It's a fitting end to Rafa's last year wimbledon withdrawal...

He showed the world what he is capable of...

Vamos!!!

brilliant :D

Rafa you've done everyone proud. Your family, friends, team and your loyal fans.

Just goes to show that to every cloud there is a silver lining. If Rafa hadn't suffered the knee injury last year, he would not have changed his game. Whilst he was winning with the old style, the new game gets the job done quicker and better.

VAMOS!

well said nadline....

now ill have to painfully wait for toronto to come.......life will get boring now...:(

He told everyone early this year that he would have his best moments on the clay. Still criticism and doubt was abundant. Then came MC where his play was awesome and inspired. A few people began to believe along the road to FO, but there were still plenty of people like Roger who gave him little credit for the MS1000 wins, even after beating him in Madrid. But then he won FO and the critics had to roll-over while the crown was reestablished. But who could have guessed that he could repeat 2008. To me it's mind boggleing. To go from the depths of despair to the top of the world in one years time is an achievement I'm sure only a few can claim.
So what about the USO. At this point I think anything is possible. Many congratulations Rafa.

OOooohhh...party is still on...
Can I join...?
What can I say... BIG, BIG CONGRATULATIONS to RAFAEL NADAL!!!
Well he really destroyed everyone...
...opponents on court...
...doubters on NET...
...dirty journalist with big mouth...
... his own body... with unbelievable desire for victory!!!
His comeback from last year is more than sport victory... if you ask me... it is triumph of will, mental power, it is epic!!!
That young man is real inspiration for young people all around the world... real character without carefully designed image... pure and natural !!!
My God....and I am even not his fan... but he is really legend!!! ...at 24 and already in Hall of Fame... for all the times...
And just think how long he will be with us... ( not so good news for my Nole )
It was crazy and fabulous Wimby this year...
And congrats to my Novak who will tomorrow take N02 place on ATP.
Enjoy and celebrate Rafans... all the best!!!

what a relaxed final! (as a Rafan)°
There was (almost) never any doubt in my mind that Rafa would clinch it even though Berdych, just like in the rest of his matches, started playing amazing!
And then when it was done it suddenly dawned on me the enormity of it all - what Rafa has achieved it's so amazing - it's hard to believe!
And he didn't even have to use 5th gear in this match, this is the scary thing!
He had more Aces than Berdych in the 1st set and started the match with an ace, would you believe it :)

I posted before that Rafa will have to pass through some walls of steel to reach the finals... and for SURE he'll WIN it!
I can't think of anyone passing the inspired Haase/ Petzchner/ Soderling/ Murray-tests!.... but as the commentators were saying, RAFA is a one man Spanish Armada! They were like playing 5 Rafas inside the court. Wherever the ball dropped he was there..... he's learned the power of teleportation! The guy is "Flash" on tennis court!......... and he can produce awesome winners while off balanced or in awkward positions.
What's so admirable about him is that he's always saying "sorry" to his opponent for their loss.... after all the punching and bruising!... He's got some piercing sense of humor!
VAMOS RAFA!.... stay HEALTHY!

zare, you echo my thoughts. i have more respect for Rafa than ever before, and i think he will be a formidable force at the USO. i hope he wins the non-calendar year slam in 2010-11.

congratulations king Rafa, and more power to you.

Congrats to Rafa and fist pumps and hi fives to all Rafans who stood by Rafa and also some who did not stand by him(read atr). What an achievement! Shows the 2008 triumph was no fluke and he has really mastered grass. So much for those who said he would have limited success outside of clay.
http://online.wsj.com/article/SB100014240527487035717045753409600418 37420.html
Hope you like it.

nadal after his 8th slam has earned legend status.
next will be icon status when he enters the borg,laver,sampras and federer tier.

Congratulations for Rafa and all his fans, he deserves it.
I am so happy for him as many people wrote him off and started doubting his comeback just as they did to federer after AO 2009.
Really big congratulations for Rafa and his fans again, enjoy ur moments :)

Congratulations, Rafa!! You continue to inspire us.

All Rafa fans, enjoy the moment. Moments. Moment series. It's been something since April, yes?

All FEDAL fans, let's root for our final at the USO this year.

:-)

This freak of nature as Agassi described once has made into 4 finlas in 5 yrs, and was only keptout for a 5/5 perfect finals appearances in as many years by the injuy. he is alreayd by many regarded as one of the greatest of all time, he has won 2 more majors than Fed at the same age and he is still only 24!!

McEnroe said after the match that he coudln't imagine ANYONE in the history to have played this sport to have any chance against him last night, such was the incredible standard Rafa's set.

I hope he can keep up the goodwork and continue his amazing form on th hard surface and take home his maiden US trophy. Time for a rest now Rafa, dont make the same mistake and overpushing your knees, its not worth it.

2010, the yr Rafalution picks up the pace for No.7 8 and 9!!!

