Which Serve & Volleyer of the 90's was most fun to watch?

eric draven · 09-14-2009, 11:11 AM

Since a lot of us on the boards bemoan the lack of serve and volleyers in today's game I was thinking on the ones I remember watching. The 90's held the last generation of sucessful net rushers and I'm wondering who all of you think was the most fun to watch. Here are some suggestions based on my own opinion:

Pat Rafter - One of the most athletic people I've seen play the game
Tim Henman - Classic strokes, not so much a power player as a chess player on the court
Stefan Edberg - One of the smoothest movers ever, his first volley was phenomenal
Boris Becker - Big serving, big groundstrokes and a beast at the net
John McEnroe (yes I realize the 90's was the end of his career) but still was fun to watch
Pete Sampras - More of an all-courter but his instincts at the net behind that serve were amazing.

If I missed any players feel free to add them to the mix. For me I loved watching Rafter constantly advance to the net. Everyone in the stadium knew that he was going to rush the net but he earned trips to GS finals with his game.

David_86 · 09-14-2009, 12:32 PM

Krajicek and Stich were great to watch when they were on-form

vive le beau jeu ! · 09-18-2009, 12:58 AM

edberg and rafter for me !

darthpwner · 09-18-2009, 05:49 AM

Where's Goran, Krajicek, and Stich? I liked Edberg for his s&v the most, Sampras for his overall game, and Goran for his nasty serve

T1000 · 09-18-2009, 04:55 PM

Pete's dunk was the best

BTURNER · 09-18-2009, 05:05 PM

Edberg, his defensive volleying at net and his fine angle volleys were glorious

hoodjem · 09-18-2009, 05:17 PM

I'll take Edberg--absolutely fearless at the net. (I also love his second serve, and his backhand.)

Ripper014 · 09-18-2009, 05:23 PM

All great choices... but it would be McEnroe for me.. just because he was so unorthodox.

Brian Purdie · 09-18-2009, 05:40 PM

pete! mac wasn't good in the 90's, and Edberg's unusual service motion made him difficult to watch for me. Becker didn't play as much S&V in thee 90's as he did in the 80's.

pmerk34 · 09-18-2009, 05:45 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by darthpwner

Where's Goran, Krajicek, and Stich? I liked Edberg for his s&v the most, Sampras for his overall game, and Goran for his nasty serve

Other the the '92 Wimbledon final Goran was horrible to watch play. He's one of the reasons they slowed the courts.

ClubHoUno · 09-18-2009, 05:58 PM

Pat Rafter was my favorite volleyer to watch, but close second is Stefan Edberg.

Mac was the greatest in the 80's, not the same in the 90's.

Sampras was my overall favorite player ever, but only top 4 as a serve & volley player.

Preferred Rafter, Edberg and Becker as S&V players.

AndrewD · 09-18-2009, 06:05 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by eric draven

Pat Rafter - One of the most athletic people I've seen play the game
Stefan Edberg - One of the smoothest movers ever, his first volley was phenomenal
Pete Sampras - More of an all-courter but his instincts at the net behind that serve were amazing.

That's why I chose Rafter. His volleying skills were on a par with Edberg (both much better than Sampras who was effective but very heavy handed) but the amount of sheer effort and athleticism he put into his game was phenomenal. If Pat Cash had remained a viable competitor into the 90's I'd have picked him as well. Not given enough credit but he was Edberg's equal and owned possibly the best forehand volley the game has seen since Sedgman.

Tennis Dunce · 09-18-2009, 06:12 PM

I voted Sampras.

Even though I think God reincarnate would play tennis like Stefan Edberg played tennis.

But come on...Pete 93-2000 was the MAN!

Datacipher · 09-21-2009, 12:42 AM

Mcenroe (for the amazing touch, improvised shots, and drive volleys, with those artist like hands)
Edberg (smoothest player of all time, rock solid volleys + touch)

Tier 2
Sampras (Some of Mcenroe's touch, some of Edberg's smoothness). All court power with shotmaking excellence.

Tier 3
Rafter (didn't have the touch of the 3 above, but good instincts, and excellent athleticism, made for a dynamic, if inelegant net game)
Becker (the worst of all of these players on the volley, but all-court game and charisma, and the dive, made him exciting)

Tier 4
Henman (good all around, but....rather bland, unless you're british!)

Other fun SV'ers/allcourters who played into the 90's a little....Noah, Leconte, Stich....

morten · 09-21-2009, 09:46 AM

great Datacipher...

borg number one · 09-21-2009, 10:54 AM

During the 1990's, Sampras, Becker, Edberg, and Rafter were all great fun to watch as they S&V'ed against great baselines such as Agassi and other great baseliners. As far as "fun to watch" I'd put Becker at the top with Sampras second, Rafter third, and Edberg fourth. Yet, I tell you what, of the four, Edberg may have been the most consistent one, and the most lethal. His mechanics were unbelieveable, which he combined with great fitness/speed/quickness. The BEST S&V player in my opinion was Sampras. Yes, he had a great serve to set up his volleys, but he was an amazing volleyer. Lot's of angled backhand volleys!

eric draven · 09-21-2009, 11:36 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by darthpwner

Where's Goran, Krajicek, and Stich? I liked Edberg for his s&v the most, Sampras for his overall game, and Goran for his nasty serve

You're right, all three of them deserve to be on the list but I didn't include each for different reasons.

