Who’s the best in men’s tennis? It depends on how you measure.

When Roger Federer announced his retirement this week, he was crowned with Hosanna, one of the greatest male tennis players of all time.

But was he only one of the greatest? Or was he the greatest of them all?

It’s not difficult to declare a favorite player as the best ever and then find statistics to justify the argument. Let’s look at it from the other direction and first look at the numbers to see where they lead.

grand slam win

If there is any one number widely accepted as the ultimate measure of a great tennis player, it is the number of Grand Slam tournaments won. And there’s certainly a lot of logic behind it.

A Grand Slam title is the ultimate goal for most players: the Australian Open, French Open, Wimbledon and US Open attract the most attention and are the strongest fields and shower their winners with prize money and visibility. In men’s tennis, they are also known for the best-of-five set format, which is a longer test than regular tour events.

This is the simplest solution that most tennis fans know:

The Big Three (Federer, Rafael Nadal and Novak Djokovic) are above the rest of men’s tennis history as they do in many categories.

Nadal and Djokovic are both still playing, and could raise their totals; Both of them won three of the four Grand Slam singles titles this year.

grand slam performance

Reducing Grand Slam performance to binary – did he win or not? – is something of an oversimplification. It’s also important to win matches and advance in the tournament, no matter what Vince Lombardi says.

The scoring system may be debatable, but what if we award 6 points for a Grand Slam win, 3 for a runner-up, and 1 for a semi-final?

Now the players stack up like this:

If anything, it’s as close. And a slightly different scoring system can easily change the order.

For example, many fans consider the Olympics, in which tennis is staged every four years, to value a slam or near-slam-caliber tournament. Each player won an Olympic singles medal. Add 6 for Nadal’s gold, 3 for Federer’s silver and 1 for Djokovic’s bronze and you get a running close to a laugh: 171-171-170, with Nadal just one point behind.

All three men also lost an Olympic bronze medal match, and Djokovic did so twice. This equals the semi-final, which will take Djokovic one point ahead.

Grand Slam from another angle

Grand Slam victories alone do not account for early-round performances in the finals and semi-finals, nor does it factor into why Federer started earlier than the other two players and had more chances at Grand Slams. Both of those factors account for a simple win-loss record in Grand Slam events. By this measure:

Federer’s longevity counts against him here; A few early and late career losses reduce his win percentage. The same could happen at the end of Nadal and Djokovic’s careers if they stayed together.

Multifaceted talent

Winning on different surfaces is important to a player’s legacy. This is why Federer’s only Grand Slam victory on clay at the 2009 French Open meant so much to tennis fans.

So – and stay with us here – what if instead of adding up Grand Slam titles, we multiply them? This would give more points to players who won a variety of Grand Slams and penalize specialists. This would also give a score of 0 to someone who didn’t win all four, but luckily each of the Big Three did.

Djokovic’s comparative versatility gives him the edge here. Federer is only hurt by a win in Paris once, while Nadal’s astonishing 14 French Open victories thus far have little return.

other tournaments

Tennis is not just a Grand Slam, and perhaps the totality of men’s careers should be viewed as well.

In terms of win-loss records across all official events, they stack up:

The winning percentage is Nadal, Djokovic, Federer. By total wins, it’s Federer, Nadal, Djokovic.

There’s more to consider here: Djokovic spent 373 weeks ranked No. 1 and ended seven different years there. Federer was at the top of the year at 310 weeks and five times, and Nadal 209 more times.

Federer won 103 Tour singles titles, Nadal won 92 and Djokovic won 88. (For once, another player won: Jimmy Connors, playing in a very different era, won 109 titles, something for those who want to make a stark contrast. For.)

Although some players and fans dismiss the Davis Cup, others view it as an important part of the tennis calendar. Nadal has an excellent record of 29-1 with .967 percent in Cup play. Djokovic is 38-7 (.844) and Federer is 40-8 (.833).

Nuts and bolts

Maybe even flashy statistics like wins and grand slams are results-oriented. ATP Tour compiles a lot of others to test players on a hyper-granular level.

But here too there is some clarity. Who has the best service? Federer won 77% of his first serve points, Djokovic 74% and Nadal 72%.

Best returner in clutch? They rank in reverse order. Nadal has 45% break points, Djokovic 44% and Federer 41% break points.

face to face

Maybe it’s time to call out all those matches against Tomas Berdych and Diego Schwartzman. How was the Big Three’s performance when they faced each other?

Here, Djokovic gets a bit of a chance. He holds a 30-29 lead over Nadal and 27-23 over Federer. Nadal leads Federer 24-16.

And in conclusion…

There are probably a million ways to understand this. And every time you figure it out, no one will like how you understood it.

