Editing Tennis (section)

=== Greatest male players ===
{{further|Tennis male players statistics|World number one male tennis player rankings}}

A frequent topic of discussion among tennis fans and commentators is who was the greatest male singles player of all time. By a large margin, an [[Associated Press]] poll in 1950 named [[Bill Tilden]] as the greatest player of the first half of the 20th century.<ref>{{cite web|url=https://www.espn.com/sportscentury/features/00016509.html|title=ESPN.com: Tilden brought theatrics to tennis|website=www.espn.com}}</ref> From 1920 to 1930, Tilden won singles titles at [[The Championships, Wimbledon|Wimbledon]] three times and the [[US Open (tennis)|US Championships]] seven times. In 1938, however, [[Donald Budge]] became the first person to win all four major singles titles during the same calendar year, the [[Grand Slam (tennis)|Grand Slam]], and won six consecutive major titles in 1937 and 1938. Tilden called Budge "the finest player 365 days a year that ever lived."<ref>{{cite web | url=http://www.authentichistory.com/1930s/sports/1937_Don_Budge_on_Davis_Cup_SF_Win_Over_Von_Cramm.html | title=Don Budge's Comments After 1937 Davis Cup Semi-final Match Against Baron Gottfried von Cramm (1:07) | access-date=29 May 2007 | archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20070426051252/http://www.authentichistory.com/1930s/sports/1937_Don_Budge_on_Davis_Cup_SF_Win_Over_Von_Cramm.html | archive-date=26 April 2007 | url-status=dead | df=dmy-all }}</ref> In his 1979 autobiography, [[Jack Kramer]] said that, based on consistent play, Budge was the greatest player ever.<ref>{{cite book|title=The Game, My 40 Years in Tennis|year=1979|last1=Kramer|first1=Jack|last2=Deford|first2=Frank|publisher=Putnam |isbn=0-399-12336-9}}</ref> Some observers, however, also felt that Kramer deserved consideration for the title. Kramer was among the few who dominated amateur and professional tennis during the late 1940s and early 1950s. [[Tony Trabert]] has said that of the players he saw before the start of the [[Open Era]], Kramer was the best male champion.<ref>{{cite web | url=http://www.sportsmediainc.net/tennisweek/index.cfm?func=showarticle&newsid=10503&bannerregion | archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20070927024737/http://www.sportsmediainc.net/tennisweek/index.cfm?func=showarticle&newsid=10503&bannerregion | archive-date=27 September 2007 | title=The Tennis Week Interview: Tony Trabert Part II | author=Richard Pagliaro | date=26 February 2004 | access-date=29 May 2007 | url-status=dead | df=dmy-all }}</ref>

By the 1960s, Budge and others had added [[Pancho Gonzales]] and [[Lew Hoad]] to the list of contenders. Budge reportedly believed that Gonzales was the greatest player ever.<ref>Will Grimsley, ''Tennis: Its History, People, and Events'' (1971)</ref> Gonzales said about Hoad, "When Lew's game was at its peak nobody could touch him.&nbsp;... I think his game was the best game ever. Better than mine. He was capable of making more shots than anybody. His two volleys were great. His overhead was enormous. He had the most natural tennis mind with the most natural tennis physique."<ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.jamesbuddell.com/files/hoad.pdf|title=Hoad|publisher=Jame Buddell|access-date=28 June 2012|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20080625042034/http://www.jamesbuddell.com/files/hoad.pdf|archive-date=25 June 2008|url-status=usurped}}</ref>

Before and during the Open Era, [[Rod Laver]] remains the only male player in history to have won the calendar year Grand Slam twice in 1962 and 1969 <ref>{{cite web |last1=Sclink |first1=Leo |title=Rod Laver's priceless Grand Slam |url=http://www.dailytelegraph.com.au/sport/rod-lavers-priceless-grand-slam/story-fn794248-1226248836465 |work=Herald Sun |location=Australia |date=20 January 2012 |access-date=5 September 2018}}</ref> and also the calendar year Professional Grand Slam in 1967.<ref>{{cite book |last1=Bercow |first1=John |title=Tennis Maestros: The Twenty Greatest Male Tennis Players of All Time |date=2014 |publisher=Biteback Publishing |location=London, England |isbn=978-1-84954-765-9 |chapter-url=https://books.google.com/books?id=tTSzAwAAQBAJ&q=The+French+pro+tennis+championships+men%27s+event+only&pg=PT100 |chapter=Chapter 9: Rod Laver}}</ref>

[[Jimmy Connors]], [[Björn Borg]], and [[John McEnroe]] had a fierce rivalry in the late 1970s and early 1980s that propelled "the men's game to new heights of popularity".<ref>{{cite web|url=https://www.tennis.com/pro-game/2017/09/wimbledon-summer-1977-bjorn-borg-john-mcenroe-jimmy-connors/67816/|title=How Borg, Connors, Gerulaitis & McEnroe stirred masses and moved poets}}</ref> Connors had a long and prolific career and holds the [[Open Era tennis records – men's singles#All tournaments|Open Era men's singles records]] of 109 titles<!-- don't add "ATP" here; that tour didn't exist until 1990. In Connor's time it was the ITF, WCT, and other events --> including eight Grand Slams, 1,557 matches played, and 1,274 match wins. Borg was regarded by his contemporaries as among the greatest ever, having a calm court demeanor and unrivalled physical conditioning, winning six French Opens and five straight Wimbledon titles, retiring at age 26 when he was still in his prime. McEnroe attained the No. 1 ranking in both [[List of ATP number 1 ranked singles tennis players|singles]] and [[List of ATP number 1 ranked doubles tennis players|doubles]], finishing his career with 77 singles and 78 doubles titles; this remains the [[Tennis players with most titles in the Open Era#Men|highest men's combined total]] of the [[Open Era]].<ref>{{Cite news|url=http://news.bbc.co.uk/sport2/hi/tennis/3844431.stm|title = Street-fighter recalls battles of old|date = 27 June 2004}}</ref>

