Delpo's running FH is the best I've seen since Sampras
- Thread starter drwood
- Start date
drwood
Professional
No way was Lendl's running FH better than Sampras'...if Lendl's running FH was better than Pete's he wouldn't have been owned by Becker in slam finals (0-3) or by teenage Pete in the 1990 US Open.
Cesc Fabregas
Legend
He has too win the point with it or he is doomed, he doesn't recover his position well on it, Murray, Nadal, Federer and Djokovic all have better running forehands because they can recover there position.
charliefedererer
Legend
It will be interesting to see if he can keep it up, and even keep improving, now that he has the increased confidence from the US Open crown.
Soderling can bring the heat as well, and almost beat Federer in the semis after a cold start in the US Open semis.
Wasn't it not long ago that Federer's forehand seemed like such a big weapon?
drwood
Professional
No they don't...they don't hit nearly the amount of outright winners off the running FH as Delpo does (Fed comes close, but definitely not Nadal, Murray or Djoker).
Sampras was the last person I saw who could regularly hit outright winners off the running FH from seemingly defensive positions in long rallies -- best examples would be in the 1st set of the 1993 Wimbledon final against Courier.
li0scc0
Hall of Fame
Overall Lendl beat Becker 11 times out of 21. Which means that their overall games matched up well. Becker had more success in 'big events' vs. Lendl. Which means (perhaps) that, overall, Becker had a bit extra.
That said, to say that he can't have the greatest running forehand since he lost to Becker in slam finals is irrelevant. The running forehand is ONE part of the game. Might as well say that Becker's serve could not be more powerful than Lendl's because Lendl was 11-10 vs. Becker. Irrelevant, just one part of the game.
And in my opinion, Lendl had the greatest running FH of all time. Just my opinion.
Cesc Fabregas
Legend
Del Potro has to hit a winner or he is doomed, he can't recover his position due to his limited movement.
drwood
Professional
He wasn't doomed when his FHs weren't winners against Fed or Nadal...
drwood
Professional
Lendl's running FH as a passing shot was great, but not in baseline rallies -- he couldn't consistently turn defense to offense from the baseline with his running FH -- otherwise he would have never lost to Wilander or Chang in slams.
IvanAndreevich
Legend
His forehand is impressive, but his running isn't nearly on par with Nadal, Sampras, or Federer. So, if you get him out of position he will not cover the court quite as well.
li0scc0
Hall of Fame
Great point. His forehand and running forehand were excellent, but his running on its own, i.e. his court coverage, were not at the uber-elite level. Not bad, mind you, but like you say, not to the level of some others.
el sergento
Hall of Fame
I disagree, of the bunch you mentioned Nadal is clearly the most dangerous on the run. Top that with the fact that he's also the quickest and you've got a guy that will not only get to more balls than anyone else (at his prime) but will also punish the ball better than anybody when he gets to it.
Here's my top 5 ranking of running FH':
- Nadal
- Sampras
- Rios
- Federer
- Agassi
InvisibleSoul
Hall of Fame
I want to see his 110MPH forehand again!
jwbarrientos
Hall of Fame
Nahhhhhhhhhh if we talking about power, oh yeah go with Delpo monster forehand (probably faster than some serves) but Sampras angles/timing were amazing in his prime.
Cesc Fabregas
Legend
Exactly what I said!
flyinghippos101
Legend
Not at all, he hits it deep enough anyways, that would give him plenty of time for recovery.
Baikalic
Semi-Pro
What Nadal has in his running FH is not necessarily pace, but spin to put the ball back in the court, whether it is down the line or cross court. I would think his amount of spin helps keep the ball away from a person at net, and thus make it very dangerous, especially on clay when Nadal has more time to get to a ball to put something on it. I think his running FH on HC is not as effective however.
Federer's running FH is clearly been one of the best in the past 6 years, and his translates pretty well on all surfaces. I don't know if ranking running FH's is necessarily accurate, but that list of names certainly encapsulates all of the best ones in the past two decades.
jwbarrientos
Hall of Fame
So far you got a good point here, but Delpo is improving his movement; sometimes I see he can't control the point and he is running around and the only way to recover is to release that bazooka shot.
what are you talking about? you obviously never saw lendl play. he could turn defense into offense easily. yeah, he lost matches in grand slams but that is virtually irrelevant to his running forehand. in that case, sampras' running forehand wasn't that great b/c he lost to yzaga, korda, and a bunch of no name's in the french open.
UsualSuspect
Banned
When that thing is on.... :shock: It is much better than Sampras and Federer. Del potro reaches speeds exceeding 100 mph on those running forehands. However, unlike Federer or Sampras, he cant consistently hit those as well as Fed and Sampras. The guy has to be in the zone.
BorisBeckerFan
Professional
Del Potro is not as fast as Pete, Fed or Rafa but he does have more reach. I don't think it makes up for the movement but those long arms do help.
Tennis_Maestro
Banned
LOL
People getting carried away with Del Potro now.
People getting carried away with Del Potro now.
vive le beau jeu !
Talk Tennis Guru
the power and the consistency of that shot in the final was impressive (some real bombs at times !). some players put lead tapes on their racket's head for having more power whereas delpo seems to already have like a medieval mace naturally included in the arm ! 
but i had the impression roger played too much on it towards the end (and with few variation ?), helping delpo to be perfectly adjusted on that shot at the end... which turned out to be lethal. :neutral:
but i had the impression roger played too much on it towards the end (and with few variation ?), helping delpo to be perfectly adjusted on that shot at the end... which turned out to be lethal. :neutral:
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drwood
Professional
I saw prime Lendl many times -- against Mecir in 89 Aus, Chang in 89 French, handled at Wimbledon and US Open by Becker. Also saw him handled by Wilander in 83 Aus.
Lendl was a great player -- very underrated on this board b/c he had no personality and wasn't nice. But to put his running FH in the category of Sampras is laughable.
And BTW, I never said Delpo's running FH was better than Sampras' -- it isnt; Sampras' running FH is still the best of all time IMO.
World Beater
Hall of Fame
the difference between deplo and sampras is that delpo is hitting that running fh from 10 feet behind the baseline...pete used to camp at the baseline and hit them while stalking the baseline.
delpo is hitting the harder shot but sampras ultimately more effective.
delpo needs to prove himself over the long haul to be compared to pete in this area. one or two matches doesnt cut it.
delpo is hitting the harder shot but sampras ultimately more effective.
delpo needs to prove himself over the long haul to be compared to pete in this area. one or two matches doesnt cut it.
TENNISSLAVE
Banned
Well put... they are hitting from way different areas of the court.
World Beater
Hall of Fame
also...delpo many times hit that shot as a passing shot with a target at the net.
sampras many times didnt need a target to get a great angle.
i think in terms of power delpo gets the edge but pete isnt too far behind because his shot is coming from the baseline as opposed to behind the baseline.
sampras many times didnt need a target to get a great angle.
i think in terms of power delpo gets the edge but pete isnt too far behind because his shot is coming from the baseline as opposed to behind the baseline.
the only thing laughable is your assessment of lendl's forehand in comparison to sampras'.
ClubHoUno
Banned
Weird argument..... :shock:
Based on one type of shot you conclude, that Lendl was owned by Becker and Pete in slam finals. I'm sorry but that is just rubbish :twisted:
Lendl had the best running forehand until Pete came along - I would say that they both had the best running forehand the game of tennis has ever seen.
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