Revised Top 10 For Men All Time

[Fiero425]

Probably not, no, but that doesn't take away from some of his remarkable accomplishments. to me the most impressive is his Slam-winning span of 20 years: his first at 18, last at 37. Pancho, Hoad, Laver, and Connors were all better in their primes, but Muscles was right there for all of them.

Overall I think Rosewall is historically underrated, because of the "Slam Title Fallacy" (which I would define as "the reduction of a player's greatness to their Slam title count"). He's definitely top ten in my book. In fact, the only three players I'm comfortable saying were greater are the "Three Rs": Rod, Roger, and Rafa. Ken's in the mix for #4 along with Tilden, Gonzales, Sampras, and Novak.

Never cared for Rosewall, but he's right up with the best even with only a "sliced" backhand! He beat Laver in those 2 WCT Chp. finals that's supposedly some of the finest tennis ever played! He absolutely owned Ilie Nastase for some reason; same with Laver over Arthur Ashe! I'd have to rate Sampras over Novak even though he owns all 4 majors; those 7 Wimbledon & 5 U.S. Opens truly set Pete apart from a lot of these past greats!

 

[El Dude]

A year ago I was wanting to rate Novak ahead of Pete and Rafa, but that's mainly because he seemed almost certain to continue playing at a high level. Right now I'm still ranking him a hair behind Pete, and now a solid step behind Rafa. But I also wouldn't be surprised if Novak surges and wins a few more.

 

[Obsi]

Here's a list of players who are most underrated by GOAT list makers, mainly because they are so biased towards GS titles:

1. Pancho Gonzales - 2 Slams but 12 Pro Slams - played pro for 18 years; beat a 19-year old Jimmy Connors at age 43!
2. Ken Rosewall - "only" 8 GS, but 15 Pro Slams - so the highest "major" count in tennis history at 23. Longest span-winning range of 20 years!
3. Lew Hoad - Super high peak but marred by injuries. Was comparable to Laver and Rosewall in talent level; the Marat Safin of his era
4. Tony Wilding - Died at age 31 after being the best player in the sport for a decade. Pretty much forgotten, but the best player of the pre-Tilden era
5. Ilie Nastase - Not quite a true great, but closer to Becker/Edberg than he is to other 2-Slam winners

Or something like that - those are the guys that came to mind.

I think Jack Kramer is the most underrated http://www.steveflink.com/2017/04/30/remembering-jack-kramer/

 

[Fiero425]

I think Jack Kramer is the most underrated http://www.steveflink.com/2017/04/30/remembering-jack-kramer/

Not by me! In my day the game centered around Kramer wood racket produced by Wilson, Fila clothing worn by Borg, and the tennis shoes endorsed by Stan Smith! Everything else was just happenstance including the boom of the 70's! As much as I acknowledge these products, I never bought any of it! I went through rackets, shoes, and clothes like you wouldn't believe! I had a little bit of everything; esp. in rackets where I stopped counting at 60 in wood, metal, fiberglass, & composites! Whatever racket played with by folks, more than likely I tried it out at least!