Wimbledon 2017: Roger Federer shades Ali, Nicklaus, Pele as greatest

Three criteria show the Swiss ace has now eclipsed Ali, Nicklaus, Bolt and co as the greatest athlete of all time.

Will Swanton

Roger Federer stacks up well against athletes such as Muhammad Ali and Jack Nicklaus.

3 min read

1:24PMJuly 17, 2017.

Updated 10:03PMJuly 17, 2017

A tennis ball does not know who has hit it.

A tennis ball does not know about sentimental favouritism. A tennis ball does not know which player the crowd is pining for. A tennis ball does not know about Roger Federer’s age. A tennis ball does not know about the sun slowly, slowly going down on his career and the longing for a few more wins before he goes. A tennis ball does not know how much this means to him. A tennis ball does not compensate for his nerves. A tennis ball does not know about the sincere love in his heart for this sport. A tennis ball does not give a hoot about his appreciation for the crowds that make court every court on Earth his home court. A tennis ball does not know how keenly Federer wants to win when his nine-year-old daughters (not yet his three-year-old sons) are at an age to understand who and what he has become. A tennis ball gives no rewards to the technical excellence of the backswing, the moment of contact and the follow-through. A tennis ball does not care about the unflappable temperament. A tennis ball does not recognise the favourite or the underdog in any given match. A tennis ball has no bias. It goes to where it is hit.

Federer’s eighth Wimbledon title proved no-one has ever hit a tennis ball as beautifully or more successfully than him. That is the least of it. Is this the greatest athlete who ever lived? Who tops him? Pele? He won three World Cups for Brazil in 1958, 1962 and 1970. He scored 1152 goals in 1220 games. Ninety-two caps in 14 years of international competition. Ali? Sixty-one fights, 56 wins, 37 knockouts, five losses, Olympic champion in a 21-year-career. Bradman? No-one has statistically dominated his sport to the extent of his batting average of 99.94 in 20 years of Test cricket. Nicklaus? Federer has moved past the ageless and nerveless golfer on the majors count. If we remove our baggy-green blinkers, Bradman suffers from the same affliction as baseball’s Babe Ruth, basketball’s Michael Jordan and ice hockey’s Wayne Gretzky - theirs have not been world stages. Usain Bolt’s victories in the 100m and 200m Olympic sprints every four years, for eight years, do not pass the longevity test.

Through the years: Fed’s great 8

A combination of photographs created on 08 Jul 2012 showing tennis player Roger Federer of Switzerland holding up his 7 Wimbledon trophies. Swiss great Roger Federer won his seventh Wimbledon men's singles title at the Wimbledon Championships tennis tournament in Wimbledon, southwest London on 08 Jul 2012. Federer's 7 Wimbledon victories are: (c) Wimbledon 2012, left column top to bottom: 2004, 2003, 2005, and right column top to bottom: 2009, 2006 and 2007. AFP PHOTO

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There’s three criteria: success, longevity and mass appeal. The latter is important. The greatest has to have captured the imagination. The greatest has to be a champion of the people. Federer has 19 major championships. Ninety-three career titles in his 20th year as a professional. He’s survived three eras: the latter days of Pete Sampras and Andre Agassi, the days of Rafael Nadal, the days of Novak Djokovic and Andy Murray. Big numbers do not do him justice. He’s never brought the sport into disrepute with on-court or off-field scandals. He feverishly promotes tennis and its event. He wants you to love it as much as he does.

GRAPHIC: Grand Slam leaderboard

Only now is he truly living the dream. His first period of dominance in the mid-2000s was expected. When he went major-less for four-and-a-half years from 2012, he feared he was done and dusted. He’s won two more majors this year. He used to stand shoulder-to-shoulder with Pele and Ali. Now he’s risen above them. These are the wins that mean the most to him because these are the wins he never expected. These are the wins that make you so damn appreciative that it’s happened in your lifetime. A hundred years from now they’ll be talking about the beautiful Federer, the graceful Federer, the respectful Federer, the caring Federer, the decent Federer, the dominant Federer, the effortless Federer, the resilient Federer, the humble Federer, the one-and-only Federer. There’s magic in this like the sporting world has rarely if ever seen before. Melbourne Park and The All England Club this year - these are the wins that have taken him higher than any athlete has ever gone. These are wins that make a tennis ball behave as if it knows who has hit it.