The rankings points on the ATP site have not been updated yet. What's the gap between Federer and Nadal going to be now?

Battre, if my calculations are correct Nadal should be 10,745 and Federer 6,705. Djokovic will be 6,905.

Congratulation Rafa.... wishing you happy and healthy always... take a good rest, don't worry about USO.... 2 grandslam titles in a year is more that enough....

Congrats Rafa, fellow Rafans, and to all tennis lovers out there. To paraphrase AndyM, Rafa is one of the best that happens to tennis so this victory might as well be the victory of tennis and all tennis lovers.

Vamos!!!

ATR - in all fairness, THANKS to you for providing the "entertainment" during the match! You eased a lot of tensions for us!!! Until Rafa's next match........ we'll be expecting you!

rafael nadal:10,745
nole:6,905
federer:6,885
murray:5,155

if Nole will hold on to his #2 ranking, Fed will now be in Rafa's half of the draw. i don't know if it's a good thing or what...

can't help admiring Rafael's mental & physical powers.. out of words, only CONGRATULATIONS TO RAFAEL!!!!!!!

To vrael, champ and my fellow Indian posters..
a happy news, though i'm sure you all know it by now..
Leander paes, alongwith his mixed doubles partner, Cara Black has won wimbledon mixed doubles crown..
this is Paes's 12th doubles GS crown, which is the 2nd highest number of doubles crowns among active players, after Bob Bryan's 14 slams....

happy news indeed........

zare, 7/4/10 10:54 PM Congratulations to you. That was a very eloquent tribute to the new champion of Wimbledon. You are a true tennis fan able to appreciate Nadal's qualities for what they are - unlike so many groupie fans who (from a misplaced sense of loyalty) cannot acknowledge the achievements of anyone other than their own particular favourite. Good to have Nole back at No.2 again. Let's hope the crisis in is confidence has passed and he will be there in the finals with Rafa.

Indeed very good performance from Nadal..

The only reason why we love Nadal is his ability to battle like no one.Many people thought we wont be able to make it to final.

Lose in quarter or semi, but he made it and made it in style (murray in 3 (Murray played well but nadal was too good for him) berdych in 3)..Too good to see a player winnig the GS who struggled in the initial rounds..

I'm so happy for what Rafa has achieved. What Rafa has shown us in this Wimby is that he CAN deal with the big, flat hitters, with two handed back hand, on fast surfaces. The likes of Haase/Petzschner/Soderling/Berdych are all thrown in his path to test him, and add in one top class grass court player like Murray. In fact, it was Murray, not Soderling or Berdych, who was the only one that had truly tested Rafa on grass this season. Rafa has shown us what he is made of; what a gutsy play by Rafa during that second set tie-break when he was 5-6 down facing a set point. Rafa is truly a big match player and that is the quality of a true champion. Well done again for my true champion. Rest well and go get the treatment for your knees, come back strong and conquer the USO and the year end championship, for yourself and for all those who loves and supports you! Vamos!!

clayking - congrats to you for your countryman's achievements in this Wimby!

zare & stu - thanks for your kind and appreciative words for Rafa. Congrats too for Nole now being the no.2 player in the world; what more, for the first time he is now ranked ahead of Fed! I'm sure once his serve is fixed, he'll be on his winning ways again. I'm looking forward to the top four guys plus Davy to be all ready by the NA hard court season, to counter the forces of the big giants!

Its a fitting finale to all the hype and hoopla of Fed-Rafa rematch which I don't think will happen anytime soon and it may never happen again unless Federer recovers and finds his A game back.

If Rafa continues to play at this level till 2014 when he will reach Fed's age, he will have 4 more FO and at least half of the other 12 in other suirfaces and that will count to 18 GS; two more than Fed to become the new GOAT!

Vamos!

By the way I am a Fed lover not a Fed fan(atic).

Mine is the comment no 26 in this thread, all the gyes are in the other article about Fed recuperation battling with love and hatred towards not Fed and Rafa but themselves and the count is 77.

many thnx to all muzza and nole fans to congratulate us, i hope ur champions get a majot title soon.

@clayking,vrael,champ and fellow indian posters, many congrats on leander's win , i am happy a person from Asia and my neighbour country has again won a slam , excellent :)

Oh yes I have to congratulate Berdych too for his fine performances at both RG and Wimbledon. When I look at the Wimbledon draw at the beginning of the tournament, I've already singled out Berdych to be the guy who would most likely trouble Fed in the QF. Well Berdych did live up to my expectation. After taking out Fed, it is only fitting for him to be in the final, though I know he won't be able to beat Rafa there.

Berdych has finally started to live up to his potential and I think we'll see more of him at the business ends of many more tournaments to come. I believe his victory over Fed at Miami this year really gave him the confidence and belief that he needed to propel him back into the top ten, which I think is where he should belong. I'm happy for him, now I see a more confident and matured player taking his career seriously and trying to realize his full potential. Well done Berdych; it is quite an achievement to reach a semifinal at RG and follows that up with a final at Wimbledon!

