thalivest
Banned
Who do you think is the biggest female tennis player overachiever ever. Here would be my candidates:
Lindsay Davenport- while I do believe she missed out on possibly winning quite a few more slams than her current 3, she in the grand scheme of things still was probably a major underachiever. A massive women without much athletic ability, few believed she would go on to win every slam outside the French Open, hold #1 for a significant period of time (altogether), win well over 40 tournaments, and be a threat to win every event she was in for about 8 years.
Justine Henin- I dont think when she emerged on the scene anyone thought she was someone who would win 7 slams, be the dominant clay courter of her era along with winning alot on hard courts, and be arguably the games best player for about 4 or 5 years. She was recognized young as a great talent but I think the feeling was she was just too small for this current era of tennis. While she actually isnt now where she looked like she might end up being at the end of 2007 when she was on the verge of surpassing Serena as the greatest player of this generation (and now is laps behind Serena), she still far surpassed all early expectations I believe.
Dinara Safina- she gets alot of heat for folding mentally under pressure but really she isnt that talented at all when we are talking about the top level of the game. It is a miracle she ever managed to achieve the things she did, and she deserves alot of credit for being a huge overachiever to reach 3 slam finals and reach #1, even during the really weak time period she managed it.
Aranxta Sanchez Vicario- she was probably less talented than all of Sabatini, Novotna, Pierce, maybe even Martinez, yet she achieved far more than any of them. Definitely a player who made the most out of incredible fighting qualities, determination, a never say die approach, willingess to give more than her all for every point, and willingess to throw the kitchen sink at her opponents if need be to try and scrape out a win.
Jennifer Capriati- she is both an overachiever and underachiever. Considering all the promise she burst on the scene with she in a way is a big underachiever. She may have been able to be a 8-10 slam winner if she had been managed properly with the right support system around him coming up. However given the player she actually did become after losing out on so many of her developmental years she really overachieved in another sense to win 3 slams. She was owned by almost every top player she ever faced in both her phases as a top player in early 90s and early 2000s, yet somehow managed 3 slam wins while only managing 14 tour titles.
Pam Shriver- considering her obvious lack of agility, non existent ground game, her movement, and her other glaring limitations she really made a very fine career for herself. One of the all time great doubles players, and a very good singles player.
Chris Evert- given that in many ways she lacked alot of the physical and athletic gifts that certainly Navratilova, Court, Goolagong, Mandlikova, possessed she did incredibly well to be the dominant women player many years, and to be considered one of the very greatest women players ever alongside Martina.
Kimiko Date- she has one of the most homemade games I have ever seen on the pro tour, let alone for a regular top 10 player (in her prime). I dont think a coach anywhere other than possibly Japan would ever tell someone to emulate anything about her strokes. It is really amazing she was able to be as much a contender in the mid 90s as she was and achieve the things she did. Also including her due to her amazing unlikely comeback to pro tennis.
Billie Jean King- She wasnt the biggest or strongest player, and she wasnt the strongest technical. She was extremely tactical, shrewd, clever, a great fighter, and really made the most out of what she did well.
I also think Manuela Maleeva who I consider the least talented of the 3 Maleeva sisters yet achieved the most. Her sisters were actually underachievers somewhat, atleast compared to her.
Lindsay Davenport- while I do believe she missed out on possibly winning quite a few more slams than her current 3, she in the grand scheme of things still was probably a major underachiever. A massive women without much athletic ability, few believed she would go on to win every slam outside the French Open, hold #1 for a significant period of time (altogether), win well over 40 tournaments, and be a threat to win every event she was in for about 8 years.
Justine Henin- I dont think when she emerged on the scene anyone thought she was someone who would win 7 slams, be the dominant clay courter of her era along with winning alot on hard courts, and be arguably the games best player for about 4 or 5 years. She was recognized young as a great talent but I think the feeling was she was just too small for this current era of tennis. While she actually isnt now where she looked like she might end up being at the end of 2007 when she was on the verge of surpassing Serena as the greatest player of this generation (and now is laps behind Serena), she still far surpassed all early expectations I believe.
Dinara Safina- she gets alot of heat for folding mentally under pressure but really she isnt that talented at all when we are talking about the top level of the game. It is a miracle she ever managed to achieve the things she did, and she deserves alot of credit for being a huge overachiever to reach 3 slam finals and reach #1, even during the really weak time period she managed it.
Aranxta Sanchez Vicario- she was probably less talented than all of Sabatini, Novotna, Pierce, maybe even Martinez, yet she achieved far more than any of them. Definitely a player who made the most out of incredible fighting qualities, determination, a never say die approach, willingess to give more than her all for every point, and willingess to throw the kitchen sink at her opponents if need be to try and scrape out a win.
Jennifer Capriati- she is both an overachiever and underachiever. Considering all the promise she burst on the scene with she in a way is a big underachiever. She may have been able to be a 8-10 slam winner if she had been managed properly with the right support system around him coming up. However given the player she actually did become after losing out on so many of her developmental years she really overachieved in another sense to win 3 slams. She was owned by almost every top player she ever faced in both her phases as a top player in early 90s and early 2000s, yet somehow managed 3 slam wins while only managing 14 tour titles.
Pam Shriver- considering her obvious lack of agility, non existent ground game, her movement, and her other glaring limitations she really made a very fine career for herself. One of the all time great doubles players, and a very good singles player.
Chris Evert- given that in many ways she lacked alot of the physical and athletic gifts that certainly Navratilova, Court, Goolagong, Mandlikova, possessed she did incredibly well to be the dominant women player many years, and to be considered one of the very greatest women players ever alongside Martina.
Kimiko Date- she has one of the most homemade games I have ever seen on the pro tour, let alone for a regular top 10 player (in her prime). I dont think a coach anywhere other than possibly Japan would ever tell someone to emulate anything about her strokes. It is really amazing she was able to be as much a contender in the mid 90s as she was and achieve the things she did. Also including her due to her amazing unlikely comeback to pro tennis.
Billie Jean King- She wasnt the biggest or strongest player, and she wasnt the strongest technical. She was extremely tactical, shrewd, clever, a great fighter, and really made the most out of what she did well.
I also think Manuela Maleeva who I consider the least talented of the 3 Maleeva sisters yet achieved the most. Her sisters were actually underachievers somewhat, atleast compared to her.
