Have your say: Who is tennis’ greatest of all time?
In most other sports, it’s clear cut. But picking tennis’ greatest of all time is a curiously difficult decision. Court, Laver, Williams, Federer, Nadal or Djokovic? | VOTE IN OUR POLL
No tennis in Melbourne for a day. Forget the umpires signalling a resumption; nothing starts again until referee Daniel Andrews says “play”. Nick Kyrgios told officialdom this week, “I play by my own rules,” but that ain’t exactly true. Right now Kyrgios and the rest are playing – or not playing, as the case may be – by the state of Victoria’s rules. As it should be. Melburnians want superstars, not superspreaders.
If we can’t watch the tennis, we might as well talk about it. Who’s the GOAT? That’ll get us through the next 24 hours. Most other sports are clear cut. Cricket? Bradman. No doubt. Basketball? Jordan. No doubt. Golf? Woods. No doubt. Athletics? Bolt. No real doubt. Boxing? Ali.
Tennis is curiously cloudy. I reckon the field can be narrowed down easily enough: Margaret Court, Rod Laver, Serena Williams, Roger Federer, Rafael Nadal, Novak Djokovic. Spare us the old line of, but you can’t compare different eras! Because if you believe the GOAT must come from Federer, Nadal or Djokovic, compare until your tennis-loving heart’s content. Same wonderful era. And good luck when you get to the fact that Nadal beats Federer more often than not, but Djokovic beats Nadal, and he beats Federer, too, but they’ve both won more majors than Djokovic. And yet if calendar-year grand slams are the ultimate, Laver is Bradman, twice as good as anyone else. And yet, and yet … if the majors tally is the be all and end all, Court is unbeatable. Her achievements in grand slam singles, doubles and mixed – 24, 19 and 21 wins for a total of 64 – will never be matched.
In order of appearance:
Court: Played from 1960 to 1977. Won 24 majors, the most in history. Grabbed the calendar-year grand slam in 1970. Won 192 singles titles, second only to Laver. She’s the only player to have twice won the singles, doubles and mixed at all four majors. She won all 12 as an amateur, retired briefly, the returned and won all 12 again as a professional. The International Hall of Fame said of her: “For sheer strength of performance and accomplishment there has never been a tennis player to match her.” A win/loss record of 1177-106 (91.74 per cent), the best in history.
Laver: Played from 1963-1979. Won 11 majors. Claimed 200 singles titles, the most in history. Won them on grass, clay, hardcourt – and carpet and wood! He was banned for five years for turning professional in the peak of his career. Just two majors a year in those years, more of a probability than a possibility, would have him on 21 – one ahead of the current mob. Only player in history to win two calendar-year grand slams, either side of his ban. Could have won three or four? Helped Australia to five Davis Cup wins when the team competition basically held the prestige of the majors. A win/loss record of 1473-407 (78.4 per cent).
Williams: Played from 1995 until whenever Daniel Andrews says “play” again. Won 23 majors, but has been trying for three years to get the one more she needs to equal Court. She’s won 14 doubles majors and two in mixed for 39 in total. She’s a four-time Olympic gold medallist: once in singles and three times in doubles. She hasn’t won a calendar-year slam but has twice held all four majors simultaneously, in 2002–03 and 2014–15. Only Laver and Steffi Graf have done that. Changed the face of women’s tennis as the first to have a power-based game. The winner of 73 singles titles. A win/loss record of 843-147 (85.2 per cent).
Federer: Played from 1998 until he returns from injury at Doha next month. The most technically eye-pleasing player. Does that make him the greatest even if he doesn’t end up with the best record? Twenty major victories, now matched by Nadal, but a losing head-to-head record against his Spanish mate. The winner of 103 tournaments, second only to Jimmy Connors in the ATP era. Won a Davis Cup. Won an Olympic doubles gold medal. Federer was the GOAT for all money when the beauty was matched by the biggest majors haul. But now he’s not alone on 20, he’s unlikely to win any more – and he’s not going to catch Williams and Court. A win/loss record of 1242-271 (82.1 per cent).
Nadal: Played from 2001 until whenever the ATP Cup starts up again. Trailed Federer on the majors tally for the best part of two decades. Now they’re 20-20 and it’s Nadal who seems the best chance to win more. Court’s haul of 11 Australian Opens was thought unbeatable until Nadal won 12 French Opens. There’s an argument that clay tennis is the toughest examination in tennis. In that regard, he’s unlucky only one of the four majors is on clay. Just as Federer is unlucky only one of the four is on grass. Won 86 singles titles, fourth in the modern era. Won Olympic gold in singles and doubles. Won five Davis Cups. He’s played Federer 40 times … and won 24 of them. That’s a stat the Federer fans get twitchy about. How can Federer be the GOAT with a losing record to Nadal? A win/loss record of 1004-204 (83.1 per cent).
Djokovic: Played from 2003 until whenever his army of Serbian supporters start chanting again at the ATP Cup. It’s been a phenomenal rise. Federer and Nadal were untouchable and unbeatable when Djokovic came along. They were the giants of the sport alongside Williams – never could you have expected them to be matched, let alone ambushed. Now Djokovic has won 17 majors. His best surface is hard court, so he’s fortunate two of the four majors are on it. The most effective return of serve in history. The most effective backhand. One Olympic bronze medal. Won 81 singles titles, fifth in the open era. Here’s the phenomenal fact: he leads the head-to-heads against both Federer and Nadal. He’s 27-23 versus Federer; 29-27 against Nadal. So if you’re pumping up Nadal because he beats Federer more often than not … Djokovic has them both covered despite starting as the third wheel. A win/loss record of 935-192 (83 per cent), second only to Nadal for men in the modern era – but not by much!
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