Roger Federer - Greatest Player Ever?

I would say so. Consider the following:

IMHO, Federer has basically sown a generation of players so much better than those previous single-handedly. He appeared in 10 straight Grand Slam Finals in the space of 3 years and 17 Straight semi-final appearances in 4. Not to mention 5 straight Wimbledon titles and coming devilishly close to 6 (foiled by Rafa who IMHO wouldn't be as great a play without Fed). He has won 12 Grand Slams in the space of 5 years. So far that is 12/23. Not counting 2003 thats 11/20. He's won Grand Slams more frequently than when he doesn't. Also he has smashed Jimmy Connor's #1 world ranking by 77 weeks. Compare 237 weeks to 160. He was halfway to doubling Connor's record. He was essentially invincible on all surfaces except clay. Now the likes of Djokovic and Rafael Nadal are dethroning him. I don't doubt that eventually break the record for most GS. It will be at a much faster rate than Sampras got his (he was 14/52 over 15 years).

I actually did my research on this one. My challenge to you is find another player that you think is the greatest of all time and present solid evidence as to why.

 

Sorry Ianhux, I dont have time at the moment to do the research but I thought I'd bump your thread up with a response.

I do think Federer has already shown he is better than Sampras and Connors - no doubt. However, if I recall Rod Lavers stats rival Federer plus he won the French at least twice and pulled off two calendar year grand slams. As much as I am tempted to call Federer the greatest, until he wins the French or a lot more grand slams (Laver has more than Sampras), I just cant. Also, Poncho Gonzalez (sp?) was #1 for 8 years and played at a time when you could not serve and volley (i.e. had this not been the case he may have been more dominant).

BTW, a few of us wished you a happy birthday last Friday in case you didnt see the thread.

 

Funny you mention Lendl, Don, because that's usually who I think of when I compare Federer to former greats. Lendl was a machine.

I do think that Federer is the best ever. He is certainly the most mentally tough player, the most fundamentally consistent player, and just hits it so hard. He is currently going through what Tiger Woods has recently gone through, which is when a player so dominates a sport that he raises the level of everyone else and is no longer overtly dominant. I happen to think that Federer will regain his hunger and dominance, and will eventually break every record there is.

For anyone intersted in some rather astonishing (recent) history, read about why Ivan Lendl has not been to his home country since 1982:

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Ivan_Lendl

 

Bahumbug! I actually wasted 20 minutes of my life looking those stats up and besides although I didn't really elaborate on it my reasons are on more of the intangible and subjective view that he has raised the level of so much higher than it was before.

And thanks Mo. I missed that thread entirely but now I have seen it (and posted).

 

Lendl was a machine and had the personality of a fern. Interesting reading about his dispute w/the former Czech govt. Whenever I think of him I think of his "allergic to grass" excuse for not playing Wimbledon even though when not on a tennis court he could always been found on a golf course.

As for Federer, Nadal is in his head and another loss in New York seems inevitable. Not entirely sure if he will beat Sampras' Slams record.

 

He's two away and if you look at Sampras' record it took him 15 years. Federer has been on the tour since '01 I believe so he has ample time to get Nadal out of his head and refocus although I doubt he'll come anywhere near to being as dominant as he was.

 

All doubt gone - Federer is the greatest ever! 5 Wimbeldons, 5 US Opens, 3 Austrailians, and now a French.

Congrats to an amazing athlete with unbelievable mental toughness/nerves. He has shown he is human the last few years but no one has ever played the game better. All you really had to do to determine that was watch him play. It was all just a matter of the slam titles and now he has them. Amazing! I wish there was a clapping hand emoticon because I would use several of them now. THe banana doesnt work for this occasion.

 

The career slam is finally accomplished! It would have been far more epic if he had beaten Nadal but I'm not complaining and I don't think Fed is either. Congrats to one of the all-time greats. Years from now it will be great looking back at his amazing career and rivalry with Nadal. And I think I'll throw in some dancing bananas out of joy :banana: :banana: :banana: :banana:

 

One guy you are leaving out Ian is Rod Laver. While he was before my time, he won the Grand Slam (and in the same year). This weekend they were talking about him and while he has 11 career slams, he was not allowed to play in them for 5 years during his prime (when he turned "pro" he was banned from them because it was considered only for "amateurs"). Consensus says Laver would have close to 20 Slams if allowed to play.

 

Not much of a tennis fan, but I would ask the question - has the opposition Federa faced been as testing as Samprass et. al? The problem is, you can on play the people put in front of you. Either way, he is a great of the game.

 

Sampras and Federer played in an exhibition match in New York last year. Sampras won, but I don't think that means much.

You could probably come up with a list of players that played against both Federer and Sampras competitively, and then determine both players' success against that group. In fact, I'm sure someone has already done that, I just wouldn't know where to look - did a little searching, but didn't find much.

 

We agree about something, Mo! I would like to see how some of the greats from the past would do with modern rackets/conditioning/etc., but I still say Federer beats anyone. Only Lendl was as mentally tough, and no one has the overall arsenal - no weaknesses. A pleasure to watch.

 

Bradical, I'm sure we agree on some Fulham and soccer things as well. And as you grow older and wiser, I'm sure we'll agree in other areas too :wink:

Any tennis fan would like to see the greats from the past play in their prime with modern rackets. I would especially like to see Laver, Borg, and McEnroe. In the end, I think Laver would win out of the three. Also, I think Borg's mental toughness surpassed everyone's other than Federer (and lately Federer is slipping in this regard). Borg did what he did with no net game - it was only his mental tougness and awesome topsin groundstrokes that made him one of the greats.

Don, Ty Cobb was a feisty, competitive dude that had trouble complimenting anyone, even contemporaries like Ruth. More power to the Georgia Peach - if memory serves me, he may have unleashed one of the deadliest hitting sprees in the history of baseball.

 

And Federer breaks Sampras' record. He now has 15 grand slam titles. I'm just excited I witnessed history.

 

That was one freakin' incredible match. Andy boy, my heart goes out to you - but you got to get a net game.

Now that Federer has clearly established himself as the greatest ever, I can commence my duty of rooting against him in every match he plays. Come on Rafael, Andy, and Andy.

Spencer, where are you?

 

I hate watching Tennis on TV more than I can put into words, but even I enjoyed this match. Federer was awesome and Roddick put up a valiant effort. Good job guys.

 

Don, that's one of several reasons why Federer is so great. He broke Andy's service game in the only set he had to. People underestimate the mental component of tennis. In the end, it all comes down to who can keep their brains and nerves in check.