Martina Navratilova seems to have locked up the female honor here. Consider the following cases before voting and of course comment below.
- Bjorn Borg – 5 consecutive Wimbledon titles, 1 Wimbledon runner-up finish, 6 consecutive Wimbledon final rounds reached, 2 Wimbledon quarterfinal finishes
- Pete Sampras – 7 Wimbledon titles, 7-0 in Wimbledon finals, 1 Wimbledon semifinal finish, 1 Wimbledon quarterfinal finish, 2 Queen’s Club titles, 2 Queen’s Club runner-up finishes
- Roger Federer – 7 Wimbledon titles, 5 consecutive titles, 6 consecutive Wimbledon final rounds reached, 1 Wimbledon runner-up finish, 3 Wimbledon quarterfinal finishes, 5 Halle titles, 2 Halle runner-up finishes [Update: Adding the last two Halle titles and an Olympic Silver medal on grass helps Roger’s resume]
Does Pete’s 7-0 record out pace Roger’s slightly deeper run on grass? Does Borg’s success on grass despite not being an all-court player or serve an volley player boost him to the lead? Are Roger’s 12 titles on grass too much to overcome?
Tennis Abides: Dan Martin on Tennis and Life 
Is Fed the greatest ever? So tough to say that when he’s had so much trouble against Nadal in his career. I probably say so but it’s incredibly difficult to judge across generations. Also, you think you could take a look at my blog post because I really would love to know what you have to say http://chrisross91.wordpress.com/2012/07/09/never-to-be-seen-again/
I was narrowing it to greatest grass court player during the open era. I’ll check out your blog post. I have a whole series of posts that is ongoing called “Men Who Stare at Tennis GOATS” – you may want to look at those to get my idea on the matter.
Before the final, I’d still say Sampras. He played on a faster grass, a truer grass, and I believe he is the better overall fast court player. But the way Federer served in the last two rounds, and the way he volleyed in the final. Man, put him on any type of grass and he’ll still win. Gotta go with Rog after all.
If we throw in Roger’s 2 additional Halle titles and his Olympic silver medal on grass, Roger’s resume has improved since this poll was posted.
Reblogged this on Tennis Abides and commented:
This is 2 years old, but Federer picking up a 14th Grass Court title warranted a repost!