Hardest Player to Pass?

[prostaff18]

The hardest player to hit a passing shot on.......what do you think?

My guess would be Pat Rafter. Sure he got passed more than other people, but look at the shots that he came in behind. Players like Pete Sampras came in behind much better shots that allowed them to be passed less. Also Rafter got passed more because he came in more than most did. I think that Rafter made the most out of what he had because he was super athletic. He had great hands and was very fast at net.

[Doc Hollidae]

McEnroe or Edberg

[Setmatch45]

Pete Sampras

[xtremerunnerars]

I don't necessarily agree that he's the hardest to pass, but something has to be said for Ivo Karlovic...especially when you account for how hard people are hitting the ball these days.

[kanjii]

Agassi and Nadal...pretty tough to pass someone who's on the baseline. McEnroe at the net...maybe the original BB..Boris Becker.

[The Gorilla]

Originally Posted by xtremerunnerars

I don't necessarily agree that he's the hardest to pass, but something has to be said for Ivo Karlovic...especially when you account for how hard people are hitting the ball these days.

has to be dr ivo, did you see that match against hewitt?

[xtremerunnerars]

Originally Posted by kanjii

Agassi and Nadal...pretty tough to pass someone who's on the baseline. McEnroe at the net...maybe the original BB..Boris Becker.

If you're going to say baseliners, I think you have to put rios in there somewhere too. Oh and federer as well, though he doesn't get a ton of credit for being a speedster because he's got everything. Also, I'm assuming you mean young(er) agassi?

[Deuce]

Navratilova is certainly worth a mention in this category.

[heartman]

Take a look at the approach shots hit by many of the players mentioned in this thread. Sampra, Rafter, Navratilova all had tremendous approach shots, which led them to successful net play. I think this is a missing element in many of today's players - certainly among young players...

[superstition]

Navratilova was dubbed the hardest woman to pass by tennis magazine.

[suwanee4712]

My vote would go to Edberg for the men and Navratilova for the women. Rafter is a good choice too because of his speed. Mac too was quicker than most would give him credit for and definitely had the best reflexes.

The difference between Martina and most any other female serve and volley player in the graphite to power era is that she physically covered the net like most men. Others covered it well, but left bigger angles and alleys than Martina. The lob had to be perfect to beat her.

[fgbowen33]

with out a doubt - if he hit his first sever in Johnny Mac

[Gasquetrules]

When it comes to pure volleying skill, it's very hard to rank McEnroe or Edberg ahead of the other... and I'm saying look at Mac at his best and Edberg at his best. Perhaps Mac had the better hands, but Edberg probably covered the net better and got more depth and penetration on his volleys. Their '89 Wimbledon semi-final is a treat. It was Mac's last serious run at a Wimbledon title, and his form wasn't far off what it had been five years before. Edberg prevailed in three very close sets.

Becker is just behind these two as #number three on my list of great volleyers. But Becker's ground game was far superior to either Mac's or Edberg's.

Sampras was an effective volleyer only because he came in behind such potent stuff. As far as pure form goes, his volleying ability was certainly not on par with McEnroe, Edberg and Becker... or Rafter, for that matter.

I'd never really thought of Rafter as among the great net men, but I suppose he was. Again, he faced more formidable passing shots than Edberg and Becker did, just as they faced more heat at the net than McEnroe did... all because the progression of ever more powerful graphite racquets that made passing shots so much more formidable as the years went by. Baseliners are so fast and powerful today that it seems that whenever players do venture to the net, the most effective volley is the drop volley. You don't see guys at the net these days punching the balls away from their opponents the way Mac and Edberg did.