Novak Djokovic, Roger Federer and Rafael Nadal are all in the conversation for tennis’ greatest of all time, but regardless of preference, each one deserves a place on the sport’s Mount Rushmore.
The three players combined for 66 Grand Slam titles over their careers and won 296 ATP events altogether.
Djokovic sits at the top with a record 24 majors, while Nadal finished his career with 22 and Federer retired with 20.
The first three are clear choices for most fans when talking about men’s tennis’ Mount Rushmore, given what they achieved over their careers. The fourth spot could go to a few others, including Rod Laver or Bjorn Borg, but not many can argue against Sampras either.
Djokovic brought unrivalled consistency to every major event he played in, while Nadal redefined what dominance looked like at Roland Garros by winning it an astonishing 14 times. And then there was Federer, who seemed to glide across hard courts with ease during his prime years between
James Blake reveals his picks for tennis’ Mount Rushmore
During a chat with New York Post Sports, Blake was asked to name his four picks for the men’s tennis Mount Rushmore. Speaking about Djokovic, he said: “Yeah, he’s the GOAT.
“I mean, he’s got every accolade you could imagine. He’s got more weeks number one, more Grand Slams, more Masters 1000s. He’s done it all. And absolutely, he’s the GOAT.
“So he’s, of course, on the Mount Rushmore. And you got to put the, you pretty much have to put the big three up there, Roger Rafa Novak is the three up there.
“And so it’s just a matter of who’s the fourth. And you have two guys right now that are competing to be that fourth, and they might be by the end of their careers in Sinner and Alcaraz.
“But if I had to put one more up there, I’m probably going to take Pete (Sampras).”
The American legend held that record until Federer came along years later.
James Blake calls Pete Sampras ‘underrated’ by modern fans
“What’s incredible is that at 14 slams when he retired, that looked like that was never going to be touched because he had broken a record that stood for so long, Roy Emerson’s,” Blake told the New York Post.
“And I think people forget just how good he was and how dominant he was on grass. And he was a much better athlete than a lot of people recognise and realise and give him credit for, because a lot of people say, oh, he was a certain volume, he would never have made it in today’s game.
“My goodness, he would have made it. He was an unbelievable athlete with a massive forehand and absolutely kind of underrated speed and athleticism.
“So he would have competed, and he would have been one of the greats of all time in any generation.
“And he just didn’t have the same, I don’t know, PR team or marketing or anything like that back then because he was very understated and he didn’t go through all the histrionics.
“He didn’t have a lot of, you know, crazy marketing campaigns, but he went out there, and he took care of business.
“And the other thing I love about that is that that’s who he is. He’s a genuine person. I would have hated to see him go out there and act like Marat Safin and smash rackets and break things and go crazy.
“And like, but that’s who Marat is. So I love seeing that. And I love people being genuine, and Sampras is genuine.
“That’s who he is. He takes care of business on the court and off the court. He’s pretty quiet. He’s a really nice person. He’s a great guy, and he’s on the Mount Rushmore as well.”
“He didn’t have a lot of crazy marketing campaigns, but went out there took care of business.”
Sampras retired in 2002 after his last tournament win at the US Open against Andre Agassi. His record still holds up well two decades later: 14 Grand Slam titles over 52 finals appearances on the ATP Tour.
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