The Greatest Tennis Player Of The Open Era

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Tennis is a beautiful sport, and to each it means something unique. To Andre Agassi, “Tennis uses the language of life. Advantage, service, fault, break, love -- the basic elements of tennis are those of everyday existence, because every match is a life in miniature.” Agassi realized the complexity of tennis, and the challenges one must overcome to excel at it. Because of the great difficulty of the sport and the length of time tennis has existed, there is a great debate and fascination over the greatest to play the game. However, only one person can rightfully claim the title “The Greatest Tennis Player of the Open Era:” Roger Federer. The history of tennis is very intriguing topic. Historians say the first accounts of tennis being played …show more content…

He won 14 Grand Slam Titles, two Australian Opens, seven Wimbledon's and five US Opens, besting an Open Era record set previously by Borg. He dominated in his prime, being “number one in the ranking for six consecutive years” (De Guillo). He also finished the year ranked number one six times, which is a record that stands even today. When he retired in 2002, Sampras was considered The Greatest Tennis Player of the Open Era. As a result of his success, he was inducted into the Tennis Hall of Fame in 2007. Despite his great achievements, he possessed flaws of his own. Compared to the other players being compared, his number of titles at 64 is sub par. Likewise, an immense blemish to his claim is that he only “won three of the four Grand Slam events over the course of his career” (De Guillo). Without even reaching a French Open Final, how can Sampras receive this prestigious title? The Greatest Tennis Player of the Open Era must show he can win on every surface, and Sampras does not meet this …show more content…

This is in large part due to his record number of 20 grand slam titles, including six Australian Opens, one French, five US Opens and eight Wimbledons. It should be noted that Federer completed a Career Grand Slam, meaning he has won all four major titles, something only eight men have done. In his prime he was almost unstoppable; from the years 2004 to 2008, Federer “went 237 consecutive weeks being ranked number one,” an over four and a half year feat that has and may never be done again (De Giullo). By winning the Australian Open and the Rotterdam Open in 2018, Federer became the oldest man to reach world number one at the age of 36. This feat is proof of his “consistently high level of play over his twenty year career” (De Giullo). Nevertheless, there are a few things he has yet to accomplish, including a Golden Slam, which means winning all four Grand Slams plus an Olympic gold medal in singles. However, he does have history at the Olympics, winning an Olympic gold medal in doubles, with fellow Swiss Stan Wawrinka, at Beijing in 2008, and an Olympic silver medal in singles at London in 2012. Because of his remarkable achievements and unprecedented success even today, it’s “hard not to select Roger Federer as the greatest of all time” (De

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