John McEnroe Names Greatest Tennis Player of Every Surface

Tennis great, John McEnroe, once named who he believes are the best players for each surface, providing a definitive answer for every single type of court.

With the four Grand Slams played on three different surfaces: grass, clay, and hard, it takes a special player to be able to complete the career Grand Slam by winning all four. A feat that only eight men and 10 women have done.

But when it comes to the different surfaces, certain players excel, while others struggle. Last year, for example, British number one, Jack Draper, admitted that he hates the grass season, which was backed up by his shock second-round loss to Marin Cilic at Wimbledon.

John McEnroe’s GOAT Picks

Clay – Rafael Nadal

McEnroe went through who he believes is the greatest of all time on each surface. Starting with the clay which adorns the courts of Roland Garros, the American, of course, went with the man known as The King of Clay, Rafael Nadal.

The Spaniard has won the French Open an incredible 14 times in a span of 17 years. Winning his first in 2005 and not losing a match there until a 2009 shock to Robin Soderling.

Fittingly, Nadal was honoured at the French Open last year and his footprint is now immortalised on the Court Philippe-Chatrier in Paris. Speaking before Roland Garros in May of last year, McEnroe told Inside the NBA, when asked who he believes is the best on clay: “Rafael Nadal, on the surface we’re going to see over the next couple of weeks, without a doubt, it’s him on clay at Roland Garros.”

Grass – Roger Federer

In a similar way in which Nadal conquered clay, the former world number one’s choice for grass courts had to be Roger Federer, saying: “We also play on grass for one month a year, which I would give to Roger Federer.”

The eight-time winner of Wimbledon, and darling of Centre Court, was known for his elegance on the grass and his ability to float around the turf. But McEnroe also paid tribute to his childhood idol when talking about the greatest grass-court player: “To me, Rod Laver, way back when, was my idol.”

The Australian dominated tennis in the 1960s, winning 11 Grand Slams, including four Wimbledon titles, but Federer’s longevity means he is the number one.

Hard – Novak Djokovic

Referring to the hard courts which are used at both the US Open and Australian Open, as well as the majority of tournaments throughout the calendar, John McEnroe didn’t hesitate when choosing the other member of the famous Big Three of 21st century tennis, telling Shaquille O’Neal and Charles Barkley during his guest spot on their show: “The best hard-court player of all time would be Novak Djokovic.”

The Serbian, with a record 24 Grand Slam titles, including 14 across the hard courts of the US and Australian Open, is still fighting for titles now at the age of 38. A solid player across all courts, and a multiple winner of all Slams.

All three chosen as the GOAT of their favoured surface seems appropriate, as between them, they dominated the game for over 15 years.