Isn’t it funny how while many people used to assume that the sport of tennis is one that’s left for a specific demographic, mostly wealthy, it has become one of the most popular sports in the world? Nowadays, Tennis holds its own very respectable grounds in comparison to other popular sports in the world, with sports betting sites taking more and more interest in offering the best tennis odds offers and promotions as some of the most important tournaments that this sport offers have gathered more and more world recognition and fame.
One of the main reasons for the proliferation of tennis as one of the most popular sports in the world has been mainly due to the mass following that some of their most important players have gained. Be it because of their prowesses on the courts, their multiple title reigns and the promotion of their image all around, they have played important roles in making the sport of tennis as popular as it is now. Here we count down the three best male tennis players from this millennium thus far.
- Roger Federer
Of course if we’re going to make a list of the best male tennis players, we have to start the list with who’s considered as the GOAT (greatest of all time) in the sport, Swiss player Roger Federer. Ever since making his debut back in 1998, Federer has easily become the equivalent of Michael Jordan or Tom Brady in the tennis world. When people speak of tennis excellence, the name Roger Federer is automatically the first name most if not all people think of.
His list of titles and accomplishments read like any tennis player’s dream career. Having won a staggering 20 Grand Slam titles, while being runner up for 11 more ties him at first place for the most GS titles in the history of the sport, tied with two other players we’re about to mention, Rafa Nadal and Novak Djokovic. His accolades don’t just end at tournament and GS championships, Federer is also a Davis Cup winner with Switzerland as well as being a gold medalist after winning the doubles tournament with countryman Stanislav Wawrinka in 2008 and a silver medalist in the individual tournament in 2012. Just to add one more tidbit of information, ever since starting his career Federer has held the No.1 position in the ATP rankings for 310 weeks, including a 237 consecutive week record that still holds to this day, while also finishing as the world’s number 1 player in five different occasions. If you want to talk about tennis greatness, Roger Federer will always be the top player to talk about.
- Rafael Nadal
Just like Lio Messi has Cristiano Ronaldo in soccer, Roger Federer has Spaniard Rafael Nadal in tennis, and boy are we lucky we’ve been able to see them excel at their craft for the entirety of their careers. Nadal, who started his pro career in 2001 has been the perfect rival to Federer and another of the absolute best tennis players to ever play the game. As previously mentioned he holds the record with Federer and Djokovic for having won a total of 20 Grand Slam titles, including a record-breaking 13 wins in the French Open, a tournament that anybody can argue is Nadal’s favorite.
He has held the number 1 spot in the ATP rankings for a total of 209 weeks, being awarded the No.1 player of the year honors a total of five times, just like Federer. He holds a total of 88 professional titles and just like Federer has had the honor of winning Olympic gold individually in 2008 and in doubles action in 2016 where he also won a bronze medal in the individual tournament. Nadal has been one of the most important, if not the most important player in the history of the game when it comes to helping the sport become a worldwide phenomenon given his immense levels of popularity worldwide but especially in Latin American countries. Again, just like Messi has Ronaldo, Federer has Nadal.
- Novak Djokovic
Serbian tennis superstar Novak Djokovic could easily make the claim to be the greatest tennis player of all times and with ample reason. While he holds the Grand Slam title record with Federer and Nadal, all with 20 wins, Djokovic has the record for most Australian Open wins with 9, he shares the record of most Masters events titles with Nadal at 36 wins each and he’s the only player in the Open Era of tennis to have won a double career Grand Slam, meaning that he won all the four major Grand Slam tournaments in a year, but twice.
On top of that, he holds the record for most weeks as the No.1 tennis player in the world, a title he holds to this date, according to the ATP with a total of 336 weeks and has finished as the No.1 ATP player of the year a total of six times in his career, a record he shares with another tennis legend, Pete Sampras. While Djokovic has had to battle for his legacy and supremacy in the world of tennis against Federer and Nadal, their matchups are worth epics and what he has done for the sport and will continue to do until his retirement will only help to broaden his legend as he could one day very well be crowned as the best player to ever play the game.
