Former doubles specialist Mark Knowles has declared 20-time Grand Slam champion Roger Federer as the greatest player of all-time ahead of his arch-rival Rafael Nadal.
According to Knowles, a three-time Grand Slam champion in doubles, Federer has surpassed Nadal in the race to be crowned as the best player ever because the Swiss has spent more weeks at the top of the men’s rankings as compared to the Spaniard. While Nadal has been No. 1 in the world for 167 weeks, Federer on the other hand has spent 305 weeks at the pinnacle of the sport.
The 36-year-old from Basel recently became the oldest No. 1 in tennis history, when he won the title in Rotterdam in February. It was the perfect icing on the cake for Federer as his rise back to the top came after his stunning victory in Australia, which gave him an unprecedented 20th Grand Slam title.
“It’s just absolutely incredible to think that he still has that much motivation to get all the way back to the top,” Knowles said on the Tennis channel.
“I know right away it was about winning Grand Slams but the opportunity to become No 1 made him go to Rotterdam.
“He secured the title, he was a little nervous during that quarter-final match to get to the semis to ultimately get to No 1 but 305 weeks at the top and counting.
“When you look at that of course that’s the pantheon, greats of the game, but what stunned me is he’s almost double the weeks at one as Rafa.
“That kind of silenced the debate a little bit. There’s always a bit of talk between fans on who’s the greatest of all time.”
Federer will be back in action this week at Indian Wells after skipping the Dubai Duty Free Tennis Championships at the end of last month. Federer is the defending champion at the tournament. Last year, he won the event for a record fifth time by beating his compatriot Stan Wawrinka in straight sets.
