We spent the past week counting down our list of the 100 greatest athletes of the 21st century, and the list included four men’s tennis players, starting with Roger Federer at number six.
We also voted on the top 10 men’s tennis players. Who else made the list of greatest men’s tennis players of the 2000s?
Top 10 Female Tennis Players of the 21st Century
1. Roger Federer
main achievements: 20-time Grand Slam champion, 369 Grand Slam wins, eight Wimbledon titles (the most of any Grand Slam player of all time), 103 singles titles (second most by a man in the Open Era).
It’s not unusual for a professional athlete to get emotional during their final match or their last match before retirement. But what’s unusual is when everyone in the competition is equally emotional about it. That was the case for Federer during his final match at the Laver Cup — an event he co-founded — in 2022. Having previously announced that the doubles match alongside Rafael Nadal would be his last, Nadal — his fiercest rival for nearly 20 years — cried alongside him when it ended, as did Novak Djokovic, Andy Murray and the rest of their European teammates, and even Jack Sock and Frances Tiafoe, their opponents from Team World. “I think we will all be eternally grateful to have been part of the Laver Cup final,” Sock later said. — Darcy Maine
2. Novak Djokovic
main achievements: 24-time Grand Slam singles champion; record 422 weeks at No. 1; 375 Grand Slam match wins; third in men’s singles titles (98), wins (1,110) in the Open Era
Less than two months after his stunning defeat in the Wimbledon final to Carlos Alcaraz, Djokovic refused to delay history again and claimed his 24th men’s Grand Slam title at the 2023 US Open. After escaping a five-set challenge in the third round, Djokovic did not drop 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 for the record for the most Grand Slam titles in history. For many, the achievement secured his place as the greatest player to have played the sport, but like any true competitor, he was far from satisfied. “I don’t have any numbers in my mind right now about how many Grand Slams I want to win,” he said hours later. — Maine
3. Rafael Nadal
main achievements: 22-time Grand Slam singles champion, 19 consecutive ATP Tour titles, 209 weeks as world No. 1, 4th in men’s singles wins in the Open Era
Although Nadal has enjoyed success on all surfaces throughout his career, he is best known for his dominance on clay. From 2005 to 2007, he racked up an 81-match winning streak on the surface — the longest such streak on a single surface by any player in the Open Era. No one in history has won more Grand Slam singles titles than Nadal, who has won 14 French Open titles in Paris. Nadal has an unbeaten record in the finals of the tournament, and his reign was so legendary and unprecedented that a statue was erected in his honor in 2021 — while he was still playing in the tournament. Federer has described Nadal’s French Open dominance as “one of the greatest achievements in sport.” — Maine
4. Andy Murray
main achievements: Three-time Grand Slam singles champion, nine-time top-10 finisher (2008–2016), two-time Olympic gold medalist in singles.
Murray was once one of the sport’s Big Four, but he has largely been pushed out of the conversation as Federer, Nadal and Djokovic emerge in a league of their own. But even while his three Grand Slams pale in comparison to those of his great peers, perhaps no triumph has been more memorable than Murray’s maiden Wimbledon title in 2013. A year after coming devastatingly close to winning his home tournament, a determined Murray thwarted Djokovic in three convincing sets to win his first major title. Never able to hide his emotions, Murray wept openly on court after the win, proving just how important it was to him. The BBC described the achievement as the “holy grail” of British sport. — Maine
5. Andre Agassi
main achievements: Since 2000: Won 3 Australian Opens, taking his total Grand Slam titles to 8, was the oldest No. 1 in 2003 (then overtaken by Federer)
A product of the ‘image is everything’ 1990s era, he completed his Grand Slam career by winning the 1999 French Open, but only four men have won more Grand Slam titles than any other player in the world. 21st century Agassi turned 30 in 2000 but had won the Australian Open in 2000, 2001 and 2003 and reached the US Open finals in 2002 and 2005. His last Grand Slam title was the most dominant of his career. He lost just 48 matches in seven, and after a hard-fought third-round win over Nicolas Escude, he won the title 6-1, 6-3, 6-2, 6-2, 6-2, 6-2, 6-3, 6-2, 6-2, 6-2. Agassi had learned over the years to work hard, to tire out his opponents and to rely on his physical fitness. But even at 32, he was able to shine so consistently that his physical fitness sometimes didn’t matter. — Bill Conley
main achievements: He won four Grand Slams before turning 22, won back-to-back Wimbledon titles (2023 and 2024), and has 15 career singles titles, reaching No. 1 in September 2022.
