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 the greatest player ever can be a difficult and very subjective task.
One thing I think most fans can agree on is that we are currently witnessing three of the greatest ever in Roger Federer, Rafael Nadal, and Novak Djokovic.
Despite the challenge, here is my list of the 10 greatest male tennis players of the Open Era—1968 to present. I have actually included 11 players here, with two greats tied for the 10th position.
10. Ken Rose wall.
- Born: November 2, 1934.
Sydney, Australia. - Resides: Sydney, Australia.
- Turned pro: 1957.
- Retired: 1980.
- Career prize money: $1,602,700.
- 133 career titles.
- 8 Grand Slam Singles Titles: 4 Australian, 2 French, 2 US Open.
- 15 Pro Majors: 2 US Pro, 5 Wembley Pro, 8 French.
- Inducted into Tennis Hall of Fame: 1980.
With a long career that included both the pre- and post- Open Era, Ken Rose wall certainly deserves a place among the all-time greats of tennis.
His eight Grand Slam titles combined with 15 Major Championships undoubtedly qualifies Rose wall a place in tennis immortality. With a career that started in the early 1950s and ended with his retirement in 1980, the quick and agile Aussie was renowned for his backhand and crisp and accurate volleying.
His last Grand Slam title came at the 1972 Australian Open at the age of 37, which is still a record for the oldest Grand Slam winner.
I watched Ken Rose wall play during the latter part of his career, and at the time probably did not realize the greatness I was watching.
To compete at his age with the next generation of tennis greats speaks volumes to his conditioning and mental toughness. I am placing him in the tenth position along with Andre Agassi as I feel that both players are worthy to be on this list.
10. Andre Agassi.
- Born: April 29, 1970.
Las Vegas, Nevada. - Resides: Las Vegas, Nevada.
- Turned pro: 1986.
- Retired: 2006.
- Career prize money: $31,152,975.
- 61 career titles.
- 8 Grand Slam Singles Titles: 4 Australian, 1 French, 2 US Open, 1 Wimbledon.
- Olympic Gold Medalist, 1996.
- Inducted into Tennis Hall of Fame: 2011.
Who can forget the young, brash, long-haired Andre Agassi when he first arrived at 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.
- Born: February 16, 1959.
Wiesbaden, West Germany. - Resides: New York City.
- Turned pro: 1978.
- Retired: 1992.
- Career prize money: $12,547,797.
- 105 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 he 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.
- Born: September 2, 1952.
East St. Louis, Illinois. - Resides: Santa Barbara, CA.
- Turned pro: 1972.
- Retired: 1996.
- Career prize money: $8,641,040.
- 147 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.
- Born: March 7, 1960.
Czechoslovakia. - Resides: Connecticut.
- Turned pro: 1978.
- Retired: 1994.
- Career prize money: $21,262,417.
- 144 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 he 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.
- Born: June 6, 1956.
Sweden. - Resides: Stockholm, Sweden.
- Turned pro: 1973.
- Retired: 1983.
- Career prize money: $3,655,751.
- 101 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 he 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. Pete Sampras.
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 the best ever? For now, I think he comes in at the number five spot.
4. Rod Laver.
- 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.
- 9 Pro Slam Singles Titles: 3 US Pro, 4 Wembley Pro, 1 French Pro, 1 Wimbledon Pro.
- 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 he 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.
3. Rafael Nadal.
- Born: June 3, 1986.
Spain. - Resides: Spain.
- Turned pro: 2001.
- Career prize money: $127,121,385.
- 90 career titles.
- 21 Grand Slam Singles Titles: 2 Australian, 13 French, 4 US Open, 2 Wimbledon.
- 2008 Olympic Gold Medalist - Beijing Summer Olympics.
- Current active player.
At 35 years of age, the fiery Spaniard, known as, “The King of Clay,” has won his 21st Grand Slam title to eclipse his closet rivals, Roger Federer and Novak Djokovic.
Rafael is widely regarded as the greatest clay-court player of all time, although fans of Bjorn Borg may dispute this claim. His record 13th French Open title in 2020, in dominating fashion, certainly makes it difficult to imagine anyone being better on clay.
Rafael has proven that he deserves serious consideration in the discussion for the greatest of all-time. His impressive 2021 Australian Open title gives 21 Grand Slams Championships to surpass Federer and Novan who remain at 20. With Federer sidelined with an injury and Novan deported from Australia, some will say the path to victory was an easier one.
I say Daniel Medvedev proved to be a worthy opponent and is the top contended to dominate the game once the big three have departed.
2. Roger Federer.
- Born: August 8, 1981.
Basel, Switzerland. - Resides: Bottmingen, Switzerland.
- Turned pro: 1998.
- Career prize money: $130,594,339.
- 103 career titles.
- 20 Grand Slam Singles Titles: 6 Australian, 1 French, 5 US Open, 8 Wimbledon.
- Current active player.
For many years, it was easy to select Roger Federer as the greatest of all time.
His 20 Grand Slam titles and 310 weeks ranked as number one speak for themselves, and even at the age of 40, he is still winning and competing at the highest levels.
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 him, his consistently high level of play over his 20-year career is a testament to his conditioning and ability.
Winning the 2018 Australian Open after his outstanding 2017 season that saw him win Wimbledon and the Australian Open prove without a doubt that Roger Federer was the greatest of all time as of 2018. But with Nadal and Djokovic adding to their Grand Slam count since, it may be impossible to declare a GOAT until all three have finished their careers.
His dramatic five-set loss to Novak Djokovic at the 2019 Wimbledon Championship proves that he can still compete with anyone. Roger certainly had his chances to secure Grand Slam number 21, a loss that will haunt him with limited opportunities remaining, but he is setting a new level of excellence at an age when most players have long since retired.
Injuries sidelined Roger for 2020 and a good portion of the 2021 season. Fans will be anxiously watching his return in 2022. For now, Roger dips to number two all time, but you should never count him out.
1. Novak Djokovic.
- Born: May 22, 1987.
- Born in Belgrade, Serbia.
- Resides: Monte Carlo, Monaco.
- Turned pro: 2003.
- Career prize money: $154,756,726.
- 86 career titles.
- 20 Grand Slam Singles Titles: 9 Australian, 6 Wimbledon, 3 US Open, 2 French Open,
- Current active player.
At 34 years of age and in the late prime years of his career, Djokovic is clearly the best player in the world at the moment, and he has the potential to win more Grand Slam titles.
With 20 Grand Slam titles already under his belt, he trails just Rafael Nadal who stands at 21. And with a record 361 weeks ranked as number one, it’s hard not to give Djokovic serious consideration as the greatest of all time.
With his 2016 French Open title, Djokovic became the eighth man to secure a career Grand Slam. His dominating start to the 2021 season with wins at the Australian Open, French Open, and Wimbledon makes it clear that Djokovic is the best player in the world at the moment.
Beating Rafael Nadal in the semi-finals of the 2021 French Open makes a clear statement that he can beat Rafael on his best surface. Djokovic dominated the 2021 Wimbledon Championship, losing just two sets on his way to beating Italy’s Matteo Berrettini in four sets.
With his record of winning multiple Major titles on all surfaces, and his advantage in head-to-head matches against both Federer and Nadal, Novak Djokovic has earned the title of greatest of all time, for the moment.
With the tennis world eagerly watching to see if Djokovic could make history by winning the calendar Grand Slam, all four majors in the same year, alas it was not to be.
His straight set loss to Medvedev in the final of the 2021 US Open proves that either Father Time is catching up with Djokovic or the hungry herd of next generation contenders has arrived.
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