Best running forehand ever?

T

timnz

Legend
Sampras was great, but Lendl's forehand was better

Lendl had more variety on his forehand, inside out, running down the line etc. He hit a running forehand from so far out of the court in Australian one time to Edberg it was astonishing to watch, you couldn't believe that someone could make that shot.

I agree Sampras' was impressive, but if you saw a lot of footage of Lendl doing his, you would change your mind.

His power also was enormous. I remember in 1988 and 1989 playing Agassi he would hit a running forehand to Agassi deep in the court and Agassi was in position for it but it just had so much power Agassi couldn't control it.
 
B

BTURNER

Legend
I don't know about running forehand, but Lendl's was better stroke. It was powerful enough to hit clean winners on grass, hard courts and indoors. It was steady enough to outrally others on clay too.
 
35ft6

35ft6

Legend
Nadal has a great running forehand, too. Pete's was sick, though. Nadal is amazing cuz he hits forehands on the run almost as well as if he was set up, but for some reason, Pete hit his running forehand BETTER than if he was just set up. More pace, pin point accuracy, more conviction. Weird.
 
Last edited:
380pistol

380pistol

Banned
Last edited:
pc1

pc1

G.O.A.T.
I'm not picking anyone over the other but here's some names to consider, Nastase, Borg, Lendl, Sampras (loved the way he dared people to hit to the opening on his forehand side), Laver, Nadal, Federer (surprised with all the Federer fans that he hasn't been mentioned much), Mecir.
 
SAFINATORZ

SAFINATORZ

Hall of Fame
during his hey days ppl say jimmy connors and JohnnY mac had pretty good running forehands.
IN my opinion Pete sampras had the Best running forehand, esp when played against guys like agassi and courier. He can go from defense to offense in seconds.
 
pc1

pc1

G.O.A.T.
SAFINATORZ said:
during his hey days ppl say jimmy connors and JohnnY mac had pretty good running forehands.
IN my opinion Pete sampras had the Best running forehand, esp when played against guys like agassi and courier. He can go from defense to offense in seconds.
Click to expand...

They both were terrific too and Connors actually had a better running backhand in my opinion.

One guy who I thought had a terrible running forehand for the player of his level was Agassi. Sure it was good but he was much better when he was controlling play with his forehand. It was nearly as good a running forehand as Sampras.
 
RoddickAce

RoddickAce

Hall of Fame
Nadal:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=SUkHnNTtUFY
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=FLhTjjCIf7A
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ROQKOSqHYPs
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ibxK4dXSzQ0&feature=related

Fed:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=rtxoAIT19_M
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=p5V1v_FTkXk

Pete:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=L_DFjZvwShU
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=6W11gut65AA

All three have amazing running forehands, so this one is a tough one...I'd have to go with Nadal just because of his crazy curving spins, and how he can cover the court so fast to get to practically any wide shot and rip the shot.
 
Last edited:
M

mental midget

Hall of Fame
my guess is lendl probably hit the greatest number of winners off this shot.

pete won more majors, more highlight clips out there, but lendl's running topspin forehand really took it to a whole new level back in the day.
 
C

Cenc

Hall of Fame
is this even a question?
imo sampras' running forehand is one of the best shots ever seen in tennis, by FAR the best running forehand ever
 
l_gonzalez

l_gonzalez

Professional
the one i hit today... full sprint angled cross-court running forehand and it landed right on the sideline... shame there's no hawk eye at the park courts because i swear i hit it at about 750mph... Just shy of breaking the sound barrier.
 
K

kingbishop

New User
LOL are you serious haha the shot that Sampras hit Nadal can do in his sleep.....Nadal by far has the most impressive running forehand hitting shots that Sampras could never hit
 
C

Cenc

Hall of Fame
kingbishop said:
LOL are you serious haha the shot that Sampras hit Nadal can do in his sleep.....Nadal by far has the most impressive running forehand hitting shots that Sampras could never hit
Click to expand...

llllllllllllllllooooooooooooooolllllllllllllllllllllllll
nadal has a great running forehand but he definitely isnt able to completely turn the rally over with just one shot the way sampras was doing for so many years
 
l_gonzalez

l_gonzalez

Professional
I would say Sampras. He deliberately left space on that side to tempt his opponent... It was almost like he was saying: "Go on, I dare you. I double dare you to hit it to my forehand corner"
 
C

Cenc

Hall of Fame
thejackal said:
from what Ive seen, running forward: federer; running laterally: nadal and sampras
Click to expand...

FEDERER??? do you know what running forehand is? fed has the best attacking forehand during the rally but definitely not even close to sampras or even nadal when we are talking about the running forehand
 
380pistol

380pistol

Banned
LDVTennis said:
I'll make a pitch for Steffi Graf.

Here are the clips:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=wxp1BC-81vs
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Trn0vmk6Cxg
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=bK-k4xcEHVM
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=WOu7I2fRdu4 (Must see!)
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ixKbUuRIQJU (See point at 1:01 of clip.)

