Mirror, Mirror – Who’s the greatest of them all?

When Rod Laver was at his peak, we thought we had seen the greatest tennis player ever. But then after him, in the Open Era came John McEnroe and Mats Wilander and the like. Then came Pete Sampras who dominated tennis like no other. He seemed completely unbeatable and won 14 Grand Slams over his career. He was definitely the greatest player of all time. Or so it seemed!

Then came a guy from Switzerland who shocked Sampras in the Wimbledon of 2002. This was the birth of Roger Federer. Over the next seven years, tennis became synonymous with Federer. He won everything there was to win – 6 Wimbledon titles and 10 other Grand Slams were in his cabinet. There was no beating this guy! And suddenly out of the blue came Rafael Nadal! He beat Federer in seven Grand Slam finals and snatched his World No. 1 ranking. Federer was made to look ordinary. When Federer hit his forehand long a couple of weeks back, Nadal slumped to his back and celebrated his 10th Grand Slam victory. Sure he has a long way to go before reaching Federer’s tally of 16 Slams but with age on his side, it surely is a matter of time till Nadal catches up with Roger. But a troublesome knee makes his task no easier. The upcoming Championships at the SW-19 will give us a clearer picture where the battle between these stalwarts is heading to. Till then let the debates continue!

Tags: John McEnroe, Mats Wilander, Pete Sampras, Player, Rafael Nadal, Rod Laver, Roger Federer, Tennis