Most memorable shots in the open era

[kiki]

Since this is a forum to interchange well based opinions, here is my choice for the best or nicest shots I recall out of my 40 years experience with top players.

I peg pardon for all of those I´ll possibly forget.But I´d like to have the opinions of those long time tennis supporters that have, more or less, the same prime hand experience.

SERVE

1/Sampras
2/Newcombe
3/Edberg
4/Becker
5/Mc Enroe

beautiful, almost perfect textbook motions for Pete and Newc; Becker used his upper body and mighty legs to get extrapower , while I always enjoyed of Edberg´s kick and Mac´s slice were sued to settle their attack.

VOLLEY

1/Edberg/Roche/JMac
4/Rosewall/Laver
5/Panatta/Rafter

Panatta drop volleys and Rafter FH volley were great watching, so was the textbook backswing Rosewall took.Laver volley was so complete and devastating...still, Mac,Edberg and Roche had the most versatile and natural net game and, each one within his style, were a joy to watch settle the attack and knock it down

FOREHAND

1/Borg
2/Federer/Sampras
3/Bruguera/Nadal
4/Lendl
5/Courier/Newc

Borg´s top spin was great to watch because of his very personal spin, stance, hip movement and, as a resumee, his very particular style of play.

Fed´s and Pete´s are great shots, overwhelming when they are/were at their best, almost flat and with great angle.So was Lendl´s.Bruguera, Nadal ( and somewhat Courier) had a terrific top spin FH, but Bruguera´s was nicer to watch because more fluent and uncanny.

Newc´s FH approach was the best I´ve seen ( better than Pete´s or Becker´s IMO)

BACKHAND

1/Rosewall
2/Laver
3/Connors
4/Edberg
5/Ashe/Vilas/Agassi

well, the GREATEST single shot I´ve seen from the early 1970´s is the Rosewall BH.He couldn´t miss it even if he wanted to.I´ll just say that it was even nicer to " listen" to it than to watch it.Perfection, beauty, smoothness...Laver had the msot versatile Bh, could hit it in anyway, could use it to pass, come to the net, drop shot, open angles...amazing.

Ashe´s sliced was a fluent shot, and his flat one was very good.Vilas top spin one fell short only to Laver´s.

Connors has the nicest and cleanest 2 H BH ever, closely followed by Agassi.Both, the best returners of the open era ( closely followed by laver and Rosewall).Edberg´s slice approach was as good as anybody´s...and his topspin was great ( possibly, the most complete range of backhands after Laver)

LOB

1/Nastase
2/Orantes
3/Rosewall
4/Laver
5/Newcombe

lobbing isn´t a tactic anymore, since there is no volley anymore.But thsoe guys used it, both defensively and offensively with a great security margin and Nastase´s was, IMO the best, sinc ehe had that surprising loop spin, he learnt from great Manuel Santana.

DROP

1/Orantes
2/Mayer
3/Nastase/Panatta
4/Laver/Rosewall

Orantes and Mayer could hit´em anywhere, no matter what ball was coming at them.Even if you knew they were doing it, you just couldn´t reach the ball.

Connors could have been included but he lacked the proper judgement to take as much advantage of his drops as those 5 players.Nasty amd, specially Panatta, played the drop shot as an approach shot, that is, a volley settler.

OVERHEAD

1/Becker
2/Vilas/Newcombe
4/Sampras
5/Noah

Just for his almost flawless smash, Becker deserves the nº 1, but Sampras,Newcombe or Vilas never came back.I put Noah as a fifth best because of his athletic abilities.I heard of Stockton, but I can´t recall him playing, so I outed him off my list

FOOTWORK

1/Borg
2/Connors
3/Rosewall
4/Laver/Wilander
5/Federer/Nastase

I didn´t pick the fastest guy ( Gerulaitis or Kriek were the fastest probably) but , rather, the most flashy, uncanny, natural and precise footwork.Borg danced on the court, unbelievable, while Connors anticipation and hand eye coordination made him take the ball on the rise in an unmatched way.Rosewall,Mats,Federer and Nastase were very agile and precise, never wrong footing.

