+++ Scottish Tennis Champion +++

Pictured above is six-time Wimbledon Champion Roger Federer sporting his true national colours at a young age.

Said the First Minister:

"Forget about the grumpy guy that made the semi-finals, you know, what's-his-name. Roger is a true Scottish Champion, a credit to his country and a man who is proud to support his nation at any sport - even the ones that we're crap at."

"When I were a lad, I had dreams of standing on the moon like Neil Armstrong. I even had a spacesuit with a Scottish flag on the sleeve. If I'd worked harder at it, there's no question I could have been the first Scotsman on the moon."

*Disclaimer - there is of course no truth to the statement above (apart from the picture being of Roger Federer of course). Though you can just imagine...

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The greatest sportsman of our generation?

In the wake of Roger Federer's epic 5-set win over the tremendous Andy Roddick to win his 6th Wimbledon title and his 15th Grand Slam trophy, the BBC have been inviting commentators and tennis greats to comment on two things: whether he is now better than the previous Grand Slam record holder Pete Sampras and whether he is the greatest ever tennis player. Sampras himself thinks Federer has now surpassed him and greats such as Bjorn Borg give him the title of "greatest ever."

I find it difficult to compare over generations on the basis that I never saw anything of Bjorn Borg, Rod Laver and McEnroe or that much of Sampras at his best. Equally difficult is to compare across sports - which I guess if I'm trying to work out the greatest sportsman of our generation I would have to do.

I reckon to narrow it down to a shortlist of 5, that list would include (but wouldn't be limited to):

Zinedine Zidane
Three-time FIFA World Player of the Year (1998, 2000, 2003)
European Player of the Year (1998)
World Cup winner (1998)
European Championship winner (2000)
Champions League winner (2002)
3 League Titles (2 in Italy, 1 in Spain)
3 Domestic Cups (2 in Spain, 1 in Italy)

Michael Schumacher
Seven FIA Formula One World Championships
(1994, 1995, 2000, 2001, 2002, 2003, 2004)
91 Race wins
1,369 career race points
68 pole positions
76 fastest laps (All F1 records)

Lance Armstrong
Seven Tour de France wins
(1999, 2000, 2001, 2002, 2003, 2004, 2005)

Tiger Woods
14-time major champion:
4 US Masters (1997, 2001, 2002, 2005)
3 US Open (2000, 2002, 2008)
3 Open Championship (2000, 2005, 2006)
4 US PGA Championship (1999, 2000, 2006, 2007)
Top 10 at a major - 17 times
68 PGA Tour wins
9 time PGA Tour Player of the Year
(1997, 1999, 2000, 2001, 2002, 2003, 2005, 2006, 2007)

Roger Federer
15-time Grand Slam winner:
3 Australian Open (2004, 2006, 2007)
1 French Open (2009)
6 Wimbledon Championships (2003, 2004, 2005, 2006, 2007, 2009)
5 US Open (2004, 2005, 2006, 2007, 2008)
5-time Grand Slam Runner-up
21 consecutive Grand Slam semi-final appearance (2004-2009)
World #1 Ranking for 237 consecutive weeks
60 of 82 career win record in finals (73.2%)

Obviously there will be plenty debate - folks missed out, folks included, real achievements etc - but for me, it really comes down to a straight shoot-out between Federer and Woods. I wouldn't include golf or tennis in my top 3 favourite sports, but watching both of these greats of their respective sports has, at times, been nothing short of magic. What they can do when they have an opportunity, when they are under pressure, when they are battling for records or titles, is simply phenomenal. Their records in their respective sports are incomparable with anyone else - Rafael Nadal and Phil Mickleson are worthy number two players, but when compared to Federer and Woods... don't get me wrong, they play their part, win some and lose some. But I really do think Federer and Woods are just a class apart.

As for the greater of the two... I'd go with Federer. His level of consistency is tremendous. He has made every Grand Slam semi-final in the last five years. His ability to deal with Nadal's improvement too - having lost 3 French Open titles and then his Wimbledon crown to Nadal in an epic final 12 months ago, he has come back stronger. Even after losing the Australian Open Final to Nadal in another epic, he has won the French Open and Wimbledon this year... aided - in small part - by injury to Nadal. Andy Roddick ran him close yesterday in Nadal's place, but Federer was able to step it up when required and close out another Grand Slam.

So for me, Federer is the greatest sportsman of our generation. Anyone think differently?

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