After passing Pete Sampras’ record by winning his 15th grand slam tennis title, the question is being asked about whether Roger Federer can now be considered the greatest tennis player of all time.

There are two serious contenders for this title – not considering the likes of John McEnroe or Bjorn Borg, who were not as consistent over as long a period. Sampras and Rod Laver are the others who can be placed alongside Federer in this conversation. Federer now has 15 grand slams among 60 career titles in ATP tour events, compared to Sampras with 14 slams and 64 titles and Laver with 11 slams and 27 ATP titles.

The complication with going on pure statistics is that Laver spent much of the glory years of his career outside the ATP tour, as his run coincided with the advent of the open era. He played as an amateur until 1962, winning six of his slams including a Grand Slam in the calendar year of 1962 before turning professional, which disqualified him from the still-amateur ATP tour. It was not until 1968 that the open era began and he was allowed to return to the ATP tour, after which he completed a second calendar year Grand Slam in 1969 as a professional at the age of 31.

There are arguments either way. Three of the four slam tournaments that Laver played in were on grass, whereas Sampras and Federer have had to win on synthetic surfaces as well. On the other hand, Laver is the only one of the three to have won more than one French Open. You could argue that Sampras may have had the greatest array of opponents facing him, with the likes of Ivan Lendl and Andre Agassi where Laver’s main rival was Ken Rosewall and Federer has struggled mightily with his nemesis in Rafael Nadal.

In fact, it is Nadal who stands in the way of Federer’s claims. Federer did not have to play the Spaniard in either of the last two Slams and it was Nadal who had beaten him in the final of three of the previous four slam tournaments. Federer’s 7-13 record against Nadal, including 2-6 in slams, is the greatest flaw in his record.

Personally, being an Aussie, I realise I am biased in thinking Laver would have the wood over the American and the Swiss champions. However, the six-year hole in his ATP record is only a potential for slam tournaments so we will never know if he could have reached 20 or more. Federer could still get somewhere near there… but only if Nadal stays injured.

Is Roger Federer the greatest tennis player ever? is a post from: The Inquisitr

Experience has generally triumphed over youth in the 2009 Wimbledon quarter finals, with Tommy Haas the oldest of a wrinkly four semi finalists.Tommy Haas was the oldest of those to survive the quarter finals, defeating Serbian Novak Djokovic 7-5 7-6(6) 4-6 6-3. Djokovic, the youngest of the eight players contesting the quarter finals at 22, has not kicked on in his tennis career after winning the Australian Open at the start of 2008. The German Haas has never progressed past a grand slam semi final, reaching that stage three times in Australia, and at the ripe old age of 31 years and three months he might not have expected to ever reach one again. Haas will face Roger Federer in one semi final, who had less trouble disposing of Croatian Ivo Karlovic 6-3 7-5 7-6(3).

In the other semi final, the home town favourite will most definitely be Andy Murray, after the Scotsman bucked the ageist trend by beating Spaniard Juan Carlos Ferrero to the tune of 7-5 6-3 6-2. Ferrero is in his last year on the regular tour before retirement at the tennis wall of 30 years of age, while Murray goes on to meet Andy Roddick who outlasted Lleyton Hewitt 6-3 6-7(10) 7-6(1) 4-6 6-4. It was Hewitt’s second five-setter in a row, and the best match of the tournament so far with Roddick’s backhand winners being a highlight.

Old men dominate Wimbledon semi finals lineup is a post from: The Inquisitr

Originally Tiger Woods PGA Tour 10 and Grand Slam Tennis was set for a July release, however with Nintendo’s announcement EA Sports has changed the release date of Tiger Woods and Grand Slam Tennis for June 8th.

Tiger Woods PGA TOUR 10 has an MSRP of $59.99 when bundled with the Wii MotionPlus. Both products will be available for $49.99 without the accessory. In Europe Grand Slam Tennis will be bundle with the dongle. The Wii MotionPlus dongle has a retail price of $19.99.
So what exactly does this thingy do?

The Wii MotionPlus accessory attaches to the end of the Wii Remote and, combined with the accelerometer and the sensor bar, allows for more comprehensive tracking of a player’s arm position and orientation, providing players with an unmatched level of precision and immersion. Every slight movement players make with their wrist or arm is rendered identically in real time on the screen, providing a true 1:1 response in their game play.

Source: Nintendo Wii MotionPlus press release

In July Nintendo will release a sequel to the very popular Wii Sports named Wii Sports Resort. According to rumours the game will feature 10 new games (Frisbee, Jet Skiing and Kendo are some of them) and takes place on the island known from Wii Fit.

Will you spend the $19.99 on a dongle and make your Wiimote the most expensive controller in the world? I’m a huge Tiger Woods PGA Tour-fan, so I’ll have to spend my hard earned money it.

Nintendo’s Wii MotionPlus ready for pre-order is a post from: The Inquisitr