Tennis Week Experts and Readers Give Federer Top Honors in All-Time Tourney
FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
Contact: Kent Oswald, Associate Managing Editor
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11/21/06 - Who is the greatest male tennis player of all time? According to a Tennis Week magazine panel of experts, and Tennis Week readers, it is the current world No. 1 player, Roger Federer.
Capping an exciting 32-player all-time tournament that began with the
November issue and concludes with a detailed, five-page layout in
December, Federer outlasted two-time Grand Slam champion Rod Laver, 6-4, 5-7, 6-3, 4-6, 7-5, in the championship match.
Federer, who was top-seeded in the draw, outpointed John McEnroe, the No. 8 seed, in a five-set semifinal (6-4, 6-7, 7-6, 3-6, 7-5) while the
second-seeded Laver also needed five sets to subdue third-seeded Pete
Sampras, 5-7, 7-6, 7-6, 4-6, 8-6, in the other semifinal.
A seven-member panel of former players (Gardnar Mulloy, Pancho Segura and Fred Stolle) and Tennis Week journalists (Neil Amdur, Richard Evans, Steve Flink, Richard Pagliaro) balloted on all 31 matches in the tournament, with consensus winners of each match advancing. The panel voted, 5-2, for Federer in the final.
Readers who participated in the tournament, either through the magazine or on tennisweek.com, also favored Federer. The nine-time Grand Slam winner was selected by 45 percent of all respondents, with Laver at 29 percent, followed by Sampras at 17. Others who received championship votes included Bjorn Borg, McEnroe, Bill Tilden, Don Budge, Pancho Gonzalez, Ilie Nastase, Jimmy Connors, Jack Kranmer, Andre Agassi and Lew Hoad.
The winner among reader entries was Paul Lucas of St. Louis, Mo. A
30-year-old tennis teaching pro at the Miller Tennis Academy, Lucas, who played varsity tennis at the University of Missouri, correctly guessed 29 of the 31 matches, missing only two first-round matches (Nastase-Ken Rosewall and Manolo Santana-Mats Wilander). His final-round score for Federer was 4-6, 6-3, 6-4, 6-2.
"When all is said and done," Lucas said of Federer by phone from St.
Louis, "he's going to be break every record. He's incredible to watch and he's got every shot. A little overlooked is how fast he is and how he can anticipate shots."
Lucas will receive a complimentary four-day, three-night stay for two at
the The Colony Beach and Tennis Resort in Longboat Key, Fla. for his
winning entry.
Dave McKinney of Westlake, Calif., was the runner-up. The 44-year-old tennis director of the Spanish Hills Country Club in Camarillo, Calif. also
picked Federer over Laver in four sets.
"It was a very, very tough decision," McKinney said, of his choice in the
final, citing Federer's all-court athleticism as a major factor. "By the
time Federer finishes, they'll be no doubt he's the best of all time."
Interestingly, of the 45 percent who picked Federer as the winner, there was division over his final-round opponent. Laver was an opponent in 50 percent of the picks, with Sampras at 46 percent.
Among the seven-member panel, the most fiercely contested matches of the tournament, besides the semifinals and final, were Agassi's first-round, five-set win over Ivan Lendl (9-7 in the fifth), McEnroe's rousing
five-setter over Pancho Gonzalez in the second round (also, 9-7 in the
fifth)and Boris Becker's surprising upset of Grand Slam champion and No. 6 seed Don Budge in the opening round (4-6, 7-5, 6-7, 6-4, 6-3) that ruined more than a few draw sheets.
The complete match-by-match breakdown of the tournament is available in the December issue of the magazine, along with individual comments from all seven panelists on the Federer-Laver final.
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