The Greatest Player Of All Time... In My Book

So, over the past three months since I put this question out there, I have had people stop me, Facebook me, and write to me with their nominations. I list a few below and the validity of these nominations are truly excellent.

Jimmy's matches were always something special!

Jimmy Connors - Did you see the ESPN movie about the 1991 US Open in which Connors at the age of 39 defied the experts and beat Aaron Krickstein in probably the best remembered match ever in US Open history? Someone asked me this just recently. It changed Krickstein's career forever and was perhaps the greatest match of all time. I was outside the stadium in Flushing Meadows and hearing the electricity in the crowd was unreal. But one match and a comeback at 39 does not make Jimmy the greatest player of all time.

Martina Navratilova some of you have said. She's right there. What a player - going for broke and changing the way women played our lovely game by approaching and coming to net. One of the matches I remember most as a young player was the US Open final in which Martina lost - to Hana Mandlikova. Probably the greatest women's match ever played. But Martina's story behind her tennis is simply amazing. Leaving her communist heritage, moving to the States, breaking the homosexuality border in our sport. We have her to thank for a lot in our sport and in our world. Her persona is one of the biggest in sport. All this while winning 59 Grand Slam titles. Are you kidding me? Oh yes, and 18 singles grand slam titles - that's one more than Big Rog folks.

Oh but wait, Chris Evert has 18 Grand Slam titles as well. Can we include her in the conversation. You sure can. But, for me, she's not the greatest to ever pick up a racquet. She was a grinder from the baseline who outlasted opponents rather than beat them. But, she was a fierce competitor and a truly great champion.

Pistol Pete Sampras - Perhaps the most efficient player ever to play tennis and having just been surpassed by Roger Federer regarding Grand Slam singles titles ever, he is up there in my book too. His rivalry with Andre Agassi was one of the greatest in the history of all of sport. I can remember watching Pete win Wimbledon during my college years and just amazed at how he changed his entire game to win that coveted title.

This is a never-ending debate and I have thought long and hard about it as naming the greatest person to ever hit a ball in your sport is actually quite terrifying in a way!

So who's left?

You've probably guessed it. Serena Williams.

Best Player Ever...In My Book.

Serena has, like Martina before her, simply changed the game of women's tennis. Singlehandedly. We had all heard back in 1996 and 1997 that the younger Williams sister was going to be the better player but, rightfully, many questioned her stamina and desire to win at that young age. Would she live up to the hype and the reputation she was assuming? A big assumption.

She did and she continues to do so. Ok, so she's only 7th on the all-time Grand Slam honor roll with 32 titles to her credit. She's tied with "Fed" at 17 singles titles. I do think she has a few more singles wins in her. But, in this era of open tennis with massive qualifying events, the growth of the WTA over the past 20 years, and tennis rising once again to be one of the most popular sports in the USA and the world, Serena has been at the top of her profession since she turned professional at 14. And honestly, I don't see her grip of the "racket" sliding much. In fact, 2013 was probably her best year ever.

But in reality, her grip should be sliding. Let's put it this way. She won her first professional title in 1998, five years before Roger won his first. She's 32, same as Roger. He's spent more time at the number one spot, true. So has Steffi, Martina Navratilova, Evert, and Martina Hingis. But none of them took years off to fight injury or depression after the murder of a sister. In fact, after her break from tennis and restarting in 2011 after a pulmonary scare, she is 158 wins with 11 losses.

But Serena, and partly her sister Venus, have changed the face of tennis. One-third of all new junior players are either African-American or Hispanic. Television ratings for Serena are some of the highest ratings any sport has ever seen, including American football.

Serena, like Navratilova, had her own demons to overcome. Fighting racial hatred among the predominantly white juniors on the USTA junior tour while living in California and Florida, Serena also fought with her emotions. Personally, I am not a big fan of her personality, but how can you deny she's one of the fiercest competitors to ever take the stage on a stadium court - male or female.

But the main reason for Serena being the best that ever played? Well it's just that. When she is at the top of her game, she simply is untouchable and unbeatable. No one comes close. There is no one who can even come close. Her serve is up there with most male players at 125 miles per hour. Sharapova, Clisters, Henin, Capariati - all of her rivals pale in comparison. Sharapova, for all the love we have of her and how we think she is great, has just won one set since 2008 against Serena. Since 2004 Sharapova has this hallowed record against Serena. 1 win, 14 losses. Hello?

For Serena to be this dominant in a sport (even with her loss yesterday at The French Open) and with all that she has gone through... to accomplish her goals and be the highest paid sports woman in history... in all of sport...it just makes her the greatest all round player of all time.

This week in Paris will be interesting in that if both Venus and Serena win another round, they will have to play each other on the red clay of Roland Garros. Well, my pick will be Serena. But, Venus might have something to say. She has the best record against Serena although it's not a winning record. But I think little sis is just too good.

Grunts, Groans, Gamesmanship and Grandstanding - The Hindrance Rule

I frowned. I cringed. I found ear plugs. I finally turned off the volume. As Maria Sharapova and Victoria Azarenka hit the cover off the ball, the grunts and the exhalations became louder and more vociferous. I know that the powers that be in the television production trailer could turn down the on-court microphones. But that's not the point.

The point is that, in fact, both Maria and Victoria, are in violation of the Rules of Tennis. Both grunts on each stroke they took were long after their point of contact and therefore are a "hindrance" to the opposing player. The opposing player has the right to play the ball as it approaches without any interference from the other side of the net. A hindrance could be a hat falling off, or a doubles partner hitting a short lob and saying "back, back" to her partner... or a moan or grunt as we saw yesterday.

Before I go into the particulars concerning the semi-final, here is last year's final in which Serena Williams was penalized and lost a game due to an intentional hindrance.



This was a clear intentional hindrance with a shout out prior to Sam Stosur hitting (in this case missing) the shot.

Here is a clip from yesterday's match. You will note that both Sharapova's and Azarenka's grunts are heard long after the ball has crossed the net and are in fact tailing off just as the opponent hits the ball - just like in the Williams/Stosur match above.



Clearly, the grunts are a hindrance just as Serena's outburst prior to Sam's touching the ball. However, the interesting point to be made is whether the grunts are an "intentional hindrance". By the rules of tennis, there is no question. They are. And in fact, a point penalty should be awarded for each occurrence. Rule 26 reads:

If a player is hindered in playing the point by a deliberate act of the opponent(s), the

player shall win the point.

However, the point shall be replayed if a player is hindered in playing the point by

either an unintentional act of the opponent(s), or something outside the player’s own

control (not including a permanent fixture).

In fact, I would argue as a former ATP Tour chair umpire, that the grunts and noises are a deliberate act and an intentional hindrance - if not only for the fact that the volume of grunts goes up on winners and is lower on run-of-the-mill shots. We saw clips yesterday during the match of Maria Sharapova practicing - not a grunt to be found throughout the clip. Therefore, the grunts are in fact not something done unconsciously, but done with an intent to prove a point.

But the second half of the rule is what really should force the chair umpire into action and if I were in the chair, I would look at the second part of the rule to make this decision - "something outside the player's own control." Grunting, or the power to abstain from grunting, are clearly within the player's control to allow the opponent to hit without a hindrance. Therefore, these moans, groans and grunts are an intentional hindrance.

Needless to say the tennis was superlative. But, the gamesmanship was not. And it is gamesmanship, which is what the Rules of Tennis, at their core, try to uphold. I believe that the ATP and ITF should enforce Rule 26 as written and penalize the players according to the code. It would allow me, if nothing else, to enjoy the tennis without ear plugs.