A Tribute to Federer's 17 Grand Slams

My intense love for video tributes on the greatness of Roger Federer is a tad lame. But I might as well embrace the love and present you with the ATP's latest video on Federer's 17 Grand Slams. It makes me really happy.

The Roger Federer Song

To celebrate the upcoming Wimbledon final between Federer and Murray I now present you with "Grand Slam Man"—that delightfully catchy song about His Majesty R. Fed (written by the band Binge). You're welcome.

 

Nadal is Great, but Federer is Still Greater

I found an excellent article the other day by Paul Hayward called "Rafael Nadal Pumps It Up But Fading Roger Federer Is Still Grand Master." I think this is one of the best written articles on the greatest of all time debate, and not just because Hayward gives his vote to Roger. Hayward praises both Roger and Rafa, and although he believes Federer is the best ever, he has some pretty great things to say about Nadal as well.

Here are a few quotes from the article:

You are either a Roger Federer hide-out-in-the-mountains-and-defend-his greatness-to-the-death sort, or a convert to the gang that says Rafael Nadal is usurping him as the greatest men's tennis player of all time.

Look for me in the hills, because there comes a time when a man just has to fight. It's not just that Federer has won more grand slam titles (16) than Nadal (nine). It runs deeper. At the heart of it is how you see the game. Nadal is about as captivating as power is ever going to be. But Federer has mastered an art far harder than lethal counter-punching and beautifully orchestrated aggression.

 But he also says this about Rafa:

Disparaging Nadal out of loyalty to Federer ought to carry a prison sentence. There appears to be no crack in his dedication or humility. He seeks no immortality shoot-out with Federer, insisting instead that 16 beats nine every time. As a protagonist in the greatest passage of live sport this witness has had the privilege to cover – the 2008 Wimbledon men's final – he earns eternal admiration. Here is a modern star who measures his accomplishments by how well he is playing the game, not by how much it can bring him.

The article is definitely worth reading, so be sure to check it out here. And if anyone needs me...just "look for me in the hills." I'll be hanging out with Paul Hayward and the rest of the Fed fans.

Rafa Nadal: US Open Champion!

Congrats Rafa! You've had an amazing year and now you've won the US Open. I think you're pretty awesome, so I want to apologize for cheering for Novak and for my angry comments on twitter after Brad Gilbert claimed that you are now the GOAT. You're totally not — you still have quite a few grand slams to go before we can call you that — but you are certainly one of the best ever, and maybe one day you actually will be the greatest of all time. Anyway, the important thing is that you won three slams this year and now have the career slam as well. Doing that by the age of 24 is amazing, so props for that. Oh, and most importantly, you looked really hot in your black Nike "night" outfit. Success!

Serena Williams: Greatest of All Time?

Jon Wertheim recently wrote an article stating that, for him, Serena Williams is the Greatest of All Time. Although I think it's too early to grant Serena this title, I do agree with many of Wertheim's points and it's been interesting to read the many articles and comments that have been written in response to his statement.

Click on the links below to read Wertheim's responses when questioned about his Serena as GOAT statement:

http://sportsillustrated.cnn.com/2010/writers/jon_wertheim/07/07/serena.mailbag/index.html

http://sportsillustrated.cnn.com/2010/writers/jon_wertheim/07/14/mailbag/index.html?eref=writers

Steve Tignor of Tennis.com clearly disagrees with Wertheim in the article below:

http://tennisworld.typepad.com/thewrap/2010/07/the-best-of-her-but-not-all-time.html

And here's a great breakdown of each side of the argument by Tennis Is Served:

http://tennisisserved.blogspot.com/2010/07/goat-theory-101-transcendental.html

Can Nadal reach 16 grand slams?

A few months ago I would have said that there was no chance that Rafa could catch Federer in the grand slam department...now I'm not so sure. Check out this article from Tennis Planet (an excellent blog by the way) to see his thoughts...

http://tennisplanet.wordpress.com/2010/07/10/what-can-guarantee-that-nadal-will-reach-exceed-no-16/