Tennis fans often argue over which underappreciated or forgotten players should be considered all-time greats. 1930s star Ellsworth Vines comes to mind. And, more recently, Jan Kodes. But what about the players whose reputations are greater than they should be?
Well, fans argue about that, too. Based on a very unscientific survey of serious tennis fans in my orbit, along with my memory of overhearing tournament commentators and spectators over the years, I have picked out six players who have been accused of being overrated. Do all of these legends belong on a list of overrated players? I certainly don't think so. Point being: please keep in mind that the arguments put forward below are the ones out there in the tennis universe, not necessarily mine. (In other words, don't shoot the messenger!) I do let my loyalties show in how I have ranked the players, from, strictly in my opinion, least or not at all overrated (number 6) to legitimately overrated (number 1).
All of that said, tell me which of these arguments ring true with you -- and which you think are total poppycock. Who else should have been included here instead of one or more of those listed? Weigh in below.
6. Rod Laver
The argument: He won his first Grand Slam, the 1962 amateur Slam, when the best players in the world -- Ken Rosewall, Lew Hoad, Alex Olmedo and Pancho Gonzales -- were barred from the majors. He won his second Grand Slam, the 1969 Open era Slam, when 33-year-old Olmedo, 34-year-old Rosewall, 34-year-old Hoad and 40-year-old Gonzales were all beyond their best years and/or semi-retired -- and the younger, newer pros were still adjusting to the influx of battle-hardened barnstormers. He holds a solid 80-64 lead in documented matches against Rosewall, his chief rival, but the first time they met, in 1963, Rosewall was already 28, Laver an in-his-prime 24.
5. Roger Federer
The argument: During Federer's 2004-2009 heyday, people routinely called the all-time major champion the greatest player of all time, pointing to both his astounding accomplishments and his beautiful, all-around game. But how can he be the greatest ever when he isn't even the best in his own time? This is, yes, about Federer's poor head-to-head record against Rafael Nadal -- 10-23 overall and an even worse 2-9 in major tournaments. True, Federer just happens to match up particularly badly against Nadal, what with Rafa's unprecedentedly mammoth lefty spin going naturally to the Swiss' one-handed backhand. But shouldn't the GOAT still find a way more than twice in 11 tries in the sport's biggest tournaments?
4. Boris Becker
The argument: At 18, he was a two-time Wimbledon champion. Let's repeat that: he was barely old enough to join the military and he'd already won tennis' most prestigious title -- twice! But he couldn't keep it up (at least not on the court). The Hamlet of the ATP tour, Becker was never sure how much he wanted to be a tennis star. As a result, after those two remarkable teenaged triumphs in 1985 and '86, he would win just four more major titles, two of them at a still reputation-challenged and underrepresented Australian Open. By the time he was 25, he had been definitively surpassed on his beloved grass courts by Pete Sampras. Plus there's this: He not only couldn't win the French Open, he couldn't win any clay-court title in his entire career.
3. Arthur Ashe
The argument: He is one of the sport's icons, and deservedly so. But the high regard grew chiefly from his off-court activism and courage, and over the years those aspects of his remarkable life have been conflated with his tennis deeds. He was, to be sure, a first-rate player. But he had trouble climbing up to his top level and staying there. He won only three major singles titles in a long career, most notably the 1975 Wimbledon, when at 31 he upset Jimmy Connors in the final. Even in his prime, he was just as likely to lose in the first week of a major as he was to blast his way to the later rounds.
2. Margaret Smith Court
The argument: The bulk of the Aussie's major singles titles -- 11 of her record 24 -- came at the Australian championships at a time when few of the American and European stars bothered or could afford to make the long, inconvenient trip Down Under. (Peter Bodo has made this case against Court.) And her 1970 Grand Slam? Yes, Court outlasted the great Billie Jean King 14-12, 11-9 in an epic Wimbledon final. But she beat second-tier players Kerry Reid and Helga Niessen Masthoff in the finals of the Australian and French championships, respectively, a good indication of the soft fields at those events. At the U.S. Open, she didn't have to worry about a rematch with King, who missed the tournament. And in the final, she needed three sets to best firebrand Rosie Casals in a serve-and-volley duel, even though Casals was nearly a foot shorter than her. Then there's the embarrassing Mother's Day Massacre in 1973, when 55-year-old "wrinkled runt" Bobby Riggs sliced and diced the 30-year-old Court in a 6-2, 6-1 tennis clinic. Court's humiliating loss in the PR stunt was a serious blow to feminism (really!) and led to the "Battle of the Sexes" later in the year between Riggs and King -- won, of course, by King in straight sets.
1. Jimmy Connors
The argument: He lasted more than 20 years on the tour, and helped change tennis with his two-handed backhand and aggressive service return. But, let's face it, his game was constrained by limited athleticism and an even more limited imagination. Ultimately, Connors' reputation is built more on his larger-than-life bluster than his performance between the lines. "I peak every time I play," he once crowed. Despite this, Connors spent most of his career one step off the pace set by the best player in the world -- first Bjorn Borg, then John McEnroe and Ivan Lendl. He never won a tournament on European red clay, which is slower and bouncier than the green American dirt. (He reached the 1981 Monte Carlo final, but it was canceled because of inclement weather.) Worse, from 1975 through 1978, when he was in his prime, Connors lost six of eight major finals. He then spent three years losing in Grand Slam semifinals before Borg quit the game, allowing Jimbo to get back to the last Sunday. The American holds one significant record: most professional singles titles, with 109. But is that a selling point for greatness when only eight of them came at Grand Slam tournaments?
source: http://www.oregonlive.com/the-spin-of-the-ball/index.ssf/2014/04/roger_federer_no_way_the_6_mos.html
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