The Tennis Space: People of Influence:
Number one: Roger Federer
Sphere of influence: The Tennis Universe, and elsewhere.
So Federer recently passed 10 million fans on his Facebook page: “That’s more people than Switzerland’s population.” But, as he and everyone else knows, it was a long time ago that Federer outgrew the cantons.
When Federer played an exhibition against Andy Roddick at New York’s Madison Square Garden this week, the main attraction was not the all-American player. While the greatest player of all time is plainly no longer in his prime, and has not won a grand slam for more than two years, he is still playing some fine tennis, remains a contender for the majors, and his brand and his appeal are at their peak (he received more than 100 votes last year in a local Swiss election which he had not entered).
Should Federer win one of this year’s slams, or Olympic gold, his hold over the sport will only strengthen. Federer is not afraid to use his power: it has been widely suggested that Richard Krajicek, a former Wimbledon champion, withdrew his candidacy to lead the ATP Tour because he could not be sure of Federer’s support. There isn’t much that happens in men’s tennis that doesn’t first have to be run past Federer. Doing anything without his support or consent isn’t easy. Federer is not going to be leading, or supporting, any locker-room strike action. The landscape would look very different if Federer took another view.
Novak Djokovic and Rafael Nadal have contested the last three grand slam finals. But it is Federer, the world number three, and the wrong side of 30, who is undoubtedly the most influential animal in the tennis jungle (he is also the only player whose wife makes our top 20, with Mirka at number 20). Here is power and influence in five languages, with good manners, and perfect hair.
What next for Federer: Trying to extend his collection of grand slam titles from a record 16 to 17. Trying to regain the world number one ranking (one more week would put him level with Pete Sampras’ record). Trying to win a first Olympic singles gold.
The list in full:
The Tennis Space: People of Influence:
No 1 – Roger Federer
No 2 – John Skipper
No 3 – John McEnroe
No 4 – Max Eisenbud
No 5 – Ion Tiriac
No 6 – Venus and Serena Williams
No 7 – Rafael Nadal
No 8 – Philip Brook
No 9 – Maria Sharapova
No 10 – Li Na
No 11 – Brad Drewett
No 12 – Larry Ellison
No 13 – Stacey Allaster
No 14 – Novak Djokovic
No 15 – Andy Roddick
No 16 – Martina Navratilova
No 17 – Eric Babolat
No 18 – Ivan Lendl
No 19 – Gilbert Ysern
No 20 – Mirka Federer