I think if there is any other player who can challenge the top 4 from now on, it is Tomas Berdych. I am so looking forward to his game this HC season (besides Rafa of course).

hey luckystar!!! congrats to us both...we finally get our wish...which is back Berych in top 10 (no. 8). i'm so happy for him. he always had the talent and potential, at least when i saw it when he was 18 and boldly taking out the Fed in athens. i agree, he is now where he belongs and i have a feeling that this time, he feels he belongs in the top ten. perhaps last time it happened too quick and his game maturity didn't quite catch up and he seemed to struggle mentally for so long. i really thought he'd never be back in the top 10 but am gald he proved me wrong.

vamos berdych!!!

if rafa can could please be considerate and go get that uso trophy quickly, i can then start to cheer a little louder :) louder for cilic and berdych (and nole and murray).

Yes homos. I hope Rafa can quickly get that USO, so that we can cheer for others (Cilic, Berdych, Nole, Murray and even my another favorite, Davy) to win it too. RG will always be for Rafa (I hope) and Wimby and AO I hope to see Rafa winning more of them too! A bit greedy but I guess that is part and parcel of being a fan.

The rivalry between Rafa and Roger has enthralled the tennis world for the better part of six years but now it looks possible it may stagger to a halt. While many may mourn its passing, there are many who will welcome the change of cast in this long running saga - not least the players who fancy their chances of taking over the part.

I detect a distinct 'wind of change' in the air. Is anyone brave enough to predict the next great rivalry?

I am of course assuming Rafa can stay fit and healthy to take on the challengers.

In 2008, Rafa won both FO and Wimby and then he went on winning a hard court title at Olympics. That is considered to be three major titles in 2008. This year, two years later, it is looking at history to repeat: Rafa already won two of them and all he needs is the hard court trophy. By all means it should be USO. Vamos Rafa! Enjoy your time off having lots of fun, you sure deserve it!

I hope he rests well, he takes time to fix his right knee problems and he comes back strong and eager to win USO! Vamos Rafa! Vamos Spanish Armada!!!

luckystar: i'm greedy too. even if rafa wins uso, of course i wouldn't want him to stop there but i wouldn't be giving myself the same sort of cardiac arrests i've been having. there are some real talented players whose games have yet to mature and it would be great to watch some intense competition at the top level.

ed25: i don't think we'll see a duo dominating in the next couple of years the way rafa and roger did but it may happen later on. i think we'll see nole, murray, cilic, delpo, berdych, sod (davy?) and maybe even roddick for a bit longer. i think rafa and roger will still be there, just that there will be a wider field of challengers and not just two imo.

other potentials: gulbis, simon, nando..??

http://goo.gl/q7nA

peter bodo surprises me here....very well written...some good things abt rafael

VAMOS!!

Zare, that was a very touching tribute to Rafa from a non-fan, amazing magnanimity considering you support Nole. Nole's form picked at Wimbledon, and with hard courts looming, I'm sure he'll start picking up titles again.

Rafa is one amazing young man. His injury has worked to him benefit because I think he is a far better player now than he was this time last year because he was forced to change his style but it hasn't taken away from his magnetic on court game. He had a tough Wimbledon, he played lots of in-form players but he battled through and emerged the winner. Astonishing!

Thanks also to all the non-Rafans who have come out to congratulate him.

VAMOS!

Zare, fabulous comment. As a Nole fan myself, I agree with you 100%.
Congrats Rafa, you are one&only! And congrats to his fans, of course! Other tennis players should learn from you about mental strength and love for tennis. Vamos Rafa! :)

just a quick comment about Rafa's wink to the RG crowd in his speech when he praised the wimbledon crowd and said that they're not like that in other parts of the world.. hhehehe, and the camera man immediately centered on uncle Tony; he looked also pleased about the comment (I wonder if it was agreed in advance? :))

2 Wimbledons, who would have said it - :) !!

New ATP Rankings:



Rank Name & Nationality...........Points

1 Nadal, Rafael (ESP)...........10,745

2 Djokovic, Novak (SRB)........ 6,905

3 Federer, Roger (SUI)...........6,885

4 Murray, Andy (GBR)............ 5,155

5 Soderling, Robin (SWE).......4,935

6 Davydenko, Nikolay (RUS)... 4,740

7 Del Potro, Juan Martin (ARG)...4350

8 Berdych, Tomas (CZE)......... 3,845

9 Roddick, Andy (USA)........... 3,490

10 Verdasco, Fernando (ESP)...3,475

In Broad Daylight
Peter Bodo




??.But Nadal was broken just eight times in this tournament, a statistic that that testifies to his serving efficiency as well as his generally high level of execution. After all, Nadal's 54 aces is barely half the number served up at Wimbledon by his final opponent (111). Berdych finished second on the ace list (behind John Isner, who served all of his in one match); Nadal finished tied for 22nd.