Goran was too inconsistent and was really mostly a serve.
Krajicek was too inconsistent because of his health. I loved his game but never really became a fan because he just couldn't stay healthy and be a threat consistently.
Stick, probably should have been included on the list, my mistake for overlooking him.

eric draven · 09-21-2009, 11:37 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Ripper014

All great choices... but it would be McEnroe for me.. just because he was so unorthodox.

Yeah, he really just seemed to slice and dice people to death when he was on. He didn't overpower you but he hit unconventional shots and angles.

pmerk34 · 09-21-2009, 11:39 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by borg number one

During the 1990's, Becker, Edberg, and Rafter were all great fun to watch as they S&V'ed against great baselines such as Agassi and other great baseliners. As far as "fun to watch" I'd put Becker at the top with Rafter second, and Edberg third. Yet, I tell you what, of the three, Edberg may have been the most consistent one, and the most lethal. His mechanics were unbelieveable, which he combined with great fitness/speed/quickness.

Plus he was strong as an ox

eric draven · 09-21-2009, 11:42 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by AndrewD

That's why I chose Rafter. His volleying skills were on a par with Edberg (both much better than Sampras who was effective but very heavy handed) but the amount of sheer effort and athleticism he put into his game was phenomenal. If Pat Cash had remained a viable competitor into the 90's I'd have picked him as well. Not given enough credit but he was Edberg's equal and owned possibly the best forehand volley the game has seen since Sedgman.

You really thought Sampras was heavy handed? I always kind of attributed it to that club of a racket he used. Considering how heavy it was and how tight he strung I was still amazed at his volleying.

Cash would have defenitely been on the list if it was for the 80's. I loved watching him play but only caught his matches more towards the end of his career.

View Poll Results: Who was the most fun Serve and Volleyer to watch in the 90's?
Pat Rafter	22	22.00%
Tim Henman	2	2.00%
Stefan Edberg	42	42.00%
Boris Becker	8	8.00%
John McEnroe	9	9.00%
Pete Sampras	17	17.00%
Voters: 100. You may not vote on this poll

09-14-2009, 11:11 AM	#1
eric draven Rookie Join Date: Feb 2004 Posts: 388	Which Serve & Volleyer of the 90's was most fun to watch? Since a lot of us on the boards bemoan the lack of serve and volleyers in today's game I was thinking on the ones I remember watching. The 90's held the last generation of sucessful net rushers and I'm wondering who all of you think was the most fun to watch. Here are some suggestions based on my own opinion: Pat Rafter - One of the most athletic people I've seen play the game Tim Henman - Classic strokes, not so much a power player as a chess player on the court Stefan Edberg - One of the smoothest movers ever, his first volley was phenomenal Boris Becker - Big serving, big groundstrokes and a beast at the net John McEnroe (yes I realize the 90's was the end of his career) but still was fun to watch Pete Sampras - More of an all-courter but his instincts at the net behind that serve were amazing. If I missed any players feel free to add them to the mix. For me I loved watching Rafter constantly advance to the net. Everyone in the stadium knew that he was going to rush the net but he earned trips to GS finals with his game.

09-18-2009, 04:55 PM	#5
T1000 Hall Of Fame Join Date: Jul 2008 Location: Connecticut Posts: 4,013	Pete's dunk was the best __________________ Head Youtek Prestige Pro 4g @12, 6g @ 3&9, 16g @ buttcap Genesis Spin X 17g or Typhoon 16L 70#

09-18-2009, 05:17 PM	#7
hoodjem Legend Join Date: Aug 2007 Location: Bierlandt Posts: 9,964	I'll take Edberg--absolutely fearless at the net. (I also love his second serve, and his backhand.) __________________ The smart man thinks he knows a lot; the wise man is aware that he knows little.

09-21-2009, 10:54 AM	#16
borg number one Legend Join Date: Oct 2007 Location: Houston, Texas Posts: 5,043	During the 1990's, Sampras, Becker, Edberg, and Rafter were all great fun to watch as they S&V'ed against great baselines such as Agassi and other great baseliners. As far as "fun to watch" I'd put Becker at the top with Sampras second, Rafter third, and Edberg fourth. Yet, I tell you what, of the four, Edberg may have been the most consistent one, and the most lethal. His mechanics were unbelieveable, which he combined with great fitness/speed/quickness. The BEST S&V player in my opinion was Sampras. Yes, he had a great serve to set up his volleys, but he was an amazing volleyer. Lot's of angled backhand volleys! __________________ Borg never pointed to himself. He never even seemed to care if anyone read the advertisements. — Tom Callahan Last edited by borg number one : 09-21-2009 at 08:00 PM. Reason: Left off Sampras!

09-18-2009, 12:58 AM	#3
vive le beau jeu ! Legend Join Date: Mar 2006 Location: Ometepe, Krec'h Morvan, Queyras, Kerguelen Islands, Sierra del Diablo, etc. Posts: 8,008	edberg and rafter for me !