Photo credit: Corleve/Mark Peterson
Sports stars spark fantasy showdowns and engaging debate.
How would the heavyweight champion Muhammad Ali fare against prime Mike Tyson?
MORE: The Greatest Women Players Who Never Won a Slam Singles Title
Who is best soccer icon: Pele, Maradona or Messi?
Who is the best chess champion: Kasparov or Carlsen?
Tennis is actually one of the sports in which you can have fascinating discussions about this debate.
Because of the amateur and professional divide for decades and the changing of equipment and training you can make arguments about many players.
Now, I’ve discussed GOAT status in tennis many times in prior Tennis Now articles.
Still, in discussions about the GOAT we have a heavy emphasis on the Classical Majors, which can both help and hurt accurately assessing a player’s place in tennis history.
There are some players who have won majors who did not have winning records against some non-Slam champion players.
Pancho Gonzalez is a perfect example of this phenomenon.
Hall of Famer Gonzalez won only two Grand Slam singles titles as an amateur, was not allowed to play the majors for decades yet he was clearly the best player in the world for perhaps a decade or more, while he was banned from major competition.
Today, we honor The Greatest Men Players Who Never Won a Classical Major Singles Title.
The question is what method we use to rank these players?
Do we use peak level of play?
Do we use career level performance?
Do we use a total subjective opinion on natural talent and the highest playing level of the player?
Note: The prior sentence is dangerous because if you base it all on that, then you could have an infinite number of opinions on what is natural talent and highest levels.
Let’s first examine some worthy candidates for greatest player who never won a major, in no particular order. Then I’ll give offer my picks in the conclusion and I encourage you to post your picks on our Facebook page.
David Ferrer
Truly a fantastic player, David Ferrer was a super-fit fighter who owned one of the most precise forehands of his era.
Ferrer had no major weaknesses, but I believe he didn’t have any overpowering strengths either.
At 5’9”, Ferrer was sometimes outgunned by strong elites like Roger Federer and Rafael Nadal. But he was incredibly quick, had fine footwork and was a hard-core competitor. Ferrer owns career wins over Novak Djokovic, Andy Murray, Stan Wawrinka, Andy Roddick and Rafael Nadal.
At his peak, Ferrer was consistently in the quarterfinals of majors and was a threat to win every tournament on every surface. His best year end ranking was No. 3 in 2013.
Overall, in his stellar career, David Ferrer won 27 tournaments with 1 ATP Masters win.
In his career he won 66.07% of his matches and around 70% in the majors. Ferrer’s toughness and tenacity earned him the nickname “Fighting Ferru” from players who respected his effort.
David Ferrer, a top tennis mind, has gone on to become a successful coach, guiding Alexander Zverev to the US Open final and serving as captain of the Spanish Davis Cup squad. Coaches ranging from Toni Nadal to Brad Gilbert have called Ferrer one of the hardest-working players of his time.
David Nalbandian
Full disclosure: I am not just picking players with the name David on this list.
David Nalbandian, to me, is quite an enigma. I remember in 2003 at the US Open, many sport announcers were talking about the new genius of the tennis court, Roger Federer.
They were of course correct that Federer was a brilliant young player. I was listening to one sport talk show in New York in which it was almost assumed that Federer would reach the finals that year at the US Open. However, Nalbandian ended Federer’s run at the US Open with a 4-set victory 3-6, 7-6, 6-4, 6-3. That defeat prompted the young Federer to concede he was confused by Nalbandian’s “contra-tennis” and found the Argentinean tough to read.
The striking thing about Nalbandian is that sometimes you would see him when he is at his best seemed to toy with players like Rafael Nadal and Federer. It’s shocking the levels of tennis he could produce against all-time legendary champions.
The Nalbandian groundstrokes were superb. But the backhand just stood out as one of the greatest backhands ever. Generally, when a player has a great backhand, their forehand is still the go to put away shot for that player.
There are a few exceptions like Jimmy Connors, Arthur Ashe and Richard Gasquet. I would perhaps include in this category David Nalbandian. The backhand, when Nalbandian was hitting the ball well was like a sledgehammer. The backhand was a thing of beauty—and you could not overpower his backhand.
On the flip side, Nalbandian was not as fit as Ferrer nor did he win as much.
Nalbandian won only 11 tournaments in his career, winning 383 matches and losing 182—he won about two thirds of his matches.
Nalbandian’s best tournament was when he won the 2005 Tennis Masters Cup over Federer (Federer seemed to be in every final those days) coming from two sets down to win.
