Roger Federer’s latest Laureus award comes on the back of his achievement of becoming the oldest number one in the history of men’s tennis and having also won the 2018 Australian Open raises an obvious question: Is the ‘Fed’ the greatest sportsmen ever?
It is the type of question which should be discussed over a pint or two in the pub. Has Roger Federer’s triumph in Melbourne at the end of January and now the world number one having won in Rotterdam put him forward as the front-runner to being the greatest sportsman of all time?
For this to be answered one has to consider the categories required to make the list. There a number of challenges to this title, not least the many, both past and present sportsmen and women, who have achieved greatness. Each sport, and there are roughly 8000 different kinds of sports played around the world if we are to believe Wikipedia, deserves a mention but we cannot do that here. So, to try and make this fair, the chosen are sports which are played in more than one country.
Criteria to be included?
So let us consider the criteria to make this list. The following would seem logical if a little interconnected?
Achievement/Legacy/Durability/Talent.
Tennis leads the way
To qualify as a contender, the legacy a sportsman or woman leaves behind is surely a key requirement. Tennis, in this regard, ranks very highly here. Serena Williams is one who has changed the face of women’s tennis with her power and athleticism. She has been a figurehead for issues that have stayed quiet for so long and has inspired many to pick up a tennis racket. Williams’ durability, like Roger Federer’s, is truly remarkable and it would be of no surprise to see her continuing to win majors when she goes back on tour. Federer, likewise, his global appeal is such that he has the likes of Bill Gates eating out of his pocket.
We should focus on Federer for just a moment. It is incredible to see how Federer has improved his game further (if that was indeed possible) as he heads towards 40; such are the advancements in sports medicine and technology today. Physically, Federer has no right to win majors given the stress and strain a 20-year career at the top would and should have put on his body. Tennis is unique in many ways because the tour operates on four different surfaces; all of these require extreme flexibility and muscle exertion. Federer seems to be getting better with age and this is happening in an era where he has played against some of the greatest male tennis players of all time, namely Rafael Nadal and Novak Djokovic.
The ‘Rocket’ Rod Laver is an interesting case for inclusion because he transcended the amateur era into the sport becoming professional. For the love of the sport, Laver achieved greatness (184 singles titles is testimony to that) and could have likely achieved even more than Federer if professionalism had come around sooner. Remember, Federer, among many others, idolized the likes of Laver and Roy Emerson.
The 70s and 80s, a golden era in tennis
We should also consider Billie Jean King, Steffi Graf, and Martina Navratilova to join Serena Williams on this list. Three unbelievable competitors with nearly a thousand titles spread between them over the last four decades. King founded the WTA and she fought for equality on and off the court. Navratilova won 344 titles and was still going strong at the age of 50. Significantly, Navratilova’s record will never be surpassed.
American golfing legends
From golf, Bobby Jones and Jack Nicklaus are the standouts. Jones won pretty much everything in the 1920s and 1930s including a Grand Slam in 1930. Golf was amateur in those days so legacy comes in again here because Jones, who was a lawyer by trade, co-founded the Masters Tournament and introduced innovations into golf that every golf tournament around the world uses today. Jones retired at 28 with 13 majors to his name, only five behind the great Jack Nicklaus.
Ali without peer
Muhammad Ali looms large in this list. For his sheer presence and pulling power alone, he was a superstar until his dying day. To say he broke down barriers is a massive understatement. He was a symbol of racial pride in the USA, converted to Islam, and over-turned the US Supreme Court by not enlisting in the American army. He was also a phenomenal boxer, truly one of the best ever. The Rumble in the Jungle fight in Zaire against his great rival George Foreman remains one of the most iconic sporting moments of the 20th century.
So many sports and legends to consider
One of the challenges when pulling a list like this together is to try and bring in all the many sports out there. Cricket, for example, is only played in a handful of countries as is basketball (Michael Jordan is without peer on this one). Therefore, Sir ‘Don’ Bradman must make this illustrious lineup. To have a batting average of 99.94 defies logic and will never be nearly beaten. Consider this, to be regarded as a cricketing immortal and in this case, as a batsman, the greats average around 55-60. Bradman was at 99.94 when he finished, spread over 20 years and intersected by World War II.
For the pressure of performing consistently to a one billion plus population in India, Sachin Tendulkar is probably Bradman’s nearest challenger. To score a hundred international centuries will never be beaten.
Pele and Messi, the representatives from soccer
Soccer has Pele, the great Brazilian maestro. His ability to play his best on the biggest stage in football, the World Cup, puts him above the modern day magicians, Lionel Messi and Christiano Ronaldo. Pele is still lauded today, rather like Muhammad Ali. That said, soccer is a team sport and as good as Pele was, his teams weren’t bad either, so that has to be factored in.
Olympian greats
Michael Phelps’s enduring achievements deserve a mention; his Olympic medal haul may never be surpassed and carries him across 16 years of unrelenting pressure against brilliant athletes. From an Olympian perspective, Phelps just shaves Usain Bolt, but the latter cannot go ignored given his immense sporting popularity. Bolt’s charisma and incredible ability went hand in hand. The 100 meters carries with it a mythical presence as an Olympic event. The pressure, the tension, and the controversy that brings together a very egotistical environment for a few seconds is difficult to beat. The bigger the occasion, the better Bolt went.
What about Sir Steven Redgrave? Redgrave won five gold medals in five successive Olympics (1984-2000). Remarkable, given that he battled diabetes and ulcerative colitis. Training to an Olympic rower’s standard is brutal in the extreme and managing the dietary and nutrition requirements is vital, so this makes Redgrave’s achievements truly legendary.
Most of us will remember ‘Flo Jo’, Florence Griffith–Joyner, who was the fastest women of all time and set world records in both the 100m and 200m, which still remains unsurpassed to this current day.
Legends from the past
Ayrton Senna was a man who left an incredible legacy in Formula One Racing and through his charity work in his native Brazil. Despite disliking the limelight, Senna was a hugely influential figure in racing. Senna forced his greatest rivals into striving for more speed and was the greatest driver in wet weather conditions. His tragic death in 1994 also significantly improved the sport’s safety measures, so his memory lives on.
Perhaps one of the greatest sportsmen who can get easily forgotten given that she died so young was Babe Didrikson Zaharias. Babe won gold medals in track and field at the 1932 Olympics, 10 major golf championships, not to mention her sporting prowess in baseball and basketball. What makes Babe a favorite was that she continued to win major golf tournaments as number one in the world whilst being treated for colon cancer, which would eventually take her life in 1956. It was said at the time that she was a pioneer in campaigning for cancer awareness and also an icon to many for her female physique in what was a very conservative America at the time.
So, who could make the top ten? This is immensely difficult but consider these legends?
- Roger Federer
- Sir Donald Bradman
- Muhammad Ali
- Martina Navratilova
- Serena Williams
- Bobby Jones
- Pele
- Babe Didrikson Zaharias
- Ayrton Senna
- Sir Steve Redgrave
Michael Phelps, Usain Bolt, Pele, Rod Laver, and Michael Jordan among many others could have easily made this list.
Who would be in your top ten?