Hi Everyone,

First of all I would like to congratulate Rafa for his win @ Wimby although I always believed that it would happen. I really cannot ask more from Rafa, he has made all his fans proud and his humility is just so heartfelt!

I am also really pleased with the way that you non-Rafa fans have congratulated Rafa and all his fans for the win.............impressive!! I hope that when Fed recovers and gets back to his winning ways.............which I have no doubt............that Rafa fans can show the same level of maturity and support.

As much as I would like to see Rafa win the US Open, at this point I dont think Rafa has anything to prove, he can focus on taking care of his knees and health, and as far as I am concerned I would not be disappointed if he does not win US Open this year! There is still time left for that. I would much rather see Rafa spend many years playing tennis than trying to break records only to have to be forced to retire prematurely from the pressure of breaking records!!! Rafa was asked in a BBC interview about Fed's Slam record and Rafa admitted that it would be impossible to meet or even exceed that record, and that all he [Rafa] wants is to continue to improve his game and play well!...........that I am happy to hear!!!!!!

Finally, I would like to wish Rafa well for the rest of the season, and I would also like to wish ALL the other players the best, including Andy, Nole, Roddick and Berdych, who I think are all worthy winners! I would also like to wish Federer the best of health............he deserves a lot of R&R bcos personally i think Roger is perhaps a bit burnt out!

Looking forward to a very exciting US OPen 2010!!!!!!!!

VAMOS!!!!!!!!!!!!

Monalysa,

Well said..Nadal should now concerntrate more on being fit for bigger events.We will get to see a lot from him(But the aim should be to be fit for the most of session).

It looks like Murray will get his chance later on but needs to focus on coming up with different strategy..You cant always play from base line to beat nadal.
Djoker is also a very good player.Noiw he is looking better than first half of the year.If he continue his form it will be good to see the top 4 playing well to outplay others..

Congratulations Rafa! Way out front and certain to be the year-end #1 now. Enjoy your break, you've more than earned it.

Like My Guy I now have a routine/OCD/superstition/call it what you like, that I follow to guarantee further success. I am not going to tell you what it is but it has worked a charm at both RG and now Wimbledon. You can be sure I'll stick to the routine come USO time!

[And no, don't try guessing what it is - I am not prepared to reveal it as that might only break the spell...]

VAMOS!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

gorafago, pleassssssssssse stick to your superstitions, I had a few as well, but it was doing my head in and I thought that with Rafa's superstitions which are legendary, and those of all his fans, some will definitely be broken, so I thought just mine wouldn't make any difference so I gave up.

But Keep to yours, you can sustain it, and it's working.


VAMOS!

I thought Rafa would be heading to South Africa to watch the WC but he is more focused on getting himself ready for the US season...see bellow parts of the related article


Rafael Nadal is eyeing a US Open victory to confirm his superiority over Roger Federer
Nadal seemingly has Federer's measure following a second Wimbledon victory early yesterday (AEST).
After a five-year tussle in which he has mostly been overshadowed by Federer, 24-year-old Nadal has emerged clearly on top with every intention to maintain his edge over the Swiss star until the end of Federer's career.
Back-to-back French Open and Wimbledon victories have given the Spanish left-hander such a clear lead in the world rankings that he will stay No 1 no matter what happens in New York, but Nadal is keen to take home the one grand slam trophy he is yet to win.
Nadal said after his victory on Sunday that having adapted his clay court-based game to grass by improving his service and adopting a more aggressive approach, he was now focusing on winning the US Open on hardcourt.
"For sure, the US Open is going to be one of my goals for the rest of my career," said Nadal, who needs a US Open win to go with his two Wimbledons, five French Opens and one Australian Open title to join Federer, Rod Laver and Andre Agassi as the only men to have won all four titles in the Open era.
Nadal said his appetite for a US Open win would stop him from heading to South Africa where he would have loved to watch Spain in the World Cup.
"I have to do treatment right now on the knees. I have to have serious work at the same time to try to be ready for the American season."

Vamos Rafa!!!

I was reading the PRE-Wimby predictions of the so called "experts" and "legends" of the game... and the UNANIMOUS choices were FEDERER and ONE of the WILLIAMS sisters.
I remember how Rafa made his opponents eat clay during the clay season.......... it turnes out he shoved a considerable amount of GRASS in a lot of EXPERTS throats as well!!!

All those who vote against Rafa in the TT polls, whatever the subject, please continue to vote against him, and stuff his opponents with your votes, because he only proves you wrong time and time again.

You can't hold Rafa down by voting against him because your votes are meaningless.

:)
Well, in a previous thread I ventured to say that Rafa would probably never win the USO but, when you see what he's done so far and having already reached the semis in this tournement, who's to say that he won't - he just needs to be healthy and hungry for the title. I believe I will eat my words soon enough (I do hope so).
Yes, it's impressive all this not-necessarily-Fed-Fans praising Rafa here, well done to you all.