Candidly, Nalbandian doesn’t have the total accomplishments of some players on our list. But, at least to the eye test, Nalbandian’s top level of play, at least on certain surfaces was incredible. He also proved himself capable of winning on all surfaces, reaching the Wimbledon final falling to Lleyton Hewitt.
Yes, fitness and crankiness on court—including his famed default from Queen’s Club—were sometimes issues, but when Nalbandian was at his best he was tremendous. No doubt about it.
Marcelo Rios
A magician with a Yonex racquet, Marcelo Rios was a gifted left-handed shot maker. Rios could hit unbelievable shots, even on the full run, and was strong in just about every stroke.
Rios won 19 tournaments in his short career with his peak being in 1998 when he won 7 tournaments including Miami, Indian Wells, the Grand Slam Cup and the Italian Open. Rios at one point in 1998 was ranked No. 1, making history as the first South American man to reach the summit, but at the end of the year he finished second in the world. Pete Sampras was No. 1 that year.
In his memoir, Sampras said while he respected Rios’ shotmaking he didn’t feel the 5’9” Chilean had the power to trouble him the way others, including Boris Becker, Richard Krajicek, Michael Stich and Andre Agassi could.
Here’s Rios defeating Andre Agassi in his peak year of 1998. The year he reached the number 1 ranking. In an interview with Tennis Week Magazine, Mike Agassi, Andre’s father and original coach, said Rios’ strokes were very tough for his son to read. Mike Agassi cited Rios’ stroke precision, disguise and great feel as tremendous weapons.
Marcelo Rios is the only man on this list to hold the world No. 1 ranking in the Open era—that tells you his greatness though aside from his loss to Petr Korda in the Australian Open final, he struggled to bring his best tennis in Slams.
Miloslav Mecir
Miloslav Mecir was one of the most unique and gifted players tennis has ever seen. His return was about as great as anyone I’ve seen. His court coverage and anticipation was remarkable. He had superb touch and excellent net play.
Of course, Mecir’s smooth movement is legendary and earned him his nickname: The Big Cat.
His serve could be a problem, during one match he actually had to serve underhanded. Overall, it was an adequate serve most of the time but not the weapon that a player like Boris Becker or Edberg had.
However, at 6’3”, consider he could have easily been improved the serve to a much greater offensive shot. Mecir played with a wood racquet for a good portion of his career. With the current racquets of today, I’m sure he would have had much more spin and pace on his serve.
Many people at the time thought Mecir had incredible ability. Hall of Famer Mats Wilander thought that Mecir eventually would become world No. 1.
While Mecir only won 11 tournaments in his injury-riddled career, he was in the finals of two majors, which were the 1986 US Open and the 1989 Australian Open, both times losing to Ivan Lendl, who is a much better server and bigger hitter.
While the prerequisite of this article is for a player not winning a classic major, in some ways Mecir did arguably win two near majors. The WCT Finals was huge in its day, Mecir won that WCT final over John McEnroe in four sets in 1987.
Mecir also won the 1988 Olympic Gold Medal. In that 1988 Olympic Tournament He defeated Stefan Edberg in the semifinals in five sets and Tim Mayotte in the final in 4 sets.
In winning those two very prestigious tournaments, it just shows the incredible heights that Mecir could reach when he was playing well.
Here’s Mecir defeating Lendl at the 1987 Lipton. At about the 3:10 mark there is a fabulous point in which both players show their excellent court coverage and variety.
The Big Cat’s mobility was amazing, his variety was tantalizing and while some, including McEnroe himself, question if his serve was ever good enough to master a major, Mecir gave us magical moments.
Nick Kyrgios
Nick Kyrgios is one of the most explosive players we’ve seen in the Big 4 Era.
When it comes to pure talent—and rocket-launcher serve—Kyrgios is a uniquely-gifted player who owns both raw power and rare touch.
During ESPN’s Australian Open coverage last January, former No. 1 and ESPN analyst John McEnroe ranked his personal picks for Best Players to Never Win a Singles Slam as 1. Alexander Zverev, 2. Nick Kyrgios and 3. Gael Monfils.
Of course, Wimbledon finalist Kyrgios, was two sets away from the Wimbledon crown before bowing to Novak Djokovic, and he did win the Australian Open doubles title with Thanasi Kokkinakis.
Overall, in his career Kyrgios has won 7 tournaments in 117 events with one major final. Kyrgios best year end-ranking was No. 13 in 2016. His best winning percentage year was 2022 when he went 37-10 for 78.72%.
