The debate about who is the greatest tennis player of all time has been going for as long as I can remember and unfortunately the great Rod Laver, due to politics, will only be remembered as ONE of the greatest tennis players of all time.
If 'Rocket' had played those five years that he was banned then it would be a massive understatement to say that Federer and Nadal would only be vying for second and third on the all-time list of Grand Slam titles.
Rod Laver played in an era that was simply not on the same page as today's Walt Disney type of script where a Spanish lefty and a Swiss genius dominate the record books.
We should always remember just how good 'Rocket' was as a tennis player despite a rather 'modest' Grand Slam record that continues to be belittled by the aforementioned players.
So to those two;
Many swear that Roger Federer will ALWAYS be the greatest player of all time, or is simple terms, the GOAT, though I beg to differ.
Let's look at these two players and dissect a few facts and figures.
Rafael Nadal leads Roger Federer by 24 wins to 16 in head to head singles matches.
The Spanish legend also owns a 10-4 win/ loss record in Grand Slam meetings between the two.
In Paris, on Rafa's favourite surface, clay, the Spaniard leads six matches to zero.
At the Australian Open, Nadal leads 3-1.
The two quite surprisingly have never met at the US Open.
At Wimbledon, Federer leads 3-1.
So what do all of those figures tell us?
Personally, I believe that Rafa is all over Roger and unlike Novak Djokovic who initially used to get beaten up badly by Roger, well, Rafa has never been afraid of Federer. In fact, at the Miami Masters in 2004 a 17-year-old long-haired upstart from Mallorca belted the then World Number 1 by the score of 6-3, 6-3.
By that same time, Federer had already won four Grand Slam titles.
In fact, by 2010, Federer led Nadal by as much as 16 Grand Slam titles to 9.
As it stands at the end of the 2019 Grand Slam run, Rafa sits just one behind Roger at 19- 20.
Personally, I have never witnessed such an egotistical obsession between two sportsmen in the run home to be known as THE GREATEST. Once again, let's spare a thought for Rod Laver who quite possibly would have retired on perhaps 25 Grand Slam titles, and I believe that's being conservative.
Right from the start of his career, Rafa was after Roger's mantle which was rather obvious in that Miami thumping when most 'normal' 17-year-olds boys were playing soccer or trying to impress girls at lunch hour in High School.
Rafa was no ordinary kid.
When he was 16 he beat the then World Number 4 and his mentor Carlos Moya in straight sets at the Hamburg Masters in Germany.
What were you doing when you were 16??!!
It seems that Rafa had a vision right from day one on a tennis court and that was to be the best ever. At one stage Roger Federer led Rafa by as many as 9 Grand Slam titles yet even that figure did not seem to be a daunting one for the Spaniard as he has reeled them in with the precision and patience of a surgeon.
So are we forgetting the OTHER tennis player who owns a rather healthy Grand Slam record also?
Well for some reason Novak Djokovic has managed to escape the hype that Roger and Rafa have created although that may just be human nature as we only look at first and second in most instances, let's be honest here.
When Nick Faldo came back from 6 strokes behind Greg Norman at the Augusta Masters Golf in 1996 do you remember who came third?
When Usain Bolt won the 100 metres over Justin Gatlin at the 2015 World Athletic Championships who came third?
Most brains can only ever digest first and second in any walk of life.
Novak Djokovic though, in my most humblest of opinions will surpass both Federer and Nadal in Grand Slam title wins, he has to, he is the youngest of all three and seems to save his best for the big titles.
He owns no fear of Federer nowadays as he proved in the Wimbledon Men's Singles Final of 2019 after being down two Championship points.
That's not easy to turn around.
He also owns no fear of becoming the greatest, some have struggled with that label in past years.
Novak sits at 16 Slam wins. Barring injury, he will become the greatest Grand Slam winner of all time, with a leg in the air, no risk at all.
Tennis is a funny sport, that's stating the obvious and I often refer to it as egotistical, however, there is a reason for that and I could state many examples, but here's just two;
Andre Agassi once labelled Jimmy Connors an 'egotist'.
Now I like Andre but that comment lacks substance coming from a player who once said "Image is everything" in a Nike television ad.
He coulda said no.
Or going on a 'Summer of revenge' against the great Boris Becker in 1995 that gained many pages in his bestseller 'Open'.
That's not egotistical talk either ey Andre?
C'mon Champ, perspective required here.
Many eras of tennis, many egotistical things said and done, this current one, however, takes the cake.
Federer has just announced he will play the Olympics next year in Tokyo.
If Rafa wasn't going to, well, I reckon he will now.........
Glenn Thompson
