An analysis of the greatest indoor players of all time, year by year.

[hipolymer]

An analysis of the greatest indoor players of all time, year by year.

Some context: indoor is a valuable benchmark for tennis greatness, if only for the fact that it has been a constant in tennis for the past 100 years.
Since there were no hard court tournaments during the amateur era, we have to look at the indoor wood surface to be able to compare players' proficiencies across eras.

Now there were various indoor tournaments from the early 20th century, including the "British Covered Court Championships",
the "World Covered Court Championships", the "US Indoors", but the problem is that no one tournament had the best players in the world
in indoor events until the 30s, so I decided to omit these years. Anthony Wilding seemed to be among the best indoor players in the early 1900s, and then the Frenchmen Henri Cochet and Jean Borotra in the 1910s and 1920s.

The Wembley, French, and US Pros were 3 of the most important pro tournaments for almost 40 years, and they were all indoors at one point in time. Once the Open Era began, the WCT Finals for the majority of the 70s was on par in importance with the slams.

Let's begin:

Wembley Pros were on indoor wood from 1934 to 1967
U.S. Pros were indoor hard from 1952 to 1962 (during this time it was considered to be less prestigious. And not just because it was held in Cleveland)
French Pros were indoor wood from 1963 to 1967 and indoor cement on 1950 and 1953

Since Wembley and U.S. pros were both indoor from 1952 to 1962, and two different players
might have won each of them, I broke the tie through which player had the best result
across both of the tournaments.

Since Wembley and French pros were both indoor from 1963-1967, I broke ties as well.

---

1934: Vines (won Wembley Pro)
1935: Vines (won Wembley Pro)
1936: Vines (won Wembley Pro)
1937: Nusslein (won Wembley Pro)
1938: Nusslein (won Wembley Pro)
1939: Budge (won Wembley Pro)
1940-1948: no tournaments
1949: Kramer (won Wembley Pro)
1950: Gonzales (won Wembley Pro and US Pro)
1951: Gonzales (won Wembley Pro)
1952: Gonzales (won Wembley Pro and runner up US Pro)
1953: Sedgman (tiebreaker: beat Gonzales in Wembley final, and won French Pro on indoor cement; Gonzales won US Pro)
1954: Gonzales (won US Pro)
1955: Gonzales (won US Pro)
1956: Gonzales (won Wembley Pro and US Pro)
1957: Rosewall (tiebreaker: both Rosewall and Gonzales won an indoor pro that year, but Rosewall won more matches and Wembley was more prestigious)
1958: Sedgman (won Wembley Pro, Gonzales won US Pro; tiebreaker: beat Gonzales in Wembley semis)
1959: Anderson (won Wembley Pro, Gonzales won US Pro; tiebreaker: won more matches than Gonzales, and Wembley more prestigious)
1960: Rosewall (won Wembley Pro, Olmedo won US Pro; tiebreaker: won more matches than Olmedo, and Wembley more prestigious)
1961: Rosewall (won Wembley Pro, Gonzales won US Pro; tiebreaker: U.S. Pro was only 2 matches that year, and Wembley more prestigious)
1962: Rosewall (won Wembley Pro, Bucholz won US Pro; tiebreaker: U.S. Pro was only 2 matches that year, and Wembley more prestigious)
1963: Rosewall (won Wembley Pro)
1964: Rosewall (won French Pro, Laver won Wembley Pro; tiebreaker: Rosewall won more sets combined in both finals)
1965: Laver (tiebreaker: again both Rosewall and Laver split the two titles, but Laver performed better in both tournaments)
1966: Laver (tiebreaker: again both Rosewall and Laver split the two titles, beating each other in straight sets, but Laver won more games.)
1967: Laver (won Wembley Pro and French Pro)

OPEN ERA

(In the first couple of years of the open era before the Year End Championships began in
1970, the biggest indoor tournaments were the U.S. Indoor Pro (not to be confused with
the U.S. Pro) and Wembley
The WCT tour at the time also had more indoor events than the Grand Prix tour, meaning
that the WCT finals was more representative of the indoor elite at the time.

