5. Grand Slam Success
Arguably, the measure of any tennis player is their success in the major tournaments on the tennis circuit, the Grand Slams. Time and time again the reputation of a player transcends exponentially when they finally win a Grand Slam title. Often those without a slam at the top of the rankings are criticised for failing to produce their form when it matters most. For Roger Federer this was never a problem, first winning a Grand Slam back in 2003 on his beloved centre court at Wimbledon. Since then he has gone on to break numerous records in the Grand Slams, winning an astonishing 17 titles overall. Grand Slam statistics alone argue his case as the greatest ever, not only has he won the most but also has reached the most finals, 24 (at least 5 times at each slam). In his prime Federer dominated at Wimbledon, the US open and to a slightly lesser extent the Australian open, finally achieving the career slam in 2009 when he won the French open. His Grand Slam success is clearly unrivalled; in one stretch Roger only failed to reach the final once in 19 consecutive slams. For me and many commentators and past players this is enough to prove that Federer is the best ever, but stats alone do not make a great tennis player. Read on to find out why Federer is the best for other reasons€