Top 10 Great Tennis Players---On Fow24news.com

I grew up playing tennis in the 1970s, which was a great time for the sport of tennis.
It was then that tennis really became more of a mainstream sport than a sport for the privileged, especially here in the United States. With the likes of Jimmy Connors, Bjorn Borg, John McEnroe, Chris Evert, and others, there were plenty of personalities to fuel the rivalries that took place on and off the court. Since that time, many great players have come and gone. Because it is difficult to compare players of different eras in any sport due to technology changes and higher fitness standards, selecting a greatest player ever can be a difficult and very subjective task.
Despite the challenge, here is my list of the 10 greatest male tennis players of all-time.

10. Andre Agassi

Andre Agassi | Source

Born: April 29, 1970
Las Vegas, Nevada
Resides: Las Vegas, Nevada
Turned pro: 1986
Retired: 2006
Career prize money: $31,152,975
60 career titles
8 Grand Slam Singles Titles: 4 Australian, 1 French, 2 US Open, 1 Wimbledon
Inducted into Tennis Hall of Fame: 2011

Who can forget the young, brash, long-haired Andre Agassi when he first arrived on the tennis scene in the late 1980s? I have to admit that at first I was put off by his seemingly "rock star" looks and attitude. But something happened along the way, and by the time he finished his 20-year career, I was not only a fan but I had also come to respect him as a great player and spokesman for the game. With those killer ground strokes and returns of serve, no top-10 list would be complete without Andre Agassi.
Off the court, Agassi has proven to be a champion as well. There may be no athlete out there who does more for their community than Agassi and his wife, tennis legend Steffi Graf.

9. John McEnroe

John McEnroe | Source

Born: February 16, 1959
Wiesbaden, West Germany
Resides: New York City
Turned pro: 1978
Retired: 1992
Career prize money: $12,547,797
71 career titles
7 Grand Slam Singles Titles: 3 Wimbledon, 4 US Open
Inducted into Tennis Hall of Fame: 1999

John McEnroe: What do we do about Johnny Mac? Well, for starters we include him on our list of all-time greats. When it came to hard courts, fast surfaces, and creative shot-making, there may have been no one better.
His fiery attitude and occasional bad-boy behavior made tennis fans either hate him or love him. Underneath was a highly competitive athlete who hated to lose and sometimes let his emotions get the best of him.
Who can forget his epic battles with rival Jimmy Connors and his five-set loss to Bjorn Borg in the 1980 Wimbledon final, one of the greatest matches in Wimbledon history?

8. Jimmy Connors

Jimmy Connors | Source

Born: September 2, 1952
East St. Louis, Illinois
Resides: Santa Barbara, CA
Turned pro: 1972
Retired: 1996
Career prize money: $8,641,040
109 career titles
8 Grand Slam Singles Titles: 1 Australian, 2 Wimbledon, 5 US Open
Inducted into Tennis Hall of Fame: 1998

No one dominated tennis more during the mid-1970s than Jimmy Connors. In 1974 alone, Connors had a staggering 99-4 record and won the three Grand Slam tournaments that he entered. Connors was banned from playing in the French Open in 1974 due to his association with World Team Tennis, and this prevented him from a possible Grand Slam sweep. Despite peaking in the 1970s, Connors had a long and impressive tennis career, retiring in 1996. Connors still holds the record for ATP tour titles with 109.

7. Ivan Lendl

Ivan Lendl | Source

Born: March 7, 1960
Ostrava, Czechoslovakia
Resides: Goshen, Connecticut
Turned pro: 1978
Retired: 1994
Career prize money: $21,262,417
94 career titles
8 Grand Slam Singles Titles: 2 Australian, 3 French, 3 US Open
Inducted into Tennis Hall of Fame: 2001

The quiet and stoic Czech with the big serve was the most dominant player of the 1980s. Lendl wore down his opponents with his powerful ground strokes, topspin forehand and incredible level of conditioning. He was the world’s top-ranked player for four years and held the number one ranking in the world for 270 weeks, a record in that day. In contrast to many of his more outspoken peers, Lendl was known for letting his game do his talking.

6. Bjorn Borg

Bjorn Borg | Source

Born: June 6, 1956
Sodertalje, Stockholm County, Sweden
Resides: Stockholm, Sweden
Turned pro: 1973
Retired: 1983
Career prize money: $3,655,751
64 career titles
11 Grand Slam Singles Titles: 6 French, 5 Wimbledon
Inducted into Tennis Hall of Fame: 1987

What was not to love about the long-haired, blonde Swede with the killer ground game? With ice water in his veins, the quiet Borg dominated tennis in the late 1970s and had some memorable matches with the likes of John McEnroe and Jimmy Connors. Borg dominated Wimbledon, winning the title five consecutive years from 1976 to 1980.
Despite his relatively brief career (he retired in 1983 at the age of 26), Borg won 11 Grand Slam titles, all at Wimbledon and the French Open. Borg was the first player of the modern era to win more than 10 majors. In my book Bjorn Borg could have been a top five all-time had he continued to play and not retired while seemingly in the prime of his career.