1968: Laver (Rosewall won Wembley that year, but Laver beat him in 3 indoor events so I gave him the edge. In one match he beat Rosewall 6-0 6-1 6-0 !!!)
1969: Laver (won U.S. Pro Indoor and Wembley)

1970-present: Grand Prix year end masters begins in 1970, but the WCT finals begin in 1971
In the 70s the WCT finals were more prestigious, making it tough to determine
who was the best player by year. I explain my decisions in parentheses.

1970: Laver (even though he lost to Smith in the Grand Prix YEC, he won 2 indoor WCT "masters" and Wembley)(Smith only one other indoor title)(also, the YEC was a RR that year)
1971: Rosewall (won WCT finals beating Newcombe, Okker, Laver who won 6 combined indoor WCT events that year. Nastase won Grand Prix YEC as RR)
1972: Rosewall (won WCT finals beating Laver who won 4 indoor WCT events that year, and Ashe, who won two. Nastase won Grand Prix YEC)
1973: Smith (won 6 indoor WCT events that year including WCT finals)
1974: Newcombe (won WCT finals beating Okker and Borg, who won combined 4 indoor WCT events that year. Grand Prix YEC was held on grass)
1975: Ashe (won 6 indoor WCT events including WCT finals) (Also won 2 indoor Grand Prix "masters") (Nastase won GP YEC)
1976: Borg (won 3 indoor WCT events including WCT finals) (Ashe won 4 indoor WCT events) (Orantes winner of GP YEC)
1977: Connors (won both the WCT finals and the Grand Prix YEC)
***IMPORTANT: 1978, WCT tour merges with Grand Prix tour.
1978: McEnroe (won 5 indoor Grand Prix events including Grand Prix YEC. Gerulaitis won the WCT finals, but through a walkover and 2 weak opponents).
1979: McEnroe (wins 7 indoor Grand Prix events including WCT finals and 2 indoor masters. Borg wins 5 indoor events including Grand Prix YEC and an indoor masters.
Really tough to tie break this one, as McEnroe beat Borg at the WCT while Borg beat McEnroe at the GP YEC. McEnroe won more indoor masters though.)
1980: Connors (Connors won 5 indoor events including WCT finals and 2 indoor masters; Borg won 3 indoor events including the GP YEC and an indoor masters. Another tough one but Connors edges it.)
1981: Lendl (Lendl won 5 indoor events including GP YEC. McEnroe won 4 indoor events including WCT finals; Lendl also beat McEnroe at the GP YEC.)
1982: Lendl (wins both GP YEC and WCT finals)(9 indoor titles in total)(McEnroe won 5 indoor titles including 3 indoor masters.)
1983: McEnroe (wins both GP YEC and WCT finals)(5 indoor titles in total including 2 indoor masters.)
1984: McEnroe (wins both GP YEC and WCT finals)(8 indoor titles in total including 2 indoor masters.)
1985: Lendl (wins both GP YEC and WCT finals)(5 indoor titles in total)(McEnroe won 6 indoor titles including 2 indoor masters.)
1986: Lendl (wins GP YEC and 1 indoor masters)(Jarryd wins WCT finals)
1987: Lendl (wins GP YEC, 3 indoor titles in total)(Mecir wins WCT finals)(Edberg wins 4 indoor titles, including 2 indoor masters.)
1988: Becker (wins every major indoor event: GP YEC, WCT finals, and 2 indoor masters)
1989: Edberg (only indoor title was GP YEC.)(McEnroe wins 2 indoor titles including WCT finals.)(Becker wins 3 indoor titles including a master.)
(Edberg wins out over McEnroe because he was a bigger factor in the indoor masters, reaching a final and a semi.)
***IMPORTANT: 1989 was the last time a WCT final was held
From 1990 to 1999, the Grand Slam Cup was another important indoor tournament
1990: Agassi (wins ATP YEC, beating Sampras, Becker, and Edberg.)(Becker won 4 indoor titles, including a masters)
1991: Sampras (won YEC)
1992: Becker (won 5 indoor events, including YEC)
1993: Stich (won YEC, Stockholm Masters, and runner up in Grand Slam Cup)
1994: Sampras (won YEC)
1995: Becker (won YEC)
1996: Sampras (really close, Becker won GS Cup, Stuttgart Masters, Vienna, and narrowly got defeated by Sampras in the YEC final; Sampras also won 4 indoor titles in total)
1997: Sampras (won YEC, Grand Slam Cup, Paris Masters, 5 indoor titles in total)
1998: Corretja (won YEC; Germans slowed the surface down immensely for this tourney)
1999: Sampras (won YEC; Agassi won Paris Masters and reached YEC final)
2000: Kuerten (won YEC)
2001: Hewitt (won YEC; Grosjean won Paris Masters, reached YEC final, but also lost to Hewitt in DC final on indoors)
2002: Hewitt (won YEC)
***IMPORTANT: From 2003 to 2004 the YEC was on outdoor hard, so the biggest indoor tournaments were the two Masters
2003: Federer (even though it was outdoor I'll still give it to Federer as he won 2 indoor titles that year; Federer also beat Ferrero at the YEC, and Ferrero won an indoor masters that year)
2004: Federer (won YEC; didn't play the two indoor masters, which Safin won, whom he beat at the YEC)
2005: Nalbandian (won YEC)
2006: Federer (won YEC, Madrid Masters, and Swiss Indoors)
2007: Nalbandian (won two indoor masters, beating Federer twice, Nadal twice, Djokovic, Ferrer, Moya, Berdych, and Del Potro; Federer won YEC and Swiss Indoors)
2008: Djokovic (won YEC)
2009: Davydenko (won YEC)
2010: Federer (won YEC, Swiss Indoors, and Stockholm Open)
2011: Federer (won YEC, Paris Masters, Swiss Indoors, and Rotterdam)
2012: Djokovic (won YEC)
2013: Djokovic (won YEC and Paris Masters)
2014: Djokovic (won YEC and Paris Masters)
2015: Djokovic (won YEC and Paris Masters)