While his record is not as strong as David Ferrer, David Nalbandian or Miloslav Mecir, there is no question Kyrgios is more explosive than all of those champions and, at his best, could completely disarm opponents.
Nick Kyrgios owns career wins over Roger Federer, Novak Djokovic and Daniil Medvedev to name a few.
Tom Okker
Tom Okker was one of the elite players of the late 1960s and early to mid-1970s. He was a tremendous all-around player with really no major weaknesses.
Nicknamed “The Flying Dutchman” for his eye-popping speed around court, Okker was exceptional in singles and doubles.
Okker could hit topspin off both sides which was unusual in those days with a small heavy wood racquet made hitting topspin tough. His heavy topspin forehand was one of the best in tennis, arguably the best, along with Laver, Newcombe and Ken Fletcher.
He was a superb volleyer as evidenced by his great doubles record of winning 68 doubles titles just in the Open Era.
He was extremely fast, one of the fastest players in the world although probably fractionally slower than Laver, Rosewall and later Bjorn Borg.
According to Vainqueurs, Okker won at least 51 tournaments in his career. This includes huge tournaments like the Italian Open and South African Open in 1968, the Canadian Open in 1973 in which he crushed Manuel Orantes among the many other great tournaments he won.
Okker defeated Ilie Nastase at his best in the finals of the 1973 Dewar Cup. Nastase was the No. 1 player in the world that year. Okker also defeated Nastase again to reach the 1978 Wimbledon semifinals.
Pancho Segura
There have been fascinating stories about how some tennis players come to a high level of play and often greatness!
Some of them played at such a level they reached possible GOAT status. Names like Pancho Gonzalez, Ellsworth Vines, Fred Perry, Jimmy Connors and Bjorn Borg are at least to me, have fascinating stories about how they came to tennis greatness. I won’t name more names, but I think many of you know the other names already.
Pancho Segura is one of these fascinating stories.
Pancho Segura was born in Guayaquil, Ecuador. As a child he had many illnesses, including malaria, hernia and rickets. Those illnesses left him with his distinctive bow-legged walk.
Eventually Segura’s father became the caretaker of the Guayaquil Tennis Club. Young Pancho loved the game, took to the game and became one of the all-time greats.
I’ve been writing ad infinitum about how winning classic majors and the number of classic majors is not necessarily the end all in understanding how great a player is. Pancho Segura is the perfect example of this. Segura turned pro in 1947.
Much of the problem with understanding the greatness of some old-time greats in tennis is the Amateur/Professional divide in the men’s game that lasted until 1968. Since the Pros weren’t allowed to play the classic majors, how could they win it? Videos and records of their accomplishments and rallies aren’t always available!
Segura was by record and quality of play one of the greatest that ever played!
The man played forever and probably forgot more about tennis than most people ever knew.
As time passes, fewer and fewer people of course have seen the Great Segura play. Because of the time he played, there was no media coverage or very little coverage of the Professionals. Segura did not receive the positive publicity that he deserved for being one of the greatest players in the world.
In 1969, an international panel for Martini and Rossi picked the top twenty players of all time up to that point of course. Segura was among the players on that list. I would venture to say that perhaps Segura deserved to be higher up on the list.
Ellsworth Vines in his awesome book Tennis-Myth and Method ranked Segura the 5th greatest player after World War II. He was ranked ahead of greats like Rosewall, Sedgman, Hoad, Rosewall and Trabert, just behind Laver. This book was written in the late 1970s so Vines did not rank players like Borg, Connors, McEnroe, Sampras and the Big Three.
Jack Kramer in his book The Game, ranked Segura as one of the Top 10 players, behind Budge, Vines, Laver, Perry, Gonzalez and Tilden. Segura was ranked ahead of players like Sedgman, Rosewall and Hoad.
The stroke that allowed Segura many of his successes was his awesome forehand. I have compared his forehand to King Arthur’s magical sword Excalibur over the years. Players like Jack Kramer, Ellsworth Vines, Pancho Gonzalez and others have called it the greatest single tennis stroke of all time!
Here’s a quote from Jack Kramer’s book How to Play your Best Tennis all the time; “Pancho Segura’s two-handed forehand was the single best shot I ever played against—I ranked it even better than Budge’s backhand. Segura generated frightening pace on anything hit anywhere near his forehand. Unless you managed to hit the ball three to four feet from the baseline, he would usually put it away for a winner.”
