Across the Het 2.18.08: Ranking the Current Single Slam Winners

Posted by Dan Martin on 02.18.2008

How does one rank the careers and abilities of Andy Roddick, Novak Djokovic, Carlos Moya, Juan Carlos Ferrero, Gaston Gaudio and Thomas Johansson?

Players of the Week:

Nicholas Almagro defeated Carlos Moya 7-6, 3-6, 7-5 in order to win the Brazil Open title on clay. Almagro is one of the toughest clay court players in the world when he is healthy. This could be a big season for the 23 year old Spaniard. I included Moya as a player of the week as he is 31 years old and still playing top 20 tennis. Andy Murray beat Mario Ancic 6-3, 6-4 to take the Open 13 title in France. With the win Murray returns to the top 10 on Monday morning. 18 year old Kei Nishikori of Japan beat James Blake 3-6, 6-1, 6-4 in Florida for his first career title.

On the women's side of the ledger world #1 Justine Henin defeated Karin Knapp 6-3, 6-3 to win her 41st career title in Belgium. Flavia Pennetta won a title in Chile by defeating Klara Zakopalova 6-4, 5-4 when Zakopalova retired from the match. Most importantly 34 year old Monica Seles officially retired from tennis. Seles is one of the greatest champions male or female to ever play the game. Seles' mental toughness and powerful ground strokes were the tools she used to win the first 8 Grand Slam titles of her career and claim the #1 ranking. In 1993, tragedy struck as she was stabbed by an insane fan and Seles was out of the game until summer 1995. She quickly returned winning the 1995 Canadian Open and finishing as the runner-up at the 1995 U.S. Open to Steffi Graf. In 1996, Seles won the Australian Open and once again finished as runner-up at the U.S. Open. Seles reached the 1998 French Open final as well. Her career was solid after the stabbing, but one has to wonder "what if?" when it comes to Monica Seles.

Methodology: Two Different but Related Questions

I think any greatest of all time question has to be split into two related but different questions. "Who accomplished the most?" And for lack of a better term, "Who had the most game?" One answers the question of who had the better career. The other question tries to answer the question of who would win more of ten than not if these two players met. This is a tougher question because surface differences and the lack of quantitative data turn this into a judgment call. Still, prudential wisdom of evaluating tennis can develop over time. Therefore, it is hopefully not an uniformed judgment.

The Suspects

Active Australian Open Single Slam Winners:
Thomas Johansson 2002, Novak Djokovic 2008

Active French Open Single Slam Winners:
Carlos Moya 1998, Juan Carlos Ferrero 2003, Gaston Gaudio* 2004

Active Wimbledon Single Slam Winners:
Null Set

Active U.S. Open Single Slam Winners:
Andy Roddick 2003

Active Single Slam Winners - The Best Career?

6. Gaston Gaudio – As mentioned last week, Gaudio won the French Open with a massive comeback versus Coria in the final. Gaudio's other career highlights include 7 other tournament titles, 8 singles runner-up finishes, 3 doubles titles, and finishing 2004 and 2005 ranked #10 in the world. Gaudio has never reached a second Grand Slam quarterfinal let alone final. He has never reached a Masters Series final either.

5. Thomas Johansson – The affable Swede really caught Marat Safin at the right time in the final of the 2002 Australian Open. He was also fortunate that the 2000, 2001 and 2003 champion Andre Agassi missed the 2002 event with an injury. Nevertheless, Johansson won the 2002 Australian Open 3-6, 6-4, 6-4, 7-6. He jumped onto the scene in 1998 with a close 5 set loss to Mark Philippoussis in the U.S. Open quarterfinal round. In 1999, Johansson won the Canadian Open by beating Yevgeny Kafelnikov. Johansson had an odd mastery of Kafelnikov leading their career series 9-5. Johansson reached the quarterfinal round at the 2000 U.S. Open and reached the semifinal round at the 2005 Wimbledon Championships.

4. Novak Djokovic – The 20 year old is really hamstrung by his age when looking at career accomplishments. Djokovic is 23-3 in the previous 4 Grand Slam events with an Australian Open title, U.S. Open runner-up finish and semifinal finishes at Wimbledon and the French Open. Novak has 8 career titles under his belt including 1 Slam and 2 Masters Series shields. He has 4 runner-up finishes and a quarterfinal finish at the 2006 French Open as well. At this pace Djokovic is poised to be at the top of this list sooner rather than later. This is assuming he does not win Grand Slam title #2 too soon and leave the list.

