Date: 02 Jul 2004 14:43:57
From: Simone Ritchie
Subject: Best Racket Man
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Who's the best racket man?
By Scott Riley Tennis Editor
PHILADELPHIA (Sports Network) - Who's the best tennis player over the
last 27 years? I'll try to break it down from 1973 -- the year world
rankings came into play.
Sure, Pete Sampras is the all-time leader with 13 Grand Slam titles,
but of the five greats about to be analyzed, three possess more
championship trophies, two have reached more Slam finals, two have
spent more consecutive weeks atop the world rankings, and one (Bjorn
Borg) has secured more major titles on natural surfaces than the
hard-hitting American.
Sampras, of course, is fresh off his record-setting victory at
Wimbledon -- the sport's most-prestigious tournament. He probably can
lay claim to best-ever grass-court player, although Borg should have
something to say about that (six straight Wimbledon finals, five
straight wins).
The dominant American has had to beat the likes of Andre Agassi, Boris
Becker, Jim Courier, Patrick Rafter, hard-serving Goran Ivanisevic
[twice], and Cedric Pioline at Wimbledon -- none of whom make my top-5
list over the last 27-plus seasons. Borg, on the other hand, with his
devastating topspin shots and thundering serve topped such luminaries
as John McEnroe and Jimmy Connors (twice) on the ancient turf that is
Wimbledon. The steely Swede also dusted the flashy Ilie Nastase and
the heavy-serving Roscoe Tanner for two of the titles.
I'm not trying to take away from what Sampras has done, just pointing
out what the underappreciated Borg accomplished.
Pistol Pete recently hoisted his fourth consecutive Wimbledon
championship trophy -- and seventh overall, which is tops in the Open
era. Only Willie Renshaw captured as much Wimbledon hardware on the
men's side, but his plaudits came back in the '80s...the 1880s.
Sampras, a remarkable 7-0 in Wimbledon finals, also owns four U.S.
Open crowns and a pair of Australian Open titles.
He has not come close to winning it all, however, at the clay- court
Grand Slam tourney -- the French Open -- where Pete has advanced to
only one semifinal in 11 trips to Roland Garros.
Sampras has, however, gone 13-2 in his career Grand Slam finals; spent
a record 276 weeks as the number-one player in the world, including
102- and 82-week runs in succession; and won 65 titles, which places
him fourth all-time in that category.
The aforementioned Borg did some things on the tennis court that
Sampras has yet to accomplish, despite Pete playing four more years on
the pro circuit.
The great Borg is the only man to rattle off five straight Wimbledon
titles, excluding Laurie Doherty, who turned the trick five years in a
row from 1902-06, and Renshaw, who dominated when the game was
glorified badminton. The amazing Swede also landed in more Grand Slam
finals than Pete (to this point), as Borg posted a solid 11-5 mark in
such career title matches.
And Borg is the king of natural-surface Slam wins, having claimed an
unprecedented six French Open titles in as many finals appearances in
an eight-year span on the Parisian red clay, to go along with the five
grass-court (Wimbledon) crowns. The long-haired Swede also managed to
reach a quartet of U.S. Open finals -- losing twice to McEnroe and two
other times to Connors, his chief rivals at the time for world tennis
supremacy.
Borg, however, did not spend half as much time as world number- one,
where he reigned for 109 weeks -- 167 fewer than Sampras to this
point. Borg also owns three fewer career titles than Pete, who appears
to have plenty of tennis left in his just-about-29-year-old body.
Unlike Sampras, Borg did, however, play in the greatest match of
all-time, outlasting McEnroe in the marathon five-set 1980 Wimbledon
final. The famous victory gave Borg a fifth straight title at the
storied All-England Club. Johnny Mac would end Borg's Wimbledon run in
four sets of championship match tennis the following year -- the
somber Swede's final one on the circuit.
And Borg squeezed all of his achievements into a self-shortened
nine-year career.
Moving on, it seems like nobody ever wants to talk about Ivan Lendl's
incredible run in the 1980s.
All the Czech native did was spend 270 weeks (2nd all-time) atop the
world rankings, including 157 straight weeks (2nd all-time) there.
Lendl advanced to a male-record 19 Grand Slam finals -- winning eight.
Only Connors has captured more singles titles in men's history, with
Lendl notching 94 championships in 146 finals.
The obvious thing that haunts Lendl is the fact that he never won it
all at historic Wimbledon, losing in the 1986 (Boris Becker) and 1987
(Pat Cash) finals. The former star once said that he would trade in
all of his titles for one Wimbledon championship.
The great Lendl powered his way into eight straight U.S. Open finals
at one point (1982-89) -- winning three of them. He also won two
Aussie Open titles and three French Open crowns.
Lendl's biggest rival -- McEnroe -- also has something to say about
his place in the game's chronicles.
Mac captured seven titles in 11 career Grand Slam finals; spent 170
weeks as the world number-one star; and posted 77 singles
championships in 108 title tilts.
"Superbrat" took home three Wimbledon championships and four U.S. Open
titles. He also reached one French Open final (lost to Lendl in 1984)
-- unlike Sampras and Connors -- but never advanced beyond the semis
at the Australian Open, an event he skipped 11 times in 16 years. Borg
also avoided the Aussie tournament, making the trip one time in his
nine seasons. And Connors appeared in only two Australian Opens during
his illustrious career -- winning one and finishing as the runner-up
in the other.
Another one of Mac's arch-rivals -- Connors -- was as brilliant a
performer to ever take the court.
Connors, who seemingly played forever in a career that spanned 23
workmanlike seasons, spent a still-record 160 consecutive weeks as the
top-ranked player on the planet, and had another run of 84 weeks (4th
best) atop the list.
The blue-collar lefty recorded five U.S. Open championships among his
eight Grand Slam titles. And, at 268 weeks, only Sampras and Lendl
have spent more time as number-one.
Did I mention that Connors, a 15-time Grand Slam finalist, is the
all-time record-holder with 109 titles.
So who is number-one since 1973?
I'll give it to Sampras -- just barely over Borg -- on grass; Borg's
my selection on dirt; take your pick between Sampras, McEnroe, Connors
and Lendl on hardcourts; and overall, when push comes to shove and
everything's laying on the line, this writer has to go with...a dead
heat between the machine-like Sampras and equally-robotic Borg.
It's too tough to call.
Did I overlook Andre Agassi in this five-man equation? After all, the
current world number-one star is one of only five men to attain the
career Grand Slam, joining Fred Perry, Don Budge, Rod Laver and Roy
Emerson. Sampras, Borg, Lendl, McEnroe and Connors cannot lay claim to
that honor. But, in my opinion, those five gentlemen have achieved
more on tennis courts the world over.
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