Can anyone replicate a Wimbledon reign like Borg, Sampras or Federer?

With the 52nd Open Era edition of Wimbledon right around the corner, it would behoove all of us to take stock of what has happened since 1968. The game’s standout performers have all enjoyed stretches of invincibility on the lawns of the All England Club. The majestic Rod Laver collected the first two crowns in 1968 and 1969. Another sterling left-hander named John McEnroe controlled the first half of the 1980s, while Germany’s powerhouse Boris Becker was the dominant competitor across the second half of that decade. Both men were victorious on three occasions at the shrine of the sport. Meanwhile, in recent years Novak Djokovic has been stellar, taking four of the last eight titles and three of the last five. The Serbian could conceivably add a few more crowns to his collection before he concludes his career.

But the three men who have stood above the rest of the pack at the most prestigious tournament are Bjorn Borg, Pete Sampras and Roger Federer. This mightily accomplished trio has inspirationally and enduringly controlled the climate on the fabled Centre Court. Borg was the victor five years in a row from 1976-80. Sampras claimed his seven titles in an eight-year span from 1993-2000. And Federer has spread his eight tournament triumphs on the British grass over a longer span, taking his first back in 2003, and making his most recent triumphant run two years ago.

Surely, the most surprising member of that illustrious trio is Borg. The implacable Swede was much more at home on clay courts. On that surface, he would station himself comfortably at the baseline, wearing down his adversaries with his unparalleled consistency, foot speed, anticipation and unbuckling ground strokes. Borg built a safety net from the backcourt and employed his heavy topspin off both sides to capture six French Opens. He hardly ever missed.

At Wimbledon, Borg reinvented himself to a degree. He beefed up his first serve, was much more willing to attack and sliced backhand approach shots down the middle, exploiting his agility around the net. A different player on the lawns, Borg still made his patented passing shots on the dead run, and got a lot of returns back in play. But it was his flexibility as a competitor that allowed him to garner those five titles in succession.

The first time he succeeded, in 1976, Borg swept through the field improbably without the loss of a set, casting aside 1972 runner-up Ilie Nastase in the final. A year later, Borg came through at the end, overcoming the New Yorker Vitas Gerulaitis in a stirring five-set semifinal before withstanding a spirited run from Jimmy Connors in the final. Down 4-0 in the fifth set, Connors made it all the way back to 4-4, 15-0, but double faulted and never won another point. Only Borg could have denied Connors the premier prize in tennis under those circumstances.

A year later, Borg cut down Connors in a straight-set final for his third title in a row, but his last two final-round contests were battles that went down to the wire against a pair of American southpaws. In the 1979 final, Borg stopped the big serving Roscoe Tanner after trailing two sets to one. A year later, he halted John McEnroe in one of the greatest matches of all time. On that occasion, Borg served for the match at 5-4 in the fourth set and advanced to 40-15, double match point. A resolute McEnroe broke back and eventually took that set and griping the 18-16 tiebreak, saving five more match points.

Down 0-30 in the opening game of the fifth set and distraught that he had not closed out the account after having so many chances, Borg somehow lost just one more point on his serve the rest of the way, and ultimately sealed a gratifying 1-6, 7-5, 6-3, 6-7 (16), 8-6 victory.

The magnificent Borg run ended in 1981 with a four-set loss to McEnroe in the final. That was his final appearance on the Centre Court, at the age of 25. The brigade of attacking players Borg confronted forced him to deepen his skills, and made him a better player on grass.

The Centre Court stage and hallowed grounds of Wimbledon were always a perfect match for Sampras. The towering American won only one match in his first three appearances at the All England Club from 1989-91. But Sampras turned the corner in 1992, reaching the semifinals. Thereafter, he was just about unstoppable, taking three titles in a row from 1993-95, falling in the 1996 quarterfinals, and then securing four straight titles from 1997-2000.

In many ways, Sampras was the polar opposite of Borg. Temperamentally, they were strikingly similar, but the Sampras playing style was all about coming forward unrelentingly and taking the racquet out of his opponent’s hands. His stylish serve-and-volley game was made for Wimbledon; Sampras was the quintessential grass-court player.

In claiming his first crown, in 1993, Sampras accounted for the defending champion Andre Agassi in a five-set quarterfinal, ousted Becker in the penultimate round and then beat Jim Courier in a well-played, four-set final. A year later, Sampras conceded only one set during the fortnight, finishing with a 7-6 (2), 7-6 (5), 6-0 triumph over the ever daunting 6’4” left-hander Goran Ivanisevic. The following year, Sampras surpassed Ivanisevic in a pendulum swinging, nerve wracking, five-set semifinal, and then came from a set down to defeat Becker in a scintillating four-set final for his third title in a row.

