inconceivable that Nadal, or Federer, or Djokovic will get anywhere near that winning percentage, and improbable that any of them will achieve the Grand Slam.
Furthermore, it should be noted that Laver may well have exceeded Federer’s 20 grand slam titles, but for the fact that he was banned from competing in 21 grand slam events between 1963 and 1968. This was due to his becoming a professional tennis player at a time when only amateur players were invited to compete in grand slam events. Given that these were years when he would have been at his playing peak, if he had played those 21 grand slams and maintained his winning percentage, he would have won an additional 12 grand slam titles, giving him a total of 23. It is hard envisage Federer, or Nadal, or Djokovic getting to, or exceeding, that number.
So, is Rod Laver the greatest male tennis player of all time? Certainly, the argument can be made that he is. Based upon the data set out above, he is; but there are many other factors that could be taken into account that could lead to some other conclusion. No doubt the debate will continue. Paradoxically, in team sports, unlike in tennis, where a player’s performance, and therefore greatness, is dependent one's teammates, determining the greatest of all time is more clear-cut. For example, in basketball, there is no doubt that Michael Jordan is the greatest of all time and in football (soccer) it is Lionel Messi.
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