Men's Tennis - Who Is The Greatest Of All Time?

[Keithstg]

15 minutes ago, Steve R. said:

I think that I'm more in agreement than disagreement with the idea that Grand Slams define greatness in our current era.  However, for me at least, that's an easier conclusion on the women's side.  The fact that the men's Grand Slams are "best of 5 sets" significantly changes the game for me by rewarding some qualities (longer concentration, consistency, fitness) more than the other tournaments do and, therefore, creating the possibility of some folks winning more Grand Slams (& not "lower" tournaments, where the sprinters might excel).  There's also my need to include, in the term greatness, the ability to win on all surfaces.  So, for both the men and women, I'd want to see their Grand Slam titles reasonably distributed over hard, clay, red clay and grass surfaces.

That being said, on the men's side, one would still be hard pressed to deny who the best players have been over the last 10-15 years.  On the women's side, a no-brainer until you get to #2 🤔.

btw: the US Open Quals started today.  Couldn't get there, but will definitely prowl the grounds tomorrow and Friday.  Then, tickets to 3 days next week when it officially begins.  Anyone else?

I'll be there, semis and finals this year. Very lucky!

[Tweaked]

So how are we feeling about Djokovic now?

For all the talk of generational change, the guy was one set away from completing the Grand Slam this year:

Australian Open (won final in 3 sets)

French Open (won final in 3 sets)

Wimbledon (lost final in 5 sets)

US Open (won final in 3 sets)

[DonRocks]

On 8/22/2023 at 10:09 AM, Keithstg said:

To think that Borg, Connors, or McEnroe didn't care about the number of Grand Slams they won seems silly. 

Borg played 10 years on tour. He skipped 9 Australian Opens.

McEnroe played 16 years on tour. He skipped 10 Australian Opens, and 6 French Opens.

Connors played 22 years on tour. He skipped 20 Australian Opens, and 11 French Opens.

--

Using the terminology of their era, none of them have any Grand Slams. The only people that do are Don Budge (1938) and Rod Laver (1962, 1969). 

NB: uber-cool fact: I hit with Don Budge.

[Keithstg]

12 hours ago, DonRocks said:

Borg played 10 years on tour. He skipped 9 Australian Opens.

McEnroe played 16 years on tour. He skipped 10 Australian Opens, and 6 French Opens.

Connors played 22 years on tour. He skipped 20 Australian Opens, and 11 French Opens.

--

Using the terminology of their era, none of them have any Grand Slams. The only people that do are Don Budge (1938) and Rod Laver (1962, 1969). 

NB: uber-cool fact: I hit with Don Budge.

See my point re: Travel above. No coincidence the one skipped most was the farthest away, least prestigious, earliest in season, and without a meaningful warmup run - at that time. Also, how many were Borg, Connors and McEnroe healthy enough to play in to begin with?