Players you loved to watch.

Paul Murphy

Hall of Fame
I posted a similar thread elsewhere about current players.
Now let's look at past players only.

1) Lendl: I loved the power he brought to the game, his forehand and his domination on US hardcourts and the aura he brought to the game.
I thought his running line backhand was a thing of beauty.
Loved his rivalry with McEnroe.
Made tennis in the 1980s the most exciting era for me.
Also admired the way he came back from a succession of defeats in majors to win eight of them and "own" most of the 1980s through his weeks at No.1.

2) McEnroe: The master of touch, the lefty serve was a delight.
His behaviour was appalling at times but he brought undeniable excitement to the game.
I loved the S/V versus baseliner confrontation with Lendl and Connors - the contrast in styles is what I miss so much about tennis now.

3) Couldn't stand the guy but loved his return game. It was fascinating watching him pick apart big servers.
Overdid the theatrics and aggression but played a major part in making tennis what it was the 1980s.

Basically any major which featured those three in the semis was always going to be worth watching.

Opinions?
 

McLovin

Legend
  1. Edberg - Best serve & volley game in the Open era IMO. You knew he was coming. 1st serve, 2nd serve, return, clay, hard, break point up, match point down.
  2. Rafter - After Edberg retired, his was the most exciting serve & volley to watch, especially vs. a returner like Agassi.
  3. Fernando Gonzalez - No one, and I mean no one, could hit a winner like this guy. Sure, I had to endure a butt-load of unforced errors, but man, when he hit the ball, he hit the ball!
 

suwanee4712

Professional
First and foremost I loved the players that made the game look easy knowing full well that it wasn't. These would include:

McEnroe
Krishnan
Mandlikova
Neiland
Bunge
McNeil
Leconte
Zvereva
Goolagong
Santoro
Novotna
Mecir
Nastase
And then there are others that I liked either because of their personalities or some part of their game:

Jaeger
Arias
Ruzici
Lindqvist
Edberg
Shriver
Sukova
Wade
L. Gildemeister
 
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pc1

G.O.A.T.
I posted a similar thread elsewhere about current players.
Now let's look at past players only.

1) Lendl: I loved the power he brought to the game, his forehand and his domination on US hardcourts and the aura he brought to the game.
I thought his running line backhand was a thing of beauty.
Loved his rivalry with McEnroe.
Made tennis in the 1980s the most exciting era for me.
Also admired the way he came back from a succession of defeats in majors to win eight of them and "own" most of the 1980s through his weeks at No.1.

2) McEnroe: The master of touch, the lefty serve was a delight.
His behaviour was appalling at times but he brought undeniable excitement to the game.
I loved the S/V versus baseliner confrontation with Lendl and Connors - the contrast in styles is what I miss so much about tennis now.

3) Couldn't stand the guy but loved his return game. It was fascinating watching him pick apart big servers.
Overdid the theatrics and aggression but played a major part in making tennis what it was the 1980s.

Basically any major which featured those three in the semis was always going to be worth watching.

Opinions?

I assume number three is Andre Agassi?
 

Paul Murphy

Hall of Fame
All except for the "couldn't stand the guy" bit.
I liked Agassi - certainly the more mature version we saw from the late 1990s anyway.
 

treblings

Hall of Fame
suwanee, i like your reasoning.
players that made it look easy.
and the ones you mention somewhat date you in the same age group as myself:)
provided you mean ramesh and not ramanathan krishnan:)
 

pc1

G.O.A.T.
No. But interesting that you'd think that - the first line does describe him perfectly.
Sorry.
It's Connors.

Connors was one of my favorites to watch.

Here's a list in no order-Leconte, Noah, Laver, Borg, Rosewall, Mecir, Orantes, Nastase, Connors, Lendl, Nadal, Djokovic, Federer, Vilas, Agassi, Edberg, Becker, Sampras, Newcombe, Roche, Ashe, Kuerten, McEnroe Vijay Amritraj.

Favorite rivalries-Borg-Connors, Connors-McEnroe, Laver-Rosewall, Federer-Nadal, Nadal-Djokovic.

Women-Evert, Navratilova, Goolagong, King, Graf, Seles, Serena, Venus, Henin, Clijsters, Mandlikova, Court, Sharapova (too much noise and just one style of play but I enjoy how she competes), Capriati, Hingis.

