What do you consider to be the greatest single achievement by a male player in tennis history? My nominees with comments are as follows:
1. Borg's 3 consecutive French Open-Wimbledon doubles. This is a remarkable feat, although it is probably easier to accomplish now that the grass at Wimbledon has been slowed. Only three other players (Laver, Kodes and Agassi) have won both titles even once in the Open era, and Kodes benefited from a boycott of Wimbledon by most of the leading pros.
2. Budge's 6 consecutive Slam titles, 1937-38. What makes this even more special is that Budge turned pro after the 1938 season and beat all the leading pros, including Perry and Vines.
3. Federer's 10 consecutive Slam finals, 2005-2007. This streak is still alive. The runner-up is Crawford with 7 in the 1930's, and the Open era runners-up are Laver and Agassi with 4.
4. Federer's 11 Slams in 4 years. No other player, male or female, has equaled this.
5. Federer's 190 consecutive weeks (and counting) as No.1. This is the record for both men and women. However, weekly rankings were not introduced until the mid-1970's, and it's likely that players from earlier generations (e.g. Tilden or Gonzalez) might have surpassed it.
6. Laver's 2 calendar year Grand Slams. No other player - man or woman - has equaled this, and only Steffi Graf has come close. Laver also won the professional equivalent of the Grand Slam in 1967.
7. Nadal's 81 match winning streak on clay. This is the male record for any surface, although it is well behind its WTA counterpart, Chris Evert's 125 match streak.
8. Sampras' 14 Grand Slams. The total number of majors won is the statistic most often used to evaluate players - in fact, sometimes it is the ONLY metric used. Nevertheless, this total is not out of reach of other players. Federer already has 12, and Laver would probably have accumulated more if he had not been barred from the Slams between 1962 and 1968.
9. Sampras' 286 weeks at No.1. This is only just ahead of Lendl (270 weeks) and Connors (268 weeks). As with Federer's consecutive weeks at No.1 record, other players might have equaled or surpassed it before weekly ratings were introduced.
My choice? I have found that one good way of assessing a men's tennis record is to look at the analogous women's record, which will usually be more remarkable because the leading women dominate the game much more easily than the leading men do. My own vote would go to Laver's 2 Slams, especially as he also completed the professional equivalent between his amateur and Open era triumphs.
In second place I would put Federer's 10 consecutive Slam finals - just ahead of Budge's 6 consecutive Slam titles, because of the greater competitive depth in today's game. Federer has at age 26 already set a remarkable number of records. I could have included his Wimbledon-U.S. Open four-peat, for instance.
What do you think?
1. Borg's 3 consecutive French Open-Wimbledon doubles. This is a remarkable feat, although it is probably easier to accomplish now that the grass at Wimbledon has been slowed. Only three other players (Laver, Kodes and Agassi) have won both titles even once in the Open era, and Kodes benefited from a boycott of Wimbledon by most of the leading pros.
2. Budge's 6 consecutive Slam titles, 1937-38. What makes this even more special is that Budge turned pro after the 1938 season and beat all the leading pros, including Perry and Vines.
3. Federer's 10 consecutive Slam finals, 2005-2007. This streak is still alive. The runner-up is Crawford with 7 in the 1930's, and the Open era runners-up are Laver and Agassi with 4.
4. Federer's 11 Slams in 4 years. No other player, male or female, has equaled this.
5. Federer's 190 consecutive weeks (and counting) as No.1. This is the record for both men and women. However, weekly rankings were not introduced until the mid-1970's, and it's likely that players from earlier generations (e.g. Tilden or Gonzalez) might have surpassed it.
6. Laver's 2 calendar year Grand Slams. No other player - man or woman - has equaled this, and only Steffi Graf has come close. Laver also won the professional equivalent of the Grand Slam in 1967.
7. Nadal's 81 match winning streak on clay. This is the male record for any surface, although it is well behind its WTA counterpart, Chris Evert's 125 match streak.
8. Sampras' 14 Grand Slams. The total number of majors won is the statistic most often used to evaluate players - in fact, sometimes it is the ONLY metric used. Nevertheless, this total is not out of reach of other players. Federer already has 12, and Laver would probably have accumulated more if he had not been barred from the Slams between 1962 and 1968.
9. Sampras' 286 weeks at No.1. This is only just ahead of Lendl (270 weeks) and Connors (268 weeks). As with Federer's consecutive weeks at No.1 record, other players might have equaled or surpassed it before weekly ratings were introduced.
My choice? I have found that one good way of assessing a men's tennis record is to look at the analogous women's record, which will usually be more remarkable because the leading women dominate the game much more easily than the leading men do. My own vote would go to Laver's 2 Slams, especially as he also completed the professional equivalent between his amateur and Open era triumphs.
In second place I would put Federer's 10 consecutive Slam finals - just ahead of Budge's 6 consecutive Slam titles, because of the greater competitive depth in today's game. Federer has at age 26 already set a remarkable number of records. I could have included his Wimbledon-U.S. Open four-peat, for instance.
What do you think?