Ranked: The 15 men's best tennis players from the 21st century

Tennis in the 21st century has been mostly dominated by four men, really three, with one just a notch or two below that level. But outside those four, who are the other greats from the last 25 years of tennis?

Tsonga was a player who, in another era, would have probably won multiple slams. After reaching the 2008 Australian Open final as an unseeded player, it looked like Tsonga was en route to compete with the best of the best. Unfortunately, that door was slammed shut by some of the greatest to ever play the sport. His talent was undeniable, however.

Juan Martín del Potro is another whose career was stymied by the greatness he faced as opposition. Still, the Argentine rose to number three in the world, won the US Open and a Davis Cup for his nation.

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The giant Croat has reached at least the semi-final of every Grand Slam tournament, winning the 2014 US Open over Kei Nishikori. Losses to Roger Federer at Wimbledon and the Australian Open in 2017 and 2018 respectively show just how close Čilić was to achieving true greatness.

Still only 28, Daniil Medvedev has plenty of time left in his career to rise in these rankings. His sole Grand Slam win came at the 2021 US Open, but with three Australian Open final appearances, it feels like more Slams are just around the corner for the 6’6” Russian.

Roddick was known for having one of the most powerful first serves the game has ever seen, and used it with great effect en route to winning the 2003 US Open. Roddick’s legacy, like so many on this list, would look a lot different if he had been able to win one of the three Wimbledon finals he lost.

The last Australian man to win a singles Grand Slam title, Hewitt was a dominant force at the turn of the century. Per ESPN, Hewitt ended both 2001 and 2002 as the world number one, securing two Grand Slams (US Open and Wimbledon) in that period. He also won the men’s doubles at the 2000 US Open, showing rare versatility.

Before the era of Federer, Nadal, and Djokovic, Sampras had a good claim to being the greatest man to ever pick up a tennis racket. But for our rankings, most of his dominance, and Grand Slam titles, came in the 20th century, with just two Slams coming after the turn of the millennium.

Wawrinka won three Slams, two Olympic golds and a Davis Cup and is still not even close to being the best Swiss tennis player of the last 25 years. Tough break. Still, Wawrinka made a mark on the sport and his excellence deserves his own place in tennis lore. As Bill Connelly wrote for ESPN, “He couldn't always keep up with the Big Three, but they always had to worry about him.”

Jannik Sinner is just 23 so perhaps we are placing him too high, but with his career still in its nascent stages, he is en route to becoming a true great of the game. Sinner has already won two Slams, last year’s Australian and US Opens and with his size and athleticism, there is no reason why he can’t win many more.

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Like Sampras before him, Agassi’s true era of dominance came during the previous century. Still, the American also won three Slams after the turn of the millennium, which puts him as one of the most successful men’s singles players of the last 25 years still.

For a while it looked like Murray was part of the ‘Big Four’ but he could never keep up with the other three names, who we all must know by now. Murray still won three Slams, including two of the most emotional Wimbledon wins you will ever see. Two Olympic golds in 2012 and 2016, plus six lost Grand Slams finals, show how great Murray was.

With the fading of one Spanish great in Rafa Nadal, another has risen to take his place, and his name is Carlos Alcaraz. Alcaraz is still only 21 but has four Grand Slam titles to his name. Per the ATP, he is also the youngest man to ever reach number one in the world, which he achieved in 2022 aged just 19. It’s early, but Alcaraz has a chance to break every record in the book.

There has perhaps never been a more dominant tennis player than Nadal at the French Open. The Spaniard won the tournament 14 times between 2005 and 2022, a feat Roger Federer described as, “one of the greatest achievements in sport.” Add in another eight Grand Slam titles, and it becomes clear that it is ridiculous that Nadal is only third in our list.

Our heart tells us Roger Federer should be number one, but the cold hard facts are, he has been surpassed. There has perhaps never been a more aesthetically pleasing sportsperson, let alone tennis player, than the Swiss who simply glided around the court, making a mockery of his opponent. 20 Grand Slams doesn’t do his impact justice.

Love him or hate him, Novak Djokovic has ascended to a level of his own as he continues to win Grand Slam after Grand Slam. The Serb now has 24, as well an Olympic gold and a Davis Cup win. Djokovic doesn’t have the guile of Nadal nor the elegance of Federer, but he has a will to win and a relentlessness that is undeniable.

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