Scatty.com

The sport of tennis is steeped in tradition, and it’s unlikely that some of the major aspects of the sport will change. However, people have said that before, but the Open Era has proven that major change in tennis is possible. Currently, there are four grand slam tournaments that bring in the most revenue and viewership each year with the Australian Open, French Open, US Open, and Wimbledon.

While a fifth major wouldn’t make it a “grand slam” per se, the name could change to add a fifth major. While it’s not the most likely scenario, where could a fifth major be held? Here are the five countries which would be the most likely to host a hypothetical fifth major.

Canada

North America has a rich tradition and history with tennis, but people tend to think of the United States first. Canada would be one of the top choices for a fifth tennis major, especially as the nation hosts one of the oldest popular tournaments in the world, the Canadian Open. The tournament began play in 1881 and splits time between Montreal and Toronto. The Canadian Open is one of the ATP Tour Masters 1000, so it wouldn’t be a hard sell.

Even if a new fifth major wasn’t held in either of the two big cities, there are still plenty of places in Canada that have the capability of hosting such an event. Cities like Vancouver and Ottawa come to mind, though there is just one drawback: the weather. Ideally, a Canadian grand slam would have to be played between May and August. This would clash with some of the events like Wimbledon and the US Open.

Italy

Italy is another one of the countries which has an ATP Masters 1000 tournament but no grand slam event. Rome is host to the annual Italian Open, which has been played since 1930. That’s not the only city that has hosted significant ATP events, either, as Turin has hosted the ATP Finals. Either city would be a fantastic candidate for a tennis major.

Both cities have also shown that they’re capable of holding events that are even much larger than a tennis major, with Turin hosting a Winter Olympics in its past while Rome has hosted a Summer Olympics. The infrastructure is there, and Pala Alpitour in Turin is already the sixth-largest tennis venue in the world. It was initially designed for the Winter Olympics but was repurposed and selected to be the ATP Finals host on a lengthy contract.

Netherlands

There have been some top-notch tennis players to come from the Netherlands including Tom Okker, Kea Bouman, and Betty Stove. However, the country doesn’t have one of the grand slam events and doesn’t even have one of the ATP Masters 1000. In fact, they’ve never hosted one while countries like Germany and Sweden used to.

So what is it about the Netherlands that makes it a prime destination for a tennis major? For starters, the country is well-suited to have hundreds of thousands of visitors at any time, and the facilities are already there. The Netherlands is home to Rotterdam Ahoy, which is the fifth-largest tennis venue in the world. The nation holds ATP 250 and 500 tournaments, but it’s time for a step up.

China

Returning to countries that are hosting the largest non-major tournaments, China is home to the newest entry of the ATP Masters 1000 in the form of the Shanghai Masters. The event was first held in 2009 and is located at the Qizhong Forest Sports City Arena. Though COVID-19 travel restrictions put the Shanghai Masters on hiatus, it was clear that the ATP saw a future in China.

Even without Shanghai, there are plenty of places to host a grand slam event in China, especially after all of the infrastructure built for the multiple Olympics the country has held in the 21st century. National Tennis Stadium in Beijing is one of the 10 largest tennis venues in the entire world and has been home to the China Open since 2011.

Spain

The final country on the list is another one that has an ATP Masters 1000 but no major. The Madrid Open is newer than all Masters besides the Shanghai event, with the Madrid Open starting in 2002. Spain has a rich tennis history that makes it a perfect spot for a major, and the country already hosts several other ATP tournaments.

Spain’s largest tennis venue doesn’t quite stack up to some of the others, but the home of the Madrid Masters still seats 12,500 people. Spain has regions that don’t get awfully cold, either, allowing the country to be flexible with dates if a fifth major was added.

In the world of professional tennis, there are a lot of matches that end in straight sets as the most elite players in the world are head and shoulders above much of the competition that they face. When you get toward the finals of each tournament, though, players are more evenly matched and it can make for some legendary matches.

Throughout the history of the Women’s Tennis Association, some matches have been replayed over and over on television because they were so amazing. Let’s take a look at the five best matches in WTA history (in no particular order), who came out on top in those matches, and how it impacted the sport of tennis for years to come.

Svetlana Kuznetsova vs. Francesca Schiavone (2011-Australian Open)

Svetlana Kuznetsova had cruised into the fourth round of the 2011 Australian Open as the 23rd seed, winning her first three matches in straight sets. Italian player Francesca Schiavone, on the other hand, needed three lengthy matches as the sixth seed. The two would square off with a trip to the semifinals on the line, with Schiavone taking the first set 6-4 while Kuznetsova won the second 6-1.