---

Overall best indoor players (2 or more years):


8 Rosewall
6 Gonzales
6 Laver
5 Lendl
5 Sampras
5 Federer
5 Djokovic
4 McEnroe
3 Vines
3 Becker
2 Nusslein
2 Sedgman
2 Connors
2 Hewitt
2 Nalbandian

---

By decade (2 or more years at the top):

1930s: Vines/Nusslein
1940s: ---
1950s: Gonzales/Sedgman
1960s: Rosewall/Laver
1970s: Rosewall/McEnroe
1980s: Lendl/McEnroe
1990s: Sampras/Becker
2000s: Federer/Hewitt/Nalbandian
2010s: Djokovic/Federer

---

Please correct any inaccuracies.

END

 

[Alien]

2007 is Nalbandian, of course. Won two indoor masters beating 1, 2 and 3, whow btw are probably the three goats...

 

[Deleted member 688153]

2007 is Nalbandian, of course. Won two indoor masters beating 1, 2 and 3, whow btw are probably the three goats...

Right then.

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/ATP_World_Tour_Finals

 

[hipolymer]

2007 is Nalbandian, of course. Won two indoor masters beating 1, 2 and 3, whow btw are probably the three goats...

You're probably right. I find it strange that Nalbandian couldn't make the YEC after that when Gasquet barely did anything the entire year. A shame.

 

[hipolymer]

Right then.

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/ATP_World_Tour_Finals

It's tough because you can argue either way; the majority of indoor favored players can't play the YEC because they have to be consistent throught the whole year, which means that clay courters can inevitably qualify. Meanwhile the indoor masters have a much larger draw.

I think if Federer didn't lose twice to Nalbandian I would have still given it to Fed.

 

[Deleted member 688153]

It's tough because you can argue either way; the majority of indoor favored players can't play the YEC because they have to be consistent throught the whole year, which means that clay courters can inevitably qualify. Meanwhile the indoor masters have a much larger draw.

I think if Federer didn't lose twice to Nalbandian I would have still given it to Fed.

That is true I'll admit. But the restricted field also means no easy draws, and you have to beat the best players overall. Especially in this modern era of homogenized surfaces where it's basically the same guys at the end of every tournament, I think it evens out.

I'm just going off prestige of tournaments won. I won't pretend that Nalby doesn't have a case, though.

 

[Drob]

An analysis of the greatest indoor players of all time, year by year.

Some context: indoor is a valuable benchmark for tennis greatness, if only for the fact that it has been a constant in tennis for the past 100 years.
Since there were no hard court tournaments during the amateur era, we have to look at the indoor wood surface to be able to compare players' proficiencies across eras.

Now there were various indoor tournaments from the early 20th century, including the "British Covered Court Championships",
the "World Covered Court Championships", the "US Indoors", but the problem is that no one tournament had the best players in the world
in indoor events until the 30s, so I decided to omit these years. Anthony Wilding seemed to be among the best indoor players in the early 1900s, and then the Frenchmen Henri Cochet and Jean Borotra in the 1910s and 1920s.

The Wembley, French, and US Pros were 3 of the most important pro tournaments for almost 40 years, and they were all indoors at one point in time. Once the Open Era began, the WCT Finals for the majority of the 70s was on par in importance with the slams.

Let's begin:

Wembley Pros were on indoor wood from 1934 to 1967
U.S. Pros were indoor hard from 1952 to 1962 (during this time it was considered to be less prestigious. And not just because it was held in Cleveland)
French Pros were indoor wood from 1963 to 1967 and indoor cement on 1950 and 1953

Since Wembley and U.S. pros were both indoor from 1952 to 1962, and two different players
might have won each of them, I broke the tie through which player had the best result
across both of the tournaments.

Since Wembley and French pros were both indoor from 1963-1967, I broke ties as well.

---

1934: Vines (won Wembley Pro)
1935: Vines (won Wembley Pro)
1936: Vines (won Wembley Pro)
1937: Nusslein (won Wembley Pro)
1938: Nusslein (won Wembley Pro)
1939: Budge (won Wembley Pro)
1940-1948: no tournaments
1949: Kramer (won Wembley Pro)
1950: Gonzales (won Wembley Pro and US Pro)
1951: Gonzales (won Wembley Pro)
1952: Gonzales (won Wembley Pro and runner up US Pro)
1953: Sedgman (tiebreaker: beat Gonzales in Wembley final, and won French Pro on indoor cement; Gonzales won US Pro)
1954: Gonzales (won US Pro)
1955: Gonzales (won US Pro)
1956: Gonzales (won Wembley Pro and US Pro)
1957: Rosewall (tiebreaker: both Rosewall and Gonzales won an indoor pro that year, but Rosewall won more matches and Wembley was more prestigious)
1958: Sedgman (won Wembley Pro, Gonzales won US Pro; tiebreaker: beat Gonzales in Wembley semis)
1959: Anderson (won Wembley Pro, Gonzales won US Pro; tiebreaker: won more matches than Gonzales, and Wembley more prestigious)
1960: Rosewall (won Wembley Pro, Olmedo won US Pro; tiebreaker: won more matches than Olmedo, and Wembley more prestigious)
1961: Rosewall (won Wembley Pro, Gonzales won US Pro; tiebreaker: U.S. Pro was only 2 matches that year, and Wembley more prestigious)
1962: Rosewall (won Wembley Pro, Bucholz won US Pro; tiebreaker: U.S. Pro was only 2 matches that year, and Wembley more prestigious)
1963: Rosewall (won Wembley Pro)
1964: Rosewall (won French Pro, Laver won Wembley Pro; tiebreaker: Rosewall won more sets combined in both finals)
1965: Laver (tiebreaker: again both Rosewall and Laver split the two titles, but Laver performed better in both tournaments)
1966: Laver (tiebreaker: again both Rosewall and Laver split the two titles, beating each other in straight sets, but Laver won more games.)
1967: Laver (won Wembley Pro and French Pro)

OPEN ERA

(In the first couple of years of the open era before the Year End Championships began in
1970, the biggest indoor tournaments were the U.S. Indoor Pro (not to be confused with
the U.S. Pro) and Wembley
The WCT tour at the time also had more indoor events than the Grand Prix tour, meaning
that the WCT finals was more representative of the indoor elite at the time.

1968: Laver (Rosewall won Wembley that year, but Laver beat him in 3 indoor events so I gave him the edge. In one match he beat Rosewall 6-0 6-1 6-0 !!!)
1969: Laver (won U.S. Pro Indoor and Wembley)

1970-present: Grand Prix year end masters begins in 1970, but the WCT finals begin in 1971
In the 70s the WCT finals were more prestigious, making it tough to determine
who was the best player by year. I explain my decisions in parentheses.

1970: Laver (even though he lost to Smith in the Grand Prix YEC, he won 2 indoor WCT "masters" and Wembley)(Smith only one other indoor title)(also, the YEC was a RR that year)
1971: Rosewall (won WCT finals beating Newcombe, Okker, Laver who won 6 combined indoor WCT events that year. Nastase won Grand Prix YEC as RR)
1972: Rosewall (won WCT finals beating Laver who won 4 indoor WCT events that year, and Ashe, who won two. Nastase won Grand Prix YEC)
1973: Smith (won 6 indoor WCT events that year including WCT finals)
1974: Newcombe (won WCT finals beating Okker and Borg, who won combined 4 indoor WCT events that year. Grand Prix YEC was held on grass)
1975: Ashe (won 6 indoor WCT events including WCT finals) (Also won 2 indoor Grand Prix "masters") (Nastase won GP YEC)
1976: Borg (won 3 indoor WCT events including WCT finals) (Ashe won 4 indoor WCT events) (Orantes winner of GP YEC)
1977: Connors (won both the WCT finals and the Grand Prix YEC)
***IMPORTANT: 1978, WCT tour merges with Grand Prix tour.
1978: McEnroe (won 5 indoor Grand Prix events including Grand Prix YEC. Gerulaitis won the WCT finals, but through a walkover and 2 weak opponents).
1979: McEnroe (wins 7 indoor Grand Prix events including WCT finals and 2 indoor masters. Borg wins 5 indoor events including Grand Prix YEC and an indoor masters.
Really tough to tie break this one, as McEnroe beat Borg at the WCT while Borg beat McEnroe at the GP YEC. McEnroe won more indoor masters though.)
1980: Connors (Connors won 5 indoor events including WCT finals and 2 indoor masters; Borg won 3 indoor events including the GP YEC and an indoor masters. Another tough one but Connors edges it.)
1981: Lendl (Lendl won 5 indoor events including GP YEC. McEnroe won 4 indoor events including WCT finals; Lendl also beat McEnroe at the GP YEC.)
1982: Lendl (wins both GP YEC and WCT finals)(9 indoor titles in total)(McEnroe won 5 indoor titles including 3 indoor masters.)
1983: McEnroe (wins both GP YEC and WCT finals)(5 indoor titles in total including 2 indoor masters.)
1984: McEnroe (wins both GP YEC and WCT finals)(8 indoor titles in total including 2 indoor masters.)
1985: Lendl (wins both GP YEC and WCT finals)(5 indoor titles in total)(McEnroe won 6 indoor titles including 2 indoor masters.)
1986: Lendl (wins GP YEC and 1 indoor masters)(Jarryd wins WCT finals)
1987: Lendl (wins GP YEC, 3 indoor titles in total)(Mecir wins WCT finals)(Edberg wins 4 indoor titles, including 2 indoor masters.)
1988: Becker (wins every major indoor event: GP YEC, WCT finals, and 2 indoor masters)
1989: Edberg (only indoor title was GP YEC.)(McEnroe wins 2 indoor titles including WCT finals.)(Becker wins 3 indoor titles including a master.)
(Edberg wins out over McEnroe because he was a bigger factor in the indoor masters, reaching a final and a semi.)
***IMPORTANT: 1989 was the last time a WCT final was held
From 1990 to 1999, the Grand Slam Cup was another important indoor tournament
1990: Agassi (wins ATP YEC, beating Sampras, Becker, and Edberg.)(Becker won 4 indoor titles, including a masters)
1991: Sampras (won YEC)
1992: Becker (won 5 indoor events, including YEC)
1993: Stich (won YEC, Stockholm Masters, and runner up in Grand Slam Cup)
1994: Sampras (won YEC)
1995: Becker (won YEC)
1996: Sampras (really close, Becker won GS Cup, Stuttgart Masters, Vienna, and narrowly got defeated by Sampras in the YEC final; Sampras also won 4 indoor titles in total)
1997: Sampras (won YEC, Grand Slam Cup, Paris Masters, 5 indoor titles in total)
1998: Corretja (won YEC; Germans slowed the surface down immensely for this tourney)
1999: Sampras (won YEC; Agassi won Paris Masters and reached YEC final)
2000: Kuerten (won YEC)
2001: Hewitt (won YEC; Grosjean won Paris Masters, reached YEC final, but also lost to Hewitt in DC final on indoors)
2002: Hewitt (won YEC)
***IMPORTANT: From 2003 to 2004 the YEC was on outdoor hard, so the biggest indoor tournaments were the two Masters
2003: Federer (even though it was outdoor I'll still give it to Federer as he won 2 indoor titles that year; Federer also beat Ferrero at the YEC, and Ferrero won an indoor masters that year)
2004: Federer (won YEC; didn't play the two indoor masters, which Safin won, whom he beat at the YEC)
2005: Nalbandian (won YEC)
2006: Federer (won YEC, Madrid Masters, and Swiss Indoors)
2007: Nalbandian (won two indoor masters, beating Federer twice, Nadal twice, Djokovic, Ferrer, Moya, Berdych, and Del Potro; Federer won YEC and Swiss Indoors)
2008: Djokovic (won YEC)
2009: Davydenko (won YEC)
2010: Federer (won YEC, Swiss Indoors, and Stockholm Open)
2011: Federer (won YEC, Paris Masters, Swiss Indoors, and Rotterdam)
2012: Djokovic (won YEC)
2013: Djokovic (won YEC and Paris Masters)
2014: Djokovic (won YEC and Paris Masters)
2015: Djokovic (won YEC and Paris Masters)

---

Overall best indoor players (2 or more years):


8 Rosewall
6 Gonzales
6 Laver
5 Lendl
5 Sampras
5 Federer
5 Djokovic
4 McEnroe
3 Vines
3 Becker
2 Nusslein
2 Sedgman
2 Connors
2 Hewitt
2 Nalbandian

---

By decade (2 or more years at the top):

1930s: Vines/Nusslein
1940s: ---
1950s: Gonzales/Sedgman
1960s: Rosewall/Laver
1970s: Rosewall/McEnroe
1980s: Lendl/McEnroe
1990s: Sampras/Becker
2000s: Federer/Hewitt/Nalbandian
2010s: Djokovic/Federer

---

Please correct any inaccuracies.

END

 

[Drob]

An analysis of the greatest indoor players of all time, year by year.


END

I reach mostly similar conclusions. But I am also willing to say that in certain years, especially more recently, no one sufficiently distinguished themselves. I had different takes on some years.

1936 - there was no Wembley. Vines played patsies indoors in the US and Nusslein played only two or three tournaments. I think '36 the answer is "nobody"/

1937 and 1938 - up for grabs. 1937 Vines and Perry play to a draw in US and Nusslein wins Wembley. So, Nusslein. 1938 Vines pulls ahead of Perry. So I'd give it to Vines.

1948 - Kramer, by virtue of WCS triumph, with most of the matches indoors

1950 - Still Kramer. He killed Gonzalez in the WCS

1951 - Kramer. Beat Segura in the WCS. Won the Philadelphia Pro (precursor to U.S. Pro Indoor)

1952 - Now Gonzalez has it. Beats Kramer at Philly and at Wembley.

1953. Kramer won the WCS versus Sedgman.


1957 - Gonzalez. Won the WCS virtually all indoors by a substantial margin.

1958 - I'd say Gonzalez again, beating Hoad in WCS, w most matches indoors. But it is close, and maybe a shared No. 1. w Sedge.

