Advent calendar day 17 #9 Jimmy Connors and Bjorn Borg

We are now at the 9th best of all time and today with have two famous greats of the game.

9th Best Players of all time

Bjorn Borg

Grand Slams won - 11

Grand Slam Finals lost - 5

Overall amount of singles titles won - 64

Overall Match Winning percentage - 82.72% (608-127)

Top rank - 1

We now have reached another tennis great, well known for his success as a young player, it's none other than Bjorn Borg. He had an incredible record of winning 11 Grand Slams, after playing just 27 Grand Slams as well as winning an incredible 89.8% of his matches at Grand Slams, both of these are records. He would never come close to completing a career Grand Slam as he won 6 French Opens, 5 Wimbledon titles and failed at the final of the US Open 4 times. He only played one Australian Open, which contributed to his failure to win the career Grand Slam. By the age of 25, he had already won 11 Grand Slams, the total he finished his career on. This is the most Grand Slams won at such a young age. The year after his last Grand Slam, he played just one tournament at Monte Carlo and lost. At the age of 26 he shocked the tennis world when he announced retirement. Many tried to convince him out of it but he left the game. Over his career he was world number 1 for 109 weeks between 1977 and 1981. In his career he won the most French Open titles in Open Era and is one of 4 people to win Wimbledon and the French Open in the same year - and he did it 3 times! He also has the record amount of consecutive match wins at Wimbledon of 41, one more than Federer's 40. In 1991 he attempted to make a comeback into the professional tour with a wooden racquet but lost all 12 of his matches over the next 2 years, so he retired again. 

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Jimmy Connors

Grand Slams won - 8

Grand Slam Finals lost - 7

Overall amount of singles titles won - 109

Overall Match Winning percentage - 81.76% (1242-277)

Top rank - 1

The great american, who was a great rival of Borg is joint ninth as well. He won 8 Grand Slams of 15 Finals. He failed to win the Career Grand Slam because he was another player in this count down, who could not win the French Open, making the Semi-Finals 4 times. His first Grand Slam was the Australian Open in 1974. The same year he won the US Open and Wimbledon but did not participate in the French Open, accounting for his failure for a season Grand Slam. He won 5 of his 8 Grand Slams at the US Open. Though he didn't win the career Grand Slam, he won Grand Slams on all 3 surfaces, after winning the US Open in 1976 when it was on clay. He also won the US Open on all 3 surfaces, the only man to do so. Connors was world number 1 for a total of 268 weeks in his career, including 160 consecutive weeks, which was a record before Federer smashed it. He also won the most matches in the history of the game and played in 401 tournaments, which was a record until 2008. He has been in an incredible 31 Grand Slam Semi-Finals, even after playing in only 2 Australian Opens. He was in a great 12 consecutive Semi-Finals at the US Open. His consistency is shown by him being in the top 10 for 16 consecutive years as well as year end number 1 for 5 consecutive years. Also his 107 titles is the most ATP singles titles won in Open Era. In 1996 he retired, after 24 years. 

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Advent calendar day 16 #10 Don Budge

We have now reached the top 10 in the count down to the greatest player of all time.

10th Best Player of all time

Don Budge

Grand Slams won - 6

Grand Slam Finals lost - 1

Overall amount of singles titles won - ?

Overall Match Winning percentage - ?

Top rank - 1

The famous american great, who is known very well. He was the first player to win the season Grand Slam as well as being the second and youngest to win the career Grand Slam. He won his season and career Grand Slam in 1938, after having already won Wimbledon and the US Open the previous year and made the US Open Final in 1936. He also has the record for the most consecutive Grand Slams won, of 6. Only one other has even won the season Grand Slam and he couldn't better 4 consecutive Grand Slam. This was an amazing achievement at his age of 23. Unfortunately he left to the pro-slam tour the next year. He would win 4 of the 5 pro-slams he played in, before going to the army before the 1943 season. While training in an obstacle course in the same year he tore a muscle in the shoulder, this would hinder his performance when he went back to the pro-slam tour at the end of World War II. He never won another pro-slam again and retired at the end of 1955. He was world number 1 for 4 consecutive years between 1937 and 1940 as well as 1942. In 2000 at the age of 84, he died.

