"Peak" Top Ten Update

[Spencer Gore]

As per a previous request. Here is an update of the peak Top Ten opponents of select ATGs
2019 was requested as an additional year to add to the previous five year old post.

Players in bold won at least one slam during their careers.
Total slams refers to slams won by opponents at the start of the season in question.

This is from the top of my head, so any mistakes and I'll rectify ASAP.

---------------------------------------------

1974: CONNORS
Career Slam winner opponents: 8
Slams won by opponents pre '74: 18

1 JIMMY CONNORS
2 John Newcombe
3 Bjorn Borg
4 Rod Laver
5 Guillermo Vilas
6 Tom Okker
7 Arthur Ashe
8 Ken Rosewall
9 Stan Smith
10 Ilie Nastase

------------------------------------------------

1980: BORG
Career Slam winner opponents: 5
Slams won by opponents pre '80: 10

1 BJORN BORG
2 John McEnroe
3 Jimmy Connors
4 Gene Mayer
5 Guillermo Vilas
6 Ivan Lendl
7 Harold Solomon
8 Jose-Luis Clerc
9 Vitas Gerulaitis
10 Eliot Telts

--------------------------------------------------

1984: McENROE
Career Slam winner opponents: 6
Slams won by opponents pre 84: 11

1 JOHN MCENROE
2 Jimmy Connors
3 Ivan Lendl
4 Mats Wilander
5 Andres Gomez
6 Anders Jarryd
7 Henrik Sundstrom
8 Pat Cash
9 Eliot Teltscher
10 Yannick Noah

---------------------------------------------------

1995: SAMPRAS
Career Slam winner opponents: 7
Slams won by opponents pre 95: 14

1 PETE SAMPRAS
2 Andre Agassi
3 Thomas Muster
4 Boris Becker
5 Michael Chang
6 Yevgeny Kafelnikov
7 Thomas Enqvist
8 Jim Courier
9 Wayne Ferreira
10 Goran Ivanisevic

-----------------------------------------------

2006: FEDERER
Career Slam winner opponents: 2
Slams won by opponents pre 2006: 2

1 ROGER FEDERER
2 Rafael Nadal
3 Nikolay Davydenko
4 James Blake
5 Ivan Ljubicic
6 Andy Roddick
7 Tommy Robredo
8 David Nalbandian
9 Mario Ancic
10 Fernando Gonzalez

-------------------------------------------------

2010: NADAL
Career Slam winner opponents: 4
Slams won by opponents pre 2010: 18

1RAFAEL NADAL
2Roger Federer
3Novak Djokovic
4Andy Murray
5Robin Soderling
6Tomas Berdych
7David Ferrer
8Andy Roddick
9Fernando Verdasco
10Mikhail Youzhny

------------------------------------------------

2011: DJOKOVIC
Career Slam winner opponents: 3
Slams won by opponents pre 2011: 25

1 NOVAK DJOKOVIC
2 Rafael Nadal
3 Roger Federer
4 Andy Murray
5 David Ferrer
6 Jo-Wilfried Tsonga
7 Tomas Berdych
8 Mardy Fish
9 Janko Tipsarevic
10 Nicolas Almagro

-------------------------------------------------

2019 NADAL
Career Slam winner opponents: 4
Slams won by opponents pre 2019: 36

1 RAFA NADAL
2 Novak Djokovic
3 Roger Federer
4 Dominic Thiem
5 Daniil Medvedev
6 Stefanos Tsitsipas
7 Alexander Zverev
8 Matteo Berrettini
9 Roberto Bautista Agut
10 Gael Monfils

 

[fedfan24]

strongest years in my time are 2004,2008,2009,2011,2012. 2007, 2015 were ok too.

 

[Candide]

 

[Herald]

strongest years in my time are 2004,2008,2009,2011,2012. 2007, 2015 were ok too.

Your time suggests you were late to the party.

 

[Rosstour]

Now do 2017 Federer

 

[fedfan24]

Your time suggests you were late to the party.

started watch tennis 2003/2004

 

[Spencer Gore]

Now do 2017 Federer

But Federer wasn't #1 in 2017 so that would contradict the basis of the statistical evaluation.

 

[Herald]

Today's game is more top heavy (and very heavy at that) whereas the days of yore of PETE, Mac, Connors and friends had slam winners throughout the top 10. You could argue this meant there was more slam winning material in these eras than the so-called modern era of homogenization which made winning a slam more difficult for the dominant player.

 

[OldschoolKIaus]

Connors in 4.