Ranking the top 10 men's tennis players of the 21st century
We have spent the past week counting down our list of the top 100 athletes of the 21st century, and four men’s tennis players made the list, starting with Roger Federer at No. 6.
We also voted on an overall top 10 for men’s tennis. Who else made the list of some of the greatest men’s tennis players of the 2000s?
Top 10 women’s tennis players of the 21st century
1. Roger Federer
Key accomplishments: 20-time major champion, 369 majors wins and eight Wimbledon titles are most by a man all time, 103 tour singles titles (second most by man in Open era).
It’s not unusual for a professional athlete to feel emotional during their final match or game before retiring. But what is unusual is when everyone else in the competition is equally emotional about it. Such was the case for Federer during the last match of his career at the Laver Cup — an event he co-founded — in 2022. Having previously announced a doubles match alongside Rafael Nadal would be his swan song, Nadal — his fiercest of rivals for nearly 20 years — cried right alongside him when it was over, as did Novak Djokovic, Andy Murray, the rest of their European teammates, and even Jack Sock and Frances Tiafoe, their opponents from the World team. “I think we are all going to be forever grateful to be a part of the GOAT’s final match,” Sock said later. — D’Arcy Maine
2. Novak Djokovic
Key accomplishments: 24-time Grand Slam singles champion; record 422 weeks as No. 1; 375 Grand Slam match wins; third in men’s singles titles (98), wins (1,110) in Open era
Less than two months after being stunned in the Wimbledon final by Carlos Alcaraz, Djokovic refused to postpone history again and earned his record-breaking 24th men’s major title at the 2023 US Open. After escaping a five-set challenge in the third round, Djokovic didn’t lose another set and defeated Daniil Medvedev 6-3, 7-6 (5), 6-3 in the final. At 36, he became the oldest man to win the US Open and tied Margaret Court’s record for the most major titles in history. To many, the feat secured his position as the sport’s greatest of all time, but, like a true competitor, he was far from satisfied. “I don’t put any number right now in my mind on how many Slams I want to win,” he said hours later. — Maine
3. Rafael Nadal
Key accomplishments: 22-time Grand Slam singles champion, ATP Tour title in 19 straight seasons, 209 weeks as world No. 1, fourth-most men’s singles wins in Open era
While Nadal has had success on all surfaces throughout his career, he was rightfully deemed the “King of Clay” because of his dominance on the dirt. From 2005 to 2007, he had an 81-match winning streak on the surface — still the longest stretch on a single surface by any man in the Open era. No one in history has won more singles titles at an individual Slam than Nadal, the winner of 14 French Open titles, in Paris. He has an undefeated record in the final at the tournament, and his reign has been so legendary and unprecedented that a statue was erected in his honor in 2021 — while he was still playing at the event. Federer called Nadal’s supremacy at the French Open “one of the greatest achievements in sport.” — Maine
4. Andy Murray
Key accomplishments: Three-time Grand Slam singles champion, finished in top 10 for nine consecutive years (2008-16), two-time Olympic gold medalist in singles.
Once a part of the sport’s Big Four, Murray was essentially removed from the conversation as Federer, Nadal and Djokovic emerged in a league of their own. But even while his tally of three major championships pales in comparison to those of his top peers, there was perhaps no victory more memorable than Murray’s first title at Wimbledon in 2013. A year after coming devastatingly close to winning his home Slam, a determined Murray held off Djokovic in three convincing sets to win his first major title. Never one to be able to hide his emotions, Murray openly sobbed on the court after the victory, proving just how much it meant to him. The BBC called the achievement “the Holy Grail” for British sport. — Maine
5. Andre Agassi
Key accomplishments: Since 2000: Won 3 times at the Australian Open, pushing his major total to 8, oldest to be ranked No. 1 in 2003 (later passed by Federer)
He was a product of the “Image is Everything” 1990s and completed his career Grand Slam with a French Open title in 1999, but only four men have won more Grand Slam titles in the 2000s than Agassi. He turned 30 in 2000 but won the Australian Open in 2000, 2001 and 2003 and reached U.S. Open finals in 2002 and 2005. His last Slam title was also his most dominant. He dropped only 48 total games in seven matches, and after a tough third-round win over Nicolas Escude, he rolled to the title with sets of 6-1, 6-3, 6-2, 6-2, 6-2, 6-2, 6-3, 6-2, 6-2, 6-1. Agassi had learned to grind through the years, wearing down opponents and leaning on his superior fitness. But even at age 32, he was so capable of sustained brilliance that fitness sometimes didn’t even come into play. — Bill Connelly
