Better serve: McEnroe or Federer

[droliver]

Federer.

This is not even close, which is supported by the serve data. J-Mac's got that iconic delivery going, but it's just not as big a shot for him.

[Evan77]

JMac for sure for many different reasons but most of kids here voting for Ballerina never saw any of JMac's matches. so much ignorance. If we made a poll, let's say, Ballerina is faster than Bolt, Ballerina would certainly win.

[2ndServe]

apples and oranges? To compare a serve and volleyer (Mac, Edberg) who use their serve more like an aggressive approach shot vs Fed's serve who uses it for different purposes is going to be difficult. Also it's tough to compare as the top 4 guys now are all probably in the top 8 of best returners I've ever seen. And Fed has to play three of them consistently making his serve stats look a little worse than they should (and they are pretty good). I'd say Federer though, if you hypothetically gave him Mac's serve he wouldn't do as well. If you gave Mac, Federer's serve he'd probably be about the same efficiency wise.

[MTF07]

Originally Posted by Evan77

JMac for sure for many different reasons but most of kids here voting for Ballerina never saw any of JMac's matches. so much ignorance. If we made a poll, let's say, Ballerina is faster than Bolt, Ballerina would certainly win.

List them then if there are so many reasons.

[NadalDramaQueen]

Originally Posted by MTF07

List them then if there are so many reasons.

No need. Once you reach a certain age, everything you say is true.

[Biscuitmcgriddleson]

Originally Posted by Evan77

JMac for sure for many different reasons but most of kids here voting for Ballerina never saw any of JMac's matches. so much ignorance. If we made a poll, let's say, Ballerina is faster than Bolt, Ballerina would certainly win.

And if you were to be entered into a poll with 6-1 6-3 6-0 for who the most vile poster is, well that is too close to call. Maybe you're ignorant of the modern game and development of players today? I mean, no one knows everything and if you're claiming to know all about JMac due to his past matches, how do we know that you have seen Federer or observed him without your obvious bias?

Either way, I guess 70s and 80s ftw.

[Gut Check]

Originally Posted by gennosuke

Also, if you come in after your serve all the time, it makes your winning percentage lower obviously.

Ummm, Mac seems like a reasonably intelligent fellow on the court. Why would he come in behind his serve almost all the time if he didn't feel like it increased his chances of winning each point?

[gennosuke]

Originally Posted by Gut Check

Ummm, Mac seems like a reasonably intelligent fellow on the court. Why would he come in behind his serve almost all the time if he didn't feel like it increased his chances of winning each point?

1. Tradition. Back then, the equipment didn't allow for consistent agression from the baseline, so you had to aproach if you wanted to be aggressive.

2. I never said he'd win more if he stayed back. However, looking at SnV guys even as late as the 90s, their holding stats are lower than baseliners. SnV is risky, if you are a little sloppy, you miss the volleys.

Also, about statistics:

Statistics are like miniskirts, they reveal alot, but the most important things remain hidden.

[kiki]

While Fde´s serve is a weapon ( a bit like Laver´s serve was an addition to his game), he does not rely so much on his serve as Mac did on his.

Mac´s serve, while not the fastest, always memmerized me.That baseball swing and angled wicked serve was just so unmatchable, and that stance...

[Evan77]

Originally Posted by Biscuitmcgriddleson

And if you were to be entered into a poll with 6-1 6-3 6-0 for who the most vile poster is, well that is too close to call. Maybe you're ignorant of the modern game and development of players today? I mean, no one knows everything and if you're claiming to know all about JMac due to his past matches, how do we know that you have seen Federer or observed him without your obvious bias?

Either way, I guess 70s and 80s ftw.

yup, I'm ignorant 'of modern game' because I see it the way it is. JMac - better than Ballerina period.

thank you for putting in the same sentence with 6:1, I feel flattered as I dearly love him.

[MTF07]

Originally Posted by Evan77

yup, I'm ignorant 'of modern game' because I see it the way it is. JMac - better than Ballerina period.

thank you for putting in the same sentence with 6:1, I feel flattered as I dearly love him.

17 slams is a whole lot better than 7.

[Evan77]

Originally Posted by MTF07

17 slams is a whole lot better than 7.

lol, love it, a good one ... haha, can't stop laughing, so happy to see some guys here with a good sense of humor
cheers,

[Smasher08]

Originally Posted by MTF07

17 slams is a whole lot better than 7.

Good poast, but do remember that Fed didn't have racket technology completely change on him when he was 23. Had rackets stayed wood, J-Mac would've won a lot more than 7.

[smoledman]

Originally Posted by Smasher08

Good poast, but do remember that Fed didn't have racket technology completely change on him when he was 23. Had rackets stayed wood, J-Mac would've won a lot more than 7.

What happened in 1982?

[Towser83]

Originally Posted by Evan77

JMac for sure for many different reasons but most of kids here voting for Ballerina never saw any of JMac's matches. so much ignorance. If we made a poll, let's say, Ballerina is faster than Bolt, Ballerina would certainly win.

funny cos mac always reminded me of a ballerina when he hit his backhhand

[paulorenzo]

you guys just got bannedtrolled, contributing thoughtful reasoning to a thread whose OP has been banned shortly after.

[Smasher08]

Originally Posted by smoledman

What happened in 1982?

The advent of the graphite racket era. It forever changed how the sport is played by eliminating the touch game, J-Mac's forte.

It's no coincidence that a couple of years later Lendl's career took off, and allowed 17 year old Boris Boom-Boom Becker to win SW19.

Once Lendl figured out how to blow McEnroe off a court, Mac never won a slam again. Would've been very different had Ivan et al. been stuck with wooden rackets.

[Smasher08]

Originally Posted by paulorenzo

you guys just got bannedtrolled, contributing thoughtful reasoning to a thread whose OP has been banned shortly after.

Nah I knew he was trolling, but it allowed for some thoughtful discussion anyway.

[Magnetite]

Can't compare them .. waste of time.

[TheFifthSet]

I'd say it's pretty debatable. And for the poster that said otherwise, Federer sure does rely A LOT on his serve - 2007/2009 Wimby final, 2012 Olympic Semi can vouch for that.