Things are comparatively quiet around the tennis circuit. Roger Federer has gone into retirement, Serena Williams has virtually retired and all the emotions following the former's calling it a day have been experienced. But the ATP and WTA caravans roll on and we have just had Novak Djokovic winning his 89th title at Tel Aviv.
Not unexpectedly, Federer's retirement triggered a fresh round of the GOAT debate. It is an interesting exercise, this discussion about the Greatest Of All Time and several achievements will be listed as to why this or that player should be given this uniquely exalted status. The number of Grand Slam titles is one important criteria, and this is where the Big Three of Federer, Djokovic and Rafael Nadal stand out.
The figures against their name are symmetrical, Nadal has won 22, Djokovic 21 and Federer 20. There are several other greats of course but they are way down in the list of Grand Slam titles with Pete Sampras winning 14 and Roy Emerson 12.
Also while Nadal and Djokovic have won every Major at least twice (Federer won the French Open only once), there are several all time greats who have not won at least one of the Grand Slam titles even once. Ivan Lendl for a start never won Wimbledon, finishing runner-up in 1986 and 1987. Bjorn Borg never won the US Open, finishing runner-up as many as four times.
Three outstanding players from the USA: Jimmy Connors, John McEnroe and Sampras never won the French Open and another great who failed to do so was Boris Becker. Among the quartet only McEnroe made it to the title round.
Going back a few years Ken Rosewell never won the Wimbledon title even though he finished runner-up four times spread over 20 years which of course comprised both the pre-Open and the Open eras. All this does not stop them from being hailed as all time greats.
Winning multiple Grand Slam titles is considered the pinnacle of a tennis player's achievements but there are other criteria too that have to be taken into account when analysing his true greatness. Connors for example by virtue of his long and prolific career still holds three prominent Open era records: 109 titles, 1557 matches played and 1274 match wins. Not unexpectedly other all-time greats follow Connors in the number of ATP career titles won – Federer (103), Lendl (94), Nadal (92), Djokovic (89) and McEnroe (77).
Various other comparatively minor records held by Connors, Lendl, Sampras and Borg still stand though some have been set aside by The Big Three. Lendl for example was ranked no 1 for 270 weeks, but this was surpassed by Sampras who reigned at the top for 286 weeks. In the new millennium it was Federer's turn to set the record which was 310 weeks while the present record is held by Djokovic (373 weeks). When it comes to staying at the top for most consecutive weeks Federer holds the record (237).
When it comes to finishing as No 1 at the end of the year Djokovic stands alone having reached this lofty status no less than seven times. As regards another prestigious event – the ATP Tour finals – it is Federer who is on top having won it six times with Lendl and Djokovic close behind with five titles at the year-end event.
While discussing the fests of all these players it is impossible to ignore an absolutely unique achievement by another all time great. In fact old timers will still swear by Rod Laver being the greatest. And when one examines his record it is hard to disagree. Laver's 198 singles titles are the most in tennis history and 72 of them came in the Open era.
This includes his all time record of ten or more titles per year for seven consecutive years (1964-1970), He excelled on all court surfaces of his time which of course overlapped both the Pre Open and Open eras, grass, clay, hard, carpet and wood. This is underlined by the fact that he is the only player to win a Grand Slam (winning all four Major titles in the same calendar year) twice in singles in 1962 and 1969, the latter remains the only time a male player has done so in the Open era.
The fact that he accomplished the feat in his last year as an amateur in 1962 and did so again when tennis went open, underscores his mastery. Laver won eleven Grand Slam singles titles though he was banned from playing in the Majors for five years (1963 to 1967) prior to the Open era. What he could have accomplished is driven home by the fact that he won eight pro titles in the UK, USA and France from 1964 to 1967. He was the first male player to be winner and runner-up at all four Grand Slams, a feat equaled by Federer.
Laver's fabulously unequalled feat of notching up the Grand Slam twice allied to his other accomplishments makes him a leading contender for the GOAT. After all, which other player has a tournament (Rod Laver Cup) and a hallowed court (Rod Laver arena at Melbourne) named after him?