Top men’s tennis players of all time
Judging talent is not something easy to do and it is not always possible to do justice to the talent someone possesses. However, there are always some individuals who are definitely worthy of praise and they have made head turns even at the mention of their names.
Great talent has been witnessed in the grand game of tennis. There have been a lot of exceptional players in the game who have left tennis fans star struck with their impressive performances but out of the many there are some names which are always at the top. The game of tennis goes way back, and it is awfully difficult to compare tennis players of the past with those of the present, since now the sport has become much more fast and competitive. One of the criteria for considering who is best has always been winning. In the professional world of tennis, winning a Grand Slam title is what is considered most prestigious. Hence the players who have been considered at top of the game have always been those who won the most tournaments.
Boris Becker, the former number one from Germany, has been one of the best players of all time. He has six Grand Slam titles and four runner-ups. His game was incredible on grass courts as well as on clay courts. In 1985, Becker was the first unseeded professional tennis player to have won a title at Wimbledon. He was only 17 years old at that time and he became the youngest ever tennis player to have won this title. Even though his game was brilliant he never won a single clay court tournament. Although he did make it to the semi-finals at the French Open three times.
Another note worthy name in the world of tennis is Stefan Edberg. This former world number one from Sweden has a total of six Grand Slam wins and five runner-ups. He was a fantastic player on both grass as well as hard courts and has been considered to be the best volleyer ever. Although he was a very talented player and dominated the game from time to time he was not consistent in doing so.
John McEnroe was also a spectacular tennis player. McEnroe is an American who has bagged seven Grand Slam titles during his career and was a runner-up in four tournaments. He never won any Grand Slams on clay even though he did reach the finals in two. Due to his exceptional performance in the doubles game he may be called the best doubles player of all time.
Rafael Nadal has been claimed to be one of the greatest players in the game of tennis and he has eight Grand Slam awards. He recently won at Wimbledon 2010. This Spanish player has made his name extremely prominent in present day tennis. Nadal is one of the two male tennis players who have been awarded three Grand Slams on three different surfaces at the same time. He still has to win at the US Open in order to be a winner at all four different Grand Slams.
Andre Agassi, an American retired tennis player has also been one of the best players the world of tennis has ever seen. He has won eight Grand Slam tiles and is the only tennis player in history who has been awarded the Career Golden Slam for being the only tennis player to have won at all four Grand Slam tournaments (Wimbledon, US Open, Australian Open, French Open and Olympics). He has been the best service returner in the history of tennis.
Pete Sampras was yet another exceptional American Tennis player. He has a second best record of fourteen Grand Slam titles and four runner-ups. He has dominated at Wimbledon with a total of seven wins and holds a record of eight consecutive wins at Grand Slam finals. However, he has never won at a French Open nor did he ever reach the finals.
Roger Federer has a grand total of sixteen Grand Slam wins and six runner ups. His game of tennis has been consistent throughout his career and he has averaged more than one Grand Slam title per year. With such an amazing record of wins, Federer has been considered to be one of the best tennis players of all time.
These players have made heads turn throughout the history of tennis and with their extraordinary talent in the game they are worthy of being mentioned at the top.
Tags: