BGod
G.O.A.T.
Looking at how Zverev's season went, obviously not the best #4 but certainly a better showing than some years past. He was fairly consistent by making 3 Masters Finals win a win, taking the WTF and making it to 2 other Masters semis and two 500 tournament wins. But without further ado, let's get a poll going:
Bjorn Borg 1981: Appeared in 3 Slams making the Final every time and winning once. But if you literally play next to nothing else, you might just get #4 out of those results.
Mats Wilander 1983: Two Slam Finals, winning one. Two Masters titles and a semifinal at the Masters Cup.
Patrick Rafter 1998: Just a weird scenario where a far better season resulted in half the ranking. Rafter completed the USO Triple Crown (something only Nadal and Roddick have also accomplished).
Andre Agassi 2003: This was a year in which 4 different players won Slams, and as such it really opened up the floor. Roddick, Ferrero and Federer finished in the Top 3. Roddick with his USO Triple Crown and deep runs at 2 other Slams and the WTF generally deserved the #1. Ferrero was the only man with 2 Slam Finals and also nabbed two Masters. While Federer captured the WTF to lock himself into #2. Agassi's season after his AO win saw him become the oldest #1 and win the Miami Masters. He pretty much took it easy rest of the way playing only 2 more Masters but went deep at the USO making the semifinal and a quarter at the French before getting to the WTF Title match against Roger.
Llleyton Hewitt 2005: Hear me out on this one. Hewitt played in 3/4 Slams and 3 Masters tournaments. In the one Masters tournament he retired down 3-4 in the 1st set. At Wimbledon and USO semifinals, he lost to Federer. AT the Indian Wells Final, he lost to Federer. He lost the Aussie Open Final to Safin and Cincinnati semifinal to Roddick. By virtue of his play alone, this was one of the best #4 players we've seen as mostly Federer beat him at the highest stages along with an in-zone Safin who beat Federer and Roddick at his best surface.
Andy Murray 2011: Yes he won a Slam in 2013 but his 2011 season by a margin way more consistent. He made the semifinals of every Major (as oppose to skipping one entirely in 13) and 1 final. On the Masters circuit he captured 2 titles and 2 more semifinals. Of course this was the coronation of Novak and only Nadal won a Slam outside. And Nadal interestingly enough collected his points on finals as oppose to actual titles. He only won a single Masters but made 4 other finals and of course losing 2 Slam finals to Novak. Roger Federer was 1 win lesser in Slams than Murray and like Nadal only won a single Masters but he came away with the WTF and that was the difference.
Rafael Nadal 2012: Injuries took him down to the #4 spot, so you could call this a default. After making the Final in Australia and winning the French, Nadal was embarrassed at Wimbledon and took the rest of the year off. Prior to that at the Masters level he reached the semifinals at 4 and won 2.
Stan Wawrinka 2014: Bit of a toss between 14 & 15 of course but the difference comes down to a Masters title in 14 as in both season he won a Slam and made the WTF semifinal. In 2014 however, Wawrinka really had the WTF semifinal in hand with 4 match points he ultimately failed on. His other runs in 14 included a 5 set marathon against Nishikori at the USO quarter.
Bjorn Borg 1981: Appeared in 3 Slams making the Final every time and winning once. But if you literally play next to nothing else, you might just get #4 out of those results.
Mats Wilander 1983: Two Slam Finals, winning one. Two Masters titles and a semifinal at the Masters Cup.
Patrick Rafter 1998: Just a weird scenario where a far better season resulted in half the ranking. Rafter completed the USO Triple Crown (something only Nadal and Roddick have also accomplished).
Andre Agassi 2003: This was a year in which 4 different players won Slams, and as such it really opened up the floor. Roddick, Ferrero and Federer finished in the Top 3. Roddick with his USO Triple Crown and deep runs at 2 other Slams and the WTF generally deserved the #1. Ferrero was the only man with 2 Slam Finals and also nabbed two Masters. While Federer captured the WTF to lock himself into #2. Agassi's season after his AO win saw him become the oldest #1 and win the Miami Masters. He pretty much took it easy rest of the way playing only 2 more Masters but went deep at the USO making the semifinal and a quarter at the French before getting to the WTF Title match against Roger.
Llleyton Hewitt 2005: Hear me out on this one. Hewitt played in 3/4 Slams and 3 Masters tournaments. In the one Masters tournament he retired down 3-4 in the 1st set. At Wimbledon and USO semifinals, he lost to Federer. AT the Indian Wells Final, he lost to Federer. He lost the Aussie Open Final to Safin and Cincinnati semifinal to Roddick. By virtue of his play alone, this was one of the best #4 players we've seen as mostly Federer beat him at the highest stages along with an in-zone Safin who beat Federer and Roddick at his best surface.
Andy Murray 2011: Yes he won a Slam in 2013 but his 2011 season by a margin way more consistent. He made the semifinals of every Major (as oppose to skipping one entirely in 13) and 1 final. On the Masters circuit he captured 2 titles and 2 more semifinals. Of course this was the coronation of Novak and only Nadal won a Slam outside. And Nadal interestingly enough collected his points on finals as oppose to actual titles. He only won a single Masters but made 4 other finals and of course losing 2 Slam finals to Novak. Roger Federer was 1 win lesser in Slams than Murray and like Nadal only won a single Masters but he came away with the WTF and that was the difference.
Rafael Nadal 2012: Injuries took him down to the #4 spot, so you could call this a default. After making the Final in Australia and winning the French, Nadal was embarrassed at Wimbledon and took the rest of the year off. Prior to that at the Masters level he reached the semifinals at 4 and won 2.
Stan Wawrinka 2014: Bit of a toss between 14 & 15 of course but the difference comes down to a Masters title in 14 as in both season he won a Slam and made the WTF semifinal. In 2014 however, Wawrinka really had the WTF semifinal in hand with 4 match points he ultimately failed on. His other runs in 14 included a 5 set marathon against Nishikori at the USO quarter.