It appears that people are still voting in the poll of who will win Wimbledon 2010, at the moment Rafa and Murray are neck and neck. ROAL

snore...zzz... did anyone else think this match was so boring? the wimbledon final! 3 hours match and a mere handful of interesting points. grass tennis is not fun. just compare with the final nadal won at roland garros last month. so much more interesting!! more clay tournaments!

if u ask me, the injury last year turned out to be a blessing. nadal has learn to rest and not to play every tournament.

'Nadal said his appetite for a US Open win would stop him from heading to South Africa where he would have loved to watch Spain in the World Cup.' natashao, 7/5/10 6:54 PM

Typical Nadal. Total unswerving committment to the job in hand. I bet he would've given one of those wonky knees to be there cheering on his countrymen.

McEnroe is a Johnny come lately, he always picks against Rafa except at RG, now he's all over Rafa like a rash. These 'experts' should be able to see beyond the print of the nail, now that Rafa has more than proved himself, they all want to pick him for everything, but thats not very clever, anyone can pick Rafa now.

McEnroe picked John Isner to win Wimbledon 2010, so much for his expert knowledge.



http://www.atpchampionstour.com/index.html

McEnro e Backs Nadal To Complete Grand Slam Set

Seven-time Grand Slam winner John McEnroe has tipped newly crowned Wimbledon Champion Rafael Nadal to complete a career Grand Slam later this year by lifting his first ever US Open title.

McEnroe, who himself won two Wimbledon titles and five US Open titles throughout his illustrious career, believes that the sky is the limit for Nadal now that the Spaniard is fully fit and hungrier than ever to win the one Grand Slam title currently missing from his collection of eight.

?Nadal wants to win the US Open so badly,? said McEnroe. ?It?d be hard not to pick him at this time even though he?s never won it."

?The guy?s just an animal; he?s mentally and physically incredible and he can definitely do it if he?s in this shape. The conditions in New York don?t suit Nadal so well and he needs to make his body hold up. So I think after Wimbledon he is going to take some time off and get his knees recovered and then maybe not play too many matches before the Open.?

nadline: expect to see many more 'experts' with 20:20 hindsight.

@McEnroe

The conditions in New York don?t suit Nadal so well and he needs to make his body hold up.

____________________


How many times were we not told that the conditions at Wimbledon OZ and USO don't suit Rafa, yet he now has 2 Wimbys and 1 OZ titles; everyone is still latching on to the fact the the USO doesn't suit Rafa without looking beyond why he's never won it, here Rafa hiself says:

"I came into the Open tired in 2008 off the Olympics, and injured in 2007 and 2009. I want to come into the tournament healthy, and give it my best shot. Winning the Open is my priority for the next several years."

Apparently, players used to want to be in Rafa's half of of the draw except at RG, how thins have changed.

Nadal has a shot at atleast equalling Sampras's record.

He needs to keep himself healthy, take care of his schedule and peak at the right times for GS...something that he has done in 2010.

i think that with the lessons learnt in 2009, rafa will manage to do exactly that. I think we still havent seen the best of Nadal. For the next 3 years, he cud easily reach the Sampras mark including a win at the USO.

Though I am looking far ahead, it is not beyond the realms of possibility.

NADAL is the NEW FEDERER!
http://bleacherreport.com/articles/416334-nadal-is-the-new-f ederer

Rafa's response this should be... I DON'T WANT TO BE THE NEXT FEDERER.... I WAN'T TO BE THE FIRST NADAL!

I agree with McQ.... the way he plays, behaves, etc. etc. are absolutely different. Btw, can someone tell me why they call wimbledon as SW19? Thanks.

I am keen to see the return of Del Potro and Davydenko as a yardstick for where Rafa is at with his game. We can say now he has definitely figured out the new Soderling game (of which Berdych plays a variant, but with a better all-round game). I can't really see anyone challenging Rafa for the next few months except for these guys.

@tettylds: SW19 is the postcode for wimbledon

"McEnroe picked John Isner to win Wimbledon 2010, so much for his expert knowledge." (nadline)

You cannot be serious!

As an Andy fan I do hope Novak quickly gets some more points so going into USOpen Rafa and Rogie would meet in one semi out and then face someone different in the final, hopefully Andy!
Looking at the list of top 10 it strikes me how at least half are mid to late twenties. Delboy, Rafa, Nole, Big Bird and Andy are the youngest. That shows me how hard it must be for young players to break through.
nadline: did johnny mac really tip Isner?? OMG that's carrying partisanship just a wee bit far.

thanks battre

Rafael Nadal converts another doubter

Even the biggest Federer fans can't ignore Spaniard's tennis greatness

http://goo.gl/IJ0q

my fellow posters of TT..
I have a news to share..
As you might know, I always had love for statistics and tennis history..
But it was only after coming to this wonderful place that I honed my skills..
The level of debating and arguments here was so high that I had to constantly increase my knowledge to put up decent arguments..
So after 3 months of grinding on TT, I proudly say I have become decent enough to create a tennis blogpost of my own..
I have created my first ever blog post, written on any topic..
I know it is lengthy, but since this was my fav topic (and fav of many tennis fans), so, I wrote on this
Hereby, I share my first blogpost with you all..
Please feel free to spot all the faults.. :P..
http://stat-attack.blogspot.com/2010/07/if-not-goat-how-about-go ads_06.html

P.S. I have written this blog as a statistician. (ok, i know big words.. :P)
I was not a Sampras fan, or a Juanqui fan while writing this..