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Advent calendar day 15 #11 Fred Perry

Day 15 of the countdown to the greatest player of all time

11th Best Player of all time

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Fred Perry

Grand Slams won - 8

Grand Slam Finals lost - 2

Overall amount of singles titles won - ?

Overall Match Winning percentage - ?

Top rank - 1

The legendary British player, having won 8 of his 10 Grand Slam Finals. He was the first man or woman, now one of seven men, to have won a career Grand Slam. He took his first Grand Slam at the US Open 1933, taking the Australian Open and Wimbledon the next year and finally finishing his career Grand Slam with victory at the French Open in 1935. In 1936 he took the last 2 Grand Slams of the season and left the tour to go to pro-slams in 1937. This means in 13 Grand Slams, he won 8 and made 10 Finals, an incredible record, and he would have probably won many more if he had stayed at the Grand Slam tour. He was world number 1 between 1934 and 1937 as well as 1941. He was also ranked world number 2 a few times. In 1933 he helped Great Britain to a Davis Cup victory. Yes, I know hard to believe. He had an incredible forehand and was a great player but one weakness allowed his greatest rivals to beat him: he sliced most of his backhands. He was also the creator of the brand "Fred Perry." In 1995 at the age of 85, he died. 

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Advent calendar day 14 #12 Stefan Edberg

Day 14 of the countdown to the greatest player of all time.

12th Best Player of all time

Stefan Edberg

Grand Slams won - 6

Grand Slam Finals lost - 5

Overall amount of singles titles won - 42

Overall Match Winning percentage - 74.91% (806-270)

Top rank - 1

Edberg was a brilliant junior player, becoming the first player to win the Junior season Grand Slam. In 1983, the year before he turned professional, he was immortalised in tennis but for a bad reason. The 17 year old hit a serve, which hit a linesman in the groin, the already off balance linesman, after trying to dodge the ball, fell and hit his head on the court, a week later he died in hospital. He would come close to retiring but continued to play and won 6 of 11 Grand Slam Finals. He won 3 of the four Grand Slam and once again failed to win the French Open, making 1 final, where he lost from 2 sets to one up and was later a break up in the final set. He never won more than one Grand Slam in a year but consistently made 2 Finals per year. His best year was probably 1992, where he won one Grand Slam and lost in the Final of another. Between 1990 and 1992 he was number 1 in the world for 72 weeks. He won the ATP World Tour Finals once and won a Gold medal in the 1984 Olympics but this was a demonstration event and therefore doesn't count. Four years later he would take a bronze medal in both singles and doubles. He is one of eight players to make the finals of all Grand Slams in open era. He played in 7 Davis Cup Finals for Sweden, winning 4 of them. His success maybe down to his consistency, playing in a then record 54 consecutive Grand Slams. His game was based around a strong serve and volley technique. 

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Advent calendar day 13 #13 Ken Rosewall

Day 13 of the countdown to the best player of all time.

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13th Best Player of all time

Ken Rosewall

Grand Slams won - 8

Grand Slam Finals lost - 8

Overall amount of singles titles won - 132

Overall Match Winning percentage - ?

Top rank - 1

An Australian great, who was a long time tennis player, being in the top 20 for 25 consecutive years from 1952 to 1977. He won half of his 16 Grand Slam Finals, winning 3 Grand Slams of the 4, like many in this countdown. He was unable to win Wimbledon, even after making 4 finals, 2 before open era and 2 during open era. He won 132 titles, but this includes the titles won in his 11 years in the pro slam tour, between 1957 and 1967. In this time he was at his best and therefore missed out at many chances to win Grand Slams. He was very successful in this tour, winning a record 15 Pro-slams, including winning all 3 pro-slams in a year. He was ranked in the top 2 for 10 times at the end of the year in his career, this was before official ATP rankings. He was mainly a grass court player, making 13 of his finals in Grand Slams on grass, to 3 on clay. He was originally a base line player but later developed serve and volley tactics, helping him. He is the oldest player to win a Grand Slam and played for so long because he didn't get injured. In 1980 he retired, after a 30 year career.

