5 great sportspersons and their biggest weaknesses

These names are among the greatest of the great in their respective sports; they have decimated opponents of every ability and caliber, but they have their own weak spots.

Despite being the best of all time, these sportsmen have faltered – as is natural. Here, we look into what their weakest spots are:

Novak Djokovic: Clay – specifically, the French Open

There isn't an opponent Novak Djokovic has not been able to conquer. The ruling world No. 1 - who has held the title continuously for over three years, has decimated rivals in his path, on every surface imaginable.

He is considered one of the best players in the history of the game. Despite the many plaudits, titles and awards Novak Djokovic has earned, however, it is the Calendar Slam that deludes him – he has been unable not only to win all four slams in a single year, but also all four slams.

The Coupe de Mousquetaires is conspicuous by its absence in the cabinet of the otherwise silverware-laden Serb, who has otherwise looked entirely unassailable, especially last year. The move to a gluten-free diet and bringing on tennis legend Boris Becker as coach appears to have done Djokovic more than a world of good – his game has only got better with each passing year.

But clay seems to bamboozle Novak Djokovic, and although he is not completely devoid of clay titles, he has been unable to finish with top honours on the clay courts of Roland Garros – the home of the French Open.

He hasn’t been without success at the venue, reaching the finals on three separate occasions 2012, 2014 and 2015; losing on the first two occasions to King of Clay Rafael Nadal was likely understandable given the Spaniard is considered the greatest clay court player in the history of the game; his 2015 loss came at the hands of in-form Swiss Stan Wawrinka, and Djokovic still remains without a French Open title.

He’s been in stellar form over the past year, although the Serb has not had an ideal start to the clay court season; he crumbled in a shock first-round loss to 55th-ranked Czech Jiri Vesely, who although talented, has not shown any form of superior prowess on clay.

With the Barcelona ATP Open currently underway in Spain and Nadal the overwhelming favourite to win, Djokovic has chosen to sit the tournament out.

He is still the overwhelming favourite to win the French Open, but Nadal fans and pundits are backing the Spaniard, who all but announced his comeback with a title win in Monte Carlo last week.

Can Djokovic overcome his Roland Garros 'curse’? Only time will tell.

Roger Federer: Rafael Nadal

The Swiss legend and his Spanish archrival are close friends

It is not without reason that Roger Federer is considered the greatest tennis player to have ever lived. Everyone from tennis analysts to pundits, to Federer’s peers and his own idols, who played the game much before him, have described him as the GOAT – the greatest of all time.

His unparalleled skill has earned him 17 Grand Slams – across every surface, and a staggering 88 titles.

Federer holds most tennis records in the Open Era, a list that if one were to examine would go on forever. But there’s one opponent who seriously taxes the Swiss Maestro, and that is his friend and arch-rival Rafael Nadal. The two share a rivalry so iconic that reams of newsprint have been dedicated to analysing it, but when it comes down to the numbers, of the 34 matches the two have played against each other, it is Nadal who has won a mammoth 23 times.

Predictably, Nadal, described as the King of Clay, has trumped Federer more often than not on that surface; but he’s also taken victory over the Swiss on his own favoured surface, grass. In what shows his complete mastery of the surface, Federer has reached the final at Wimbledn ten times, a feat no other player has been able to achieve, and won 7 titles here – and with Pete Sampras is one of the only two players to have done so.

Of the pair’s last five meetings, it is Nadal who has won four; Federer has, however, won their most recent meeting, at the Swiss Indoors Basel in 2015. The pair have not yet faced off in the 2016 season, with Nadal crashing out of the Australian Open in a shock first-round ouster.

That could change, though, with the French Open around the corner and Nadal having declared a comeback of sorts with title victory at the Monte Carlo Masters on clay and the favourite to win the ongoing Barcelona Open on the same surface. Could he tax Federer, who has himself had surgery this year, on yet another occasion?

Kevin Pietersen: Left-arm spin

The mercurial Kevin Pietersen is frequently in the news, and not necessarily for his cricketing. The South African-born former England player has struggled through his career against left-arm spin, and this came to a head during England’s test tour of India in 2008.

Playing off the bowling of star Indian batsman and left-arm spinner Yuvraj Singh in the teams’ preceding ODI series, Pietersen famously described the Indian as a “pie-thrower.”

"I wasn't surprised to see him come on," Pietersen told press at the time. "When Zaheer Khan, one of the best fast bowlers I have faced, is not bowling and you have a pie chucker like Yuvraj Singh on, I really don't mind.” That remark came on the heels of England’s riling of Yuvraj in the previous innings.

Describing Yuvraj as “left-arm filth,” he put his long-time worries against left-arm spin on full display at the time.

In his career, Pietersen has fallen repeatedly to left-arm spinners – one year losing his wicket to Daniel Vettori four times in six tests. He’s also struggled against bowlers such as Paul Harris and Ryan Hinds, with teams choosing to play left-arm spinners when they see Kevin Pietersen come on to bat.

Lewis Hamilton: poor sportsmanship

The Briton is fresh off winning his third world drivers’ championship – a second in a row, and has ranked with the best in the sport. At last week's Chinese Grand Prix, Hamilton all but silenced naysayers who believed his victories were down solely to a superior car.

After an ERS failure led to him setting no time in qualifying and Hamilton beginning the race at the back of the grid, the Mercedes AMG Petronas driver taxed car, tyres and engine to move up the grid drastically enough to come as close as fifth before eventually dropping to a still-respectable 7th to finish the race.

Plenty of drivers have not even managed a seventh-place finish from seventh position on the qualifying grid, so for Hamilton to pull off that finish was a commendable feat. But last year, the 28-year-old made news for his off-track antics.

Hamilton has had his disputes with teammate and childhood friend Nico Rosberg, and unfortunately has played those out publicly, making references to what he alleged were the team’s favouritism towards the German in the latter half of the season.

Apart from his Formula One antics, Hamilton came under fire at Wimbledon for not adhering to the dress code, a violation that saw him ejected from the venue.

Things got so bitter between the former teammates, who were seen visibly distant from each other on the podiums they shared during the year, that team boss Toto Wolff admitted publicly that Mercedes AMG Petronas were looking to deal with the issues.

This year, with Rosberg appearing to run away with the championship title, Hamilton has not been entirely happy, with Rosberg, who has a 36-point championship lead, capitulating to his teammate and saying he could “still win the championship,” and he wanted to “take nothing for granted.”

The two, who have been friends since their karting days, fell out in 2015 – but remain teammates, so it will be interesting to see how Hamilton’s off-track behaviour – and the season – play out.

Sachin Tendulkar: Hansie Cronje

Time and time again, the Little Master has been declared the ‘greatest batsman of all time,’ and features at the top of nearly every ‘greatest sportspersons’ list. It is funny to think that someone who was not even a full-time bowler was the one who gave Tendulkar the most trouble.

In a 2010 interview with British newspaper The Guardian, Tendulkar said his weakness was "Hansie Cronje. Honestly. I got out to Hansie more than anyone.”

“When we played South Africa he always got me out more than Allan Donald or Shaun Pollock. It wasn't that I couldn't pick him – it's just that the ball seemed to go straight to a fielder. I was going great guns in Durban one year and played some big shots against Donald and Pollock. Hansie came on and I flicked his first ball straight to leg-slip. I never knew what to do with him."

It seems like a bizarre choice given the Indian legend has faced some of the best bowlers in the game, among them Australian legends Shane Warne and Glenn McGrath.

The man with 51 test centuries, 49 ODI centuries and worldwide adulation was most tested by the bowling of the late South African middle-order batsman.