Sampras Serve of Federer Forehand?

[ctoth666]

Originally Posted by MindoverMatter

You would take Chardy's forehand over Sampras' serve or Federer's forehand?

I was only half-joking. I mean, I don't actually think that Federer has any one single shot that is the best in the world. He's just simply world-class at everything he does, except converting break points. But Chardy has a marvelous forehand, and based on my understanding of human anatomy, the apparent length of his arms gives hims a physical advantage in producing the forehand over Federer. They look longer than average don't they? Or is it just me...

Anyway, I think Chardy has a better than 40% chance to beat Murray in the quarters. I think he can honestly hit Murray off the court if he can maintain his current form.

[adil1972]

pete serve

a die hard federer agassi seles fan

[Blocker]

I would go with Pete's serve.

The ball is in Pete's hands, he can do what he wants with it.

Federer's forehand is contingent on so many things, how fast the ball is coming at him, how much spin the ball has as it comes at him, where he is positioned on the court at the time of impact and where his opponent is positioned.

But with the serve, it's your call each and every time.

[Tennis_Hands]

Federer's forehand.

Once the things get going, it is the forehand, that decides things more often than not. More universal and one get to use it several times during a point.

[fed_rulz]

Karlovic/Goran/Isner's serve over Federer's FH surely.

Federer's FH over Pete's serve.

[Bobby Jr]

Originally Posted by Tennis_Hands

Federer's forehand.

Once the things get going, it is the forehand, that decides things more often than not. More universal and one get to use it several times during a point.

And during every game too, not just your service game.

[BevelDevil]

Originally Posted by Blocker

I would go with Pete's serve.

The ball is in Pete's hands, he can do what he wants with it.

Federer's forehand is contingent on so many things, how fast the ball is coming at him, how much spin the ball has as it comes at him, where he is positioned on the court at the time of impact and where his opponent is positioned.

But with the serve, it's your call each and every time.

vs.

Originally Posted by Bobby Jr

And during every game too, not just your service game.

+1+1

They pointed out two key, countervailing considerations:
1. You have complete control over your serve, but not your forehand
2. You only serve in half the games

It's an interesting way to frame the question.

I suspect the "correct" answer is that it depends on what else you bring to the table. Specifically, it depends on your ability utilize/capitalize the big weapon.

Footwork and a decent backhand would be key in getting the most out of Fed's forehand.

Capizalizing on Pete's serve seems a little trickier. Would it be better to have good volleys to go with it? Or would that be unneccessary, and more important to have good returns?

[2ndServe]

part of what makes Fed's forehand so great is his footwork, balance, and speed. If you woke up tomorrow with Fed's forehand, you wouldn't actually be hitting his forehand, save for some short midcourt shots.

[sdont]

Fed's FH obviously.

Look at the top 4 players right now. These days, a huge serve gets you nowhere if you don't have anything to back it up.

[PSNELKE]

Originally Posted by President

Federer forehand is the best of all time, Sampras serve wasn't. IMO Roddick had a better serve even if we are excluding very tall people.

Then Ivanisevic wins it. He ain't very tall.

[MasturB]

Federer's currently serving in a time that currently has arguably 3 of the better returners of all time in Nadal-Djokovic-Murray.

I'd be interested to see how Sampras would handle the pressure of second serves against those three.

While Fed doesn't have the pistol Pete had on his serve, he certainly ain't no slouch either.

[forzamilan90]

Forehand. Canbe played during every single point. Serve is only used when you're serving sohalf of the time it doesn't even come into play. GOAT forehand too

[zagor]

Originally Posted by 2ndServe

part of what makes Fed's forehand so great is his footwork, balance, and speed. If you woke up tomorrow with Fed's forehand, you wouldn't actually be hitting his forehand, save for some short midcourt shots.

Yup, many people fail to separate movement and the shot, if I couldn't glide on court like Fed, as a pro Pete's serve would be much more useful to me.

[Metalica]

Pete's serve because the serve is the only stroke where you're not affected by the opponent. You may have Fed's forehand but if your footwork, agility and speed aren't as good as his then you won't get similar result. The serve is also the most important stroke imo, so I'd think having an amazing serve would help me win more than having an amazing forehand.

[fed_rulz]

Originally Posted by Metalica

Pete's serve because the serve is the only stroke where you're not affected by the opponent. You may have Fed's forehand but if your footwork, agility and speed aren't as good as his then you won't get similar result. The serve is also the most important stroke imo, so I'd think having an amazing serve would help me win more than having an amazing forehand.

that's like saying you may have Pete's serve, but if you don't have Pete's shoulders, you won't get similar result.

If the serve is the most important stroke, hundreds of clay courters in the 90s must've missed the memo. or Agassi, when he won his 8 slams.

[Towser83]

Originally Posted by forzamilan90

Forehand. Canbe played during every single point. Serve is only used when you're serving sohalf of the time it doesn't even come into play. GOAT forehand too

plus these days on slower surfaces, the serve is less crucial than it used to be. You can get away with an average serve if your ground strokes are deadly and reliable. On the other hand a great serve and you end up playing many tiebreaks and probably losing them.

[TheFifthSet]

Originally Posted by ctoth666

I was only half-joking. I mean, I don't actually think that Federer has any one single shot that is the best in the world.

Forehand, footwork and slice, especially in his prime. Overhead too, possibly (who has a better overhead on tour now? Roddicks might have been better, but he's retired now).

[TMF]

A player with an average serve + great fh is more successful than a player with a great serve + average fh. So the fh is more important.

[mental midget]

Originally Posted by President

Federer is unusually good at taking care of big serves, look at how a great returner like Djokovic fared against Roddick's serve. Roddick hits the serve bigger and has a very good 2nd serve (maybe not as good as Sampras but still one of the best ever) and most importantly he gets a way higher percentage of first serves in than Sampras.

i believe roddick wound up with a higher career hold % than pete.

that, with an all-around game that was nowhere near as good as pete's.

in an era where the quality of returning has without question gotten much better.

roddick serve>sampras serve

[Magnetite]

Got to go with Pete's serve, my forehand is pretty big as it is.

lol.