Oh yes,
there is no space between go and ads in the links..
it is not go ads..
its goads..

well done clayking....must be real hardwork...pulling up these numbers...some good research.........congratulations to u!!

Kool one clayking! Lot of info

Thanks vrael and max..
thanks for the reads.. :-)

McEnroe thought Isner would take Rafa out with his serve, and would then bulldoze his way through the draw purely by serving bombs, then eventually lift the trophy.

He may have been trying to be patriotic.

Great job clayking and it was a nice read, but I must say, it is more of a work from a good historian than statistician. You are very precise with tennis of the past like those who were playing tennis during World War 1. :-]]

Good job clayking, but my beef is that to be regarded the Grestest, we should look beyond the length of time spent as No1 or the number of titles won in a period; for one thing playing time and age overlap all the time, so you cannot compare someone who was well into his career with a younger candidate, because the older player will have a head start, so maybe we should determine the Greatest amongst age groups.

I had to laugh when you picked Llendl over McEnroe, just don't let McEnroe know that, or keep out of is way, because we all know McEnroe never got on with Connors, but I think the animosity between him and Llendl was also legendary.

Llendl once complained that even though he was World No1, he never played on Centre Court at Wimbledon, to which McEnroe reotrted that he would be put on Centre Court once he won the title. Llendl never won Wimbledon. I don't know if you saw the chat between Sue Barker, Borg and McEnroe on the court before the players came out for the final, when McEnroe said that Berdych reminded him of Llendl, and Sue and Borg were aghast that he even brought himself to say the word Llendl, so much was the dislike they had for each other.

Congratulations Clayking. And what a trip down memory lane. I cant believe I have lived long enough to have seen all those names (apart from the 40s bunch) on your list play at Wimbledon. My first great love was Rosewall - even in the 50's there were bitter rivalries between the Rosewall and Hoad fans. What's new!!!!

Hola clayking :) i have read your entire blog, THUMBS UP!! excellent work and boy you have done plenty of research ,impressive.

u aksed for suggestions so here are some of mine : :)

-well in the beginning you have included the big names before 1920. I would like you to include 'Max Decugis' in the list too, the man has an all-time record for 8 french open titles and 4 runner-up performances and the guy had great success at the olympic games too.

-i really like your idea of GOAD because it makes it easier to analyze things becaue if we use GOAG , greatest of a generation then it becomes complex.

-In the sampras' section, i would like you to add a feat which gives pete's career another touch of consistency...he has the record of 8 consecutive slam wins in major finals (in the open era atleast). Similarly for lendl perhaps u should add the feat (8 consecutive Us open finals) which again is a record.


-finally,u have roger federer at 5, i know it is AWFULLY tough to decide between pancho, rosewall, fed and tilden and laver. I know u didnt write particualrly abt rosewall so many of his feats have not been covered and in reality he had some amazing feats which no one can match . But fed at 5, umm something sounds fishy eh? lol..imo fed should be ATLEAST 3rd or 4th..anyway its so close that its just a matter of opinion.

-plus, dude why isnt there a reference to ROy emerson? I know his feats are undermined by the fact that he won majors at the amateur level but still he deserves a mention man, he had 12 majors (3 of which were wins over LAVER) and hsi rivalry with laver was gigantic, close to rosewall-laver....and in 1955 the guy won 55 consecutive matches and won 109/115 matches ! so he deserves a mention in the list atleast imo .

-and please also mention that pancho spent 20 years in the top 10 becoz thsi feat is likely to stand forever !

- u have hailed fed's forehand as the best along with pancho segura ..well segura's forehand was a feared weapon without doubt but how can we compare his forehand with the moder day forehands like fed and nadal. I mean how much did we get to or do we get to watch segura's forehand? hardly some small clips , thats it ,no? at best we have done readings on it and read compliments from comtemporaries. IN stark contrast, we see federer hitting forehand after forehand from 200 diff angles, HD slow motion, the exact RPM generated and most imporatntly we have the chance to see fed hitting thousands of forehands in a year , any of such facilites are non-existent when it comes to analyzing segura's shot so i dont think we can compare.

