Tennis. What a lovely sport.

And what would we rather do than watch a great like Roger Foderer take on Rafael Nadal at the iconic Centre Court at Wimbledon on a typical English day?

Of course, another alternative would be having the pleasure of watching Novak Djokovic battle it out with Andy Murray at the Australian Open.

We can think of many, to be honest. Lesson here is: the only substitute for tennis is more tennis.

Now that we are here, who do you feel is the greatest of the sport? For any tennis fan, it’s a debate that is worth of all the time and effort in the world.

The Ranker Community over at ranker.com did do that, actually. However, what they didn’t do is factor in the parameters that matter the most in such a debate.

So let’s take a look at this insane list they came up with.

15. Stefan Edberg
14. Andy Murray
13. Don Budge
12. Mats Wilander
11. Jim Courier
10. Guillermo Vilas
9. Roy Emerson
8. Arthur Ashe
7. Jimmy Connors
6. Boris Becker

5. Roger Federer

Roger Federer at five is an absolute travesty. It doesn’t really matter who is above him because surely, the man with the most majors in tennis history can’t not be at least in the top two.

4. Bjorn Borg

Bjorn Borg’s greatness has never been in question. However, the question has to be asked: why is he in the top five over someone like Pete Sampras, who had 14 majors to his name? That’s three more than the Swede.

Anyway, considering it’s a world where Sampras doesn’t exist, Borg’s been placed right.

3. Novak Djokovic

The Joker. A true modern-day great who has 18 majors and has the full set. He is second only to Federer and Rafael Nadal in terms of the title tally, so you’d feel he’s well at home at three.

2. Ivan Lendl

For someone who never won the Wimbledon to be at second in a list of all-time greats is an absolute sham.

For the record, he was a cracking player back in the day. He won both the US Open and the French Open thrice, spectacularly doing it during that little period between 1984-1987 and lifted the Australian Open twice shortly after.

But even so, for him to be placed above Federer, Djokovic, Sampras and Borg et al is quite simply wrong.

1. Rafael Nadal

The King of Clay.

Of his 20 majors, 12 are French Open titles. That is a ridiculous record. No one even comes close to that and ever will. However, the big question is: can he be placed above someone who’s been more consistent at conquering the other grand slam tournaments?

The French Open apart, Federer has won each of the other grand slams at least five times. That is incredible consistency.

Then again, if someone were to throw it up for debate, there’s always the argument that clay is the toughest challenge there is in tennis and Nadal has mastered it.