Membership Has Its Rewards

The most exclusive achievement in men’s professional tennis is membership in the career Grand Slam club. Just five players in the modern era, Rod Laver, Roy Emerson, Andre Agassi, Roger Federer and Rafael Nadal, have won the Australian Open, French Open, U.S. Open and Wimbledon in their career. The likes of Pete Sampras, Jimmy Connors, Ivan Lendl, John McEnroe, Boris Becker, Jim Courier, Mats Wilander, Guillermo Vilas, Ken Rosewall and John Newcombe have come close with three of the four, but failed. All-time greats Bjorn Borg and McEnroe have managed two of the four.

Novak Djokovic is a French Open title short of a career Slam. He’s poised to become an all-time great in the next few weeks. Three career Grand Slam champions have never competed in the same tournament, and I am hoping this changes at Wimbledon.

It’s an exciting time in men’s tennis.