Tennis has been home to some of the world’s most famous sporting icons throughout the years. And as the Australian Open is now underway for 2021, we thought it would be appropriate to pay tribute to some of the legends that have graced the game over the years. But before we do, if you fancy making the odd wager or two on this year’s Australian Open, make sure you grab one of the bonuses that are available. This sign up bonus code is available on BetMGM, and this is a great place to begin.
With that out of the way, get ready to join us on this brief look back at some of the greatest superstars that the ATP Tour has ever seen.
Legends of their time
1. Roger Federer
To get the ball rolling, we may as well start with the man that many call the GOAT of tennis – Roger Federer. This man has racked up 20 Grand Slam wins during his career, and amazingly, he is still striving for more, despite the fact that he is pushing 40 years of age! Federer truly is one of a kind, even if his record of 20 Slams has recently been matched by Rafael Nadal. It’s not just the numbers of slams that make Federer one of the best there has ever been, it’s the way in which he actually plays the game.
Few players (if any) have ever made the game look so easy and so graceful, and some of the shots this man has played over the years have been nothing shy of outer-wordly. Federer has won the hearts of fans all around the world not only for his talent, but his modesty, humbleness, and of course, his overall contribution to the game.
2. Bjorn Borg
We must admit, we were torn about who to include here, but we’ve landed on Bjorn Borg for several key reasons. For starters, Bjorg managed to win a pretty impressive 11 Grand Slams during his career, and this is all the more outrageous considering that he won Wimbledon 5 times in a row and won the French Open 6 times. While this does mean that Borg never managed to win the US or the Australian Open, it’s still a record that is considerable. And if you were still in any doubt as to the greatness of this man, he is in the tennis Hall of Fame, and he retired at 26!
Just imagine if he continued playing – he could have amassed similar records to the likes of Djokovic, Nadal, or Federer. Records aside, we cannot hide the fact that Borg had a smooth and enticing playing style too, hitting an incredibly clean ball and being dangerous from anywhere on the court.
3. Pete Sampras
Finally, we’d like to pay special recognition to ‘Pistol Pete’, the man that arguably raised the bar for tennis players all over the world back in the 1990’s. During his playing days, Sampras amassed an amazing 14 Grand Slam victories, with 7 Wimbledon titles – a record that was broken by Federer just a few years ago. Sampras was well known for his phenomenal volleys, his running forehand, and of course, his serve that was just deadly back in the day. Sampras finally retired from the game in 2002, but he did so in style, winning the US Open in New York.
While some might say that Sampras also cut his career short, given that he won the final event he competed in, it was obviously the right time for him to go.