-lastly, i am glad u mentioned Lew Hoad in gonzalez's section because any detailed discussion of pancho wihtout hoad's mention sounds a bit odd , no ? as pancho had so much respect for hoad. :)

I would like to say that these are just my suggstions and its of course up to you what you make of them. Since you are among the nicest posters here I want ur blog to be even better ...really admire your efforts, knowledge and hunger for more knowledge :D :D keep up the good work.

Thanks a lot guys for your comments..

Nadline,
I compared their overall careers, not the career at the end of decade.. end of decade rankings was just to show who was the best in decade.. And your point about head start is valid.. But those guys who fell behind are my exceptions..

Vamos, thanks a lot for these suggestions..

Max decugis- i missed him.. my mistake..

Thanks for the GOAD idea..

About Sampras and Lendl, certainly great points.. Thanx for sugesting that....

Fed was at 5 with a + sign, wasn't he?? he is an active player and can rise up. Currently, he is not really above Rosewall. As you said many of Rosewall's achievements I have not mentioned here.. We should not forget his longevity..He was a top 5 player for 15 years, that's a big thing.. But when Fed retires, I think he will climp up to 3, if he adds one or two more slams, and 10 odd titles..
About pancho's 20 years, I have mentioned the span players spent within top 5 or top 10 at the end of each decade.. So, Pancho's 20 year record is there

About Emerson, as the candidates for GOAD, I introduced 3 players.. In 60s, the 3 best players were Laver, Rosewall and Pancho (He beat Emerson nearly everytime). So, there was no space for Emerson. He is simply not in the best 3 of his decade, despite his exploits.. I hope you agree.

Hmm.. I never compared Fed's forehand with Segura's, did I? I simply said they are the best from two different eras, and hence the tied best..

Yes, without Hoad, no gonzales..

Yeah u are right, emerson doesnt fit into that decade category but dont u think he deserves a brief mention atleasT? he did quite a lot for tennis i think.

sotty may be i misinterpreted the forehand thing..

anyway , i will also try to promote ur blog..good job :)

may i know ur email clayking?

sorry*

oh and the federer thing, ok i agree..u are right fed is an active player and he is likely to augment is greatness... btw how abt mentioning the 56 match win streak on hard and 65 on grass, good ones to mention eh?

and i really hope you are right abt rafa , the guy is making so many records ...i hope big time that rafa beats fed at the US open final so that he has the FED SLAM ! how cool would that be ! lol

Thanx vamos..
So you mean special mention?
That idea did not come to my mind..
thanx for the suggestion.. and yes, a special mention, he does deserve..
He would possibly make a top 20 list..

my email is dndevildevilneji@gmail.com (sounds bad :P)

The reason I did not mention that streak was lack of space.. :P
I had to keep it concise..
But If I write again, I might add it..
Actually there are many things I missed..
amateur's mistakes.. :P

Oh vamos, I saw one thing now..
you said it is awfully close to determine the between the top 5..
I disagree..
its tough decide no.3 spot among Tilden, Rosewall and Fed..
Laver and Pancho are one notch above the next trio..

EXCELLENT work clayking. sound analysis. The list of the top 10 is excellent. By going over youir entire blog,i learnt quite a bit about earlier generations of tennis players-players who I have never seen play before. Btw,your analysis confirmed by belief that federer and sampras are so similar to each other.

Well done dude! My jaw drops at how much you know!

Thanks tj & deuce..
I appreciate that you have read my blog..

clayking,

Fed at 5 is simply not digesting..LoL
He has made it to 7 Wimby final in a row.
6 Finals in a row in US
6 final out of last eight years in AO.
4 Finals in a row in FO.

This may post him at 4 or even 3.

champ..
You read what the others did, right??
and anyway, there is a + sign before him..
he is an active player who can rise up..
currently, he is slightly behind Rosewall and Tilden..
Rosewall has won 23 majors, has been top 5 player for 15 years (Fed would last 10 years at best). these GS numbers only mean anything if you compare with Sampras or lendl or connors..
But he is behind them by a very slightl margin..
Don't worry champ..
when roger's career ends, he will be at 3, i.e, if he adds one or two more slams, or makes some longevity records....

longevity ?

Do you really belives Fed has good chance of staying at TOP 5 for next 3 to 5 years.For me It is too much to ask for.Because mens tennis is very competative.

A guy who is ranked 50+ can beat top 5 (If they dont play their best).

Eg : Lu a player ranked 80 defeated Andy Roddick in R16 in wimby..

Hello everyone and BIG THANKS to you all.

You can imagine two things of me today: 1) I am over the moon and 2) I am very tired and need holidays!

The first one is difficult to explain further. The sensation to win the tournament of my dreams for the second consecutive time (I didn?t play here last year) and doing it after winning Roland Garros too is something it was difficult to imagine just one year ago. I was suffering, watching the final on TV at home on my sofa, and wondering how things were going to unfold in my career. But today I am again with this special feeling of winning the biggest and most important tennis tournament in the world.

