The turn of events over the course of the week has all but prompted me to come out for a second innings at blogging. If this couldn’t have, then I don’t know what would have enticed me into it ever again! What I am referring to is the showdown between the two best players of modern day tennis, and the beginning of the campaign of an athlete who might create a huge splash, literally, at next month’s Olympic Games.
However, this blog is not just about eulogizing the feats of Roger Federer, Rafael Nadal or Michael Phelps. It is my quest to find out who is the greatest active sportsman today. And to complete the list of candidates I include Tiger Woods. For the purpose of this piece I have only considered individual sports, and not team sports for the obvious reason that in team games so many variables are in play to supplement and complement the individual performance. So, all the Tendulkar, Ronaldo and Ronaldinho fans can sit down again – we can discuss that over coffee some other day.
I like to start with wishing a speedy recovery to Tiger Woods and hope to see him in action soon. The fact that when Tiger Woods lifted the 2001 Masters, he become the first player in the history of one of the oldest sport in the world to hold all four major championship titles at the same time speaks volumes of the accomplishment. On two other occasions three titles were held at the same time, but never have all three been held at the same time. The fact that he was the fifth player in history and the youngest ever to have achieved a career grand slam becomes redundant, and a mere statistic. The only major feat that perhaps eludes him is the record for maximum Major titles – 14 compared to 18 won by Jack Nicklaus. Considering he is just 32, and given the form he is in, it is just a matter of time. And yes, he is the richest sportsperson ever in terms of prize money and endorsements combined. He is on the verge of being the first sportsperson to touch the billion dollar mark.
Moving on to the next sports icon is the remarkable 23-year old Michael Phelps who is already participating in his third Olympics; and they say that he will peak only at the 2012 London Olympic Games! Sample this for achievement – 17 World Championship Gold Medals, 6 Olympic Gold Medals and 20 World Records. I repeat he is just 23 years old and maybe not at his peak yet! At next months Olympic Games he will aspire to win eight gold medals and better Mark Spitz’s record of seven gold medals at a single Games.
Phelps did miss out on the record for the maximum gold medals won in a single edition in 2004, but he did equal the record for the maximum medals won at a single edition. What spoke volumes about his persona, and also made him a darling of the crowds was his last minute decision to let his buddy and rival Ian Crocker swim in his place in the 4 x 100 medley relay so that Crocker got the elusive Gold Medal at the Games. The U.S. medley team went on the win the event in record time, and Phelps also got a medal for that race since he had competed in the heats of that event. However, it went down as one of the most touching events of those Games. Next month all eyes will be on Phelps to see whether he can achieve what only one man has achieved to date, or something that no other man ever has. To put things in perspective, Mark Spitz said that if Phelps matched his record of seven gold medals, it would be like the second man on moon, but if he got to the magical eight gold medals, it would be like the first man on Mars! Whether Phelps lands on the moon or the Mars will be seen next month, but one thing is for sure, he is definitely not meant to be on planet Earth.
The next nomination is perhaps the most debatable following the turn of events throughout this year. The opinion as to who should be considered as the best in the sport of tennis right now is divided. With back-to-back wins over Roger Federer in the French Open and Wimbledon finals, and thereby becoming the first person since Bjorn Borg to win both the titles in the same year, Rafael Nadal has a valid claim to be part of this elite group. However, sample this – twelve Grand Slam singles titles, four Master Cup titles, appearance in ten consecutive Grand Slam finals and a record 232 consecutive weeks (and still counting) as the number one ranked player in world tennis, is consistency personified by Fedex. As against this, Rafa still has a long way to go with five Grand Slam titles, and no idea yet about what it feels like being the number one tennis player. He might well be breathing down Federer’s nose for the number one slot, but it is still to be seen whether he can get there, and if he does, how long can he stay there. 232 weeks? Maybe not. A lot of people started writing Federer’s obituary this year and said he is over the hill with a loss of form or perhaps motivation. However, what they forget is that Federer had been diagnosed with mononucleosis, which generally takes months to fully recover from, but the champ was back in action in a matter of weeks. Rafa may have started his realistic quest for the number one crown, but he still quite a way from displaying the dominance that Fedex has in the past few years. Until then this mantle deservedly remains with Roger Federer.
What is common amongst these three gentlemen (let's forget Rafa for the time being) is that they have had this aura of invincibility surrounding them, and with any adversity they have only come back stronger (and that is also what I expect Federer will do). And this could well be the differentiating factor for determining the ranking – who has had a greater degree of that aura. Another thing in common between them is their dignified presence, both on and off the field – and this is where I would rate Fedex slightly higher than Rafa. Many might argue that aggression and emotion are vital ingredients of modern day sport – and Rafa’s demeanour off-court has been as impeccable as that of Fedex, but it is Roger Federer that one sees as the ambassador of the sport. That said, each one of them, especially Woods, Phelps and Federer, all of whom have been around for quite a while now, have done remarkably well to steer away from controversies in this age of media which “creates” controversies out of thin air!
