Mpst Athletic and Why...

[pc1]

I would think there are several but Borg and Gonzalez come immediately to mind. They both were extremely fluid players who were very strong, fast with excellent reflexes. The stamina for both were also excellent.

Athletic skills doesn't necessarily translate into tennis talent however. I think John McEnroe is one of the most gifted tennis players I've seen and on the other end Yannick Noah is only of the best tennis athletes I've seen. But for pure tennis talent I would go with John McEnroe over Yannick Noah even though I do believe Noah had a lot of tennis talent.

For the women I would think Evonne Goolagong, Steffi Graf, Serena Williams, Kim Clijsters, Martina Navratilova, Margaret Court and Hana Mandlikova are among the best athletes I've seen. Going further back they say Suzanne Lenglen, Pauline Betz, Althea Gibson and Alice Marble were great athletes.

[pc1]

Experts in the past have said that Tilden, Perry and Vines were tremendous athletes too. Bobby Riggs said that Vines may have been the best athlete of all time.

Vines was probably the best tennis player in the world for years. He retired and became of the best pro golfers in the world. He was the leading scorer on his college basketball team and he played semi pro baseball.

[kiki]

Originally Posted by pc1

I would think there are several but Borg and Gonzalez come immediately to mind. They both were extremely fluid players who were very strong, fast with excellent reflexes. The stamina for both were also excellent.

Athletic skills doesn't necessarily translate into tennis talent however. I think John McEnroe is one of the most gifted tennis players I've seen and on the other end Yannick Noah is only of the best tennis athletes I've seen. But for pure tennis talent I would go with John McEnroe over Yannick Noah even though I do believe Noah had a lot of tennis talent.

For the women I would think Evonne Goolagong, Steffi Graf, Serena Williams, Kim Clijsters, Martina Navratilova, Margaret Court and Hana Mandlikova are among the best athletes I've seen. Going further back they say Suzanne Lenglen, Pauline Betz, Althea Gibson and Alice Marble were great athletes.

Lenglen was more of a dancer than an athlete.Similar to Bueno.I very much agree on Evonne, a great natural athlete and, if not the best, near the best footwork I have ever seen on a tennis court, men or women.She just floated.

[kiki]

Originally Posted by pc1

Experts in the past have said that Tilden, Perry and Vines were tremendous athletes too. Bobby Riggs said that Vines may have been the best athlete of all time.

Vines was probably the best tennis player in the world for years. He retired and became of the best pro golfers in the world. He was the leading scorer on his college basketball team and he played semi pro baseball.

Jan Kodes was a great athlete in terms of stamina.He played a lot of 5 setters and was always ready for that.

[Limpinhitter]

Originally Posted by pc1

Experts in the past have said that Tilden, Perry and Vines were tremendous athletes too. Bobby Riggs said that Vines may have been the best athlete of all time.

Vines was probably the best tennis player in the world for years. He retired and became of the best pro golfers in the world. He was the leading scorer on his college basketball team and he played semi pro baseball.

Hey pc1,

I'm sure Vines was a fine golfer. But, in the era of Bobby Jones, Gene Sarazen, Byron Nelson, and perhaps a young Sam Snead, I'm not sure Vines was the best golfer in the World.

[Limpinhitter]

Originally Posted by kiki

Lenglen was more of a dancer than an athlete.Similar to Bueno.I very much agree on Evonne, a great natural athlete and, if not the best, near the best footwork I have ever seen on a tennis court, men or women.She just floated.

From what I've seen of Lenglen, she was an amazing athlete. Don't be fooled by some of those sappy demonstrations she's done where she tries to look artistic. That's not the way she played. She was a bulldog on the tennis court.

[kiki]

Pat Cash was also a great athlete, so was Johan Kriek.In fact, Kriek was almost playing pro rugby back in South Africa, before becoming a tennis pro, if I recall properly.And Cash played Australian Rules, a sport where, more than athlete you must be almost a criminal...or a complete fool.

[Merger5]

Originally Posted by kiki

Pat Cash was also a great athlete, so was Johan Kriek.In fact, Kriek was almost playing pro rugby back in South Africa, before becoming a tennis pro, if I recall properly.And Cash played Australian Rules, a sport where, more than athlete you must be almost a criminal...or a complete fool.

Well, that's why I have Cash on my list (not on the poll, though) and I have him rated above Nadal. I remember Kriek playing a few times; was he that athletic? He seemed just above average athletically to me. What about Chris Lewis?

[kiki]

Originally Posted by Merger5

Well, that's why I have Cash on my list (not on the poll, though) and I have him rated above Nadal. I remember Kriek playing a few times; was he that athletic? He seemed just above average athletically to me. What about Chris Lewis?

Lewis was a hustler but didn´t seem particularly athletic to me.Kriek had very strong arms and legs, was lightening on court and hit very hard.If he just had the right mind ( like Mandlikova), he would have a bunch of majors by now.

[kiki]

Originally Posted by kiki

Lewis was a hustler but didn´t seem particularly athletic to me.Kriek had very strong arms and legs, was lightening on court and hit very hard.If he just had the right mind ( like Mandlikova), he would have a bunch of majors by now.

....like Mandlikova

[pc1]

Originally Posted by Limpinhitter

Hey pc1,

I'm sure Vines was a fine golfer. But, in the era of Bobby Jones, Gene Sarazen, Byron Nelson, and perhaps a young Sam Snead, I'm not sure Vines was the best golfer in the World.

He was never the best golfer. But he was one of the best golfers in the world. Never meant to write that he was. But I am sure he was the best tennis player in the world. I left the world "one" out of the sentence by accident.

Originally Posted by pc1

Experts in the past have said that Tilden, Perry and Vines were tremendous athletes too. Bobby Riggs said that Vines may have been the best athlete of all time.

Vines was probably the best tennis player in the world for years. He retired and became {one} of the best pro golfers in the world. He was the leading scorer on his college basketball team and he played semi pro
baseball.

I left the word "one" by accident out of the post. Vines was never a Hogan, a Snead or a Nelsen. I just put it in above in bold.

[kiki]

Originally Posted by Merger5

Well, that's why I have Cash on my list (not on the poll, though) and I have him rated above Nadal. I remember Kriek playing a few times; was he that athletic? He seemed just above average athletically to me. What about Chris Lewis?

AAMOF Cash was lucky he discovered tennis and was talented at.If he had kept on playing Australian Rules, he might not ever gotten his pension...