Excellence is not good enough - you have to be perfect

Roger Federer ended a seven year Pete Sampras reign in 2001 when he beat him in the 4^th round at Wimbledon. That was only the second defeat for Sampras since 1993. The win holds significance as that signalled the end of the Sampras era and heralded the beginning of a new one, belonging to Roger Federer.

Sampras had Agassi to contend with during his reign. But then, Agassi never really threatened to knock Sampras off the perch.  Out of the 34 matches they played, Sampras won 20 of them. Barring clay courts, Sampras bettered Agassi each time. They met in 5 Grand Slam finals with Sampras winning 4 of them.

Also, as a ruler, Sampras was more dominant as he never really relinquished his numero uno status barring a few weeks here and there. There were other contenders in the form of Lleyton Hewitt, Andy Roddick or Gustavo Kuerten but then no one could match Sampras in his ability to hold on the No. 1 spot for a longer time.

The scenario changes completely during the Federer era.  While he’s been dominant at Wimbledon, it all changed during that one evening in July 2008 where Nadal won, winning the fifth set 9-7. On an overall basis, Nadal leads Federer 17-8. In all Grand Slam finals he holds a whopping 6-2 lead. All finals, Nadal holds a much superior 13-6 lead over Federer. He's behind Federer only in the Masters and grass courts by a 2-1 margin.

And now, with Novak Djokovic winning the Wimbledon, it’s become a three way race to the top. In a way, Novak did to Nadal what Nadal did to Federer. While Nadal does hold a 16-12 edge over him, he’s suffered at Novak’s hands the last five times they’ve met. Plus Novak holds an advantage over Nadal on hardcourts.

Barring a three month clay season and a grass tournament at Wimbledon, the entire tour is conducted on hard courts which should favor Novak in times to come.

This inspite of the fact that Nadal is physically more stronger, solid and athletic than Novak.  The shots that he hit during the final would’ve been winners had there been anybody else but Novak played a smart mind game. No more is he scared of Nadal running around his backhand to rip one crosscourt winner. In a way he opened up a weakness of Nadal by playing continuously on his forehand, waiting for Nadal to make an error. And Nadal not used to such fight back, made quite a few.

With six months still remaining for 2011, this surely will be an exciting time for all tennis fans. Djokovic is 48-1 this year. Nadal is in his prime while one can surely expect Roger to make a comeback, to reclaim his lost glory.

Which brings us to the question - How do you become the best?

Is Federer the best? If he is, then why is Nadal ahead of him head-to-head.

Is Sampras the best? He ruled for seven long years, but then Roger has more slams.

The argument will continue and with the rivalry only increasing, tennis stands to benefit. The holder at the top will not be lonely anymore and will have atleast two others waiting to strike. Who knows with Del Potro back from injury and Tsonga announcing his arrival, it could very well become a five horse race. And not to forget Andy Murray either.

As someone rightly said – Excellence is not good enough, you have to be perfect.

The year ending Masters at London will be a hotly contested one and that’ll be the tournament to watch.