The third and final set would be an epic showdown, pushing the match to a time of 4 hours and 44 minutes, making it the longest women’s singles match in grand slam history. The two competitors were clearly exhausted by the end, but Schiavone was able to hold out for just a bit longer, winning the set 16-14. She then went on to win the first set in the quarterfinals against Caroline Wozniacki before losing in three sets.

Venus Williams vs. Lindsay Davenport (2005-Wimbledon)

Venus Williams had almost zero trouble with the competition at the 2005 Wimbledon Championships, winning all of her matches in two sets leading up to the finals. Lindsay Davenport had two of her matches reach a third set, but it never seemed that she was in any true danger of losing. Davenport was the number one player in the world at the time while Venus was ranked 14th.

Davenport got an early jump on Williams, winning the first set 6-4, but a tiebreaker win in the second set allowed Williams to force a third set. The two women went into extended games in the final set, with Williams winning 9-7. Williams had been on the brink multiple times but finished the nearly 3-hour-long match with a victory.

Chris Evert vs. Martina Navratilova (1985-French Open)

One of the greatest rivalries in women’s tennis history was between Chris Evert and Martina Navratilova, with the two facing off many times throughout their illustrious careers. Some of those clashes occurred with the pair being ranked as the top two players in the world, and the 1985 French Open was no exception. Neither woman had dropped a set by the time they reached the finals against each other.

Evert won the first set 6-3 while Navratilova won a lengthy tiebreaker to take the second set 7-6. Evert was able to beat her rival in the third set, winning 7-5. The two embraced after their epic match, with Navratilova saying “We brought out the best in each other.”

Monica Seles vs. Steffi Graf (1992-French Open)

In another case of the world’s top two players going at it with a grand slam championship on the line, Monica Seles and Steffi Graff were both in their prime when 1992 came around and battled for the French Open title. Seles came in as the top-ranked player while Graf was hot on her heels. In the semifinals, both women would need three sets, and they’d need even more than the standard for their finals match.

Seles took the first set 6-2 while Graf answered back with a 6-3 win. The deciding set went on for a long time as neither one wanted to be the person that cracked first. Eventually, a worn-out Seles got the best of Graf, winning the set 10-8. “It couldn’t have been a better final,” Seles said, claiming it was the most emotional match she has played.

Maria Sharapova vs. Serena Williams (2005-Australian Open)

The second of just two matches on the list that aren’t grand slam finals came in 2005, but a trip to the finals was on the line when fourth-seeded Maria Sharapova was taking on seventh-ranked Serena Williams at the Australian Open. Williams was coming off of an easy win, defeating second-ranked Amelie Mauresmo 6-2, 6-2, while Sharapova had been in a battle with Svetlana Kuznetsova.

It appeared that Sharapova was locked in after the first set as she cruised to a 6-2 win. In the second set, however, Williams came back from a 5-4 deficit and won 7-5. The final set was an epic showdown of two women at the top of their game, with Williams prevailing 8-6 after fighting off three break points. She’d go on to win the title over top-ranked Lindsay Davenport.

Chelsea F.C. was founded at the start of the 20th century, and over the years became one of the most popular teams in Europe. Even though they’ve had to contend with some clubs who are seen as more “prestigious”, Chelsea has held its own and has become a staple at the top of the standings in the English Premier League.

To make its surge in popularity and years of success possible, Chelsea has had to have a lot of great players. Which ones stand out as the best, though? Here are our picks for the five best players in Chelsea history. Before we start the list, here are some notable Chelsea players who just missed the cut: Peter Osgood, Ron Harris, George Hilsdon, Peter Cech, and Peter Bonetti.

Didier Drogba

One of just two members of the list to not be born in England, Didier Drogba hails from the Ivory Coast and made his way to France to begin his professional football career. Drogba made his senior debut with Le Mans in 1998, and over the following few years played for Guingamp and Marseille. Then, in 2004, Droga moved to Chelsea and became a staple, having one long stint with the club and one brief one.

Drogba holds the Chelsea record for most EPL goals in one season (29) while also holding a slew of other season-long scoring achievements. He ranks fourth on the all-time scoring list for Chelsea with 164 goals, doing so in just 381 appearances. 36 of those goals came in European competition.