In our little experiment, Nadal led in five categories, Djokovic in four and Federer in three. But most of the categories were extremely close. And if we had chosen something different, the result would have been different. Unless you stubbornly decide that only one statistic matters, there doesn’t seem to be a way to clearly separate the three.

Maybe you have a favorite. If so, we’ve got you some ammunition to make your argument while you wait for the next match at Rod Laver Arena or Arthur Ashe Stadium.

But no matter who you choose, it is clear that Federer’s retirement marks the beginning of the end of the golden era of men’s tennis. Maybe the young Carlos Alcaraz will scare some of these numbers off in 20 years or so. Or maybe we will never see the likes of Roger Federer, Rafael Nadal and Novak Djokovic, at least at the same time again.

Originally published at Pen 18

MotoGP likely to make India debut in winter of 2023, promoters promise long future

MotoGP, the pinnacle of two-wheel racing, may arrive in India in the winter of 2023 if all goes according to plan, giving a massive boost to the stagnant motorsport scene in the country.

The master agreement between MotoGP’s commercial rights owner Dorna and Noida-based race promoters Fairstreet Sports is expected to be signed as early as next week.

Dorna MD Carlos Azpeleta and CEO Carmelo Azpeleta will be in the national capital on Wednesday and are expected to make an official announcement at the ‘Grand Prix of India’.

The round is most likely to be held at the Buddh International Circuit, which was once home to the Formula I Indian Grand Prix, which was called off due to financial, tax and bureaucratic constraints.

The FIM homologation of the track will be done only after the agreement is signed between the MotoGP rights owner and the race promoters.

Speaking to PTI, Fairstreet Sports COO Pushkar Nath said he has done his homework for organizing the high-profile race, keeping in mind what went wrong in Formula 1 nine years ago.

“India is the largest two-wheeler market in the world. Everyone has an affinity for bikes. It has aspirational value. MotoGP is one of the most-watched sporting events,” Nath told PTI.

“We have taken all the precautionary measures for the India tour. We have taken all steps to ensure that we can run in India for the long haul. We are looking at a winter round for India next year.”

Akbar Ibrahim, president of the Motorsports Federation of India FMSCI, welcomed the development.

“I mentioned at our AGM recently that talks are on between the two sides and we have been kept in the loop. I’ve also had meetings with race promoters. They know what they’re doing and have a good time. What is needed to pull an event of this scale.

“I hope the master agreement between Dorna and Fairstreet is signed soon and then we can move on to tracking the homologation and organization of the race. Government support will be key here,” Ibrahim said.

About 5000 people work on MotoGP weekends, which includes races in the junior sections Moto 2 and Moto 3. The race will not only put Uttar Pradesh on the global map but is expected to give a boost to tourism.

Nath said the race would not have been possible without the government’s support and he was grateful to both the state and the Center for helping to take the event to India.

“It is like hosting the Commonwealth Games in which 5000 people are working in the race, except the fans and everyone else. The BJP government, both in the state and at the Centre, has been really helpful.

“They also want to promote tourism in India. People will come from Europe and other parts of the world and it will be shown live in 200 countries,” Nath said.

Fairstreet Sports will pay Dorn millions of dollars for the race each year. When Jaypee Group hosted Formula 1, it was not sustainable, but Nath said his company covered the huge costs involved.

“Not only to prepare the race track, the biggest challenge will be to create the infrastructure for the race,” he said.

Apart from taxation, custom clearance emerged as a major issue during the Formula 1 days and the stakeholders concerned cannot afford to go wrong on this front again.

Former FMSCI president Vicky Chandhok, who was at the helm when Formula 1 arrived in India, said that seamless entry of equipment is essential for the success of the event.

“The arrival of the equipment should be seamless. If that happens, the word will spread that India has changed and it has become possible to hold races here, so it could also lead to the return of Formula 1. It is a huge market day. The end of NASCAR may also be coming.

“We have already hosted the Asian Road Racing Championship. So MotoGP should be the next step,” he said.

The all-electric Formula E race is also coming to Hyderabad next February and if MotoGP can go ahead as planned, Indian motorsport will finally get what it has been eagerly waiting for.

Originally published at Pen 18

Swiss legend Roger Federer retires, it’s end of an Era – The Economic Times Video

Swiss legend Roger Federer announced his retirement from competitive tennis on 16 September. In a letter, he has announced that the upcoming Laver Cup in September this year will be his last Association of Tennis Professionals (ATP) event. It was a distinguished career for Roger Federer with 20 Grand Slam titles in the kitty.

Originally published at Pen 18

pranav anand: Bengaluru teen Pranav Anand becomes India’s 76th Chess Grandmaster

Bengaluru teenager Pranav Anand became India’s 76th Grandmaster after crossing the 2,500 Elo mark at the ongoing World Youth Chess Championship in Mamiya, Romania. The 15-year-old, who has already met other requirements required for the GM title, took home the honor late Thursday.