1959 - I respect the upset Anderson pulled off, but I would go w Gonzalez for sure, based on winning the WCS (mostly indoors), US Pro, Toronto. He sat out Wembley. This may be another year with no title holder.

1960 - Rosewall won an important indoor tournament in Australia, although Gonzalez was dominant over Ken in WCS matches (mostly indoors, I believe). But Ken's Wembley trumps that and he won the Manila tournament, which I think was indoors. So, no doubt, Rosewall.

1961 - funny one. I don't disagree with you, but Gonzalez finishes the season with three important indoor titles, at Milan, the Scandinavian and Austrian.

In making your tiebreaks, look to other indoor tournaments there might be, not just to performance at French Pro and Wembley. In '65, for example,laver won the US POr Indoor and Rosewall the Scandinavian; in '66 Rosewall won the Madison Square Garden tournament.


1971 - Laver. You left out the Tennis Champions Classic, where Rod pulled off one of the great tennis achievements ever, winning 13 straight matches for a huge, huge purse. It was like Grand Slam Cup but three times as hard. He also won the then-highly important U.S. Pro Indoor.

1974 - Connors. Won seven indoor titles

1976 - Borg for sure.

1980 - Borg, not Connors. His YEC and Stockholm were huge.

1985 - Think I like Mac.

1987 - It is a tie bet. Lendl and Edberg.

1988 - Becker

1989 - no one

1990 - Becker. This is bunched up w Sampras and Edberg, but Becker four titles, including Stuttgart and Stockholm and is finalist at Paris and Tokyo.

1991 - no one

1994 - You said Sampras, I believe. I agree. But Magnus Larsson is close, w his Davis Cup success.

1995 - no one.

1996 - shared between Boris and Pete

1998 - no one. It can be a fallacy to just default to YEC to determine No. 1 indoor player. Corretja won YEC and a small indoor at Lyon. Rios won GSC and Singapore. Rusdeski won Paris and Antwerp.

1999 - maybe it is a shared No. 1. But Rusdeski's GSC and Vienna at least = Sampras YEC.

2001 - I agree, but give Haas a nod there for winning Stuttgart and Vienna

2003 - no one

2004 - Safin. Only two players managed to win back-to-backs on the two big indoor tournaments (at that time Madrid and Paris), Safin and Nalbandian. It is like the indoor version of the Sunshine Double. Also, I believe that the 2004 YEC was played outdoors in 2004.

2005 - no one.

2009 - Djokovic, not Davydenko. Djoker Paris, China, Basel.

2016 - Murray. YEC, Paris, Vienna, China

2017 - no one

2018 - no one


I'd say:

8 Gonzalez
6 Laver
5 Rosewall
5 Djokovic
5 Mac
5 Kramer
4 Lendl
4 Becker
3 Sampras
3 Vines
3 Tilden (1931-33, based on WCS)
3 Borg
2 Connors
2 Budge (1942 WCS victory)

 

[Sport]

I reach mostly similar conclusions. But I am also willing to say that in certain years, especially more recently, no one sufficiently distinguished themselves. I had different takes on some years.

1936 - there was no Wembley. Vines played patsies indoors in the US and Nusslein played only two or three tournaments. I think '36 the answer is "nobody"/

1937 and 1938 - up for grabs. 1937 Vines and Perry play to a draw in US and Nusslein wins Wembley. So, Nusslein. 1938 Vines pulls ahead of Perry. So I'd give it to Vines.

1948 - Kramer, by virtue of WCS triumph, with most of the matches indoors

1950 - Still Kramer. He killed Gonzalez in the WCS

1951 - Kramer. Beat Segura in the WCS. Won the Philadelphia Pro (precursor to U.S. Pro Indoor)

1952 - Now Gonzalez has it. Beats Kramer at Philly and at Wembley.

1953. Kramer won the WCS versus Sedgman.


1957 - Gonzalez. Won the WCS virtually all indoors by a substantial margin.

1958 - I'd say Gonzalez again, beating Hoad in WCS, w most matches indoors. But it is close, and maybe a shared No. 1. w Sedge.

1959 - I respect the upset Anderson pulled off, but I would go w Gonzalez for sure, based on winning the WCS (mostly indoors), US Pro, Toronto. He sat out Wembley. This may be another year with no title holder.