3. Carlos Moya – Longevity nearly had me place Moya ahead of the more fragile Juan Carlos Ferrero, but as of now it is a close loss to Ferrero when it comes to career accomplishments. Moya became a known force when he defeated Boris Becker on an indoor court in 1996. Becker encouraged the 6'3" Moya to believe in himself on surfaces other than clay. Sadly for Becker, he drew Moya in the first round of the 1997 Australian Open and was beaten in 5 grueling sets. Moya did not fall into a let down after beating the defending champion and pushed all the way to the Australian Open final before Pete Sampras cooled his game down. Moya finished 1997 ranked #7 in the world. 1998 was Moya's greatest year as he won the French Open, Monte Carlo and Mallorca on clay. Moya also reached the 1998 U.S. Open semifinal and was runner-up at the ATP World Championship/Masters Cup. Moya started 1999 in decent form reaching the final at Indian Wells and briefly claiming the #1 ranking, but some combination of injuries seemingly derailed his promising career. From 2002-2004, Moya experienced a resurgence. He finished each year in the top 10, won the 2002 Cincinnati Masters series, the 2004 Italian Open and reached the quarterfinals or further at 8 other Masters Series events. Moya won 2 singles points to clinch the 2004 Davis Cup title for Spain. 2005 looked like the end of the road for Moya, but he has won two titles since January 2006, been runner-up at 4 events, and reached quarterfinals at the 2007 French and U.S. Opens.

2. Juan Carlos Ferrero has fewer career titles and career runner-up finishes than does Moya, but he did have an 24 month run in Grand Slam events that places him second on this list. From French Open 2002 through Australian Open 2004, Ferrero posted a 34-7 record in Grand Slam play. Ferrero's bread and butter has been the French Open which he won in 2003, was a finalist in 2002 and a semifinalist in 2000 and 2001. He reached the Australian Open quarterfinals in 2003 and semifinals in 2004. He was runner-up at the 2003 U.S. Open and briefly assumed the #1 ranking. Ferrero managed to tae a set off of Roger Federer in the 2007 Wimbledon quarterfinal round. Ferrero has won 4 Masters Series titles as well. Reaching three Grand Slam finals, and reaching the quarterfinal round or further at all four Grand Slams places Ferrero slightly in front of Moya. If Moya keeps playing well in 2008, I would likely flip these positions.

1. Andy Roddick's 4 Grand Slam final appearances, 4 Masters Series shields and finishing 2003 as the #1 ranked player in the world push him into the first spot. However, Roddick's lead over Ferrero, Moya, and even Djokovic is not large. Roddick won the 2003 U.S. Open, was runner-up in 2006, and reached the quarterfinals in New York in 2001, 2002, 2004, and 2007. Roddick reached the Australian Open semifinals in 2003, 2005 and 2007 along with a quarterfinal run down under in 2004. Roddick was runner-up at Wimbledon in 2004 and 2005, a semifinalist in 2003 and a quarterfinalist in 2007. Roddick has 4 titles on grass and 13 hard court titles. Oddly, he has only won 1 indoor event. Roddick is a lightening rod as some claim without Federer he would be a decorated champion with 4-6 major titles. Others see him as a one dimensional player who benefits from U.S. media jingoism. No doubt that mojo ad campaign from American Express at the 2005 U.S. Open proves his media hype has often out distanced his results. Still, he has the most singles titles on this list, the most Grand Slam finals and the longest reign at #1. That is enough to place him at #1 on the accomplishment side of the ledger.

Active Single Slam Winners – The Most Talented?

6. Thomas Johansson is not as quick as Gaudio, but he is one of the most mentally tough on this list.

5. Gaston Gaudio's speed and nasty striking ability on his one handed backhand place him at #5.

4. Juan Carlos Ferrero looked like Euro-Agassi at the 2003 U.S. Open. His ball striking skills and mobility are great. However, the mosquito's slight build and injury plagued 2004 have not allowed him to ever recover or maintain the form he showed in 2003.

3. Andy Roddick is not as naturally talented as Moya or Djokovic in my book. He is bigger and stronger than Ferrero and that helps his cause. His forehand is good when he has time to line it up and his serve is nasty. Still, Roddick's awkward volleys, vanilla backhand and predictable play allow for more talented players to take him down.

2. Carlos Moya might have been Nadal before there was a Nadal except for three small things: injuries, odd form on his backhand, and the fact that Nadal plays like a rabid pit bull. Moya is a big guy who moves exceptionally well, hits a smooth and powerful forehand, has good hands at the net, and a strong serve. With better health Moya might have filled some of the void that existed in tennis as Sampras and Agassi slowly declined. Moya's backhand was hit or miss, but everything else about his talent level and striking skills is excellent. Injuries really cost his career a great deal, but being a top ten player in 1997 and 1998 to only suffer from injuries and then finishing in the top ten from 2002-2004 speak well of his talent. Throw in his top 20 ranking at 31 years of age and talent has to be playing a part in his success. I doubt any of the other guys listed below him are ranked in the top 20 when they hit 31 years of age.

1. Novak Djokovic is a true revelation. The first time I really got to watch him closely was the championship match in Miami 2007. He is one of the few players I have said "Wow!" after watching for the first time. He hit heavy ground strokes and moved very well. His serve was nasty and he simply played at a higher level than his opponent, Canas, could reach. Djokovic's success on all surfaces also bodes well for his career. He will likely soon move off of the single slam winner list. He will also likely achieve the #1 ranking. Djokovic's game seems to be a lot like Safin's, but his physique is more like Sampras'. I see no real holes in Novak's game and he certainly can take any of his shots to another level.

* I read reports last season suggesting Gaston Gaudio had retired, but data suggests he is playing challenger events in 2008 and is thus not retired. That was a mistake I made in last week's column. Sorry about that.