Tennis Special Feature: Top Ten Most Intimidating Players in the History of the Open Era Part V
With the last instalment of this list, come two of the greatest players of all time. The players included before in the first four parts are Chris Evert, John McEnroe, Rafael Nadal, Bjorn Borg, Martina Navratilova, Monica Seles, Pete Sampras and Serena Williams.
2. Roger “the Maestro” Federer (Switzerland)
Roger Federer is a Swiss tennis player who has held the World Number One position on the Association of Tennis Professionals for a total of 285 weeks, a record number beaten only by American legend Pete Sampras. Federer, known as the Maestro, the
Swiss Maestro, or FedExpress, is currently ranked World Number 2 by the ATP. He is, by general consensus, one of the greatest tennis players ever, and frequently shows up on polls for Greatest of All Time. In addition to these achievements, Roger Federer has
won a magnificent record of 16 Grand Slam singles titles, beating Pete Sampras’s record of 14. He is one of the seven male players of the Open Era to hold the career Grand Slam, and one of the three players, along with Andre Agassi and Rafael Nadal, to achieve
this on three different surfaces – clay, hard courts and grass. Federer has made it to 22 Grand Slam finals, unheard of for any other player.
Federer won, and he is still winning. He has redefined tennis, and his name is now the first one that comes to one’s mind when tennis is discussed. When he isn’t World Number 1, he’s World Number 2, and together he and Rafa make it near impossible for anyone
besides the two of them to win a Grand Slam tournament. Like Steffi Graf, his counterpart on the WTA, he uses a sensational slice backhand and forehand to devastating effectiveness. He also has a scarlily accurate serve – all of this, together, makes him one
of the most feared players ever.
1. Stefanie Maria Graf (Germany)
Stefanie Maria Graf, or Steffi Graf, is without a doubt an icon of tennis excellence. She ruled the tennis stage from the end of the 1980s to the middle of the 1990s. She is a former World Number 1 player. Steffi Graf amassed a total of 22 Grand
Slam singles titles, which is the second highest number among both men and women players. She was outdone only by Margaret Court, who scored 24 Grand Slam singles titles. In the year 1988, Steffi Graf became the only tennis player, male or female, to score
a Calendar Year Golden Slam. This is a near impossible feat to accomplish, requiring victory in all four Grand Slam singles events within one year, along with an Olympic Gold medal in the same year. This was at the apex of her career. She is also the last
player, male or female, to win calendar year Grand Slam. She was ranked as World Number 1 by the WTA for a total of 377 weeks, which is once again the highest record held by a male or female tennis player since the Women’s Tennis Association and the Association
of Tennis Professionals began to hand out rankings. In addition to all this, she holds the record for finishing the season as World Number 1, with a record eight times. She won 107 titles in singles events, which ranks her right behind Chris Evert with 154
and Navratilova with 167.
She, like Federer, was a master of the infamous slice which carved through her opponents’ grasp, and her terrifying bullet-fast forehand. No other player in the history of tennis was as respected or as feared. When she stepped out on the court, her opponents
would, as a rule of thumb already have undergone a shock from the stress and anticipation of playing against the superb pro. The only two exceptions to his rule were Seles and Lindsay Davenport.
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