marc45
G.O.A.T.
another reader riff, and response, from Wertheim's Mailbag today....
2003: Two fans finish their strawberries and cream as the last people filter out of the Wimbledon grounds.
"Hey, I've got a wager for you. In 2017, all of the following will be true:
Roger Federer and a guy from Spain named Rafael Nadal will still be battling for No. 1 in the rankings. Federer will have 19 Slam titles on his resume. Federer will have 8 Wimbledon titles. Nadal will have 15 slam titles on his resume. Nadal will have 10 French Open titles. A man will have recently won all four slam titles in a row, but it won't be either Federer or Nadal. The top 5 will all be over the age of 30. The top 5 will have 52 slam titles between them all."
"LOL, buddy. I will take that bet. It's unlikely ANY of those will be true."
"Oh, and I almost forgot—the Williams sisters will still be top players. Serena will have won the 2017 Australian over Venus, and Venus will have also reached the Wimbledon final."
"Seriously, are you high?"
—Christopher Brown
• The submission came with the email heading: “Part of the fun of sports is that the stories are unpredictable. And, these are special times in tennis.” I think that pretty much nails it. You could add others to that 2003 conversation.
- Before he turned 50, Pete Sampras could see his Slam record broken by THREE different players…..
- A Brit would Wimbledon. Twice. And a gold medal on Centre Court.
- The U.S. would have no male win a major for more than a decade.
- This one isn’t as surprising but it doesn't get enough attention so we’ll add it: Steffi Graf and Andre Agassi would be the sports answer to Joanne Woodward and Paul Newman, the exception to the rule that two celebrities can’t have a fulfilling and healthy marriage.
Anyway, it’s all part of the fun. And it ought to be a source of optimism for the dreaded day when the Big Four and the Williams sisters are no longer occupying center stage. They’ll be missed but the proverbial show will a) continue and b) yield unpredictable and unforeseeable excitement.
2003: Two fans finish their strawberries and cream as the last people filter out of the Wimbledon grounds.
"Hey, I've got a wager for you. In 2017, all of the following will be true:
Roger Federer and a guy from Spain named Rafael Nadal will still be battling for No. 1 in the rankings. Federer will have 19 Slam titles on his resume. Federer will have 8 Wimbledon titles. Nadal will have 15 slam titles on his resume. Nadal will have 10 French Open titles. A man will have recently won all four slam titles in a row, but it won't be either Federer or Nadal. The top 5 will all be over the age of 30. The top 5 will have 52 slam titles between them all."
"LOL, buddy. I will take that bet. It's unlikely ANY of those will be true."
"Oh, and I almost forgot—the Williams sisters will still be top players. Serena will have won the 2017 Australian over Venus, and Venus will have also reached the Wimbledon final."
"Seriously, are you high?"
—Christopher Brown
• The submission came with the email heading: “Part of the fun of sports is that the stories are unpredictable. And, these are special times in tennis.” I think that pretty much nails it. You could add others to that 2003 conversation.
- Before he turned 50, Pete Sampras could see his Slam record broken by THREE different players…..
- A Brit would Wimbledon. Twice. And a gold medal on Centre Court.
- The U.S. would have no male win a major for more than a decade.
- This one isn’t as surprising but it doesn't get enough attention so we’ll add it: Steffi Graf and Andre Agassi would be the sports answer to Joanne Woodward and Paul Newman, the exception to the rule that two celebrities can’t have a fulfilling and healthy marriage.
Anyway, it’s all part of the fun. And it ought to be a source of optimism for the dreaded day when the Big Four and the Williams sisters are no longer occupying center stage. They’ll be missed but the proverbial show will a) continue and b) yield unpredictable and unforeseeable excitement.