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Advent calendar day 12 #14 Guillermo Vilas

Day 12 of the countdown to the best player of all time

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14th Best Player of all time

Guillermo Vilas

Grand Slams won - 4

Grand Slam Finals lost - 4

Overall amount of singles titles won - 62

Overall Match Winning percentage - 76.47% (923-284)

Top rank - 2

I think I may have put Vilas a bit to high up but he was a good player. He has won half of his 8 Grand Slams finals. This includes three of the four Grand Slams, missing Wimbledon form his collection, making the Quarter Finals twice. His break through was in 1974, when he won the ATP World Tour Finals, beating Ilie Nastase in the Finals. He won two consecutive Australian Open in 1978 and 1979. These were his last Grand Slams. In 1977 he had his best year, winning 2 Grand Slams and making a final. This may not sound very good, but he also won a record 16 tournaments of the 32 he played as well as a great 130-15 winning record, this is the largest amount of matches ever won in a season. Not including his Run to the Semi-Finals at the ATP World Tour Finals, he won an incredible 72 of his last 73 matches. He also won a record seven consecutive titles as well as a record 46 match winning streak on all surfaces. Both runs were ended at the same time by Ilie Nastase and after the end of the run, he would win another 28 matches in a row. Even after this great season, he could only settle for number 2, unable to overtake Jimmy Connors. He held the record for the most wins on clay in a row of 53, which Nadal famously defeated, with 81 consecutive wins. He even helped Argentina to their first Davis Cup Final, where they lost. In 1989 he retired from professional tennis. 

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Advent calendar day 11 #15 Mats Wilander

Day 11 of the countdown to the best player of all time

15th Best Player of all time

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Mats Wilander

Grand Slams won - 7

Grand Slam Finals lost - 4

Overall amount of singles titles won - 33

Overall Match Winning percentage - 72.01% (571-222)

Top rank - 1

Mats Wilander was a great Swedish player and showed his best form in the 1980s. He won 7 of 11 Grand Slams finals he played in, winning 3 of the 4 Grand Slams, missing Wimbledon from the collection. He could only make the Quarter Finals at Wimbledon in 1987, 1988 and 1989. In 1988 he had his best year, winning the first 2 Grand Slams of the year, then failing at the Quarter Finals at Wimbledon and finally beating Lendl at the US Open Finals to take world number 1 ranking. He would hold this rank for 20 weeks and never reach the top again. He won all 7 of his Grand Slams before he was number 1, a record. Even though he never took the Career Grand Slam, he is one of 5 players to have won a Grand Slam on all three surfaces - clay, grass and hard court. He is also one of just two players to have won two or more Grand Slams on each surface. He also helped Sweden to 7 consecutive Davis Cup Finals from 1983 to 1989, this included 3 wins. In all his ATP World Tour Finals, he reached just 1 final. He retired in 1996, after playing just one Grand Slam that year. 

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Advent calendar day 10 #16 Jack Crawford

Day 10 of the countdown to the best tennis player of all time.

16th Best Player of all time

Jack Crawford

Grand Slams won - 6

Grand Slam Finals lost - 5

Overall amount of singles titles won - ?

Overall Match Winning percentage - ?

Top rank - 1

Jack Crawford isn't very well known even though he had the chance to be great. In 1933 he won the first three Grand Slams of the season and made it to the final of the US Open, as well as winning 13 consecutive tournaments. He had the chance to be the first person to win a season Grand Slam, he was already the first to win 3 Grand Slams in a year. In the final he was up against Fred Perry. He lost the first set but took the next 2 sets and was in good form, looking to win the season Grand Slam. However, disaster came as his form plummeted and he lost 12 of the next 13 games to fail to be immortalised in the history of tennis. He would finish his career with 6 wins in 11 finals, which included a run of 6 consecutive Australian Open Finals and 3 consecutive wins at Australia. He never won the career Grand Slam either, missing the US Open. He also is second on the all time list in amount of consecutive Grand Slam Finals-7, this is behind Roger Federer, who surpassed him in consecutive finals twice-8 and 10. He was number 1 for 1933 and never regained this position, this is before ATP rankings. He even helped Australia to a Davis Cup in 1939. He was also a successful doubles player winning 3 of the four Grand Slams in mixed doubles and normal doubles, missing the US Open in both. His achievements are incredible as he had asthma. In September 1991 at the age of 83, he passed away.