Nadal had won three Grand Slams by the time he was 22. Federer and Djokovic had won one each. Andy Murray had won three Grand Slams. In totalBut Carlos Alcaraz, who turned 21 in May, already has four. He’s already three-quarters of the way to a Grand Slam, something Federer didn’t win until he was 27. He’s already won five Masters 1000s, too, and in Grand Slam and Masters finals, the self-proclaimed Real Madrid fan is like Real Madrid 9-1. It was a big deal that Alcaraz won at least one match at every Grand Slam in 2021, his 18-year-old season, but he’s continued to raise the bar countless times in the years since. He has the speed of Djokovic, the physicality of Nadal and, at times, the finesse of Federer. He beams, smiling after points won and lost and occasionally applauding his opponent for a job well done. He’s already among the best players of all time, and he’s just getting started. — Conley
7. Pete Sampras
main achievements: Since 2000: Won two majors (Wimbledon and US Open) to take his career total to 14, returned to No. 1 in 2000
Maybe he could have stuck around a little longer, achieved more, and come up with some other tricks he could use to guide the younger generation. Instead, as his results dwindled at age 31, Sampras had his last great run and decided the story was over. That’s what “dwindling results” looked like for Sampras, by the way: In the first three years of the 2000s, Sampras was off the track in 2000, off the track in 2001, off the track in 2002. Just He reached four Grand Slam finals. He won a then-record seventh Wimbledon title in 2000, beating Patrick Rafter in the final and officially surpassing Roy Emerson for the No. 1 spot on the all-time Grand Slam singles list. After losing the final in 2000 and 2001, he had his last great run at the US Open in 2002, losing just one set to youngsters Tommy Haas and Andy Roddick, then beat Agassi for the final time and announced his retirement. — Conley
main achievements: Winner of the US Open (2003), reached the Wimbledon final three times, and won 32 titles in his career.
He had the Sampras serve and the Agassi attitude. He won his first Grand Slam at 21 and finished 2003 ranked No. 1 in the world. Had Federer chosen to focus on soccer or golf instead, he would have likely matched Agassi’s achievements. But while he reached a total of 14 Grand Slam and Masters 1000 finals, he lost to Federer in six of them. He lost to Federer in the Wimbledon final alone three times, in 2004 and 2005 and in an epic five-setter in 2009. Still, he was the standard-bearer for American men’s tennis for a generation, finishing in the top 10 for nine consecutive years (2002-10) and the top three for three consecutive years (2003-05). He won 32 career titles, was inducted into the Hall of Fame in 2017, and is currently living the American dream as a successful podcaster. A true success story of the 21st century. — Conley
main achievements: Three-time Grand Slam winner, 2008 Olympic doubles gold medalist, 14 career titles
Making your moments count is a great thing. Stan Wawrinka has reached eight Grand Slam semifinals, four finals and three titles. His resume—16 career titles, one Masters 1000—isn’t as deep as some of the greats of the 2000s, but three Grand Slams makes you a tennis celebrity. Wawrinka’s game plan was simple: beat your opponent. He had a powerful, majestic forehand and a one-handed backhand that could tear through the defenses of Nadal (whom he beat three times, once on clay, in 2014 and 2015) and Djokovic (whom he beat six times, four Grand Slams). Wawrinka wasn’t always able to keep up with the Big Three, but they always had to worry about him. — Conley
main achievements: Two-time Grand Slam champion, world No. 1 in 2001, 30 career titles
He didn’t have the stature of many tennis greats, but the modest 5-foot-10 Australian briefly dominated the sport as it transitioned from the era of Agassi and Sampras to the era of the Big Three. From 2000 to 2005, he reached six Grand Slam semifinals, reached four finals and won two: the 2001 US Open (a straight-sets win over Sampras) and Wimbledon in 2002 (a bigger win over David Nalbandian). He finished both 2001 and 2002 ranked No. 1 in the world, won Indian Wells twice and was part of two Davis Cup winning teams. Like Andy Roddick, he was thwarted by the rise of Federer — he won seven of his first nine matches against the Swiss champion, then lost 15 in a row — but he made his mark nonetheless. — Conley
