THE TOP TEN TENNIS PLAYERS OF ALL TIME

The top ten tennis players of all time in order (my opinion);

1.) Roger Federer
2.) Pete Sampras
3.) Rod Laver
4.) Roy Emerson
5.) Bjorn Borg
6.) Fred Perry
7.) Don Budge
8.) Andre Agassi
9.) Bill Tilden
10.) Ivan Lendl

Some thoughts….
Roger Federer and Pete Sampras’ records speak for themselves….not much to say there

The fact Rod Laver won his two grand slams by winning three grand slam tournaments on grass and one on clay detracts slightly from the historical record….I still think his record is formidable(won each grand slam tournament at least twice) and I would almost put him in a tie with Sampras.

Roy Emerson won both singles and doubles grand slam titles in all four grand slams….When you add his grand slam titles in singles and doubles together it’s impressive and unmatched….He won more grand slam singles titles (12) than anybody except Federer and Sampras.

Bjorn Borg IMO is the greatest clay courter of all time….Also his record in five set matches and his five Wimbledons in a row are underrated.

Fred Perry won all four grand slams in his career for a total of eight titles….He also had a tremendous Davis Cup record and a really effective unorthodox forehand which was not unlike a ping pong shot.

Don Budge was the first person to win the grand slam….That deserves a mention.

I never cared much for Andre Agassi when he first appeared on the scene….I thought he was all showbiz and seemed to have no testicular fortitude in close matches and would lose them….My friends and I jokingly called him Fagassi….That was until he won all four grand slams plus the Olympics in a lengthy career where he seemed it like he won everything at least once….He has my respect.

Bill Tilden won ten grand slams and had an amazing Davis Cup record….There are those knowledgeable in tennis history that say he had the greatest serve of all time….Supposedly, he could crank it up to 160 MPH with a wood racquet.

Ivan Lendl’s open era record of most grand slam finals reached was recently tied by Federer (and I’m sure it will be broken very soon)….Still in a lengthy career where he won eight grand slams (only not winning Wimbledon), he was an extremely dominant number one player who is now watching Fed break all of his records in that area.