Favorite rivalries-Evert-Goolagong (my favorite among the women), Evert-Navratilova, Graf-Seles, Clijsters-Serena, King-Goolagong, Henin-Capriati.

Wife's personal favorite-Henri Leconte-Brilliant shotmaker but wild.
 

Limpinhitter

G.O.A.T.
The Rocket - Unmatched intensity. Never seen anything like him before or since.

Federer - The most graceful, efficient, at ease, game I've ever seen.

Agassi - The way he punished balls from on top of, or inside, the baseline was unprecedented.

Rosewall - An aesthetically beautiful and deceptive game. Probably the most consistent execution ever, other than Borg.

Borg - The speed, athleticism, power and consistency were superhuman.

Connors - The ultimate tennis warrior. Amazing depth, power and consistency from the ground.

McEnroe - At his peak, it seemed like he could beat anyone with his left hand while eating a ham sandwitch with his right hand.
 
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jrepac

Hall of Fame
The Rocket - Unmatched intensity. Never seen anything like him before or since.

Federer - The most graceful, efficient, at ease, game I've ever seen.

Agassi - The way he punished balls from on top of, or inside, the baseline was unprecedented.

Rosewall - An aesthetically beautiful and deceptive game. Probably the most consistent execution ever, other than Borg.

Borg - The speed, athleticism, power and consistency were superhuman.

Connors - The ultimate tennis warrior. Amazing depth, power and consistency from the ground.

McEnroe - At his peak, it seemed like he could beat anyone with his left hand while eating a ham sandwitch with his right hand.

great list; love the McEnroe quote....he was simply amazing and he made it look oh so easy....
 

pc1

G.O.A.T.
The Rocket - Unmatched intensity. Never seen anything like him before or since.

Federer - The most graceful, efficient, at ease, game I've ever seen.

Agassi - The way he punished balls from on top of, or inside, the baseline was unprecedented.

Rosewall - An aesthetically beautiful and deceptive game. Probably the most consistent execution ever, other than Borg.

Borg - The speed, athleticism, power and consistency were superhuman.

Connors - The ultimate tennis warrior. Amazing depth, power and consistency from the ground.

McEnroe - At his peak, it seemed like he could beat anyone with his left hand while eating a ham sandwitch with his right hand.

The bolded part is a great line. :) How true.
 

BTURNER

Legend
The artists: McEnroe, Leconte, Goolagong, Santoro, Federer,Mecir
The clinicians: Evert, Connors, Lendl, Wilander, Hingis
The athletes: Navatilova, Graf, Becker, Serena, sampras, edberg.
 

Mustard

Bionic Poster
Players I love to watch:

Thomas Muster
Rafael Nadal
Goran Ivanisevic
Pancho Gonzales
Rod Laver
Jimmy Connors
Guillermo Vilas
Bjorn Borg
Roscoe Tanner
Vitas Gerulaitis
Tim Mayotte
Mats Wilander
Aaron Krickstein
Miloslav Mecir
Henri Leconte
Boris Becker
Jim Courier
Monica Seles
Jennifer Capriati
Aranxta Sanchez Vicario
Mary Pierce
Fabrice Santoro
Alberto Berasategui
Sergi Bruguera
Andrei Medvedev
Albert Costa
Yevgeny Kafelnikov
Petr Korda
Marcelo Rios
Gustavo Kuerten
Magnus Norman
Lleyton Hewitt
Marat Safin
Alexander Popp
Juan Carlos Ferrero
David Nalbandian
Guillermo Coria
Kim Clijsters
Gilles Muller
 
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tenniscasey

Semi-Pro
Rather than repeat what others have said, I'll throw out Hingis-Kournikova doubles. Uniquely entertaining as partners, and they won a couple Slams together.
 

Tshooter

G.O.A.T.
@Mustard "Tim Mayotte"

A nice guy. But he was among the most boring players I've ever watched and I've watched them all since Rosewall. Seriously this guy makes Jim Grabb seem exciting.

Former: Nastase

Current: Monfils

Thumbs up on the poster listing Krishnan.
 
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N

Nathaniel_Near

Guest
The Rocket - Unmatched intensity. Never seen anything like him before or since.