Laver , on the other hand, lived on his raw speed, he crossed the court like a storm and reached the most unreachable balls, something Gerulaitis and Kriek also could do, but not in such way.

As for all court game, I have no doubts that Laver has been the best I´ve seen and tha is why he ranks as my GOAT ( from 68 onwards).Not only did he have the shots and the arm and legs, he also had the boldest mind I´ve seen on court ( in his prime he went for the most unexpected shot ) combined with an uncredible strategic mind.he used the unexpected to recover and was a man you´d never know what could he bring to you

LADIES

In short, I´d say

Martina Navratilova´s serve ( and Sharapova´s and Serena´s as a second choice), Graf and Mandlikova´s FH ( closely followed by Hingis and Martinez), Evert,Henin,Seles, Sabatini and Cawley´s BH ( altough Evonne´s sliced one was just dashling, the others being powerful or ultraconsistent), Wade and Navratilova´s volley, Evert´s drop shot,Martina´s overhead and Mandlikova´s , Hingis ,Graf movement (Evert was not as good as a mover but her anticipation and concentration were first class)

The most complete player in terms of all round game would be Court,Navratilova and, then, and far from them, Hingis and Mandlikova

[pc1]

Originally Posted by kiki

Since this is a forum to interchange well based opinions, here is my choice for the best or nicest shots I recall out of my 40 years experience with top players.

I peg pardon for all of those I´ll possibly forget.But I´d like to have the opinions of those long time tennis supporters that have, more or less, the same prime hand experience.

SERVE

1/Sampras
2/Newcombe
3/Edberg
4/Becker
5/Mc Enroe

beautiful, almost perfect textbook motions for Pete and Newc; Becker used his upper body and mighty legs to get extrapower , while I always enjoyed of Edberg´s kick and Mac´s slice were sued to settle their attack.

VOLLEY

1/Edberg/Roche/JMac
4/Rosewall/Laver
5/Panatta/Rafter

Panatta drop volleys and Rafter FH volley were great watching, so was the textbook backswing Rosewall took.Laver volley was so complete and devastating...still, Mac,Edberg and Roche had the most versatile and natural net game and, each one within his style, were a joy to watch settle the attack and knock it down

FOREHAND

1/Borg
2/Federer/Sampras
3/Bruguera/Nadal
4/Lendl
5/Courier/Newc

Borg´s top spin was great to watch because of his very personal spin, stance, hip movement and, as a resumee, his very particular style of play.

Fed´s and Pete´s are great shots, overwhelming when they are/were at their best, almost flat and with great angle.So was Lendl´s.Bruguera, Nadal ( and somewhat Courier) had a terrific top spin FH, but Bruguera´s was nicer to watch because more fluent and uncanny.

Newc´s FH approach was the best I´ve seen ( better than Pete´s or Becker´s IMO)

BACKHAND

1/Rosewall
2/Laver
3/Connors
4/Edberg
5/Ashe/Vilas/Agassi

well, the GREATEST single shot I´ve seen from the early 1970´s is the Rosewall BH.He couldn´t miss it even if he wanted to.I´ll just say that it was even nicer to " listen" to it than to watch it.Perfection, beauty, smoothness...Laver had the msot versatile Bh, could hit it in anyway, could use it to pass, come to the net, drop shot, open angles...amazing.

Ashe´s sliced was a fluent shot, and his flat one was very good.Vilas top spin one fell short only to Laver´s.

