To celebrate TENNIS Magazine’s 40th anniversary, we’ve chosen the 40 best players of the last four decades. Here are numbers 12 through 9.

12. Andre Agassi
Photo By Tommy Hindley/Professional Sport

Among all the statistics defining Andre Agassi’s place in the game, this may be the most astonishing: At the French Open this year, he surpassed Jimmy Connors as the player with the most Grand Slam appearances.

That’s a long way for the Las Vegas native to have traveled from the days when he was called a flashy lightweight whose star would burn out quickly. As today’s Agassi might say, “It’s all about the journey.”

That journey started with an ambitious father, Mike, who bombarded his sensitive youngest son with balls fired from a machine, implanting in Andre an ability to punish the ball off both wings. The skill became Agassi’s trademark after he burst onto the world stage in 1987, at 17. If it took him a long time to mature, it was worth the wait. He finally achieved the No. 1 ranking at 24, but over the next years he plummeted. In an inspired resurgence, Agassi came back to claim his first French Open in 1999, becoming only the fifth man to win all four major titles.

Still a factor at majors at age 35, Agassi has evolved from a young barbarian into a spokesman for the game. The surprises never end. —PETER BODO 

CAREER HIGHLIGHTS:
> Has won eight major titles
> One of five men to win all four major titles
> 1996 Olympic gold medalist

11. John McEnroe
Photo By Stephen Szurlej/Getty Images

When John McEnroe was a teenager, he trained at the Port Washington Tennis Academy on Long Island, N.Y., with legendary Aussie Harry Hopman. One night, the master saw his star pupil practicing his “touchy-feely” shots and demanded that he stop “playing like a girl” or head to the girls’ court. McEnroe didn’t have to be told twice. A half hour later, Hopman spotted him teaching the girls his trademark technique.

It was that middle-finger-in-the-air attitude that fueled one of tennis’ greatest talents. McEnroe’s game defied classification. He took an abbreviated backswing off the ground, made an odd dipping motion when he served (as if he were digging a ditch), and stood straight up on half-volleys. The results were always fascinating to watch.

Even more idiosyncratic was his temper—if McEnroe didn’t invent punk, he let the tennis world know it existed. The Mouth that Roared won 77 singles titles, including seven Grand Slams, and notched an 82-3 record in 1984. McEnroe’s success in doubles, which he played in lieu of practicing, was equally impressive: 77 titles, including 10 majors.

McEnroe was also a Davis Cup stalwart. Most of his compatriots had to be dragged to compete for their nation. Not Johnny Mac. He stood alone— in more ways than one. —JAMES MARTIN

CAREER HIGHLIGHTS:
> Won seven major titles
> Led the U.S. to five Davis Cup titles
> Has the most singles and doubles titles among men, with 154

10. Ivan Lendl
Photo by Theobserver/Getty Images

Like many trailblazers, Ivan Lendl got no love during his career. Even as he racked up majors, the native of the former Czechoslovakia was seen by U.S. fans as a sallow android bent on removing all personality from the game. Not only did he vanquish the two top Americans, John McEnroe and Jimmy Connors, and dominate the U.S. Open for a decade, he did it with a mechanical game based on raw power and fitness rather than creative shot-making. But that’s precisely why he’s such an important figure in the game’s history.

Along with countrywoman Martina Navratilova, Lendl was a pioneer in sports nutrition and training. He hired a diet guru, lifted weights, and did cardio work before it was fashionable. More important, he changed how the game was played. For years, tennis had been a battle of serve-and-volleyers and grinding baseliners. Lendl blasted that dichotomy apart with the inside-out forehand, which he used to win points outright from the baseline. The shot still defines the men’s game today.

Lendl broke through at Roland Garros in 1984 and beefed up his serve to win on hard courts at the U.S. Open and Australian Open. But he couldn’t get over the grassy hump of Wimbledon. It wasn’t for lack of effort: He devoted the latter years of his career to that one task. Lendl, who once said grass was for cows, eventually reached two Wimbledon finals. It’s the emblematic accomplishment of the game’s greatest overachiever. —STEPHEN TIGNOR

CAREER HIGHLIGHTS:
> Won eight major titles
> Ranked No. 1 for 270 weeks, second all-time among men
> Reached eight straight U.S. Open finals (1982–’89)

9. Billie Jean King
Photo By Tommy Hindley/Professional Sport

Injustice was something Billie Jean King (née Moffitt) confronted early in life. At her first tournament, as a 12-year-old in Los Angeles, King was kept out of a group photo for wearing homemade shorts rather than the requisite tennis dress. Embarrassed and heartbroken, the strong-willed girl’s rebellious spirit was incited. It would lead her to transform the face of women’s sports.

King took the lead in developing a tour that has been by far the most successful all-women’s sports enterprise. Her battle for equal prize money for women helped create today’s lavish purses and tapped into a feminist gestalt that catapulted her well beyond tennis stardom. LIFE magazine named her one of the 100 most important Americans of the 20th century.

Have we mentioned that she played a little tennis, too? Armed with a strong serve, an excellent volley, and an appetite for aggressive play, her game was well-suited to grass and other fast surfaces. Although she reached her zenith in 1973, when she defeated Bobby Riggs in the much-hyped Battle of the Sexes, her finest moments came at Grand Slam events. She collected 12 major singles titles and finished the year as the top woman five times. —TONY LANCE  

CAREER HIGHLIGHTS:
> Won 39 Grand Slam singles, doubles, and mixed titles, third on the all-time list
> Owns a record 20 Wimbledon titles