5. Novak Djokovic

Novak Djokovic | Source

Born: May 22, 1987
Belgrade, Serbia
Resides: Monte Carlo, Monaco
Turned pro: 2003
Career prize money: $106,188,878
66 career titles
12 Grand Slam Singles Titles: 6 Australian, 3 Wimbledon, 2 US Open, 1 French Open
Current active player

Placing Novak Djokovic on this list was an easy decision, but where to place him was not. At 29 years of age and in the prime of his career, Djokovic has the potential to win many more Grand Slam titles. By the time his career is finished, he could very well find himself among the top few players of all-time. But, in the highly competitive world of tennis, he could also succumb to injury and miss out on some of his best years, so the jury is still out on his place in tennis history. Based on his body of work to date he has certainly made the case that he is deserving of a top five all-time. With his 2016 French Open title Djokovic become the eight man to secure a career Grand Slam. His stunning loss at Wimbledon to Sam Querrey ended his Grand Slam winning streak at four and 2017 did not start well for Novak with his stunning second round loss at the Australian Open. He needs to bounce back in a big way going forward in 2017 to convince his fans that his time at the top has not come to en end.
With twleve Grand Slam titles now secured, including the 2016 Australian Open and French Open, and at just 29 years of age, Novak deserves to be elevated to the number five position. The likeable Djokovic certainly has the potential to rise further.

4. Pete Sampras

Pete Sampras | Source

Born: August 12, 1971
Potomac, Maryland
Resides: Lake Sherwood, California
Turned pro: 1988
Retired 2002
Career prize money: $43,280,489
64 career titles
14 Grand Slam Singles Titles: 2 Australian, 7 Wimbledon, 5 US Open
Inducted into Tennis Hall of Fame: 2007

Pete's place in tennis history is difficult to judge as he only won three of the four Grand Slam events over the course of his career. Clearly more comfortable on hard courts and grass how do we decide one's place when they dominate on one surface and struggle on another. When Pete retired in 2002, he was considered to be the best player of all-time although some would dispute this. He was number one in the world rankings for six consecutive years and his 14 Grand Slam titles was a record at the time. Who can forget his epic battles with Andre Agassi that made the 1990s a great decade for tennis? Pete went out on top when he won the 2002 US Open, his last Grand Slam tournament. But, without a French Open title, or even a final, how do we decide where he belongs in the list of best ever. For now I think he comes in behind Laver at the number four spot.

3. Rod Laver

Rod Laver | Source

Born: August 8, 1938
Rockhampton, Queensland, Australia
Resides: Carlsbad, California
Turned pro: 1962
Retired 1979
Career prize money: $1,565,413
200 career titles
11 Grand Slam Singles Titles: 3 Australian, 2 French, 2 US Open, 4 Wimbledon
Inducted into Tennis Hall of Fame: 1981

It’s difficult to assess how Rod Laver would have fared against the players of today, but I suspect the redheaded Aussie would have done just fine. It’s hard to argue with the “Rockets” record. He was ranked number one in the world for seven straight years (1964 – 1970) and has more career titles (200) than anyone in the history of the game.
He is the only player to have twice won the Grand Slam, doing it once as an amateur in 1962 and again as a pro in 1969. If Laver was not excluded from the Grand Slam tournaments during a five-year period in the mid-1960s, who knows how many he would have won. During this time period, the pre-open era, the Grand Slam tournaments were for amateurs only. The “open era” in tennis did not begin until 1968, when professionals were finally allowed to compete in the Grand Slam events. Given that Laver was ranked number one in the world during this five-year period, it’s likely he would have won many more Grand Slam titles.

2. Rafael Nadal

Rafael Nadal | Source

Born: June 3, 1986
Manacor, Majorca, Balearic Islands, Spain
Resides: Manacor, Majorca, Balearic Islands, Spain
Turned pro: 2001
Career prize money: $85,920,132
73 career titles
15 Grand Slam Singles Titles: 1 Australian, 10 French, 2 US Open, 2 Wimbledon
Current active player

Were it not for the recurring tendinitis in his knees and wrist injuries Rafael Nadal may well have a few more Grand Slam titles to his already impressive resume. At 31 years of age, the fiery Spaniard, known as Rafa and “The King of Clay,” already has 15 Grand Slam titles and certainly has the potential to catch Roger Federer. Rafael is regarded as the greatest clay court player of all-time, although fans of Bjorn Borg may dispute this claim. His record 10th French Open title (2017) certainly makes it difficult to imagine anyone being better on clay.
Rafa has clearly put the wrist injury problems of 2016 behind him and is on a roll and sharp as ever. Now healthy, his epic final against Roger Federer at the 2017 Australian Open and his completely dominating performance in winning the 2017 French Open make it very clear that Rafa is the best player in the world at the moment. While it is difficult to draw comparisons of players from different generations I think Nadal has proven that he deserves to be considered among the best to ever grace the courts and as such we have elevated his all-time ranking.

1. Roger Federer

Roger Federer | Source

Born: August 8, 1981
Basel, Switzerland
Resides: Wollerau, Switzerland and Dubai, UAE
Turned pro: 1998
Career prize money: $107,299,486
93 career titles
19 Grand Slam Singles Titles: 5 Australian, 1 French, 5 US Open, 8 Wimbledon
Current active player

It’s hard not to select Roger Federer as the greatest of all time. His record 19 Grand Slam titles speak for themselves, and even at the age of 35, he is still winning and competing at the highest levels. His 302 weeks ranked as number one in the world is an open-era record. From 2004 to 2008, Federer went 237 consecutive weeks being ranked number one in the world, a record that may never be surpassed. Even though younger players are now finding a way to beat Roger, his consistently high level of play over his almost 19-year career is a testament to his conditioning and ability. His epic 2017 Australian Open victory over Rafael Nadel and his dominating performance at the 2017 Wimbledon Championship prove without a doubt that Roger Federer is indeed the greatest of all-time.