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Advent calendar day 9 #17 Boris Becker and John McEnroe

Day 9 of the countdown to the greatest tennis player of all time

17th Best Players of all time

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Boris Becker

Grand Slams won - 6

Grand Slam Finals lost - 4

Overall amount of singles titles won - 49

Overall Match Winning percentage - 76.91% (713-214)

Top rank - 1

A very famous player, known world wide. He was most famous for his first Wimbledon title, where he became the youngest player to win a Grand Slam as well as the first unseeded player to win, since then there has been a younger champion at a Grand Slam, Michael Chang. He bagged 6 of 10 Grand Slam Finals and as many other players in this count down he was only missing the French Open from his collection, making the French Open Semi-Finals three times. He also won 5 ATP Masters 1000 titles and a commanding 3 ATP World Tour Finals wins as well as having been in 8 finals there, second on the all time list. He helped Germany(then west Germany) to its first Davis Cup in 1988 and then helped them to win it again the next year. In 1990 he won two Grand Slams, lost in one final and was beaten at the Semi-Finals at another, so was named player of the year. However world number 1 somehow was out of his reach. The next year he had two short stretches as number 1 and would be at the top for 12 weeks. Between 1984 to 1992 he was in the top 10 for 8 consecutive years and was in the top 10 for 11 of 12 years between 1984 and 1996. His tennis was based on a serve and volley tactic, utilising his lightning quick serve, fast reflexes and some spectacular diving volleys. He has now retired.

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John McEnroe

Grand Slams won - 7

Grand Slam Finals lost - 4

Overall amount of singles titles won - 77

Overall Match Winning percentage - 81.55% (878-198)

Top rank - 1

John McEnroe is one of the most famous retired players in the world. He won 7 Grand Slams in 11 Grand Slam Finals, however, only won at the US Open and Wimbledon. He has won an incredible 81.55% of his matches as well as a high hitting 77 singles titles. In doubles and singles he has won a record-breaking 148 titles. He won 3 ATP World Tour Finals in 1978, 1983 and 1984. In 1980 he was world number one for 6 weeks in 3 different periods but by the end of his career he has been number one for 170 weeks, this included four consecutive years as year end number 1. In 1984 he had a great year winning 13 titles and a record of 82-3, the best of open Era. "You can not be serious!" are the words which immortilised McEnroe and is the most famous of all his tantrums on court. He was angry with a call and was docked another point, after complaining to the umpire. He was well known for his incredibly high quality volleying. He also re sparked America's interest in the Davis Cup, helping them to many Davis Cups.

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Advent calendar day 8 #18 Frank Sedgman

Day 8 of the countdown to the best player of all time.

18th Best Player of all time

Frank Sedgman

Grand Slams won - 5

Grand Slam Finals lost - 2

Overall amount of singles titles won - ?

Overall Match Winning percentage - ?

Top rank - 2 (unofficially)

Frank Sedgman won 5 of 7 Grand Slams and won 3 of the four Grand Slams. Again a player who was unable to win at the French Open but he made it to the Final in 1952 but lost in four sets. He also wasn't to far from a season Grand Slam, as he went on to make two finals and win two Grand Slams in that season. He never made number 1 in the unofficial rankings before ATP rankings but was number 2 for 3 years but was thought to be deserving of the number 1 title in 1952. Between doubles and singles he won 22 Grand Slams and in 1951 he became part of the only doubles team to ever win the season Grand Slam. He also helped Australia win a couple of Davis Cups. Sedgman was known for great speed and fitness, using a serve and volley tactic. In 1953 he left the amateur tour and went professional to win more money, ending his ATP career.

