Topic: FEDERER ACHIEVES 300 TOTAL WEEKS AS WORLD NUMBER ONE

[sid]

I had a feeling that Wawrinka would be alkward,but i did not think it would have been that hard.

[jesse james]

I would hope those comparing men's and women's achievements are just being tongue-in-cheek or at worst are trolling to diminish or derail the thread topic. Of course one cannot compare records and achievements in the men's game and the women's game. Different leagues, different players, different set of records. And the records are obviously recorded and maintained separately. The only thing one can say is that each set of players has been tremendous in their own respective sectors of the sport.

Similarly, we cannot truly compare players even in the same league from different eras or generation in terms of their "greatness" even though the media and many people insist on doing so. Too many things have changed.  The most one can reasonably say is that each era's or generation's champions were the greatest of their time.  We can compare some of their records, but caution is needed even there. For example, pre-Open Era records are simply not valid in terms of the Open Era. Amateurs were competing in the majors and the best players were professional and barred from the slam events. Even after the Open Era began, the tour was composed differently before the 1990's and today.

One could say Esther Vergeer is the most dominant  player not only in the realm of tennis but maybe in all of professional sports.  She has won 26 Grand Slam singles titles and 27 Grand Slam doubles titles. Vergeer has been the world number one female wheelchair tennis player since 1999 (app. 675 weeks). In singles, she has not been beaten since January 2003 and is on a winning streak of close to 500 matches.  Does that make her great or perhaps the greatest in her realm? Obviously.  She deserves the highest praise for her accomplishments. Can one compare her records in the wheelchair league with the ATP or WTA or say she is "greater" than any of those players? Of course not. No need to compare. Her achievements, as the others, stand on their own.

As for the thread topic, congrats to Mr. Federer.  To get back to #1 and add to his total weeks at #1 with his main rivals of Nadal, Djokovic, and Murray at or closer to their peak may be one of his most remarkable achievements. 

Respectfully,
masterclass

Agreed.

[huntingyou]

Comparing WTA to ATP it's like comparing USA military might with New Papa Guinea "standing army"


I'm a big fan of Martina and Evert, (don't care much for Graff and Gunter Parche) but Federer's records including weeks at #1>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>> WTA similar records

[Mertov]

I would guess that if he remain injury-free, he would stay on the tour at least another three years.  It would also be interesting if he would decide to quit if he drops below top 10  at any time (not due to the injury).

Mertov

[Alex]

I would guess that if he remain injury-free, he would stay on the tour at least another three years.  It would also be interesting if he would decide to quit if he drops below top 10  at any time (not due to the injury).

Mertov

I've heard that Djokovic is going to rule for next 20 slams and 520 weeks