The great Rod Laver mentioned Segura’s forehand as the best he faced. This was I believe in the late 1960s when Segura was already in his forties. Since Laver did not play Segura until Segura was in his forties so you can imagine how great a shot the Segura forehand was in Segura’s prime.
I had a discussion a few years ago about Segura and his forehand with a legendary top professional who faced Segura numerous times. Understand that this was just a few years ago. This former player had already seen players with great forehands like Borg, Laver, Newcombe, Nadal, Federer, del Potro and Djokovic.
He had no doubt Segura’s forehand was the greatest ever. He described the unbelievable control, power, and disguise with Segura’s forehand.
Segura had a well-placed serve, a great volley and he moved extremely well. He was a tennis genius and later coached many top players, including Jimmy Connors.
Segura was in his late forties when Open Tennis started but despite his advanced age for Professional Tennis, he entered the US Open in 1968 and 1970 at the ages of 47 and 49 respectively. Despite his advanced age Segura won his first match at the US Open in 1968 in straight sets before losing to Rod Laver the year before Laver won the Open Grand Slam in the third round.
At the 1970 US Open Segura also won his first match before losing his second-round match in five sets to Modesto Vazquez. Amazing for a man nearing 50 to do so well in an Open Tournament playing against World Class players old enough to be his children.
This is a great indicator of the extraordinary playing level Segura must have had when he was at his peak.
Segura won over 30 tournaments in his career. Some of this statistical information is from Vainqueurs. Vainqueurs only has records from 1946 to 2003 and That doesn’t seem like a huge amount but there wasn’t a massive pro tour like there is today during most of Segura’s time.
Segura did win the prestigious US Pro three years in a row from 1950 to 1952, defeating Frank Kovacs in 1950, and Pancho Gonzalez the last two years. The US Pro was one of the top tournaments on the old Pro Tour.
He was involved in Professional Tours defeating head-to-head greats like Frank Sedgmen 23 to 22 (Gonzalez won that tour over both Segura and Sedgman) in 1954 and defeating Frank Parker, a two French Champion and two-time US Champion, 63-12 in 1950. Segura also crushed Ken McGregor 72-24 on another tour.
To put the crushing victory over Parker in perspective, Parker was a great player who won 74 tournaments in his career and 4 majors. Yet Segura in the pros was so great that he annihilated Parker. So it’s clear to me at least that Segura belongs far above Frank Parker on the all-time list.
This is a perfect example of how counting classic majors is not the end all in evaluating players. Parker won 4 majors but it’s clear the Segura was the superior player at his peak and over his career.
Winning a tour was a huge accomplishment. You have the grind of playing so many matches against great players.
Sedgman, who is younger than Segura eventually got the upper hand in the head-to-head lifetime. Segura, however, when he was in his prime had I believe a bit of an edge on Sedgman.
Ken Rosewall, an all-time great, lost to Segura regularly when Rosewall first turned pro.
Segura is clearly superior to many top players who won 1 or more majors in their career.
Segura in perhaps his greatest victory in defeated Pancho Gonzalez in the finals of the US Pro in 1951.
Hans Nusslein
I’m sure many of you are thinking to yourself, who in the world is Hans Nusslein?
Well he was a German player of the 1930s who never got a chance to actually be an amateur. He was unjustly called a Professional when, at age 16, he was giving some tennis lessons to someone at the Tennis Club, was reported by a member of that club and was banned from amateur tournaments.
This meant he could never play the classic majors. So essentially Nusslein was at least officially, almost always considered to be a Profession from the time he was a young teenager. Nusslein was in a way “discovered” by Bill Tilden. Nusslein won the German Pro Championship in 1931. Tilden, who at first had no idea who he was apparently was impressed by his play.
Later Nusslein played Tilden at Hamburg and took him to 5 sets before losing. Tilden invited him to play a tour with him. Tilden won several tours from him. They had another tour that Tilden won easily by a score of 56 to 22. Nusslein, who I am sure benefited from the higher level of competition continued to improve. Tilden’s play declined due to age (even though Tilden was still very strong), soon Nusslein began defeating Tilden regularly.
In 1933 Nusslein defeated Tilden on a Pro Tour. Nusslein won 2 French Pro Champions, 2 Wembley Pro Championships and 1 US Pro. These were some of the top tournaments in the Professional Ranks.
Some have said he was perhaps the best clay court player in the world at his peak. Nusslein was considered to be a player without weakness.