Key accomplishments: 4-time major winner before the age of 22, won back-to-back Wimbledon titles (2023 and 2024), 15 career singles titles, reached No. 1 in Sept. 2022
Nadal had won three Grand Slam events by the time he turned 22. Federer and Djokovic had each won one. Andy Murray won three in total. But Carlos Alcaraz, who turned 21 in May, already has four. He’s already three-quarters of his way to a career Slam, something Federer didn’t lock down until age 27. He’s already won five Masters 1000 events, too, and in Slam and Masters finals, the self-proclaimed Real Madrid fan is a Real Madrid-like 9-1. It was a big deal that Alcaraz won at least one match at each Slam in 2021, his age-18 season, but he has proceeded to raise the bar countless times in the years since. He’s got Djokovic’s speed, Nadal’s physicality and, occasionally, Federer’s artistry. He radiates joy, smiling after points won and lost and occasionally applauding his opponent for a job well done. He is already among the all-timers, and he’s just getting started. — Connelly
7. Pete Sampras
Key accomplishments: Since 2000: Won 2 majors (Wimbledon and US Open) to bring his career total to 14, returned to No. 1 in 2000
He probably could have hung around a bit longer, racked up a few more accomplishments, figured out a few more tricks to throw at the younger generation. Instead, with his results diminishing at age 31, Sampras made one last great run and decided the story had ended. Here’s what “results diminishing” looked like for Sampras, by the way: In the first three years of the 2000s, he only reached the finals of four Grand Slams. He won a then-record seventh Wimbledon title in 2000, taking down Patrick Rafter in the final and officially moving past Roy Emerson into first on the Slam titles list. And after losing the finals in both 2000 and 2001, he made one last brilliant US Open run in 2002, dropping just one set against young bucks Tommy Haas and Andy Roddick, then beating Agassi one last time and calling it quits. — Connelly
Key accomplishments: US Open winner (2003), 3-time Wimbledon finalist, 32 career titles
He had Sampras’ serve and early Agassi’s attitude. He won his first Slam at age 21 and finished 2003 ranked No. 1 in the world. And if Federer had chosen to focus on soccer or golf instead, he would have quite possibly matched Agassi’s feats. But while he reached a total of 14 Slam and Masters 1000 finals, he lost to Federer in six of them. He fell to Fed in the Wimbledon final alone three times, in 2004, 2005 and in an epic 2009 five-setter. Still, he was the standard-bearer for American men’s tennis for a generation, finishing nine straight years in the top 10 (2002-10) and three straight in the top three (2003-05). He won 32 career titles, he was inducted into the Hall of Fame in 2017, and he’s currently living the American dream as a successful podcaster. Truly a 21st century success story. — Connelly
Key accomplishments: 3-time major winner, doubles gold at 2008 Olympics, 14 career titles
There is glory in making your moments count. Stan Wawrinka made the semifinals of a Grand Slam event eight times; he made the final in four of them and won the title in three. His résumé — 16 career titles, one Masters 1000 title — isn’t as deep as some of the other greats of the 2000s, but three Slam titles make you a Hall of Famer. Wawrinka’s game plan was simple: Overpower your opponent. He boasted a mighty and majestic forehand and a one-handed backhand that could that could even occasionally cut through the defenses of Nadal (whom he defeated three times, once on clay, in 2014-15) and Djokovic (whom he defeated six times, four times in Slams). He couldn’t always keep up with the Big Three, but they always had to worry about him. — Connelly
Key accomplishments: 2-time major champion, reached No. 1 in the world in 2001, 30 career titles
He wasn’t blessed with the supreme stature of a lot of tennis’s greats, but the scrappy, 5-foot-10 Aussie briefly seized control of the sport during its transition from the Agassi-Sampras era to that of the Big Three. From 2000 to ’05, he reached six Slam semifinals, reaching four finals and winning two: the 2001 US Open (a straight-sets romp over Sampras) and 2002 Wimbledon (an even bigger romp over David Nalbandian). He finished both 2001 and 2002 ranked No. 1 in the world, he won Indian Wells twice, and he was part of two Davis Cup-winning squads. Like Andy Roddick, he was held back by Federer’s emergence — he won seven of the first nine against the Swiss grand champion, then lost 15 in a row — but he made his mark all the same. — Connelly