Bobby Tambling

There were a lot of English clubs that wanted to acquire the talents of Bobby Tambling during the mid-1950s, but it was Chelsea that landed him. After two years of playing youth football, Tambling was promoted to the senior squad and spent more than a decade playing for Chelsea up until 1970. He spent the 1970s playing for several different teams, including Cork Celtic and Waterford.

Tambling is just one of two people to record more than 200 goals for Chelsea, collecting a total of 202. He didn’t need many appearances to do it, either, as he scored that much in just 370 matches. Tambling holds the Chelsea record for most league goals, and he helped the squad win the Football League Cup in the 1964-65 season.

Gianfranco Zola

Like Didier Drogba, Gianfranco Zola made a lot of other stops before playing for Chelsea as he was born outside of England. The Italian native made his professional debut in 1984 with Nuorese before spending time with Torres, Napoli, and Parma. Finally, in 1996, Zola became part of Chelsea’s squad and spent the next seven years in London before wrapping up his career with Cagliari.

Zola won the 1996-97 Football Writers’ Association Football of the Year honors and was named the squad’s Player of the Year twice. Though he was never part of a Premier League-winning team with Chelsea, Zola did take home two FA Cups and the 1998 EUFA Cup Winners’ Cup. In 2006, Zola was inducted into the English Football Hall of Fame.

John Terry

John Terry started his youth football career with West Ham United, but in 1995 moved to Chelsea. Three years later, he was promoted to the senior squad where he spent almost a full two decades on the roster (outside of a brief loan to Nottingham Forest). Terry played his final match with Chelsea in 2017 before a brief run with Aston Villa to end his playing career.

For many who grew up watching Terry, it was hard to even picture him wearing another kit. He had more appearances for Chelsea than all but two men (Ron Harris and Peter Bonetti), and also won the 2004-05 PFA Players’ Player of the Year award. Thanks to Terry, Chelsea was able to win five Premier League titles.

Frank Lampard

Just like John Terry, Frank Lampard began his youth career with West Ham, but he also started his professional career with the squad. After spending six years on their squad, Lampard was moved to Chelsea where he spent 13 years. He then wrapped up his career with stints in Manchester City and New York City FC of Major League Soccer. Lampard even spent time as Chelsea’s manager from 2019 to 2021.

Obviously, Chelsea supporters remember Lampard more for his play on the pitch. Nobody has scored more goals in Chelsea history than Lampard, putting up 211 in 648 appearances. Bobby Tambling is the only other player to achieve more than 200. Lampard won three Premier League titles with Chelsea and was the 2005 Footballer of the Year in England. In 2021, he was inducted into the Premier League Hall of Fame.

Nebraska is one of the most prestigious college football programs in the country, and is considered by many to be one of the “blue bloods” along with the likes of Alabama, Notre Dame, Ohio State, etc. This was especially true for certain eras of Nebraska football when the program was regularly contending for a national championship, though there have been some eras in which the Cornhuskers have struggled.

Throughout it all, Nebraska has had over 30 head coaches in the program’s history, with an obviously large range of success. Which of these coaches ranks among the best in the program’s history, though? Here are our picks, in order, for the top five. Before we start the list, some of the coaches who just missed the cut include Jumbo Stiehm, Walter Booth, Ernest Bearg, and Ernest Bearg.

Dana Bible

In 1929, Dana Bible was named the 15th head coach in Nebraska football history and had a long track record when he joined the Cornhuskers. Bible had been at Mississippi College and LSU for one season each in the 1910s before joining Texas A&M for more than a decade. Bible coached Nebraska from 1929 to 1936 and didn’t have a single losing season in his tenure. His worst season came in 1930, with Nebraska still finishing 4-3-2.

Bible finished his eight-year tenure in Nebraska with a record of 50 wins, 15 losses, and seven ties. His .743 winning percentage is the seventh-best in Nebraska history, and fourth-best for coaches that had at least 70 games under their belt. Bible won six Big Six titles and lost just three conference games. He wrapped up his coaching career with 10 seasons leading the Texas Longhorns.

Frank Solich

Taking over head coaching duties for a certain someone who will be mentioned later was never going to be an easy gig. After the 1997 National Championship season, the Cornhuskers were looking for a new coach for the first time since 1972. Instead of hiring an outside candidate, the Cornhuskers promoted running backs coach Frank Solich, and he held the job for six seasons.