After losing to fellow big server Richard Krajicek in 1996, Sampras turned Wimbledon into a showcase for his exceptional talent. In 1997, he was broken only twice in seven matches as he swept to the title, casting aside Cedric Pioline in the final.

A year later, he found himself in another bind against Ivanisevic, the biggest and best server he ever faced. Sampras lost the first set and had to fend off two set points in the second set tie-break before prevailing in five demanding sets. His 1999 campaign ended with a career-defining performance against Agassi, the then-recently crowned French Open victor. Sampras played perhaps the finest match of his career to win 6-3, 6-4, 7-5 with a virtuoso display.

And then, in 2000, Sampras came through to win his last title. He had played the bulk of that tournament essentially on one leg, taking injections before his last five matches to treat tendinitis in his left foot and ankle. But he somehow held back Patrick Rafter in a final-round contest oddly reminiscent of the 1998 duel with Ivanisevic. Sampras was down a set and Rafter was serving at 4-1 in the second set tiebreak, close to taking a two-set lead. But with his parents in the stands to watch him win a major in person for the first time, Sampras rallied to win in four sets, capturing his 13th Grand Slam title to break Roy Emerson’s old record.

Sampras tailored his game beautifully in peaking each summer at Wimbledon. Arguably the best server in the history of the game, it was his outstanding second serve that set him apart. His volleying improved over time, and a shorter backswing on the backhand return was another key factor for his far-reaching success. Sampras was revered for his unfailing grace and dignity in the public arena on the world’s most renowned tennis court.

Those same qualities have been evident in Federer ever since he beat the big-serving Australian Mark Philippoussis in the 2003 final. He went on a remarkable tear from that juncture, upending Andy Roddick in a hard fought, four-set final the following year, eclipsing Roddick again at the end in 2005 more comfortably. The next two years, Federer was victorious over Rafael Nadal in the finals, winning the former in four sets, taking the latter in five pulsating sets.

And so, Federer had won five consecutive Wimbledon titles. He came within a whisker of a sixth. Down two sets to love against Nadal in their third straight title-round meeting, Federer fought back to win the third set, saved two match points in the fourth set, and then was two points away from victory with Nadal serving at 4-5, 30-30 in the fifth. In the end, Nadal prevailed on the edge of darkness at 9:16 in the evening, winning Wimbledon for the first time by the symmetrical scoreline of 6-4, 6-4, 6-7 (5), 6-7 (9), 9-7.

Federer bounced back the next year in another epic battle. Facing Roddick for the third time in a Wimbledon final, he was fortunate to survive a blazing five-set skirmish. Down a set and behind 2-6 in the second set tiebreak, Federer salvaged that set in startling fashion and came through in the end, 5-7, 7-6 (6),7-6 (5), 3-6, 16-14. The Swiss did not break Roddick’s serve until the 77th and last game of the match. He was largely outplayed, but achieved the win with one of his strongest ever mental performances.

Federer was not content with just six Wimbledon titles. He tied Sampras’ modern record of seven in 2012 with impressive back-to-back triumphs over Djokovic and Andy Murray. He was runner-up to Djokovic in the 2014 and 2015 finals, but then took the title convincingly in 2017, upending Marin Cilic in the final to break the record with his eighth crown. Many believed he might successfully defend last year, but the Swiss squandered a match point in the third set against Kevin Anderson and was knocked out in the quarterfinals by the big South African, 13-11 in the fifth set.

Federer’s formula for success was much more reminiscent of Sampras than of Borg, although he has served-and-volleyed only sparingly during his title runs, coming forward on his own terms. His serve has always been the central anchor of his success on grass, allowing the Swiss to earn countless free points. But his pattern is to elicit short returns, which are an invitation for Federer to get to the net commandingly.

Is there anyone out there who could establish himself as a Wimbledon force along the lines of a Borg, Sampras or Federer? Djokovic will raise his historical stock. The remarkable thing about the Serbian is how little he changes his game from surface to surface; his percentage-based back-court style is transferable to any court. His return of serve is the best on any surface.

Down the road, Alexander Zverev figures to get on the board, and Stefanos Tsitsipas is likely to break into the winner’s circle. Tsitsipas was born on August 12, 1998. Sampras was born on the same day, 27 years earlier. But will either Zverev or Tsitsipas win more than two or three titles?

In the long run, the young player with the best chance to be a dominant force at Wimbledon is the precocious Canadian who comports himself like a much older fellow. Felix Auger-Aliassime will not turn 19 until August. Coincidentally, he shares a birthday with Federer. Both were born on August 8, nineteen years apart. Auger-Alliassime has as complete an arsenal as anyone in his generation. Once he acquires the habit of winning majors, he will surely take his share of Wimbledon titles. But the feeling grows that it will take a very long time before any player can measure up to the Centre Court heroics of Borg, Sampras and Federer.