A very subjective topic this is but in my opinion Roger Federer is the best tennis player ever.

Unlike many other team game sports, tennis being an individual game, it is a lot easier for us to measure a professional's greatness. And one of the prime determinants to do just that is the tally of the number of Grand Slam Tournaments won by a player. Pete Sampras is leading the way in that category with 14 Grand Slams, while Roy Emerson has Federer(still active) has 13 and 12 respectively. I have never seen Roy Emerson play so I will go about comparing Federer and Sampras.

Both of them are very similar players adorned with great footwork, finesse, forehand, sharp one handed backhand and has used the serve and volley game (more Sampras than Federer) to their advantage. As mentioned before, Sampras leads the number of Majors won but Federer is just two behind and remember he is only 26. Despite recent losses, Federer still owns the Top Ranking and I would be really surprised if he fails to win three more Majors to go past Sampras. Also, Federer has proved his versatility by reaching the French Open Finals consecutively for three years which Sampras was never able to boast of in his illustrious career.

It's pretty obvious that yesterday's marathon match victor Rafael Nadal(only 22) has already showcased his potential of being a contender in all surfaces. He is truly on the rise, and can very well be the next player to complete a Career Grand Slam. More importantly, he has a head to head match up advantage over Numero Uno Federer But with only 5 Majors, he still has a lot more to prove(and has plenty of time to do so) before he can be mentioned in the same league as Sampras and Federer.