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Advent calendar day 7 #19 Arthur Ashe

Day 7 of the countdown to the greatest tennis. player of all time

19th Best Player of all time

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Arthur Ashe

Grand Slams won - 3

Grand Slam Finals lost - 4

Overall amount of singles titles won - 33

Overall Match Winning percentage - 75.88% (818-260)

Top rank - 1 (unofficial)

Famous for being one of the greatest american tennis players of all time, he won 3 of 5 Grand Slams. He is once again a player, who only had that elusive French Open title missing form his collection. Centre court at the US Open has been named after him, because he won the first title there since the beginning of Open Era. He was unofficially number 1 in 1969, before the ATP Rankings were made a few years later. He took the US Open in 1968 and the Australian Open in 1970 but won his last Grand Slam in 1975, by shocking world number 1 Jimmy Connors at Wimbledon. He would never make another Final after this. In 1979 he had heart surgery and this affected his fitness, so he retired in 1980 and in 1993 he died at the age of 49, 5 years after discovering he had AIDS. Arthur Ashe remains the only black player in history of tennis to win a title at Wimbledon, Australian Open and US Open and one of two black players to win a Grand Slam. And now there is an Arthur Ashe Humanitarian award.

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Advent calendar day 6 #20 John Newcombe

Day 6 of the countdown to the best tennis player of all time.

20th Best Player of all time

John Newcombe

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Grand Slams won - 7

Grand Slam Finals lost - 3

Overall amount of singles titles won - 68 (32 in open era)

Overall Match Winning percentage - 75.9% (426-136)

Top rank - 1

A great player, who showed amazing potential around the the start of open era. He was one of the many players, who failed to complete a career Grand Slam because he could not win at Paris only making the Quarter Finals once. He was in his first singles Grand Slam Final in 1966 and his last in 1976 and between 1963 and 1967 he was in the Davis Cup winning team for Australia. He was also a very successful doubles player taking 19 Grand Slams in doubles and mixed doubles. Therefore he has won 26 Grand Slams all together, only behind Roy Emerson! He was the second number 1 since the ATP rankings started but he was also unofficially number 1 before. He was well known for a very good serve and occasionally used an effective serve and volley tactic, which worked best on grass.

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Davis Cup Final

The last day of the Davis Cup Final was today but both team captains made changes before the match. France replaced Simon with Llodra and Serbia replaced Tipsarevic with Troicki.

Personally I think these changes were good choices on both sides and I would have chosen them at the beginning of the competition.

Djokovic beat Monfils 6-2, 6-2, 6-4. Djokovic shows great form, when thrashing the BNP Paribas Finalist,  Monfils, in 3 sets, to keep Serbia's Davis Cup dream alive. The score is now levelled at 2-2.

Troicki beat Llodra 6-2, 6-2, 6-3. Yesterday I tipped France to win it but after the change in players, I was certain Serbia would win it. Troicki finishes this year's Davis Cup with a great win over Llodra, winning Serbia their first Davis Cup.

That is the last tournament of the year and we will see you next year but don't worry there is still the advent calendar, going on now, and end of year review to come soon.

Advent calendar day 5 #21 Henri Cochet and Rene Lacoste

Day 4 of the countdown and it is too close to call, so there is a draw for 21st place.

21st Best Players of all time

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Henri Cochet

Grand Slams won - 7

Grand Slam Finals lost - 3

Overall amount of singles titles won - ?

Overall Match Winning percentage - ?

Top rank - 1

Henri Cochet was one of four French players, who were nick named the four musketeers. He was successful in Grand Slams winning 7 of 10 finals, including 4 French Opens. He actually won 5 French Opens but his first win was in 1922, when the French Open was not considered a Grand Slam because it was a national tournament. He won three of the four Grand Slams, missing the Australian Open from his collection because he never played there. Between 1928 and 1930 he was World Number 1. Also at the Paris Olympic games of 1924 he took a silver medal in both Singles and Doubles. Cochet was known for his incredible winners and impossible come backs. A famous example of his come backs was when he came back from 2 sets and 5-1 down to win in 5 sets. Another great player, Bill Tilden, thought that Cochet was the best half-volleyer ever. He helped France to their first Davis Cup trophy. Unfortunately his winning percentage and titles won is a statistic I could not find. He died at the age of 85 in 1987.

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Rene Lacoste

Grand Slams won - 7

Grand Slam Finals lost - 3

Overall amount of singles titles won - ?

Overall Match Winning percentage - ?

