Roger Federer hailed as “greatest tennis player” ever

A record-setting win at the 2012 Wimbledon Championships has elevated the argument that Roger Federer is indeed that greatest tennis player ever. Federer just won his seventh Wimbledon title on Sunday and reduced his opponent, Britain’s Andy Murray, in tears. The Swiss star has equaled the feat by Pete Sampras of winning seven Wimbledon titles and also matched the American former top-ranked player’s stay on top of the world rankings at 286 weeks. Federer will break the tie of the latter starting next week.

In an interview with CNN, popular tennis coach Nick Bollettieri said that Federer is “the best player to have ever played the game.”

The victory on Sunday propelled Federer back as the world number one player, effectively ending the 12-month reign of Serbia’s Novak Djokovic. It can be remembered that Djokovic became the top-ranked player after he won his first Wimbledon title last year (defeating Rafael Nadal in the final). The Swiss star became only the second player in the men’s tour to have taken over the top ranking over the age of 30. The first one was Andre Agassi in the late nineties after a resurgence during his comeback.

Bollettieri believes that with the type of game Federer is employing, he could win up to four more Grand Slam singles titles before stepping away from the game.