Is there now any doubt as to who the greatest men's tennis player of all-time is now? Roger Federer's marathon win over Andy Roddick Sunday at Wimbledon was Federer's 15th Grand Slam Title, breaking his tie with Pete Sampras for most Grand Slam wins. Federer has been so dominant for so long, that he is taken for granted by the sporting public. Some of the numbers and records that Federer holds:
-15 Grand Slam Singles Titles
-He's needed just 41 Grand Slams to win 15 (better than a 1 in 3 success rate)
-20 Grand Slam Finals, reached SF stage in 21 straight majors
-237 Consecutive Weeks at #1 from '04-'08
-Won Wimbledon and US Open every year from '04-'07
-Holds record winning streaks on grass and hard-court in Open Era
-6th Player to win Career Grand Slam, something Borg & Sampras never accomplished
This is only the beginning of the list of records and accolades that Federer has earned throughout his illustrious career. Yesterday's final only adds to Federer's allure as he won the longest final in Wimbledon history beating Andy Roddick 16-14 in the 5th Set. Spare a thought for Roddick as he played the greatest match of his life, and still lost. Much like golfers that play in the Tiger Woods Era, Roddick will be a mere footnote to history because he was unlucky enough to play in the Federer Era.
With the greatest tennis players of all-time watching (Sampras, Borg, Laver, McEnroe) Federer would simply not lose, regardless of his inability to break Roddick's serve before the ultimate game of the match. It's rare that so much history can happen in one place, but Wimbledon 2009 was the perfect storm. Federer broke the all-time grand slam record in front of the man he passed and other greats in one of the best Wimbledon finals ever. Wimbledon 2009 will always be remembered for Roger Federer not only sealing his status as the greatest tennis player of all-time, but one of the greatest athletes of all-time.
2 comments:
Not to downplay that achievement of Federer at Wimbledon, but one must ask what impact the addition of Nadal would have had on Federer's chances.
Great point anonymous, it would have been great to see Nadal/Federer square off again, but his absence doesn't take away from Federer's accomplishments. I think even if Nadal was there, with history on the line, and Sampras in attendance, Federer would still have triumphed, but it's mere speculation. Let's hope we get a Federer/Nadal US Open final to make up for it.
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