The [[Agassi–Sampras rivalry]] showcased the two best players in the 1990s.<ref>{{cite news |last=Dwyre |first=Bill |date=14 March 1995 |title=Sampras, Agassi Have Just Begun to Fight |newspaper=The Los Angeles Times |url=https://www.latimes.com/archives/la-xpm-1995-03-14-sp-42741-story.html |access-date=15 May 2010}}</ref> Sampras had a precise and powerful serve while Agassi was considered to be one of the best service returners in the history of the game.<ref name="cba">{{cite news |last=Molinaro |first=John |title=CBC Sports: "Tennis's love affair with Agassi comes to an end" |publisher=Cbc.ca |url=http://www.cbc.ca/sports/columns/newsmakers/andre-agassi.html |url-status=dead |access-date=15 May 2013 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20130308123815/http://www.cbc.ca/sports/columns/newsmakers/andre-agassi.html |archive-date=8 March 2013}}</ref><ref>[http://uk.eurosport.yahoo.com/tennis/simon-reed/article/1176/ "Reed's shotmakers: Men's return of serve"]. [[Yahoo! Sports]]. Retrieved 15 May 2010.</ref><ref>[https://www.nytimes.com/2005/09/13/sports/tennis/13tv.html "Adjectives Tangled in the Net"]. ''[[The New York Times]]''. Retrieved 15 May 2010.</ref> By the early 2000s, [[Pete Sampras]] had won a then-record of 14 Grand Slam titles which was by far the most among his contemporaries. Sampras also held the record for most weeks at No. 1 with 286 until it was broken a decade later by Federer and Djokovic after that. [[Andre Agassi]], was the first player to complete the [[Grand Slam (tennis)#Career Grand Slam|Career Grand Slam]] on all modern three surfaces (hard, grass, and clay courts) as previous winners of Grand Slam tournaments played in an era of grass and clay only (Rod Laver and Ken Rosewall also won major [[Major professional tennis tournaments before the Open Era|Pro tournaments]] on the three surfaces). Agassi also is the only player to win all four Grand Slam titles along with the [[ATP Finals|year-end championships]] and the [[Tennis at the Summer Olympics|olympics]]. Both Sampras and Agassi are regarded to be among the greatest players of all time.<ref name="cba" /><ref>{{cite news |last=Parsons |first=John |date=26 June 2002 |title=Grand-slammed |work=The Daily Telegraph |location=London |url=https://www.telegraph.co.uk/sport/tennis/wimbledon/3030108/Grand-slammed.html |url-status=live |url-access=subscription |access-date=6 May 2012 |archive-url=https://ghostarchive.org/archive/20220111/https://www.telegraph.co.uk/sport/tennis/wimbledon/3030108/Grand-slammed.html |archive-date=11 January 2022}}{{cbignore}}</ref><ref>{{cite news |date=4 September 2006 |title=Stars pay tribute to Agassi |publisher=BBC Sport |url=http://news.bbc.co.uk/sport2/hi/tennis/5113548.stm |access-date=6 May 2012}}</ref>

By the early twenty-first century, the '[[Big Three (tennis)|Big Three]]' of [[Roger Federer]], [[Rafael Nadal]] and [[Novak Djokovic]] have dominated men's singles tennis for two decades,<ref>{{cite news |last=Eccleshare |first=Charlie |date=27 August 2018 |title=Roger Federer, Rafael Nadal and Novak Djokovic head to US Open with 'Big Three' more dominant than ever |newspaper=[[The Daily Telegraph]] |location=London |url=https://www.telegraph.co.uk/tennis/2018/08/27/roger-federer-rafael-nadal-novak-djokovic-head-us-open-big-three/ |url-status=live |url-access=subscription |access-date=19 February 2020 |archive-url=https://ghostarchive.org/archive/20220111/https://www.telegraph.co.uk/tennis/2018/08/27/roger-federer-rafael-nadal-novak-djokovic-head-us-open-big-three/ |archive-date=11 January 2022}}{{cbignore}}</ref><ref>{{cite news |last=Chase |first=Chris |date=21 August 2018 |title=Federer, Nadal and Djokovic: Ranking the Big Three rivalries |newspaper=[[USA Today]] |url=https://ftw.usatoday.com/2018/08/federer-djokovic-nadal-ranking-big-three-four-rivalry-history-grand-slam |access-date=19 February 2020}}</ref> collectively winning 66 [[Grand Slam (tennis)#Tournaments|major]] singles tournaments; Djokovic with an all-time record 24 titles, Nadal with 22 and Federer with 20. They have been ranked as [[List of ATP number 1 ranked singles tennis players|world No. 1]]s in singles for a total 947 weeks (equivalent to 18 years); Djokovic for a record 428 weeks, Federer for 310, and Nadal for 209.