Roger Federer (1981) Swiss tennis player
Rod Laver, speaking ahead of the 2007 Australian Open final against Fernando Gonzalez. http://news.bbc.co.uk/sport1/hi/tennis/6306913.stm
David Ferrer, after losing to Federer in the 2014 Cincinnati Masters final. http://www.thesportreview.com/tsr/2014/08/cincinnati-masters-fearsome-federer-cuts-down-ferrer-again-for-80th-title/
Roger Federer (1981) Swiss tennis player
Rod Laver, speaking ahead of the 2007 Australian Open final against Fernando Gonzalez. http://news.bbc.co.uk/sport1/hi/tennis/6306913.stm
Paul Scholes (1974) English footballer
http://www.talksport.co.uk/sports-news/football/premier-league/6395/0/exclusive-%E2%80%93-wilkins-%E2%80%98chelsea-will-beat-united-if-they-stop-scholes%E2%80%99
Ray Wilkins
Alexander Ovechkin (1985) Russian ice hockey player
Olie Kolzig, interview in The Capital staff (March 6, 2008) "March is meaningful for Ovechkin, Capitals", The Capital, Capital-Gazette Newspapers, p. C5.
About
“Roberto Baggio was the best player I ever played against; he made football look very easy.”
Roberto Baggio (1967) Italian association football player
Matthew Le Tissier, Matthew Le Tissier Interview: "Roberto Baggio Was The Best Player I Ever Played Against" http://www.thehardtackle.com/2012/matthew-le-tissier-interview/, The Hard Tackle, 21 June 2012. Retrieved on 9 February 2014.
Casey Stengel (1890–1975) American baseball player and coach
As quoted in "The Scoreboardː Stengelː 'Wagner Best I Ever Saw'" https://news.google.com/newspapers?id=_kYqAAAAIBAJ&sjid=9U4EAAAAIBAJ&pg=7207%2C1231475 by Les Biederman, in The Pittsburgh Press (July 7, 1963), Sec. 4, p. 3
Cristiano Ronaldo (1985) Portuguese association football player
[Dev, Sarthak, Football Paradise, The Ballon d’Or: It’s time football stopped trying to be Hollywood, 15 December 2017, 4 February 2018, https://www.footballparadise.com/ballon-dor/]
In the wake of winning his fifth Ballon d’Or in December 2017.
Roger Federer (1981) Swiss tennis player
Bjorn Borg, winner of 11 Grand Slams, after Federer won the 2009 French Open Final http://sports.yahoo.com/ten/news?slug=reu-wimbledonborg&prov=reuters&type=lgns
Bobby Robson (1933–2009) English association football player and manager
Craig Bellamy, 2013. http://www.mirror.co.uk/sport/football/news/craig-bellamy-autobiography-newcastles-sir-1927434
Kumar Sangakkara (1977) Sri Lankan cricketer
Former Australia wicketkeeper Adam Gilchrist has called Kumar Sangakkara a terrific player, quoted on sports.ndtv, "Kumar Sangakkara Was a Terrific Player, Says Adam Gilchrist" http://sports.ndtv.com/sri-lanka-vs-india-2015/news/247481-kumar-sangakkara-was-a-terrific-player-says-adam-gilchrist, August 24, 2015. <br class="br">About