Tilden considered Nusslein to have the best backhand he had ever seen, this was prior to Tilden playing Don Budge and Budge’s legendary backhand. Nusslein was a controlled baseliner who took the ball extremely early. He never seemed to miss. Though many fans may not know him, Nusslein, in my view, is one of the greatest players that never won a classic major.
Conclusion
So who is the greatest male player never to have won a Classic Major?
Let’s look at each.
Tom Okker
If you just look at the players player’s pluses and minuses who played in the Open Era in this group Tom Okker easily has won the most tournaments with over 50.
The Flying Dutchman won tournaments that were at least close to majors like the 1968 Italian Open and the 1969 Monte Carlo Open. Both of these tournaments had 7 rounds and officially a 128 man draw. These were extremely tough fields and Okker won them both.
Okker was consistent in the majors, reaching at least the semifinals in all four majors and the finals of the 1968 US Open which he lost to Arthur Ashe in 5 sets. Okker was considered to be an extremely gifted player with great reflexes at the net and excellent groundstrokes, particularly on his forehand, which was perhaps the best in tennis.
David Ferrer
Of players in the last 20 years, Ferrer has won the most tournaments with 27 with one Masters 1000 tournament titles won. Ferrer’s career winning percentage is excellent at 66.07 with his peak in 2012 of 83.51%. He had great groundstrokes, was extremely quick and was widely regarded as a fierece, fit fighter who never gave up and never gave in.
David Nalbandian
Much as I have loved to watch Nalbanian when he is at his best, winning only 11 tournaments in his career is not exactly earth-shattering.
That said, we’ve all seen what Nalbandian can do against legendary champions at his best. Nalbandian’s career winning percentage is slightly higher than Ferrer at close to 67%.
No doubt, Nalbandian had incredible highs. For example defeating Federer in 5 sets in 2005 at the Tennis Masters Cup and winning 2 consecutive Masters tournaments. In both of these tournaments he defeat both Nadal and Federer. In the first one which was the 2007 Madrid Masters he defeated Nadal, Djokovic and Federer in the last 3 rounds! Astonishing to say the least.
Still, due to injuries and other factors perhaps, Nalbandian, in my humble opinion, did not reach his full potential though he gave us tremendous tennis in striving to do so.
Marcelo Rios
Many players and historians name Marcelo Rios as hands down the Greatest Player to Never Win a Slam Singles title.
World No. 1 Rios was an exceptional shotmaker though he sometimes struggled to find the fire in Slams.
Another extremely talented player and a great shotmaker, Rios won 18 tournaments but included in that was five Master level tournaments. His career winning percentage at 67.07%.
Marcelo Rios was a magical shotmaker, but there were questions about his fitness, commitment, penchant for partying and major performances.
Aside from his run to the AO final where he lost to Petr Korda, quite frankly Rios did not perform to the standard of others on our list in Grand Slams. Compare Rios to Ferrer and Ferrer was a Top 10 presence for more years, won more tournaments, Ferrer did it against the greatest champion of all time and the Spaniard showed more fire and desire when it mattered most.
Nick Kyrgios
Nick Kyrgios is arguably as talented as any of these players on our list.
In fact, Kyrgios is arguably THE most gifted player on this list, but he’s also been injury-prone and frankly flaky on court.
To the point where you do not know which Nick Kyrgios is going to show up: The ultra-talented shotmaker who can reach the Wimbledon final or the self-destructive, short-fuse madman who can smash his racquet to smithereens.
Here's the thing: We all saw the best of Nick Kyrgios during his inspired run to the 2022 Wimbledon final. However, Kyrgios has won just seven singles titles. He has not won a Masters 1000 title. His career winning percentage is 63.86% as of the writing of this article.
Kyrgios is still active and perhaps he will be able to have the great record that his great potential allows. If Kyrgios had been healthy his entire career, it's quite possible he could have won a singles Slam to go with his doubles Grand Slam at the Australian Open.
On a slightly different note, while I may be in the minority: I think Nick Kyrgios is a fantastic tennis commentator with a sharp tennis mind. Kyrgio may rub some the wrong way, but from my point of view, Nick brings a great insight to the viewer on what’s is going on in the match and he’s candid about players he’s faced.
Miloslav Mecir
Unique and compelling are words we use to describe Nick Kyrgios.
And I think the same could be said about Miloslav Mecir.
Gifted and supremely talented but injuries prevented him from reaching his full potential. For groundstroking smoothness and overall mobility, it’s hard for any player to surpass Mecir.