Top rank - 1

Rene Lacoste is another French man, who was nicknamed one of the four musketeers. He has also won 7 of 10 finals at Grand Slams, including 3 of 5 French Open finals. Like Cochet he won three of the four Grand Slams, missing the Australian Open from his collection because he never played there. He was world number one from 1926 to 1927. At a young age of 18 in 1922 he was selected for the French Davis Cup team. He was never a natural player and worked his way to the top with a lot of training. He even invented some revolutionary tennis equipment. In 1927 he made the ball throwing machine to make training easier. As you might have guessed he created the company Lacoste in 1933. Finally he made the metal tennis racquet in 1963. In 1996 he died at the age of 92.

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Davis Cup Final

Today was the doubles match of the Davis Cup Final. Here is the final score.

Llodra and Clement(France) beat Troicki and Zimonjic(Serbia) 6-3, 7-6(3), 4-6, 5-7, 4-6. An epic 4 and a half match ends with victory for the French, having come back from two sets down. The Serbians started well taking an easy first set and then takes the crucial break at 5-5 in the second but the Serbians can't convert and it goes to a tie breaker, which they comfortably convert. In the third set their form suddenly drops and they drop many chances and break points, the most important coming at 4-3 down in the last set when the Serbians had a double break point. The French then raced to 40-0, 5-4 up and have one match point saved but then take a close match to give the advantage to the French.

The French are now 2-1 up, with just the two singles matches left. If Serbia want to win their first Davis cup then they will need to win both. The matches are:

Djkovic(Serbia) vs Monfils(France) - I can't see Djokovic losing this match, after showing great form at the end of the year.

Tipsarevic(Serbia) vs Simon(France) - This could be a close match but I am very sure that Simon will prevail.

Final Verdict - France will win 3-2.

Advent Calendar day 4 #22 Jim Courier

Day 4 of the countdown

22nd Best Player of all time

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Jim Courier

Grand Slams won - 4

Grand Slam Finals lost - 3

Overall amount of singles titles won - 23

Overall Match Winning percentage - 68.1% (506-237)

Top rank - 1

Jim Courier was a player who dominated the tour for 3 years between 1991 and 1993, winning 4 of 7 Grand Slam Finals. In this time he also became number 1 for 58 weeks and bagged 5 Masters 1000 tournaments. He also qualified for 3 ATP World Tour Finals, which included 2 Finals, which he lost. At this time he was in his early twenties and looked a promising champion but lost his form after these 3 years. After this period he would only make a few Grand Slam Semi-Finals, a few Masters Semi Finals as well as qualifying for one ATP World Tour Finals. However, he was the youngest of 8 players during Open Era to make the Finals of all four Grand Slams. He would go on to retire in 2000 at the age of 30.

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Davis Cup Final

The day has come for the first day of the Davis cup final. It is Serbia vs France.

Monfils(France) beat Tipsarevic(Serbia) 6-1, 7-6(4), 6-0. France go to a one - nil lead after Monfils needs just 3 sets and a tie breaker to beat Tipsarevic. In one set he takes a bagel in another he drops just one game.

Djokovic(Serbia) beat Simon(France) 6-3, 6-1, 7-5. The third seed helps Serbia to level with France, after needing just 3 sets to ease past Simon.

This leaves the match at 1-1.

Tomorrow we have the doubles match of

in form Troicki and ATP World Tour Finals winner Zimonjic for Serbia  vs Clement and in form Llodra for France.

And on Sunday the final 2 singles matches of:

The two winners: Djokovic for Serbia vs Monfils for France
and the two losers: Tipsarevic for Serbia vs Simon for France

Advent Calendar day 3 #23 Tony Trabert

Day 3 of the countdown

23rd Best Player of all time

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Tony Trabert

Grand Slams won - 5

Grand Slam Finals lost - 0

Overall amount of singles titles won - ?

Overall Match Winning percentage - ?

Top rank - 1 (unofficial)


Tony Trabert has been highly rated by many critics and analysts. He won 5/5 Grand Slam Finals and only the Australian Open was missing from his collection. In 1955 he had one of the best seasons in the history of the sport, winning 106 out of 113 matches and 18 tournaments.However, I am unable to find his overall winning percentage and the amount of titles he won. The year before he won Wimbledon without losing a set. He was well known for his serve and volley tactics and his athletic ability. Unfortunately he left the Grand Slam tour in 1955, to go to the professional tour.

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