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.

Roger Federer - The Best Player Ever?

One of my colleagues, Mary, said that she has to hand it to the ESPN commentators covering the US Open. "What other sport can last up to 4 hours with just 2 people to talk about? How can they fill all that time?" You're right, Mary. And, of course, while we were watching the Roger Federer's US Open at the hands of Tommy Robredo two nights ago, the issue whether Roger was the best player was discussed for at least 3 of the 32 games.

I love making lists, and on my list Roger is third. You may ask why. Here's why.

Number One, All-Time Primary Reason. Each and every great player in a sport has a rival, someone who brings the best out of his or her game. One thinks of Ali and Frazier, Bird and Johnson, Nicklaus and Watson. These are storied rivalries. In tennis we've had Navratilova and Evert, Sampras and Agassi... for Federer, that rival is Rafael Nadal. Between the two gentlemen, they have held the top two rankings in the world for close to 4 years, roughly 2005 through 2009. And in such great rivalries it is usually the case the two have close head to head records: Navratilova led Evert 43-37 for example.

Nadal 21 Wins, Federer 10 Wins

This is remarkable. Nadal really has Federer's number. And before you say anything: on each surface. Nadal has won 13 of the 15 matches they've played on clay, 7 of the 13 matches on hard courts and one of their three encounters on grass - that one win in the perhaps the greatest final at Wimbledon... ever.

One can argue with me that you can be the greatest player of all time based on number of Grand Prix wins, based on a sport's domination for 9 years, based on his or her game. I take all those into consideration and they are important. But I would also argue that if one were to be the greatest player in the world that we've ever seen, one needs to have a closer record against a rival. To have lost more than half the encounters begs the question: How can Federer be the greatest player of all time if he can't even beat the rival of his own era?

With Roger's career coming to a close I am sure in the not-too-distant future, I think this question is at the heart of the debate and a great debate it is. Keep thinking about it and perhaps it might help you to come up with your own list of the greatest of all time. I'll let you know who my number one and two are soon - and maybe there's a new one coming down the pike. Let's hope so. We're gonna miss The Fed more than we know once he hangs up his racquet.

C'est Si Bon - The French Open in Springtime

Les Courts Rouge. La Rive Gauche. Porte d'Auteuil. Roland Garros. C'est Paris en les printemps.

I have been to the French Open on two occasions. One was way back in my post student years when I was working with the ATP Tour. The more recent opportunity to visit was a few years ago. One of my best friends, who is French, was having a tough time and his father, who had never called me and doesn't speak any English, called me to see if I could go and visit and spend some time with him - we met in Paris and hung out and the French Open seemed like a great day out. It was. C'est si bon...

Yves Montand - C'est Si Bon

Paris in the Spring, as Cole Porter wrote, is truly special. There are other cities I guess that have some great qualities in the Spring - Washington DC's cherry blossoms are amazing - but Paris has that "je ne sais quoi" and The French Open at Roland Garros is a part of the Spring Saison. In 1865, Jules Jaluzot founded the famous department store Printemps - which surely meant that Springtime in Paris is surely special.

Have you noticed that the French really love wearing ties and scarves? The crowds at Roland Garros, named after the aviator above who was the first man to fly across the Mediterranean, are by far the best dressed in the sporting world.

Named after one of the aviators at an exclusive Parisian Club, Roland Garros is perhaps the most intimate of all the tennis majors. The show courts are comfortable, unlike Wimbledon. They are cozy, unlike the US Open and Australia. The site was given to the French Tennis Federation back in 1928 by Stade Francais to host the 4 Musketeers who had just beaten the Americans on US soil in 1928

Jacques "Toto" Brugnon, Jean Borotra, Henri Cochet and René Lacoste in fact took French tennis global, winning five Davis Cups and winning the long awaited rematch at the new French tennis home in 1928 at Roland Garros. These Frenchmen went on to win an unprecedented five Davis Cups in a row.

The Four Musketeers who won The Davis Cup in 1928 at the new Roland Garros. Rene Lacoste already has the alligator. All they're missing are the ties!

The surface has never changed, and the maxim that the red clay is a leveler is surely appropriate. What's most interesting in looking at the list of Champions and even runner-ups is who is not there. Pete Sampras never won here, which in my book denies him from being the best player ever. The fact that Roger Federer has won this Championship only once speaks volumes. One of the best finesse players ever to take the court, Roger finally won here in 2009. Guess who only won once as well? Rod Laver who many say is the greatest player of all time won it just once - the year he won all the majors fortunately for him. And Ilie Nastase, who arguably was the greatest finesse player, won it just once.

On the women's side, people rarely note that among all her majors, Martina Navratilova just won it twice whereas the clay favored diminutive Justine Henin who took home the trophy on four separate occasions.

The list of Champions is surely a quirky statistic that we can reflect on every year as the red clay in Paris covers socks, ankles, racquets and balls. But there is an art to tennis when the tour makes its ultimate annual stop in what was once fields just to the South of the beautiful Bois du Boulogne. Even the cameramen for France 2 find artistic angles and views which I believe bring the viewer in closer to the action and help the television viewing world to feel just that little bit Francais.

Thus far this year's French Internationale, as it was called when they opened the tournament to non French Club players back in the early 20th Century, has not waivered too much away from the seeds. Upsets are coming I am sure and the quirky list that mark the Championship's winners I am sure will have another surprise in store for us this year.

The US Open Serving It Up Nicely

Perhaps I am more in touch with the matches this year as I grow another year older, but it seems to me that the level of tennis being played at The US Open is stellar earlier in the tournament. Yesterday's match with Andy Murray and Feliciano Lopez was truly an amazing shot-making display and I am enjoying watching Leyton Hewitt right now against David Ferrer

Maybe it's the stories behind the tennis that is adding to this year's tournament and I am seeing the play through rose-coloured glasses. Kim Clijsters finishing her career on court in the mixed doubles tournament... Andy Roddick announcing that his next loss will finish his career...Sloane Stephens making a mark on the women's side from the USA.

I followed Sloane last year as she powered up her tennis game. With a team of fitness and strength coaches behind her, she appears to have the discipline and the self-confidence to be a major part of the WTA Tour over the next year. She certainly shows great speed, agility and form while playing.

Perhaps it is that this year appears to be the year of the older male player - Ferrer... Federer... Hewitt... and Fish. Mardy is pushing his way through the draw and now meets Roger Federer, 4 months his senior - both men being born in 1981. Ah... 1981. John McEnroe was champ on the men's side and Tracy Austin beat Martina Navratilova in the final - 3rd set tiebreaker. I remember the match and I wonder if I will remember this year's final as well 21 years from now. I hope so.