Federer - The most graceful, efficient, at ease, game I've ever seen.

Agassi - The way he punished balls from on top of, or inside, the baseline was unprecedented.

Rosewall - An aesthetically beautiful and deceptive game. Probably the most consistent execution ever, other than Borg.

Borg - The speed, athleticism, power and consistency were superhuman.

Connors - The ultimate tennis warrior. Amazing depth, power and consistency from the ground.

McEnroe - At his peak, it seemed like he could beat anyone with his left hand while eating a ham sandwitch with his right hand.

Hello. Could you tell us more about Rod's unmatched intensity? I'd like to hear about how it manifested itself and what sets him apart from all the other greatly intense players in the history of tennis such as Connors, Nadal, and the like.
 

Paul Murphy

Hall of Fame
Of the women - Navratilova by far.
Aggressive, interesting game, lovely contrast to most on the tour.
She made women's tennis very interesting - her S/V versus baseliner battles with Evert were redolent of the Lendl/McEnroe match-up.
 

BTURNER

Legend
Of the women - Navratilova by far.
Aggressive, interesting game, lovely contrast to most on the tour.
She made women's tennis very interesting - her S/V versus baseliner battles with Evert were redolent of the Lendl/McEnroe match-up.

No other player induced me to ask, "How did she ever get her racket on that and get the ball control to get it back?" nearly as often. She did Becker dives at the net, when Becker was studying his multiplication tables and kept on doing them after he retired. She had no right to steal those points from Evert. Bionic women do not belong in the main draw.
 
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Players I love to watch:

Thomas Muster
Rafael Nadal
Goran Ivanisevic
Pancho Gonzales
Rod Laver
Jimmy Connors
Guillermo Vilas
Bjorn Borg
Roscoe Tanner
Vitas Gerulaitis
Tim Mayotte
Mats Wilander
Aaron Krickstein
Henri Leconte
Boris Becker
Jim Courier
Monica Seles
Jennifer Capriati
Aranxta Sanchez Vicario
Mary Pierce
Fabrice Santoro
Alberto Berasategui
Sergi Bruguera
Andrei Medvedev
Albert Costa
Yevgeny Kafelnikov
Petr Korda
Marcelo Rios
Gustavo Kuerten
Magnus Norman
Marat Safin
Alexander Popp
Juan Carlos Ferrero
David Nalbandian
Guillermo Coria
Kim Clijsters
Gilles Muller

Missed off Lleyton Hewitt. :wink:
 

Xavier G

Hall of Fame
Connors, McEnroe, Borg, Nastase, Rosewall, Federer.
Among the women, Navratilova, Evert, BJK, Goolagong, Mandlikova, Clijsters, Mauresmo, Sharapova.
 

Limpinhitter

G.O.A.T.
Hello. Could you tell us more about Rod's unmatched intensity? I'd like to hear about how it manifested itself and what sets him apart from all the other greatly intense players in the history of tennis such as Connors, Nadal, and the like.

I guess one way to describe intensity is a combination of effort, talent and skill. Laver played with the highest level of effort, talent and skill that I've ever seen. He just played harder, and had more weapons, and more talent than anyone else. He ran faster, jumped higher, hit harder, never compromized, never temporized, and never gave less than 100%, ever. It was written that when watching Rod Laver play, it was easy to forget that he was human. And, that's a fact.

In tennis, the closest I've seen to the intensity that Laver played at were by Cliff Richey, Jimmy Connors, Thomas Muster, Llayton Hewitt and maybe Rafael Nadal.

I've written many times that I would compare Laver's intensity to that of Walter Payton and Michael Jordan. If you have ever seen them play live, you know what I'm talking about.
 
N

Nathaniel_Near

Guest
I guess one way to describe intensity is a combination of effort, talent and skill. Laver played with the highest level of effort, talent and skill that I've ever seen. He just played harder, and had more weapons, and more talent than anyone else. He ran faster, jumped higher, hit harder, never compromized, never temporized, and never gave less than 100%, ever. It was written that when watching Rod Laver play, it was easy to forget that he was human. And, that's a fact.

In tennis, the closest I've seen to the intensity that Laver played at were by Cliff Richey, Jimmy Connors, Thomas Muster, Llayton Hewitt and maybe Rafael Nadal.