Connors has the nicest and cleanest 2 H BH ever, closely followed by Agassi.Both, the best returners of the open era ( closely followed by laver and Rosewall).Edberg´s slice approach was as good as anybody´s...and his topspin was great ( possibly, the most complete range of backhands after Laver)

LOB

1/Nastase
2/Orantes
3/Rosewall
4/Laver
5/Newcombe

lobbing isn´t a tactic anymore, since there is no volley anymore.But thsoe guys used it, both defensively and offensively with a great security margin and Nastase´s was, IMO the best, sinc ehe had that surprising loop spin, he learnt from great Manuel Santana.

DROP

1/Orantes
2/Mayer
3/Nastase/Panatta
4/Laver/Rosewall

Orantes and Mayer could hit´em anywhere, no matter what ball was coming at them.Even if you knew they were doing it, you just couldn´t reach the ball.

Connors could have been included but he lacked the proper judgement to take as much advantage of his drops as those 5 players.Nasty amd, specially Panatta, played the drop shot as an approach shot, that is, a volley settler.

OVERHEAD

1/Becker
2/Vilas/Newcombe
4/Sampras
5/Noah

Just for his almost flawless smash, Becker deserves the nº 1, but Sampras,Newcombe or Vilas never came back.I put Noah as a fifth best because of his athletic abilities.I heard of Stockton, but I can´t recall him playing, so I outed him off my list

FOOTWORK

1/Borg
2/Connors
3/Rosewall
4/Laver/Wilander
5/Federer/Nastase

I didn´t pick the fastest guy ( Gerulaitis or Kriek were the fastest probably) but , rather, the most flashy, uncanny, natural and precise footwork.Borg danced on the court, unbelievable, while Connors anticipation and hand eye coordination made him take the ball on the rise in an unmatched way.Rosewall,Mats,Federer and Nastase were very agile and precise, never wrong footing.

Laver , on the other hand, lived on his raw speed, he crossed the court like a storm and reached the most unreachable balls, something Gerulaitis and Kriek also could do, but not in such way.

As for all court game, I have no doubts that Laver has been the best I´ve seen and tha is why he ranks as my GOAT ( from 68 onwards).Not only did he have the shots and the arm and legs, he also had the boldest mind I´ve seen on court ( in his prime he went for the most unexpected shot ) combined with an uncredible strategic mind.he used the unexpected to recover and was a man you´d never know what could he bring to you

LADIES

In short, I´d say

Martina Navratilova´s serve ( and Sharapova´s and Serena´s as a second choice), Graf and Mandlikova´s FH ( closely followed by Hingis and Martinez), Evert,Henin,Seles, Sabatini and Cawley´s BH ( altough Evonne´s sliced one was just dashling, the others being powerful or ultraconsistent), Wade and Navratilova´s volley, Evert´s drop shot,Martina´s overhead and Mandlikova´s , Hingis ,Graf movement (Evert was not as good as a mover but her anticipation and concentration were first class)

The most complete player in terms of all round game would be Court,Navratilova and, then, and far from them, Hingis and Mandlikova

Nice list. A lot of beautiful strokes there. I might throw in the Miloslav Mecir backhand and movement as very memorable too as well as his angles.

[BTURNER]

That Evert lob was just as beautiful as that forehand dropper. It also won her at least as many points. I'll also mention the King backhand volley, and the Navratilova overhead.

[pc1]

Originally Posted by BTURNER

That Evert lob was just as beautiful as that forehand dropper. It also won her at least as many points.

Sometime touch shots are the nicest to see. I loved watching Orantes kill people with drop shots. Whenever I try a drop shot I think of Orantes. I just wish I had the success rate of Orantes.

[kiki]

Originally Posted by pc1

Nice list. A lot of beautiful strokes there. I might throw in the Miloslav Mecir backhand and movement as very memorable too as well as his angles.

true, as for 2 HBH, Mecir is just a bit below Connors and nicer to watch than Agassi´s.Very good remark.

[kiki]

Originally Posted by BTURNER

That Evert lob was just as beautiful as that forehand dropper. It also won her at least as many points. I'll also mention the King backhand volley, and the Navratilova overhead.