Hans Nusslein
An early master, Hans Nusslein was an elite player. His story is incredibly unique. He was solid in every stroke and won many tournaments.
It’s a pity Nusslein could not play as an amateur. Nusslein and the famous Gottfried von Cramm would have made a tremendous Davis Cup Team.
In some years he was arguably the best player in the world. I have no doubt if Nusslein was at the level he played as a Pro and was allowed to play the Classics Majors he would have won a good number of them.
Pancho Segura
Pancho Segura is perhaps, alongside Pancho Gonzalez, one of the most underrated players in tennis history.
When you look at the evidence pointing to his great level of play and all his accomplishments in tennis, he is way up there with the pantheon of tennis greats. Segura played most of his peak years in the 1950s, when he battled some of the greatest players in tennis history.
Segura played elite champions like Pancho Gonzalez and Jack Kramer were at their peaks and GOAT candidates. He also played Lew Hoad, Ken Rosewall, Frank Sedgman, Tony Trabert, Alex Olmedo, Bobby Riggs and Frank Parker in the 1950s.
All of them were No. 1 in the amateurs and all-time greats. There were no easy rounds in those days.
Segura won many top tournaments in the Professional Ranks including the US Pro three years in a row as I wrote earlier. One of the most impressive top professional tournaments that Segura won was the 1957 Australian Tournament of Champions.
In that tournament Segura defeated the great Pancho Gonzalez in the semifinals 3-6 4-6 6-3 6-4 13-11 and the awesome Frank Sedgman in straight sets in the finals 7-5 6-0 6-4. Segura swept the field in the 1958 Masters Pro in Los Angeles, California. It was a round robin in which Segura won all six matches he played. He defeated Gonzalez 9-7 7-9 6-2, Hartwig 7-9 6-2 8-6, Lew Hoad 6-2 6-4, Trabert 6-2 6-3, Sedgman 6-3 6-4 and finally Ken Rosewall 6-3 6-3.
Many are under the impression that the only top tournaments on the Old Professional Tour were Wembley, the French Pro and the US Pro. There were often other top tournaments depending on the year which often could match and surpass those three tournaments.
This year in 1958 the Masters Pro was considered one of the top four tournaments of the year. This is a tremendous field with tennis legends Gonzalez, Hoad, Trabert, Sedgman and Rosewall all in their prime or at least close to their prime. Hartwig was in his prime also. Hartwig was an excellent player but not quite on the level of the other five.
On a side note, Pancho Gonzalez once mentioned the best backhand volley he had ever seen was Rex Hartwig’s.
Conclusion
To me, this is a no brainer.
Pancho Segura is easily the greatest male player of all time who never won a classic major.
I would say the Hans Nusslein would be second, perhaps tied with Tom Okker. David Ferrer would be fourth. Rios would be fifth. Mecir, sixth, with Nalbandian seventh. Nick Kyrgios would be eighth for now. Kygios of course has the potential to improve his record and change my assessment.
Now, you might say: Where is two-time Slam finalist and Olympic gold-medalist Alexander Zverev?
Where is two-time Slam finalist and former Wimbledon semifinalist Todd Martin?
Where is sharpshooter Nikolay Davydenko?
Remember I’m trying to look at average level of play and peak level. I’m not trying to analyze talent. That’s almost impossible to truly examine.
So you can argue Alexander Zverev is more talented than some on this list, but in my view: ALL of these players are very talented, but the talent manifests itself in different ways.
It’s just bad timing that some of these players, like Segura and Nusslein didn’t play the time of Open Tennis. Some of the other players, like Kyrgios, Mecir, and Rios, had injuries that affected their careers.
It’s clear to me that the late, great Pancho Segura, looking at his great record, the caliber of competition that he played, his knowledge of the game that he easily is the greatest male player never to have won a Classic Major.
Raymond Lee is a Tennis Now contributing writer, tennis historian and avid tennis player who lives in New York. He has written about tennis for more than three decades serving as a contributing writer for Tennis Week Magazine and TennisWeek.com. Raymond Lee joined the Tennis Now staff in 2010.
Check out Raymond Lee's Articles: The Greatest Over Age 30 Players of All Time, Star Turns: Top Tournament Performances in Tennis History, One for One: Who is the GOAT for One Match? Celebrating 50th Anniversary of John Newcombe's 1973 US Open Win, Why Novak Djokovic Can Win 30 Slams and Holy Grail: Why Winning the Calendar Grand Slam is Toughest Task in Sport and The Greatest Men Clay-Court Champions Of All Time