Solich struggled toward the end of his tenure and was put on the hot seat after a 7-7 season in 2002. However, that was the only time he had more than four losses and had an overall impressive record. Solich coached the Cornhuskers to a bowl game (or was at least eligible) in all six seasons, winning the Fiesta and Alamo Bowls. He was fired after 2003 despite having a 58-19 record, then coached Ohio for 16 seasons. 

Bo Pelini

Bo Pelini was the defensive coordinator when Frank Solich was fired and took over as interim head coach for the 2003 Alamo Bowl, winning in his first game. Pelini then became an assistant coach for Oklahoma and LSU for four seasons before the Nebraska head coaching job became vacant once again. This time, Pelini was hired on a full-time basis. While he had success, it wasn’t enough for many Huskers fans.

Pelini lost exactly four games in each of his first six seasons and was fired after the 2014 regular season when he finished 9-3, avoiding a potential fourth loss again with no bowl game. Pelini, despite his critics, had a strong winning percentage and a record of 67-27, including four bowl wins.

Bob Devaney

Nebraska was a bit of a middling program for the first 70 years of the program’s history outside of a 1921 national championship, but that all changed in 1962. Michigan native Bob Devaney had been an assistant at Michigan State during the mid-1950s before being hired as the Wyoming head coach for five seasons.

Nebraska hired Devaney after he went 35-10-5 with the Cowboys, and it ended up being a home run hire. Devaney coached for 11 seasons with the Cornhuskers, and he lost just 20 games while winning 101. Devaney won six bowl games, including three consecutive Orange Bowls at the end of his tenure, winning back-to-back national titles in 1970 and 1971.

Tom Osborne

Of course, there’s no coach that really comes close to matching the success of Tom Osborne. Osborne had the unenviable task of following Devaney, and had served as an assistant with Nebraska for nine years before being named the head coach. Osborne got off to a good start, going 9-2-1 in his first year with a Cotton Bowl win.

Osborne’s Cornhuskers made a bowl game in all 25 of his seasons as head coach and were ranked outside of the top 15 at the end of the season just once (24th). Overall, Osborne had a record of 255-49-3, winning 13 conference championships and three national titles, including his final season (1997) as a coach.

You can’t be a prominent football club in Europe without having some longstanding rivalries, and AS Roma is no exception. In their history which has lasted for more than a century, there are certain teams in Italy that have drawn the ire of Roma fans, making their annual matches mean just a little more.

While some have become rivalries simply because of how many times they’ve met up, there are a couple that are on a personal level between fanbases. Let’s take a look at the five AS Roma rivalries you need to know about, how the club has fared in these matches, and why these clubs in particular have a higher intensity level than others.

ACF Fiorentina

There have only been three teams Roma has played more than Fiorentina, but no rivalry for Roma has been quite as even. It seems that no matter if one team is having a down year, they’ll find a way to pull out one win against the other. That’s why through the first 180 matches of their rivalry, Roma and Fiorentina would end up with 63 draws, and a 64-54 win advantage for Roma.

While each club has a bigger rival, they are two of the longest-playing rivals. Known as the Derby of Central Italy, Fiorentina and Roma started playing each other back in the 1931-32 Serie A season, with Fiorentina getting the first victory. There have only been a couple of embarrassing four-goal blowouts in the rivalry’s history, too, with most of the matches being decided by one goal (if it’s not a draw).

Juventus

While the first rivalry on the list has been slightly in Roma’s favor, the second has actually been an uphill climb. In their first 192 matches, Roma would win 47 and draw 54, with Juventus taking 91 wins. There’s no special name for this rivalry, but fans can tell when the two teams meet up that they tend to play a little faster and tougher to try and establish themselves as the top team.

In the home games for Roma, the club has actually fared quite well with 32 wins and 30 draws compared to just 27 losses. As for their road record, though, it’s a tough one to look at. Through their first 90 matches at Juventus, Roma has come away with just nine wins. Juventus, on the other hand, has gotten 59.

Internazionale

The first time that Roma faced an opponent 200 times was when they met up in the 2021-2022 Serie A season to take on Internazionale. Throughout those first 200 matches, Roma would win 57 times and draw another 57 times while Inter took home 88 victories. Both teams have an edge in their home stadiums, but Inter’s is a larger one at 47-16 compared to 35-29.

When the two clubs meet, there is usually a lot on the line. Seemingly every year, they square off in the Coppa Italia, including several finals matches. In each of those finals, Inter has ended up winning, but it has always been close.

