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Chasing Gorritepe
Mateo Kaspar's assault on the record books
Herein shall be detailed, annually for the next few years, the reigning king of tennis's efforts to chase down the previously unreachable Spaniard Eric Gorritepe. They are quite different players, but you can't argue with their results either way. Gorritepe redefined greatness in the game but also what it meant to be a grinder. Off-the-scale baseline play and endurance. Kaspar's a hardcourt guy, and arguably the best ever technically. The numbers will put the current situation in context.
The list of first-tier all-time greats is now up to six, and you'll see their names repeated in most of these. Everyone else falls significantly short in some aspect.
Grand Slam Titles
1. Eric Gorritepe -- 23
2. Nicholas Sullivan -- 17
3. Martin Prieto -- 16
4. Antonin Iglar -- 14
5. Mateo Kaspar -- 13
6. Oliver Haresign -- 11
World Tour Finals Titles
1. Eric Gorritepe -- 6
2(t). Mateo Kaspar -- 5
2(t). Martin Prieto -- 5
4(t). Marcelo Rios -- 4
4(t). Antonin Iglar -- 4
6(t). Henri Pirenne -- 3
6(t). Anil Mehul -- 3
Masters Titles
1. Eric Gorritepe -- 52
2(t). Nicholas Sullivan -- 32
2(t). Antonin Iglar -- 32
4. Martin Prieto -- 30
5. Mateo Kaspar -- 28
6. Oliver Haresign -- 23
Weeks @ #1
1. Eric Gorritepe -- 393
2. Martin Prieto -- 340
3. Nicholas Sullivan -- 304
4. Antonin Iglar -- 247
5. Oliver Haresign -- 228
6. Mateo Kaspar -- 185
Synopsis
Kaspar does not have the longevity yet, but that would seem only a matter of time. On balance he is somewhere in the middle of the pack among this group that is the top handful of tennis history, the best of the best. You could debate exactly where to rank him there right now, but that debate will not last much longer. Another year like the last two, and there's no reason whatsoever not to expect it, would make him clearly #2 in the history of the sport. And that's the reason for the title of this section; very soon, he will competing against the nigh-immortal Spaniard. It's been a long time already since any of his contemporaries provided any push, and the historical comparisons are soon to fall by the wayside against the others.
There is too much question in the future to say exactly where he ends up, but I think he has a legitimate chance to knock Gorritepe off his pedestal and end up as the true GOAT. At the moment, I'd say he's somewhat more likely to do that than not. It is an astonishing, and growing, record of dominance.
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