Now its time to rate the best of the best. Atleast for a month, and to be fair to all three of them I would put Phelps at third place till the end of the Olympics. If he manages the seven or eight gold medals – he is undisputedly the greatest active sportsman. Until then, it’s between Woods and Federer. While Woods has failed to be as consistent as Federer in winning titles, he has done what Federer hasn’t – held all four major titles at the same time. Federer is far from that given that he has not even won all four Grand Slams. All in all, my rating (pending outcome of the Olympic Games – where Fedex and Rafa are likely to showdown for being the undisputed King of Tennis; and also the result of Phelps’ search for unchartered territory) stands as follows:
1. Tiger Woods
2. Roger Federer
3. Michael Phelps
However, this blog is not just about eulogizing the feats of Roger Federer, Rafael Nadal or Michael Phelps. It is my quest to find out who is the greatest active sportsman today. And to complete the list of candidates I include Tiger Woods. For the purpose of this piece I have only considered individual sports, and not team sports for the obvious reason that in team games so many variables are in play to supplement and complement the individual performance. So, all the Tendulkar, Ronaldo and Ronaldinho fans can sit down again – we can discuss that over coffee some other day.
I like to start with wishing a speedy recovery to Tiger Woods and hope to see him in action soon. The fact that when Tiger Woods lifted the 2001 Masters, he become the first player in the history of one of the oldest sport in the world to hold all four major championship titles at the same time speaks volumes of the accomplishment. On two other occasions three titles were held at the same time, but never have all three been held at the same time. The fact that he was the fifth player in history and the youngest ever to have achieved a career grand slam becomes redundant, and a mere statistic. The only major feat that perhaps eludes him is the record for maximum Major titles – 14 compared to 18 won by Jack Nicklaus. Considering he is just 32, and given the form he is in, it is just a matter of time. And yes, he is the richest sportsperson ever in terms of prize money and endorsements combined. He is on the verge of being the first sportsperson to touch the billion dollar mark.Moving on to the next sports icon is the remarkable 23-year old Michael Phelps who is already participating in his third Olympics; and they say that he will peak only at the 2012 London Olympic Games! Sample this for achievement – 17 World Championship Gold Medals, 6 Olympic Gold Medals and 20 World Records. I repeat he is just 23 years old and maybe not at his peak yet! At next months Olympic Games he will aspire to win eight gold medals and better Mark Spitz’s record of seven gold medals at a single Games.
Phelps did miss out on the record for the maximum gold medals won in a single edition in 2004, but he did equal the record for the maximum medals won at a single edition. What spoke volumes about his persona, and also made him a darling of the crowds was his last minute decision to let his buddy and rival Ian Crocker swim in his place in the 4 x 100 medley relay so that Crocker got the elusive Gold Medal at the Games. The U.S. medley team went on the win the event in record time, and Phelps also got a medal for that race since he had competed in the heats of that event. However, it went down as one of the most touching events of those Games. Next month all eyes will be on Phelps to see whether he can achieve what only one man has achieved to date, or something that no other man ever has. To put things in perspective, Mark Spitz said that if Phelps matched his record of seven gold medals, it would be like the second man on moon, but if he got to the magical eight gold medals, it would be like the first man on Mars! Whether Phelps lands on the moon or the Mars will be seen next month, but one thing is for sure, he is definitely not meant to be on planet Earth.
The next nomination is perhaps the most debatable following the turn of events throughout this year. The opinion as to who should be considered as the best in the sport of tennis right now is divided. With back-to-back wins over Roger Federer in the French Open and Wimbledon finals, and thereby becoming the first person since Bjorn Borg to win both the titles in the same year, Rafael Nadal has a valid claim to be part of this elite group. However, sample this – twelve Grand Slam singles titles, four Master Cup titles, appearance in ten consecutive Grand Slam finals and a record 232 consecutive weeks (and still counting) as the number one ranked player in world tennis, is consistency personified by Fedex. As against this, Rafa still has a long way to go with five Grand Slam titles, and no idea yet about what it feels like being the number one tennis player. He might well be breathing down Federer’s nose for the number one slot, but it is still to be seen whether he can get there, and if he does, how long can he stay there. 232 weeks? Maybe not. A lot of people started writing Federer’s obituary this year and said he is over the hill with a loss of form or perhaps motivation. However, what they forget is that Federer had been diagnosed with mononucleosis, which generally takes months to fully recover from, but the champ was back in action in a matter of weeks. Rafa may have started his realistic quest for the number one crown, but he still quite a way from displaying the dominance that Fedex has in the past few years. Until then this mantle deservedly remains with Roger Federer.What is common amongst these three gentlemen (let's forget Rafa for the time being) is that they have had this aura of invincibility surrounding them, and with any adversity they have only come back stronger (and that is also what I expect Federer will do). And this could well be the differentiating factor for determining the ranking – who has had a greater degree of that aura. Another thing in common between them is their dignified presence, both on and off the field – and this is where I would rate Fedex slightly higher than Rafa. Many might argue that aggression and emotion are vital ingredients of modern day sport – and Rafa’s demeanour off-court has been as impeccable as that of Fedex, but it is Roger Federer that one sees as the ambassador of the sport. That said, each one of them, especially Woods, Phelps and Federer, all of whom have been around for quite a while now, have done remarkably well to steer away from controversies in this age of media which “creates” controversies out of thin air!
Now its time to rate the best of the best. Atleast for a month, and to be fair to all three of them I would put Phelps at third place till the end of the Olympics. If he manages the seven or eight gold medals – he is undisputedly the greatest active sportsman. Until then, it’s between Woods and Federer. While Woods has failed to be as consistent as Federer in winning titles, he has done what Federer hasn’t – held all four major titles at the same time. Federer is far from that given that he has not even won all four Grand Slams. All in all, my rating (pending outcome of the Olympic Games – where Fedex and Rafa are likely to showdown for being the undisputed King of Tennis; and also the result of Phelps’ search for unchartered territory) stands as follows:
1. Tiger Woods
2. Roger Federer
3. Michael Phelps
