My picks for All-Time Greats tennis championships

In response to a challenge put out by the staff at TENNIS WEEK magazine to select the winners in a hypothetical "All-Time Greatest Players" men's tennis tournament — using a list of the players selected by the writers of TENNIS WEEK and the first-round match-ups produced by draw of the hat at TENNIS WEEK — I am using this entry to reveal to you my picks, which were submitted to TENNIS WEEK last month.

Today TENNIS WEEK announced a winner of the fantasy challenge on their website, and will print the entire drawsheet results in the December issue, currently at the presses. I will reprint them here for your edification when the issue arrives in my mailbox. Visit TENNIS WEEK online to read what the winner of the fantasy challenge has to say and to learn who the seven-member panel of former greats and current TENNIS WEEK writers picked to take it all. In the meantime, enjoy my picks and let me know what you think!

First Round (32 players)
1. Roger Federer d. John Newcombe 4-6, 7-5, 6-3, 6-4
2. Ken Rosewall d. Ilie Nastase 7-6, 3-6, 7-5, 6-4
3. Roy Emerson d. Frank Sedgman 6-4, 7-5, 6-4
4. Boris Becker d. Don Budge 6-3, 5-7, 7-5, 6-4
5. Bjorn Borg d. Tony Trabert 6-4, 6-4, 6-4
6. Guillermo Vilas d. Jean Borotra 4-6, 5-7, 7-5, 6-4, 6-3
7. Pancho Gonzalez d. Jim Courier 6-4, 7-5, 3-6, 7-5
8. John McEnroe d. Lew Hoad 4-6, 7-5, 7-6, 6-3
9. Arthur Ashe d. Jack Kramer 5-7, 6-4, 4-6, 7-5, 6-4
10. Henri Cochet d. Rene Lacoste 4-6, 7-5, 7-5, 6-3
11. Jimmy Connors d. Ellsworth Vines 5-7, 7-5, 7-6, 6-4
12. Pete Sampras d. Stefan Edberg 7-5, 7-5, 4-6, 6-4
13. Bill Tilden d. Bobby Riggs 6-4, 6-4, 6-3
14. Mats Vilander d. Manolo Santana 5-7, 7-5, 6-4, 6-3
15. Andre Agassi d. Ivan Lendl 5-7, 7-6, 6-7, 6-4, 6-3
16. Rod Laver d. Fred Perry 7-5, 7-5, 6-4

Second Round (16 players)
1. Federer d. Rosewall 5-7, 6-4, 6-7, 7-5, 6-4
2. Becker d. Emerson 6-4, 5-7, 6-3, 4-6, 8-6
3. Borg d. Vilas 6-4, 7-5, 6-4
4. Gonzalez d. McEnroe 6-7, 7-6, 5-7, 7-5, 8-6
5. Ashe d. Cochet 7-5, 5-7, 4-6, 6-4, 6-4
6. Sampras d. Connors 7-5, 6-4, 4-6, 6-3
7. Tilden d. Wilander 7-5, 4-6, 7-5, 6-7, 7-5
8. Laver d. Agassi 5-7, 6-4, 7-6, 3-6, 6-4

Third Round (8 players)
1. Federer d. Becker 4-6, 6-7, 6-4, 6-4, 6-2
2. Gonzalez d. Borg 5-7, 6-4, 5-7, 7-6, 6-4
3. Sampras d. Ashe 6-4, 6-3, 6-7, 6-3
4. Laver d. Tilden 4-6, 7-5, 6-7, 6-4, 6-4

Semi-Finals
1. Federer d. Gonzalez 5-7, 7-5, 7-5, 6-3
2. Sampras d. Laver 6-4, 7-5, 4-6, 6-4

Final
Federer d. Sampras 6-7, 7-5, 7-5, 6-7, 7-5

The world watches, mesmerized, as Federer wins the championship in five unbelievable sets over an exhausted Pete Sampras, who remains slumped in his chair for a full five minutes before being helped to the podium to accept his trophy.

Note that the hat drawing produced a few amazing pairings, which caused me to eliminate some very special players earlier than I'd have liked to. For example, Lew Hoad falling in the first round to John McEnroe is a tough pill to swallow, yet I cannot imagine how Hoad would be able to break down McEnroe's serve, especially being a righty facing that wide-swinging lefty hook in the ad court. And in my opinion, Hoad's inability to break serve when it counts gives the edge to McEnroe. Justice is served in the very next round as McEnroe faces one tough competitor in Pancho Gonzalez, who was at least as big a bad boy as McEnroe and who I believe would prevail in five very tough sets. Of course, that is an incredibly difficult draw for McEnroe, whom I would otherwise have picked to reach the quarterfinals, if not the semifinals.

But if McEnroe's draw was difficult, Gonzalez's was simply treacherous. First he had to face Jim Courier, who for all intents and purposes can be credited for perfecting the inside-out forehand rip. And that would pose problems for anyone, but especially for a player who had not faced such an awesome weapon off the ground before. Still, I think Gonzalez's versatility, athleticism, monster serve and touch would win out against Courier. Next up, though, is McEnroe with his lethal lefty hook serve and the most effective net game the sport has seen. I picked Gonzalez on the basis of his grittiness and unbreakable will. After sneaking by McEnroe in five, Gonzalez has to face Borg, who will pass him like he's not even there. In a battle of two of the most willful players of all time, I again pick Gonzalez, but here on the basis of his versatility. That and the fact that I think if anyone could rattle Borg, it would be Pancho. And finally, Gonzalez goes up against Federer, who I think just has too much game for him. Still, it takes Federer a while to adjust to all the stuff Gonzalez throws at him, and he prevails in four tough and highly entertaining sets, with shotmaking like the world has never seen before.

Also notice that Ivan Lendl and Andre Agassi face off in the first round. That is very unfortunate for Lendl, as he doesn't have the foot speed to handle Agassi's angled assaults. Lendl's power game presents some problems for Andre in the early going, but once he gets dialed in, he wears Lendl down physically. And that despite the fact that Lendl was a pioneer in bringing new levels of fitness, conditioning and nutrition to the pro game. He just simply had rarely run that far for that long, excepting his occasional matchups with fellow countryman, Miroslav Mecir. But when Agassi and Laver battle it out, we see how foot speed and a lefty hook can really take its toll on a righty with a two-handed backhanded, even one as good as Agassi.

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