Yep¡ I missed women´s lob and overhead.Another big one was Shriver or Stove for the OH.But, definitely, as for the lob, Chris Evert´s remains the best ( it also helps that she could perfection it since there were far more volleyers in her time than nowadays, even in the women´s game)

[kiki]

Originally Posted by pc1

Sometime touch shots are the nicest to see. I loved watching Orantes kill people with drop shots. Whenever I try a drop shot I think of Orantes. I just wish I had the success rate of Orantes.

Disguissing was Orantes key to success, as well as touch.Mayer´s 2 handed motion helped him , too.Orantes learned the " minor arts" ( lob, spins, drop, strategy) from all time great Manuel Santana, who also inspired much of Nastase´s game...

[CEvertFan]

You lost me when you mentioned the Hingis forehand as being one of the best - not true IMO. Capriati, Davenport, Henin to name a few had better forehands than Hingis did. Yes it was steady for the most part, but ultimately unspectacular and could get overwhelmed rather easily. She had a far better backhand than forehand.

[pc1]

Some don't like it but I thought Borg's two handed backhand with one handed release was very nice to see.

[gavna]

Noah had the biggest overhead.....back in the 80s they did quite a few player polls asking who they thought had the best shots and Noah was always given best overhead and best "legs" for his speed and movement (just not on grass which he hated to play on).

On the backhand Edberg is way way to high - Borg's backhand much stronger and should be top 4.

As for Dickie Stockton he was one of the best S&V players in the mid to late 70s - got to the semis of the French in 78 and far at the open when it was on clay was one of the best Jrs and US college players coming out of the power house Trinity program.....a bad back followed him all thru his career and the main reason he didn't do better. He had one of the best overall net games in he 70s with an amazing BH volley and a great overhead.

[jean pierre]

The most incredible shot is the backhand volley/smash of Vilas.

[kiki]

Originally Posted by jean pierre

The most incredible shot is the backhand volley/smash of Vilas.

yes. the best BACKHAND OVERHEAD is Vilas.Panatta also executed it pretty well, even Noah wasn´t bad at that shot...

[jean pierre]

Originally Posted by kiki

yes. the best BACKHAND OVERHEAD is Vilas.Panatta also executed it pretty well, even Noah wasn´t bad at that shot...

Leconte too. But Vilas is the king of this shot !

[kiki]

Originally Posted by jean pierre

Leconte too. But Vilas is the king of this shot !

Vilas had a very good backxourt game aided by a great physichal condition, after so much training with Tiriac.You could feel he was never afraid to engage in a very long match, he was sure his top form would pay off.If he had only had a good serve¡¡¡

[rafafan20]

I'd put Kuerten on the list with footwork. Guy didn't have the greatest strokes but was in position for every single shot.

[rafafan20]

Above only applies to clay, obviously... but his footwork was amazing

[pc1]

Originally Posted by kiki

Vilas had a very good backxourt game aided by a great physichal condition, after so much training with Tiriac.You could feel he was never afraid to engage in a very long match, he was sure his top form would pay off.If he had only had a good serve¡¡¡

I heard stories about Vilas practicing for I think 3 or 5 hours before playing his match in 1977 against Connors. That boggles the mind if it is true.

When you look at Vilas you see a guy with muscles on his muscles. You get the feeling he could bend an iron bar with ease. It goes to show that strength doesn't mean you can have a great serve.

[I get cramps]

Originally Posted by jean pierre

Leconte too. But Vilas is the king of this shot !

IMHO, it was Rafter.

[I get cramps]

Pat Cash's volleys. I would like to know why he isn't considered at a par with Edberg and Mcenroe as a volleyer. The magic of Mcenroe perhaps puts him one step ahead of the rest of the pack, but, were Edberg's volleys better than Cash's...? If so, why?

[I get cramps]

there's so little Cash in the Internet.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=7knjX...eature=related

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=2oIjNN8XdIc

The two players i miss most are Cash and Rafter.