Napoli

There are two clubs who are considered to be the truest rivals of AS Roma, and the first of them is Napoli. The two clubs play each other in the Derby Del Sole (Derby of the Sun) and have met more than 170 times since their first matches all the way back in 1928. Since then, the rivalry has been about as even as you could imagine, with Roma holding 58 wins in the first 164 matches while Napoli has 51, and 55 draws between.

Both teams have exchanged spurts in which both of them were ahead of the other, including in the early 2020s when it seemed that Napoli was incapable of losing to their rival. At the beginning of the 21st century, though, Roma went on a 10-match streak where they didn’t lose to Napoli. The clubs have also almost evenly split in higher Serie A finishes, as well.

Lazio

Anyone that’s familiar with Roma football knew that Lazio would be number one on the list, as the Derby Capitolino is the most intense rivalry in all of Italy, with both teams sharing the capital city. There have been some heated moments throughout the rivalry’s history, including one player losing his life on the pitch for the first time in Italian history as the result of fans being too rambunctious.

Roma fans see Lazio supporters as hateful people from the worst parts of society, especially as there have been Lazio fans bringing anti-semitic apparel to the matches. For those outside of Italy, Roma is certainly seen as “the good guys” in the rivalry, and they have the edge in the overall record. Through their first 167 matches, Roma came away with 61 wins and 60 draws, with just 46 wins on Lazio’s side.

1930 marked the first time when the World Cup brought together the best players from the top countries in football, with host nation Uruguay winning in front of over 68,000 people. Since then, there has been a slew of countries that have hoisted the World Cup trophy, with many of them being the usual suspects. Countries like Brazil, Germany, Italy, and Argentina all have several World Cups, while some surprising countries have zero.

Out of the many countries that haven’t won the World Cup, which ones are the most surprising? Here are our picks for the five nations who are due to win their first title. Before we start the list, some of the countries that just missed the cut include Sweden, Hungary, Mexico, Chile, and the Czech Republic.

Croatia

Prior to 1991, Croatia was part of the Socialist Federative Republic of Yugoslavia, and ever since it became independent, has been one of the finer football programs in the world. In 1998, Croatia made the World Cup for the first time, and the nation made it all the way to the semifinals. Unfortunately, they ran into the eventual champion and host nation France, losing 2-1.

It took some time for Croatia to get that deep into the World Cup again as over the next four events, they were bounced out in the group stage three times and then had one event where they didn’t qualify. However, Croatia took a huge step forward, making it to the finals in both 2018 and 2022. In the former, they lost again to France, this time in the finals (4-2), and in the latter, they lost 3-0 to Argentina before defeating Morocco to take third place.

Belgium

Belgium was part of the very first World Cup but didn’t fair well as they lost both of their games. Since then, Belgium has had streaks of not making the event and streaks of making the knockout stage. Belgium made the second group stage in 1982, then four years later had their best performance to date by reaching the semifinals. The Belgians lost to Argentina, though, then dropped the third-place game to France.

The streakiness in the Belgian program would continue, mixing stretches of not qualifying and deep runs into the tournament. In 2014, Belgium surpassed its previous best performance, once again making it to the semifinals. This time around, they lost 2-1 to France but won the third-place game by defeating England 2-0, capping off an incredible run.

Portugal

Portugal is one of those nations that’s considered a “new blood” at the global level as they were actually a bit of a laughing stock in the early days of the World Cup. It took them 36 years (1966) to qualify for their first World Cup, and then didn’t qualify again until 1986. That means Portugal had just two World Cup appearances between 1930 and 2002, but in 1966 they reached the semifinals, then won the third-place game.

Cristiano Ronaldo then came around, and Portugal became a staple of the World Cup. In their six appearances with Ronaldo, Portugal advanced past the group stage four times. This included a quarterfinals appearance in 2022, and their best finish came in 2006. Portugal reached the semifinals, but lost to France (1-0) and then lost 3-1 to Germany in the third-place game.

Mexico

After the 2022 World Cup, there were eight nations that had at least 16 World Cup appearances. Five of them have won multiple World Cups, two more had one title, then there’s another that hasn’t even reached the semifinals. That country would be Mexico, which has reached the quarterfinals just twice (1970 and 1986).