The second one is long to explain. I am not that tired from the match itself. To be honest all the media work I did after the match was longer than the match itself. I got to the house at 9.30pm and only had 5 minutes to get changed. I was then back in the car talking to Spanish radio stations and only finished when I got to the hotel for the Ball. But also tired for these past 16 weeks where I only had a few days at home.

Now it is time to get treatment and rest for 2 weeks, a full 2 weeks of not playing tennis and simply enjoying my holidays!

To end this blog and to end this 2 weeks of being with you, I want to really thank you for your support. I truly mean when I say that I feel at home here in Wimbledon. I feel the warmth of the fans here like at home and I feel the respect for the game, for our sport. For me it is really an honor to play here and a dream to have done what I managed to do on Sunday.

Many thanks also to The Times for giving me this opportunity and I hope we continue with this tradition now that is also lucky for me!

Your Rafa

so wat do you mean by competition??do you really think Roseall n all stayed at top due to lack of competition??
no, champ..
they stayed there because they managed themselves better..
yes, schedule may be tougher today, but back then the travelling facilities were not as smooth as now..
and fed can last in top 5 for 2 more years..
and the reason back then a top 100 player could not defeat a top 10 player was because the pro tours hardly had 20 men.. :P
the 20 best men slugged out amongst themselves..

I haven't read all the posts so this point may have been made. We have to separate the Open era from the one that preceded it. Before the Open era, professionals were not allowed to participate in what we now call the ATP tour, because all participants had to be amateurs and were unpaid for their troubles. The winner of Wimbledon, for instance, would only get something like a £10 voucher to spend in a sports shop, so one players established their credentials, ie, won a slam they turned pro in order to earn a living.

It would therefore be impossible to compare any players prior to 1968 to players today, and I don't know for sure, but I believe that there are far more Masters, 500 & 250 type tournaments now than there was even in the 80s, so today's players have a lot more opportunity to collect titles. So I think that players should only be graded within their generation only once they retire.

yup, i dont like it and i also dont feel appropriate abt it ,i.e comparing players from diff generations.. but assuming all those ever-changing conditions constant we can use records, stats,logic to rank the players may b to kill the temptation :D

well clayking, fed is an active player but even now he has achieved so much to be in the top 3 !! apart from the records mentioned by champ .23 semis in a row, 10 slam finals in a row is just INSANE and i dont see any one breaking these records in the coming future.

staying in the top 10, well the game is MUCH MORE physical nowadays then it was back then, u cant expect players to stay in the top 5-10 for 15-20 years! racket technology has allowed big hitters to hit so hard that other players need to defend so much ! they have to run like rabbits all the time , look at soderling , he made fed and rafa run miles at RG...i remember reading an article from tracy austin , she also said that the game is MUCH more physical nowdays in comparison to the earlier periods becoz guys can generate so much power,plus the majoriy of tennis is played on hard courts which is 15 times more taxing than clay and grass !, aching backs, knees and joints everywhre are due to these excessive hard courts events. its just the matter of opinion whether u want to put fed in the top 3 right now or not! lie rosewall has records fed cant match fed also has records rosewall doesnt even come close to matching, its matter of opinion, i dont want to give my opinion becoz for me its not relevant to compare them.

i consider pancho even above laver, and fed is certainly in their league, u cant say they are a notch above fed ! again matter of opinion and as u said fed is an active player... there is a reason so many tennis pundits consider fed the best, i dont agree becoz of the invalidity of the idea of GOAT and lack of knowledge ppl have abt pancho and laver and rosewall+tilden too, but in any case fed has the most votes, i also know it has sumthng to do wid the power of the present aswell...

this is one of the toughest debates in the world of sports :)

I was very young when Rosewall, Laver and Pancho played. I have the strongest memories of Laver and Rosewall. Tennis coverage was so primitive back then, that it was great to see them at all. Laver was my idol when I was young.

I think this is a flawed process. I agree with nadline that there is an inherent problem trying to compare players from before 1968 to those who came after them. So much changed in how the sport of tennis was played. The technology has also evolved dramatically.

I watched a match between Rod Laver and Stan Smith from 1974 on the tennis channel. I was amazed looking at the game as played in those days. What constituted a serve back then, doesn't even come close to the serves of players today. The strokes, the mechanics of the game were just completely and totally different. That's one reason why I dislike trying to categorize any list of the greatest players of all time. There is bound to be considerable disagreement, and frankly, one has to be of a certain age or a student of the history of tennis to even know anything about Tilden, Rosewall, Laver or Pancho.

The court surfaces are different the physicality and athleticism of the game is at such an extraordinary level today, that it almost seems bizarre to try to compare these different eras.

I still think that it makes the most sense to compare players from their own era. Otherwise, one risks disrespecting or minimizing the contributions of some players. How can anyone possibly know how many titles Laver, Rosewall and Pancho would have won if they were playing competitive tennis today?

I wish we could just appreciate the greatest players from each era of tennis and give them all their due.