SabFederer the Greatest
January 30th 2007 00:41
Roger Federer is closing in on becoming the greatest tennis player of all time, after his unbelievable Australian open where he didn’t lose a single set.
After Pete Sampras retired having won 14 majors and dominating the sport for a decade, many believed that no male player would again dominate the sport believing the depth and demands too great.
Yet Federer has dominated even more than the great Sampras and more than anyone since the legend Rod Laver. On February 26, the Swiss master will overtake Jimmy Connors record of consecutive weeks as number 1. He has been number 1 since winning his first Aussie Open back in 2004.
The two best players since Laver have been Bjorn Borg who won 11 slams before retiring at 26 and Sampras with the record 14 slams. However both players didn’t have things their own way. Borg had fierce rivalries with both Connors and John McEnroe. Sampras of course was involved in one of the great rivalries in sport in the 1990’s against fellow American Andre Agassi.
Federer has no clear rival. Perhaps Rafael Nadal who actually holds a 6-3 advantage and the pair engaged in classic Grand Slam finals last year in Paris and Wimbledon. However Nadal has gone off the boil since Wimbledon and currently seems no match for Federer outside the clay courts. At only 20 there is no doubt the Spanish warrior will only get better and eventually become the next number 1, whenever Federer starts to age or loses motivation.
The Swiss’s other rivalries in recent years have been Andy Roddick and Lleyton Hewitt. Roddick has only one twice out of 13 matches, and in the Semi-Final in Melbourne got annihilated by Federer in straight sets in what was meant to be the match of the open. Hewitt hasn’t been much better. Before he was King Roger, Hewitt was the number 1 player in the world and dominated him. Preying on Federer’s then mental fragility, Hewitt won 7 of the first 9 encounters including the memorable 2 sets and a break down miracle comeback in the Davis Cup Semi Final in 2003. However this demoralising loss did not scar Federer, as he has won 9 straight matches against Hewitt with the majority being straight set thrashings.
The only thing missing from Federer’s trophy cabinet is the French Open. It’s the one event that still marks against Sampras when he is discussed as the greatest ever. The courts at Roland Garros are extremely difficult for a non clay court specialist. Currently Nadal is King of Clay having won 60 straight and the past two French opens. However Federer is improving, reaching the semis in 2005 and the final in 2006.
I think Federer will beat Nadal in the final of the French Open and thus be termed as the greatest ever overtaking the legendary Laver, Borg and Sampras. The Swiss master wants to play on to the 2012 Olympics in London, and by then should have won around 20 Slams.
After Pete Sampras retired having won 14 majors and dominating the sport for a decade, many believed that no male player would again dominate the sport believing the depth and demands too great.
Yet Federer has dominated even more than the great Sampras and more than anyone since the legend Rod Laver. On February 26, the Swiss master will overtake Jimmy Connors record of consecutive weeks as number 1. He has been number 1 since winning his first Aussie Open back in 2004.
The two best players since Laver have been Bjorn Borg who won 11 slams before retiring at 26 and Sampras with the record 14 slams. However both players didn’t have things their own way. Borg had fierce rivalries with both Connors and John McEnroe. Sampras of course was involved in one of the great rivalries in sport in the 1990’s against fellow American Andre Agassi.
Federer has no clear rival. Perhaps Rafael Nadal who actually holds a 6-3 advantage and the pair engaged in classic Grand Slam finals last year in Paris and Wimbledon. However Nadal has gone off the boil since Wimbledon and currently seems no match for Federer outside the clay courts. At only 20 there is no doubt the Spanish warrior will only get better and eventually become the next number 1, whenever Federer starts to age or loses motivation.
(The Greatest)
The Swiss’s other rivalries in recent years have been Andy Roddick and Lleyton Hewitt. Roddick has only one twice out of 13 matches, and in the Semi-Final in Melbourne got annihilated by Federer in straight sets in what was meant to be the match of the open. Hewitt hasn’t been much better. Before he was King Roger, Hewitt was the number 1 player in the world and dominated him. Preying on Federer’s then mental fragility, Hewitt won 7 of the first 9 encounters including the memorable 2 sets and a break down miracle comeback in the Davis Cup Semi Final in 2003. However this demoralising loss did not scar Federer, as he has won 9 straight matches against Hewitt with the majority being straight set thrashings.
The only thing missing from Federer’s trophy cabinet is the French Open. It’s the one event that still marks against Sampras when he is discussed as the greatest ever. The courts at Roland Garros are extremely difficult for a non clay court specialist. Currently Nadal is King of Clay having won 60 straight and the past two French opens. However Federer is improving, reaching the semis in 2005 and the final in 2006.
I think Federer will beat Nadal in the final of the French Open and thus be termed as the greatest ever overtaking the legendary Laver, Borg and Sampras. The Swiss master wants to play on to the 2012 Olympics in London, and by then should have won around 20 Slams.
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