Unlike Sampras, Steffi could hit her running forehand just as well on clay as on hard courts and grass.
Click to expand...

Maybe among women, I'd give it to her, but overall it belongs to Pete. Sampras could hit his running forehand on the moon!!!!!!
 
B

BTURNER

Legend
Steffi Graf's forehand is the most dominating single groundstroke in the history of the sport. No question in my mind.
 
A

AndrewD

Legend
380pistol said:
Nadal and Lendl are #2 and #3, but Sampras has the greatest running forehand ever.
Click to expand...

LOL, so says the man with the objective handle LOL.

Plain and simple:
Lendl's running forehand was so much better there's no point in comparing them. Ken Fletcher also had a much better running forehand so did Tom Okker, John Newcombe and a host of other players. Unlike them, Sampras lacked disguise in his shot. It was graceful and it was powerful BUT it wasn't well disguised. Lendl, on the other hand, could hit any type of forehand but not telegraph the shot.
 
grafselesfan

grafselesfan

Banned
helloworld said:
Against women you mean...
Click to expand...

What does it matter. It is a more dominanting a shot against other women than any other women has against other women, or any man has against other men. If a female swimmer or runner won more golds and was more dominant than any other in history you would say they are the most dominant in history man or women. It wouldnt matter that there were hundreds of men who could run or swim faster.
 
T

timnz

Legend
Lendl's running forehand #1

I have been watching tennis for 35 years and no-one in that time has had a better running forehand than Lendl. Sampras was very good, but it didn't have the reach that Lendl had to the far right of the court.
 
theagassiman

theagassiman

Rookie
What about Edberg's?
I remember some commentators saying in the early 90's that it was the best running forehand in the world, better than Lendl's.

Strange, since he his rallying forehand wasn't that great.
 
35ft6

35ft6

Legend
^ Eastern and continental are actually pretty good for pounding/flicking shots on the run. Even now, if I'm really on the move, I might use an eastern forehand grip, especially if I'm running at a low ball.
 
380pistol

380pistol

Banned
AndrewD said:
LOL, so says the man with the objective handle LOL.

Plain and simple:
Lendl's running forehand was so much better there's no point in comparing them. Ken Fletcher also had a much better running forehand so did Tom Okker, John Newcombe and a host of other players. Unlike them, Sampras lacked disguise in his shot. It was graceful and it was powerful BUT it wasn't well disguised. Lendl, on the other hand, could hit any type of forehand but not telegraph the shot.
Click to expand...

So Lendl's running forehand was "SO MUCH BETTER" based on disguise, and he "DID NOT TELEGRAPH THE SHOT"... good to know.

Objective, from the same guy who said Sampras was "lucky" ad didn;t face great opposition, and no one who dominates does. So Sampras, Borg, Graf, Ali, Jordan, Russell, Gretzky... they all never faced great competition. Wow.
 
M

mental midget

Hall of Fame
huge edberg fan, literally, i'm 7 feet tall, but it would be the definition of FANatic to include him in this conversation.

i think lendl is the answer to this question, as much respect as i have for sampras.
 
35ft6

35ft6

Legend
BTURNER said:
Steffi Graf's forehand is the most dominating single groundstroke in the history of the sport. No question in my mind.
Click to expand...
I agree. Her slice backhand was good, but it's amazing that somebody, man or woman, could win that many grand slams by hitting mostly slice backhands when they weren't a serve and volleyer, that's how good her forehand and footwork were.
 
380pistol

380pistol

Banned
35ft6 said:
I agree. Her slice backhand was good, but it's amazing that somebody, man or woman, could win that many grand slams by hitting mostly slice backhands when they weren't a serve and volleyer, that's how good her forehand and footwork were.
Click to expand...

Steffi's slice was a problem. Many people assume it was a defensive shot. It stayed very low and skidded, and she could also use it to attack. but her foreand was a beast. Best among women.... period. Best running forehand among women.... who but Graf? The didn't call her Fraulein Forehand for nothing.

Running forehand for men..... thy name is Pistol.
 
Last edited:
F

Frank Silbermann

Professional
Best running forehand ever was Fred Perry. When he was the #1 people often said that it was riskier to make him hit on-the-run than to hit the ball down the middle to him. His extreme continental grip gave him amazing leverage on the racket when all stretched out, and as a rising ball expert he tended to play close in. Put the two together and he could hit amazing angles when stretched out wide.
 
You must log in or register to reply here.

Similar threads

dincuss
Books?
Replies
23
Views
1K
norbac
norbac
P
proper release and extension. what i was referring to. see attached
Replies
0
Views
601
pushing_wins
P
Otherside
more core drills plus jumping
Replies
2
Views
593
Otherside
Otherside
smack that
ever wonder what its like running onto a tennis match?
Replies
7
Views
848
sdont
sdont
B
An incredible find - just posted today!
Replies
5
Views
968
magnut
M
Top