To become a GM, a player must secure three GM criteria and pass a live rating of 2,500 Elo Points.

Anand achieved the third and final GM criterion at the 55th Biel Chess Festival in Switzerland in July.

Anand’s coach V Saravanan told PTI, “He is passionate about chess. Very interested and passionate about the game. He can work any number of hours.”

“He is particularly good at calculations and final games… Those are his two biggest strengths right now,” Saravanan said of his ward’s ninth-round victory in the under-16 category of the 2022 World Youth Chess Championship.

“Also, the most important reason for Pranav’s achievement is the dedication of his family, his mother, father… He has spent so much time supporting and supporting him.”

“If the pandemic had not happened, Pranav could have become GM at least a year ago. He is one of the most talented kids I have ever met,” said the international master.

Anand achieved his third and final GM benchmark at Beale by drawing his game against number five GM Eduardo Iturizaga Bonelli (2619) in the final round.

He also defeated GM Maxime Lagarde (2631) of France, GM Sethuraman SP (2623), GM Aryan Chopra (2610) and GM Shant Sargsyan (2661) of Armenia in this event.

Their first two GM criteria came in the Sitges Open (in January 2022) and the Vejerkapso GM Round Robin (March 2022) tournament.

Originally published at Pen 18

federer: As Roger Federer retires, an appreciation of his career

Roger Federer never let him sweat.

he played tennis With a style that rarely betrays the effort behind excellent serve, rare attack and impeccable footwork. He was not one to shout loudly at the shots or celebrate wildly after them.

The way he wielded a racket that helped him win, yes, and to win a lot, to the tune of
20 Grand Slam Championships – more than half a dozen more than anyone before him – over a period of 15 years, and 103 tournament titles in total, plus a Davis Cup trophy and Olympic medal for Switzerland, and spends week after week at No. 1 in the rankings . It helped him avoid serious injuries for so long and excel continuously over the decades.

“Every time people text me, or try to write to me, I bounce back,” Federer once said in an interview with the Associated Press. On Thursday, a little more than a month after his 41st birthday and several knee operations, he
announced that there would be no further return,

It is a loss for tennis, of course, and for the sporting world. The news comes less than two weeks later
Serena WilliamsWho has 23 Grand Slam singles titles, what he played shortly before the age of 41 would be the last match of his illustrious career.

Rafael Nadal, one of Federer’s great rivals, recently said, “Some go, others come and the world goes on.” “It’s a natural cycle.”

Well, the world will go on. But tennis will not be the same.

Not without Williams, who was brought in at the recently concluded US Open. And not without Federer, whose last tournament came last year at Wimbledon, and whose final appearance on the court will be next week at the Laver Cup in London, a team event founded by his management group.

Tennis players will miss Federer. and Federer, politician and ambassador who spoke several languages. and Federer, the instantly recognizable global pitchman who brought his game to places around the world that didn’t even have tournaments, through exhibitions to raise money for his charitable foundation.

Once a kid throwing a tantrum – on and off the court, where he overturned a chess table when he lost to his father – who grew up admiring football players like Michael Jordan more than basketball stars and tennis players, Federer was his The game became emblematic and one is known to carry as much of itself as the hardware it has accumulated.

Hall of Famer Chris Evert wrote on Twitter, “He was the epitome of a champion; class, grace, humility, dear to all.”

He became friends with Vogue editor Anna Wintour and appeared at the Met Gala. After winning Wimbledon in 2009, he had a special jacket with a gold “15” on it to break Pete Sampras’ men’s mark of 14 career major trophies. He kept on playing, and winning, long before the age that is customary for that sort of thing in tennis, to the point that his two twins—now ages 13 and 8—eventually present at the courtside guest box. were able to be. He returned in 2016 following surgery on his left knee, the first significant absence of his career, and used a large racket head and a reconstructed backhand to collect his last three slams.

“There will be no one like him,” said Federer’s agent since 2005, Tony Godsick. “There will be people who win more tournaments or have more Grand Slams. There will always be a new No. 1. There will always be someone holding the trophy. But no one has had such a big impact and will continue to have such a big impact.”

When it comes to defining success, Federer cared about longevity as much as anything else. He was proud to face and defeat the stars of the previous generation (Sampras and Andre Agassi) from his generation (Andy Roddick, Lleyton Hewitt, Marat Safin) to the next generation (Rafael Nadal, Novak Djokovic, Andy Murray). Stan Wawrinka) and from the current crop (Daniel Medvedev, Stefanos Tsitsipas).

He chased down the first group, dominated the second, duel with the third – Nadal, with 22, and Djokovic with 21, eventually surpassing Federer’s Grand Slam total – and setting an example for the fourth.

