“Was Roger Federer Better Than Myself?”: Boris Becker Questions Federer’s Greatness

Former world No.1 and six-time Grand Slam champion, Boris Becker believes that Roger Federer might not be the greatest tennis player of all time as he feels that it is difficult to compare his era with that of Federer’s era.

Boris Becker explains that Roger Federer is possibly not better than him or his rivals, John McEnroe, Bjorn Borg or Pete Sampras as the German questions Federer’s ability to play against him and thinks that he would have been a better player if they faced each other being both active players.

Talking about Roger Federer’s greatness Boris Becker said in an interview, “It’s very difficult to say, you cannot compare. Was he better than myself, John McEnroe, Bjorn Borg, Pete Sampras, he won most Grand Slam but I have a hard time saying he is the best ever.”

The 51-year-old further explained why Federer would struggle against him. The German feels that the 20-time Grand Slam champion will not like his pace as he often comes to net even in the second serve, which will give less time to the Swiss maestro to hit his trademark forehand and backhand cross-court shots.

“I do not think he likes my pace, the fact that I often come forward even on my second serve, not giving him much time to start his trademark forehand and backhand crosscourt”, Becker said. “The more time we give to a player, the better he becomes.”

Federer, however, stands alone at the top when it comes to achievements on the court. In his 21-year-old career, Roger Federer has the most Grand Slam wins of all time with 20 Grand Slam titles. The 38-year-old has the most ATP tournament victories of all time with 102 titles on the tour. The Basel native is commonly recognized as the greatest player to ever live.