I've written many times that I would compare Laver's intensity to that of Walter Payton and Michael Jordan. If you have ever seen them play live, you know what I'm talking about.

Of course. Thank you very much for the elaboration. In the footage I have seen of Laver, he does seem almost desperate to win the point and play with 100% effort, with how his limbs sprawl around the court, and it was matched with an unbelievable amount of talent and skill. By comparison, you won't catch Federer doing much with his body that could result in some sort of injury, such as a Boris Becker dive. In fact, he does often give off the vibe that he's churning along at 95% instead of 100%
 

JLyon

Hall of Fame
Loved to watch Guga play he was just fun to watch.
Sampras and Edberg with their S&V game
Lendl and Graf with their ball bashing
Jim Courier with his baseball swing BH and huge FH
Finally loved Thomas Muster and his all out assault on the ball
 

Limpinhitter

G.O.A.T.
Of course. Thank you very much for the elaboration. In the footage I have seen of Laver, he does seem almost desperate to win the point and play with 100% effort, with how his limbs sprawl around the court, and it was matched with an unbelievable amount of talent and skill. By comparison, you won't catch Federer doing much with his body that could result in some sort of injury, such as a Boris Becker dive. In fact, he does often give off the vibe that he's churning along at 95% instead of 100%

Federer is the master of efficiency. He has the best, most efficient, footwork technique and movement I've ever seen. But, he doesn't have the flat out speed, acrobatics or explosiveness that Laver had. He is very similar to Nastase in that respect.
 

Fuji

Legend
I absolutely adored watching Safin growing up. The guy was such a monster when he won his first slam in 2000. It's one of the reasons I really got into tennis. Same goes for Sampras in the late 90's and early 2000's. :)

-Fuji
 

Limpinhitter

G.O.A.T.
I absolutely adored watching Safin growing up. The guy was such a monster when he won his first slam in 2000. It's one of the reasons I really got into tennis. Same goes for Sampras in the late 90's and early 2000's. :)

-Fuji

Safin was a monster. Imagine if Safin had Borg's focus and competitiveness. 20 majors?
 

Fuji

Legend
Safin was a monster. Imagine if Safin had Borg's focus and competitiveness. 20 majors?

Honestly if Safin did have the focus and competitiveness of Borg, I think we'd still be talking about him and Federer in the Head to Head for GOAT. I think they're rivalry would have been much like Nadal. As stated though after 2005 the injuries really piled up.

I think they should make a Fed-Safin hybrid. It would be unstoppable! :lol:

-Fuji
 

suwanee4712

Professional
suwanee, i like your reasoning.
players that made it look easy.
and the ones you mention somewhat date you in the same age group as myself:)
provided you mean ramesh and not ramanathan krishnan:)

I've never seen Ramanathan play but would like to. I do love me some Ramesh though. People always describe him as "silky smooth" but I can't think of any other way to describe a male player of his calibur without feminizing the adjective. There were times when he passed Mac and Mac would look so silly because he honestly wouldn't know where Ramesh was going with the ball.

Can't believe I left off Lori McNeil. Another smooth player that when she trusted her instincts was sheer beauty in motion.
 

suwanee4712

Professional
Of the women - Navratilova by far.
Aggressive, interesting game, lovely contrast to most on the tour.
She made women's tennis very interesting - her S/V versus baseliner battles with Evert were redolent of the Lendl/McEnroe match-up.

You make a great point. For me, Martina made other players much more watchable. Sanchez Vicario bored me to death because her moonballs and looping strokes rarely served an actual purpose other than to keep an opponent back and possibly lull them to sleep. But when she played Martina she was forced to play more aggressively and show off the decent net skills that she possessed.

Martina also forced others out of their comfort zone. Had it not been for her I might've never realized what a good forehand volley Evert has. That's not a knock on Evert as I genuinely enjoyed watching her play doubles.
 
Becker - Very first match I ever watched was Becker-Curran 1985 Wimbledon Final. Made me a tennis fan. Back in those days, I was a kid who loved big strong guys...favorite superheroes were all big strong guys. My one superpower would've been super strength, all that stuff. Becker matched all that and more. Big guy, big huge serve, powerful forehand, all that stuff. Plus he had enough flair in his matches to make it fun. His rivalry with Lendl was fun too.

