All sports have personalities who have defined certain moments in the history of the game and left indelible mark. They have successfully strived towards perfection and their endeavour has resulted in great contemporary spectacle. Sometime when two or more of them played in an overlapping era, their rivalry has become part of tennis folklore. It is difficult to devote a single article to all of them. In the following paragraphs, only some of them have been included without in any way giving an impression that they were greater than those who do not find a place here.
Rod Laver: He was obsessed with developing powerful wrist to execute a powerful game. In an era where top spin was yet to find its groove, he brought in top spin from both forehand and backhand, a novelty in those times. He could volley with firm wrists which gave him a distinct advantage on grass, the surface on which a majority of the tournaments were played. His superiority on the ground strokes as well as the volley gave him profound success over his contemporaries and established him as the player to beat. His two calendar year Grand Slams are the main milestones which establish him as one of the greatest of all time.
Bjorn Borg: He was known as IceBorg for the outward calmness and inward sufferance. The success of his double fisted top spin back hand became a milestone on which many developed and perfected the modern double fisted back hand. With top spin on both the flanks, he developed a solid defence which was difficult to be penetrated by most of the players who sought weakness in the opponents’ back hand. He was able to build upon this defence with superb athleticism being perhaps the best athlete on tennis court. His drive volley and capacity to rush to the net on the fast grass court made him the most successful player at Wimbledon in his times. He was called the king of clay for having captured six titles at the French Open. His record of six French Open titles and three back to back victories at the French Open and the Wimbledon is yet to be broken. His failure to win the U.S Open in four finals was the biggest disappointment for him. He retired at a young age of 26 after failing to win the U.S Open in 1981.
Pete Sampras: He has been rated as the best server ever by many critics. He could hit an ace on his second serve too. The confidence he had in his serve made him a strong serve and volley player. He had a great forehand on the run and a spectacular overhead smash. He was the last exponent of the great serve and volley game. His constant hunt for an attacking shot put his opponents on perpetual defence. His game was spectacular for many who perceive tennis as an attacking game or for whom attack is the best defence. His failure to win the French Open does not come in the way of his greatness as a champion.
Roger Federer: He is considered a perfect player by pundits. His repertoire of shots, mental strength and natural talent for tennis has earned him a great following both among fans as well as tennis players. He has the rare capacity of hitting winners from any posture and any position. It is difficult to single out any particular shot as his best since all shots combined in a rally make the most powerful winning combination. His anticipation and fluid movement on court adds to his playing strength. There was a time when people will come to watch who could defeat him and subsequently just to watch how his rival would capitulate to him. With his all court and all shot game, he has won a career Grand Slam and is in possession of 16 major titles which is a record at present. It was only after Rafael Nadal came that the weakness of his single fisted backhand against left hander’s forehand with excessive top spin was revealed.
Rafael Nadal: His innovation of heavy top spin to his forehand has reaped him good dividend. With this shot he used to grind his opponents to slow death from the baseline. He won the French Open the very first time he participated in it in 2005. He remained undefeated there until 2009 when he was upset by Robin Soderling. In 2008, he became the first player since Bjorn Borg to carry his success from the red dirt of Roland Garros to the grass of Wimbledon . With victories at the Australian Open in 2009 and the U.S Open in 2010, he became the youngest player to complete the career Grand Slam. He has added strong serve, effective net play and a versatile back hand to his game and has graduated into an all court player. He is natural right hander who plays left handed. Some players find him playing with two forehands on either flank.
Comparisons amongst players of the same generations are easy to make since the records will speak for themselves. Winning formula is different for different players, it is difficult to say that one formula is better than the other. Players have different abilities - athleticism, forehand, backhand, first serve, second serve, volley, court craft, anticipation, reflexes, mental strength etc. - in different proportions. If a player has a better winning formula, he is deemed to be a better player than any one who has a weaker formula. If those who have weak backhand convert it into a forehand and win points, it is difficult to pronounce them a lesser player than the loser who might have had a better backhand. If a player makes up for the lack of shot making ability by running like hare and retrieving all the balls to win, he can not be called an inferior player than the one who lost.
It is however difficult to pitch two players of different era in an imaginary battle to find out who would defeat whom. Players like Laver, Borg, Sampras, Federer and Nadal are generally in the race for an imaginary Greatest Of All Time, but more than that they have contributed certain innovations to the game of tennis which makes them stand apart from others.
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