1960 - Rosewall won an important indoor tournament in Australia, although Gonzalez was dominant over Ken in WCS matches (mostly indoors, I believe). But Ken's Wembley trumps that and he won the Manila tournament, which I think was indoors. So, no doubt, Rosewall.

1961 - funny one. I don't disagree with you, but Gonzalez finishes the season with three important indoor titles, at Milan, the Scandinavian and Austrian.

In making your tiebreaks, look to other indoor tournaments there might be, not just to performance at French Pro and Wembley. In '65, for example,laver won the US POr Indoor and Rosewall the Scandinavian; in '66 Rosewall won the Madison Square Garden tournament.


1971 - Laver. You left out the Tennis Champions Classic, where Rod pulled off one of the great tennis achievements ever, winning 13 straight matches for a huge, huge purse. It was like Grand Slam Cup but three times as hard. He also won the then-highly important U.S. Pro Indoor.

1974 - Connors. Won seven indoor titles

1976 - Borg for sure.

1980 - Borg, not Connors. His YEC and Stockholm were huge.

1985 - Think I like Mac.

1987 - It is a tie bet. Lendl and Edberg.

1988 - Becker

1989 - no one

1990 - Becker. This is bunched up w Sampras and Edberg, but Becker four titles, including Stuttgart and Stockholm and is finalist at Paris and Tokyo.

1991 - no one

1994 - You said Sampras, I believe. I agree. But Magnus Larsson is close, w his Davis Cup success.

1995 - no one.

1996 - shared between Boris and Pete

1998 - no one. It can be a fallacy to just default to YEC to determine No. 1 indoor player. Corretja won YEC and a small indoor at Lyon. Rios won GSC and Singapore. Rusdeski won Paris and Antwerp.

1999 - maybe it is a shared No. 1. But Rusdeski's GSC and Vienna at least = Sampras YEC.

2001 - I agree, but give Haas a nod there for winning Stuttgart and Vienna

2003 - no one

2004 - Safin. Only two players managed to win back-to-backs on the two big indoor tournaments (at that time Madrid and Paris), Safin and Nalbandian. It is like the indoor version of the Sunshine Double. Also, I believe that the 2004 YEC was played outdoors in 2004.

2005 - no one.

2009 - Djokovic, not Davydenko. Djoker Paris, China, Basel.

2016 - Murray. YEC, Paris, Vienna, China

2017 - no one

2018 - no one


I'd say:

8 Gonzalez
6 Laver
5 Rosewall
5 Djokovic
5 Mac
5 Kramer
4 Lendl
4 Becker
3 Sampras
3 Vines
3 Tilden (1931-33, based on WCS)
3 Borg
2 Connors
2 Budge (1942 WCS victory)

China is outdoor. And why do you include 2016 Murray but then ignore 2017 Dimitrov and 2018 Zverev? Either you include all the players which have won the ATP finals or Murray should not be there for just one ATP finals title.

 

[Drob]

China is outdoor. And why do you include 2016 Murray but then ignore 2017 Dimitrov and 2018 Zverev? Either you include all the players which have won the ATP finals or Murray should not be there for just one ATP finals title.

China Open you are, of course, correct. It does not change my 2016, nor 2009. I think WTF is huge but it is not necessarily a default surrogate for best indoor player. Davydenko did nothing indoors that year, except one 250, in Malaysia. Also, to me it makes a difference if you go undefeated or not at WTF. Davydenko went 4-1. His loss, interestingly, was to Djokovic.

Sascha also did nothing indoors until the O2, and he also was 4-1.

W Dimitrov, I was perhaps being mean. He was undefeated at WTF. He won a 250 indoors. It is hard to imagine him as the number-one indoor player.

As for Murray, I don't understand. He also won the M1000 at Paris in 2016. That is indoors. And, he won Vienna, which isn't chump change. He was undefeated at WTF, so he ended his season on a 15 or 16 indoor winning streak, taking the two biggest indoor titles of the season. That is a clear No. 1 for Andy. There is no comparison.