McEnroe - Never have I seen more of an "angles" genius in my life. For all of his faults, the guy just knew how to hit shots, time and time again, that were impossible for the very best in the world to hit. Even when he was fading away and not winning regularly anymore, you'd see him hit those angles against Courier, or someone of that nature, and Courier knowing he had zero chance at it...and those guys at that level get just about everything. Not to mention that JMac had a court sense like Larry Bird had basketball sense.

Connors - Simply loved the fight he exhibited every single match. He'd hustle against the 500th player in the world...hated even conceding a point. Love that attitude.

Edberg - Net game was Picasso-like, and I always loved his second serves. Nothing like Federer, but he had a dancer's like footwork too. Beautiful to watch.

Sampras - Simply...the serve. Wish he would've adapted on clay, but his dominance on grass is only matched by one man.

Ferrer - Goes without saying, and everyone here knew this would be coming. Just love his consistency every single match. Even when he's getting beat to death(like the RG semi against Nadal), he keeps fighting, grinding, and hitting. Places the ball beautifully just about every single shot, and outside the Top 3(Murray can't do this), it's near impossible to force him into multiple mistakes, so breaking him is a rare gem. His constant winning is not a fluke. No big weapons, but his whole game is one big weapon.

Nadal - Idiot fanboys aside, this is one of the all time greats. So much fight, and he has an uncanny ability to come up with an unreal and impossible shot to change the course of a match more than anyone I've ever seen.

Federer - Simply the Maestro. The James Bond of tennis, with the unmatched combination of strength and grace. Never seems to sweat, and never makes a noise on the court(footwork I mean). The greatest of all time, and I hope to see him play in person before he retires.
 

smirker

Hall of Fame
I've never seen Ramanathan play but would like to. I do love me some Ramesh though. People always describe him as "silky smooth" but I can't think of any other way to describe a male player of his calibur without feminizing the adjective. There were times when he passed Mac and Mac would look so silly because he honestly wouldn't know where Ramesh was going with the ball.

Can't believe I left off Lori McNeil. Another smooth player that when she trusted her instincts was sheer beauty in motion.

For me the player that made tennis look easy was Steffi Graf. In her prime no one even got near to beating her, the female Federer of her era. Also loved to watch Henin as it was always astounding how hard such a tiny woman could hit the ball.

On the mens side Becker was why I took up tennis but also loved watching Agassi for the showmanship. Sampras was arguably the better competitor but never as good to watch.
 

NickJ

Professional
There's so so many that could be included in this, and I see that they've all been named in other posts before including my choice below. But if i had to say one, just one, player that was a joy to watch and I finally got to see him 'in the flesh' in his last year at Wimbledon was, Fabrice Santoro. Always Santoro. Only Santoro.
He wasn't my favourite player, I grew up loving McEnroe, then Agassi, now it's Tsonga and Berdych. But, you just had to watch him if you could. Even if you ask the professionals themselves, I would say a good 75% of them would say Santoro.
He played in such a way that was unnerving if you were on the opposite side of the net. I never have been, never would have got close to being on the same court as him but it would have been so much fun just trying to win points against him. You know what you're in for but powerless to do absolutely anything about it. You don't get the name 'The Magician' without a trick or two . . . Genius.
 

treblings

Hall of Fame
i have to mention Mikael Pernfors.
he would fight till the last point and often win against more talented opponents.
 

Steffi-forever

Hall of Fame
Steffi Graf - The most beautiful game ever for me

Pete Sampras
Bjorn Borg
Novak Djokovic
Arantxa Sanchez-Vicario
Lindsay Davenport
Conchita Martinez
Michael Stich
Patrick Rafter
Magnus Larsson
Irina Spirlea
Tommy Haas
 

suwanee4712

Professional
i have to mention Mikael Pernfors.
he would fight till the last point and often win against more talented opponents.

Mikael is still a hero of sorts in my area. I used to see him from time to time in and around Atlanta but its been a while. As good of a player as he is he's an even better person.
 

treblings

Hall of Fame
Mikael is still a hero of sorts in my area. I used to see him from time to time in and around Atlanta but its been a while. As good of a player as he is he's an even better person.

that´s good to know:)
he even played with my racquet for a number of years, the wimbledon graphite.
 
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