In addition to those major trophies he won from 2003 to 2018, Federer put together unprecedented chunks of elite sport, with 10 consecutive Grand Slam finals (and 18 of 19) as well as 23 semifinals and 36 quarterfinals.

His competitions against Nadal, now 36, and Djokovic, 35, were tantalizing matchups against a backdrop of different modes of play and contrasting personalities.

“I was so lucky to have played so many epic matches that I will never forget,” Federer wrote in the segment of his goodbye post addressing his competitors. “We fought fairly, with passion and intensity, and I’ve always tried my best to respect the history of the sport. I feel so grateful. We pushed each other forward, and together we took tennis to new levels.” But took it.”

Predicted to be a star from the time he won the Wimbledon junior title as a teenager – a sentiment that only persisted when he stunned Sampras in the fourth round in 2001 – it took a while for Federer to be pointed in the right direction: he Did not win a quarterfinal match in his first 16 Grand Slam appearances.

There were six first round exits in that period, including the 2003 French Open. Then came the worry: Couldn’t Federer be as good as he and others thought?

It all came together at Wimbledon that year, where Federer won his first Grand Slam title in the tournament that always meant the most to him. And he went.

Federer said that day, “There was pressure from all sides, from myself as well. I wanted to do better at the Slam.” “I’ve always believed, but in the end, when it happens, you don’t think it’s possible. It’s an absolute dream for me. When I was a boy I was always joking: ‘I’m leaving to win it.'”

He would end with those men’s records with eight at Wimbledon, six at the Australian Open, five at the US Open and one at the French Open. He is one of eight men with a career Grand Slam, holds the record for most consecutive weeks at No. 1 in the ATP computerized rankings and is the oldest to reach there, and set a mark for the total number of weeks Djokovic eclipsed. did.

In case anyone worries that Federer is gone for good, one of those athletes who wants to disappear after days of playing, he ended his farewell note with these words: “To the sport of tennis: I I love you and will never leave you.”

Originally published at Pen 18

Pakistan: Former ICC umpire Asad Rauf dies due to cardiac arrest at 66 – The Economic Times Video

Former Pakistan International Cricket Council (ICC) Elite Panel Umpire, Asad Rauf passed away due to cardiac arrest in Lahore. Rauf was 66 years old. Rauf made 64 Tests – 49 on-field, 15 as third umpire – 139 ODIs (98 on-field, 41 as third umpire) and 28 T20Is (23 on-field, 5 as third umpire) ) of umpiring. third umpire). He was one of the finest umpires of his time. He joined the ICC’s elite panel in 2006, a year after umpiring his first Test. Along with Aleem Dar, he was a well-known personality on the circuit who contributed to raising the status of Pakistani umpires before the neutral umpire era.

Originally published at Pen 18

world cup: Pakistan announces squad for T20 World Cup

Pakistan have included Shaheen Afridi in their 15-man squad for the T20 World Cup in Australia with the fast bowler hoping to make a timely recovery from a knee injury for the tournament starting next month.

Left-arm pacer Afridi was ruled out of the recently concluded Asia Cup in the United Arab Emirates due to injury despite being named in the preliminary squad by the Pakistan Cricket Board (PCB).

Afridi has gone to London for rehabilitation and the PCB said the 22-year-old is expected to join the Pakistani team in Brisbane on October 15.

“We are getting encouraging news about Shaheen Shah Afridi, who is likely to resume bowling early next month,” chief selector Muhammad Wasim said.

Before traveling to Brisbane, Pakistan will play in a T20 International tri-series involving hosts New Zealand and Bangladesh in Christchurch from October 7-14.

Fast bowler Mohammad Wasim has also returned to the World Cup squad after fully recovering from a side strain suffered during the Asia Cup.

However, top-order batsman Fakhar Zaman was ruled out of the Babar Azam-led side due to a knee injury. Fakhar was instead named in the traveling reserve, with Shan Masood included in the squad for the shortest format for the first time.

“We have a team that… can perform strongly in the T20 World Cup. So we have shown faith and confidence in almost the same players who have been part of the T20 squad after the 2021 World Cup in UAE.” Muhammad Wasim said.

“We have invested in these cricketers and it is fitting for them to have the opportunity to showcase their skills at the World Cup, an event they are preparing and training hard for.”

Former champions Pakistan will start their T20 World Cup campaign with a blockbuster against arch-rivals India in Melbourne on 23 October.

Squad: Babar Azam (Captain), Shadab Khan, Asif Ali, Haider Ali, Haris Rauf, Iftikhar Ahmed, Khushdil Shah, Mohammad Hasnain, Mohammad Nawaz, Mohammad Rizwan, Mohammad Wasim, Naseem Shah, Shaheen Afridi, Shan Masood, Usman Qadir ( Reporting by Sudipto Ganguly in Mumbai; Editing by Toby Davis)

Originally published at Pen 18