Roger Federer: The greatest tennis player ever?

Roger Federer is probably the classiest and most elegant player ever to play the game of tennis, but he’s a tough cookie as well.
Roger Federer is greatest tennis player of all time in Open Era and it’s an amazing experience for everyone says World No. 6 Tomas Berdych after losing 2014 Dubai Tennis Championships final on 1st March.
The Swiss has won 17 Grand Slam titles, 78 ATP tour titles, won gold and silver medals at the Olympics and has played in some of the greatest matches of all time. In the aftermath of his victory in the Dubai Open at the weekend, his first tournament win in 18 months.
In the 1,154 matches in his career to date – more than any other active tennis player – Federer has not retired once. Not one game. Of the 25 players currently playing who have played the most matches, none apart from Federer have fewer than three career retirements and the top ten – all of whom have played at least 290 fewer matches than the Swiss – have an average of 12.3 career retirements. Of his most famous contemporaries and past tennis legends, only John McEnroe – who retired from one game throughout his entire career – comes close to matching Federer.
2012 was certainly a momentous year for the Swiss maestro. He won his 17th Grand Slam title in Wimbledon, returned to the top of the World Rankings and improved on Pete Sampras’ record as world number 1 for a total of 302 weeks. He won Olympic silver medal. He achieved four further titles and thanks to an unbelievable result of 71 match wins (86%).
But the question still remains unanswered “Is Federer the greatest Tennis player of all time?” Despite having a lousy career record against Nadal, Federer still remains ahead of the other famed tennis players – Rod Laver, Pete Sampras, Don Budge. Nadal with 13 grand slams is currently third in the race for the number of grand slams – standing tall is Federer (17) ahead of Sampras (14). If you name Nadal as the greatest clay court player then Federer is no less, he has reached the finals of the French open five times, winning it once. Clay being the weakest link in Federer’s otherwise illustrious career. But had it not been for Nadal Federer would have been the greatest player of all times. The fact that Federer, in addition to all the winning, has been able to conjure such ethereal tennis while matching the firepower of his rivals and at a time when so many things – the rackets, the strings, the courts, the strength and the speed of the players – conspire against the expression of beauty in tennis, is a testament of his greatness.
Federer happens to have a silken game, and watching him play is akin to watching a ballet, albeit a mechanically saccharine one. He has lorded over the grass courts as few have or ever will, and his career grand slam proves that he can dominate.
Comparing players from different eras is always tricky. Borg played against legends like John McEnroe and Jimmy Connors and retired at 26 with 11 Grand Slam Titles. He won 41% of the Grand Slam tournaments he entered, when playing single. His excellence was not limited to any surface and out of the 735 matches Borg played, he won 608 of them — a winning percentage of 82.72%. Tennis fans should realize that there is more to the game than Grand Slam Tennis.

Meanwhile, Nadal pounds on. His winning record is superior against every player in the top 25, including the members of the Big Four and the evidence is quickly accumulating. Federer is a great tennis player and has his own place in tennis history, but is he the Greatest of All Time?
Well it is really tough to answer. But he is a delight to watch and has been a role model for so many youngsters. Certainly it’s more of a number game now and player with the best statistics wins. Is this correct?