Overall, only Brazil, Germany, Argentina, and Italy have more World Cup appearances than the Mexicans. For some reason, though, Mexico hasn’t been able to get over the hump. In fact, in every World Cup from 1994 to 2018, they advanced past the group stage to prove that they belonged, only to be knocked out in the round of 16.

Netherlands

No country has come closer to winning a championship as many times without winning the trophy as the Netherlands. In their 11 World Cup appearances, the Netherlands has advanced past the group stage every single time and has reached at least the quarterfinals seven times. In three events, they finished as the world’s runner-up.

The first time came in 1974 when the Dutch lost 2-1 to the host team West Germany, then in the very next World Cup, they lost to the hosts again, this time dropping a 3-1 decision to Argentina. Finally, the Netherlands avoided the host nation in 2010 by playing Spain, but lost 1-0 after a 116th minute goal by Andres Iniesta.

When it comes to professional tennis, there are usually two or three people that are dominating the field at any given time. Because of this, you tend to see the same faces reach the finals of every major tournament, but it’s not usually one-sided. Instead, it has made for some great back-and-forth rivalries with all-time greats duking it out to see who is really the best.

Which rivalries in men’s tennis are truly the greatest, though? Today, we’ll examine the five best, but not in order of the most matches played or most grand slam finals at stake. Instead, we want to focus on the intensity of the rivalries between legends, even if there were barely a dozen matches played between the two. 

Novak Djokovic vs. Rafael Nadal

Three men dominated tennis for the first couple of decades in the 21st century, so it was hard to pick how the round-robin rivalries stacked up against one another. Of course, we’re talking about Novak Djokovic, Rafael Nadal, and Roger Federer, and for the start of the list, Federer is left off. That’s because Rafa and Joker have played each other more than any other duo in the open era and it’s an almost 50-50 split in the record.

The rivalry has been intense, though there’s a certain ‘it’ factor that leaves it lower on the list. After all, the two have also had more grand slam matches and grand slam finals matches than any other pairing. Both men have gone on hot streaks against the other throughout this rivalry, including two seven-match win streaks by Djokovic to even things up in their history.

Ken Rosewall vs. Rod Laver

There’s one rivalry from before the Open Era on the list, and it’s between Australian legends Ken Rosewall and Rod Laver. Early on in their careers, the two men would play each other seemingly every week, and they had 164 total professional matches against each other, with more than 200 estimated when you include exhibition matches. In 1963 alone, they had 51 professional matches with Rosewall winning 38 of them.

Laver would get better almost immediately after that year, though, and ended up taking the overall series 89-75 over his long-time rivals. “Ken has consistently been my toughest opponent, on any surface,” Laver said, adding that “Ken pushed me around for about 20 years.” If you take out their first year playing each other, Laver actually held a 76-37 series advantage.

Jimmy Connors vs. John McEnroe

Tennis may be considered more of a European sport, but two of the best rivalries in men’s history have been between two Americans. The first of those rivalries on the list is between Jimmy Connors and John McEnroe, with the two men holding a combined 15 grand slam championships. 

Both of these men had rivalries with Bjorn Borg that were considered to be all-time greats, but against each other, there was a certain extra level of intensity. Connors and McEnroe squared off 34 different times professionally, including nine times in a grand slam. Two of those were in the finals, with each getting one win. “To have carried on this rivalry for so many years…must mean that we made our mark somewhere,” Connors said.

Pete Sampras vs. Andre Agassi

The other American rivalry to make the list was between perhaps the two greatest players that the country has ever produced. However, Sampras is considered the best in United States history, and he was a constant thorn in Agassi’s side as he tried to reach the mountaintop. Sampras and Agassi played their first match in 1989 and would meet up 34 times in total.

Sampras won 20 of those matches, including four of the five times when they met in a grand slam final. The first one came with Sampras sweeping the 1990 US Open, but Agassi would notch things up in 1995 at the Australian Open. Sampras dominated in their final three meetings, though, including a pair of US Opens.

Roger Federer vs. Rafael Nadal

There is a lot of debate about who the best men’s tennis player of all time is, and that conversation is usually between Roger Federer and Rafael Nadal. The two just happened to play in the same era of tennis, meaning that they were able to prove who was best repeatedly. The two men played in 40 professional matches, including nine in grand slam finals.

Some might be surprised to learn that Nadal actually holds the advantage with 24 wins, including six in grand slam finals. The two needed each other to validate their careers, and they acknowledge that it meant a little more when they played each other. “It was different from other matches,” Nadal said.