GOAT With Muscles By Robert Geist Thursday, July 23, 2009 click to preview Ken Rosewall won major titles in a remarkable span from majors from 1953-1972. 1 of 3next AddThis With his sixth triumph at Wimbledon and his 15th major title realized, Roger Federer is hailed by most experts and fans as the greatest player in history. But there are still other experts who think that it's too soon to give Roger that label while pointing to several contenders for the mythical GOAT (Greatest Of All Time) title. As a member of the latter group I think that the contenders for GOAT are Bill Tilden, Pancho Gonzalez, Ken Rosewall, Rod Laver, Björn Borg, Pete Sampras and Roger Federer. Others might also mention Ellsworth Vines, Don Budge, Jack Kramer and John McEnroe. Federer's achievements are widely known but the feats of the other greats of yester year are often forgotten or even unknown by many tennis fans today. I wrote a book about Rosewall, affectionately nicknamed "Muscles", champion whose success and longevity certainly places him in the discussion of the game's greats though he is seldom mentioned as a GOAT contender. A traditional tennis barometer of guaging the GOAT today is total major titles won. The crux of tennis history is the fact that men's tennis, before the Open Era ,was divided into amateurs and professionals. Some people just don't realize that players like Gonzalez, Rosewall and Laver lost many years, including much of their prime, to the pros when they were banned from Grand Slam competition and the other amateur events like Davis Cup. Therefore several statistics recognized as "official" records can be doubtful at best and incorrect at worst as they ignore the achievements of the outcast pros prior to Open Era. Generally, the greatness of the all-time best players can be determined by two main criteria: the playing strength of the protagonists and their successes. Quality of Competition Players of different eras are not easy to compare, especially because the equipment and the practice conditions have changed through the decades. The 1980's brought the synthetic widebody rackets that made the game much faster and within the last decade tennis has seen the advent of the polyester and synthetic strings change the game by providing players an unprecedented package of power and spin. While it's true that the depth of player's fields has increased with the time, it's also obvious that the quality of the very best players has not become significantly better, in my opinion. It's a matter of fact that most greats of any era were able to cope with the following generation, even when they were 35 or older. Tilden matched Vines, Budge and Bobby Riggs well into his later years. Gonzales defeated John Newcombe, Rod Laver, Arthur Ashe and Jimmy Connors after his peak years. Rosewall beat Stan Smith, Ilie Nastase, Connors and Guillermo Vilas. Connors defeated several stars of the 1980's including Ivan Lendl, and of course made his famous run to the 1991 US Open semifinals at the age of 39. Andre Agassi registered several great victories after the age of 30 and became the oldest man in the Open Era to regain the World No. 1 rank. Even Pete Sampras, who played his last professional match at age 31 surprised Federer in an exhibition in 2007 after an absence from competitive tennis for five years. But let us take some time to concentrate on the achievements of the champions. The success. Here we have several categories to value the players. The Calendar Grand Slam This remains the very greatest feat for a player. Only two men have ever achieved the single-season Grand Slam: Don Budge in 1938 and Rod Laver in 1962 and 1969. Budge's Grand Slam and Laver's 1962 Grand Slams were obviously milestones, but they were realized only against amateurs who were weaker than the pros. However Laver's 1969 Open Era Grand Slam is a fantastic feat and one no many has duplicated in the 40 years since the Rocket ruled all four majors. But since 1957 (and until 1967) there also was the possibility for men to win a Professional Grand Slam — winning the three pro majors which were Wembley, the US Pro and the French Pro. Only two players captured the Pro Grand Slam: Rosewall (1963) and Laver (1967). TopTournament Since 1968 the top tournament is Wimbledon (with the exception of 1972 and 1973 when the US Open was the premier event). Prior to the Open Era, the Wembley indoor championships was the most meaninginful professioanl tournament. The Wimbledon king is of course Pete Sampras with his 7 titles, followed by Roger Federer (6) and Björn Borg (5 consecutive Wimbledon crowns). Rosewall did not win a single Wimbledon title due to the fact that he was away from Wimbledon competition for 11 years (Gonzalez endured an 18-year gap between Wimbledon appearances!). The players with the most singles titles at the most important tournament (both Wembley and Wimbledon considered): Sampras (7), Gonzales, Laver and Federer (6) and Rosewall and Borg (5). Rosewall added to his 5 Wembley titles, including 4 consecutive crowns, 5 finals and 5 semifinal results at Wembley, which was then the world's top pro tournament. Thus, you can make a case that Rosewall remains the most successful player in history regarding the biggest tournament in the sport. Total Majors The 4 Grand Slam tournaments plus the 3 Pro Grand Slam tournaments that were true equivalents to the pre Open Era majors. This category could be called the Rosewall domain. The Australian won 23 "major" titles in his career (combining Grand Slam titles with Pro majors), Laver won 19, Federer has captured 15 and Sampras and Gonzalez both won 14. Considering all semifinal, final and championship results in majors, we find Rosewall at unbelievable 52 (total semifinal, final and championship results in majors), followed by Tilden (35), Laver (32), Connors (31) and Gonzalez (29) Total Tournament Titles This is Laver's domain as he has won at least 199 tournaments, followed by Tilden (161), Jaroslav Drobny and Connors (each 148), Lendl (144), Rosewall (136), Roy Emerson (114), Tony Wilding (112), Borg (100) and McEnroe (99). In comparison Sampras and Federer have both won 64 tournaments. Laver and Rosewall are about equal in total final appearancs with about 350 finals each. Record Against Top Opponents In this category Laver, Gonzalez and Borg are outstanding. When you consider head-to-head meetings against top opponents at majors, Rosewall owns an impeccable record. He has a positive record against most of his great opponents with the exception of Connors, who beat Rosewall twice when the Aussie was already 39 years old. Years at No.1 This a difficult list since several years — prior to the computer rankings — are open for discussion. Gonzalez seems to be the best here as he was No. 1 for at least 6 years, tied with Sampras. Federer owned the year-end top spot for 4 years (2004-2007). But if we include those years when a player has reached a co-No.1 position, we get a significantly different picture: Gonzalez and Rosewall, each 9 years on the top, followed by Budge, Tilden, Vines, Kramer and Laver, each 7 years. Years Spent In Top 10 Remember, computer rankings were not used in the pre-Open Era. Tilden and Rosewall lead with 23 years in the top 10, Gonzalez spent 22 years (if we project 1962 and 1963 when Pancho did not play but probably would have been among top ten, even top three), Budge and Segura, each 19 years. Span of Success Rosewall, Gonzalez and Tilden are the outstanding players here. All three men were formidable players into their 40s. Rosewall won majors in a remarkable range that spanned from 1953-1972. Major Winning Streak This list is headed by Rosewall (9), Tilden (8) and Budge (6) Streak of Top Placings in majors Two players are outstanding: Rosewall (34) and Federer (21). It's fair to mention that in open era such streaks were more difficult to achieve than in Rosewall's time (1954-1968). Rod Laver has still the record regarding big finals reached in a row 1964 to 1968: 14 Best 5 Years The most titles in a five-year period were won by Laver (82). The best percentage of titles in a five-year belongs to Tilden (approximately .815). The most majors won during a five-year period were won by Federer (12). The best percentage of majors in five-year period keep Tilden and Vines (both 1000). Davis Cup and Kramer Cup The outcast pros played the Kramer Cup in three years (1961 to 1963) where the continents played each other adhering to the Davis Cup rules. Rosewall was the top player of Kramer Cup, winning nine of 10 singles matches. Generally the achievements of the players in the Cups are difficult to compare because the frequence of participation and the quality of the fields were very different. Fred Perry, Frank Sedgman, Rosewall, Lew Hoad, Roy Emerson, Laver, Borg, McEnroe and Becker all score highly here. Doubles Success Since people tend to focus on singles success, this category is seldom considered.when discussing the GOAT. In the pre-Open Era, virtually all players played in the doubles competition (often even the mixed doubles) while today most top players refuse to play doubles. The players with the most major doubles titles (excluding mixed doubles) are: Rosewall (23), Hoad (21), Newcombe (17) and Emerson (16). Bob Hewitt has won 163 doubles titles which is all-time record. Conclusion The GOAT title is a mythical one in that there has never been a truly complete tennis player without a weakness — every all-time great had or has at least one weakness. Tilden had a good but not overwhelming volley. Budge's mobility was not a significant strength. Gonzalez had a defensive backhand. Rosewall hit a medium-paced service and so on. Even Federer, who is often characterized as one of the most complete players in the Open Era, possesses a fine but defensive backhand return. But several tennis giants have come close to perfection and should be considered if the GOAT is discussed. As I hope this article has shown, Ken Rosewall deserves to be in the GOAT conversation. I would like to thank my friend, Raymond Lee, for his suggestions and his help. Robert Geist is a tennis historian based in Vienna, Austria. He is the author of a Ken Rosewall biography.