Are Medvedev and Zverev the best movers ever for their height?
- Thread starter Lew II
- Start date
MeatTornado
Talk Tennis Guru
Since I don't have the list of 6'6" ATP pros memorized, I'm going to take a guess and just say yes.
Nadalgaenger
G.O.A.T.
Medvedev much better mover than Zverev, and even Zverev was probably best moving tall player ever.
Fedinkum
Legend
The myth had some truth in the past. They used to be proportionally chunky as they get taller.
But the new waves of 6.4+ players are much leaner and mobile.
BackhandDTL
Hall of Fame
Jerzy Janowicz
Third Serve
Talk Tennis Guru
Safin was a great mover for his height as well.
But I'm not aware of any other 6'4" or 6'6" players at that level.
But I'm not aware of any other 6'4" or 6'6" players at that level.
Pandora Mikado
Semi-Pro
There is a whole sport out there full of tall, explosive, and athletic movers.
Tennis, perhaps yes.
Last edited:
metsman
Talk Tennis Guru
Short people having serve issues is also a myth believe it or not. An elaborate ruse perpetrated by certain cartels, some of them likely Swiss, to limit the pool of tennis players by discouraging them right off the bat.
Third Serve
Talk Tennis Guru
betchu Berrettini is a better athlete than Sampras
let's see you handle THAT damning evidence
Red Rick
Bionic Poster
I wonder how many days in your life you've spent in making this exact post
Shaolin
Talk Tennis Guru
Literally every commentator I've heard thay played in the 90s (Courier etc) has commented on how much big players have improved movement wise. They all talk about how terrible the big guys moved until recently.
Back when Safin emerged all you heard about was how well he moved "for a big guy".
Nadalgaenger
G.O.A.T.
Nice move!
There is a whole professional sport full of tall explosive and athletic movers out there.
Tennis, perhaps yes.
Nadalgaenger
G.O.A.T.
Martin would win 30 slams in this MUG era...
Bender
G.O.A.T.
I once saw him run with those chicken legs of his
No way Sampras could lift off the ground to hit those trademark slam dunks if he had Berrettini's chopstick legs, so you may be onto something here
If there's one thing Berrettini and Taylor Swift have in common, it's their legs
And also @tennis_pro probably can't stop thinking about them
Last edited:
Nadalgaenger
G.O.A.T.
llodra_fan
Professional
Berdych moved really well for his height (6'5") in his prime.
Moonballballer
Semi-Pro
Benoit Paire is nearly same height
K-H
Hall of Fame
Tbf medvedev is a great mover regardless of his height. In the top 20, i can only think of 2-3 players who match or slightly excel him in that aspect. Id take his movement of most
RS
Bionic Poster
Yeah sure thing.
NatF
Bionic Poster
Wouldn't consider Medvedev an ATG mover though, think he's quite lacking compared to the truly elite movers. I think sometimes people think of movement as just the ability to track down balls, Zverev and Medvedev have big strides and can cover a lot of ground laterally but they don't have the dancing feet of the truly best movers. What Fedal especially have is truly elite footwork in offence, the kind that allows them to make space and hit those forehands in situations most other players simply wouldn't be capable of. While I don't think Novak and Andy had that level of footwork they're simply quicker than the #NextGen movers and Djokovic has his insane flexibility.
Boom-Boom
Legend
Zverev a much better mover than Med on clay though
Last edited:
junior74
Bionic Poster
Absolutely. I miss top form Cilic - very nice offensive game.
Paire (1.96 m) moves better than both Medvedev and Zverev.
K-H
Hall of Fame
Yh fair enough. I agree about the footwork part. None of these guys footwork is top level.
I just meant lateral movement and chasing balls down. I thought he's pretty good at that compared to most guys. But yeah, overall movement, footwork, anticipation, its lacking.
ForumMember
Hall of Fame
I have answered yes and between them Med is better mover. With their height and movement the threat they pose is really scary. Combination of height and movement means they are reaching to a lot more balls. In Rafa-Med match I was amazed how easily Med was reaching to Nadal's forehand down the line. IN general no one reaches to a well hit FHDTL of Rafa, not even Djoko. Med was not only reaching to those but was reaching comfortably enough to hit cross court winners on them. Well Rafa wasn't hitting that shot as close to the lines, but yet it gave very good idea of Med's court coverage. With his movement, his height (which also aids in a great serve) I would put my money on him to end year 2021 as number 1.
Mike Sams
G.O.A.T.
That reminds me of when Michael Jordan was dancing with Michael Jackson for the music video "Jam".
Jordan's dance movement was like a clumsy rhinocerous on ice skates compared to the silky smooth ballet-esque dance steps of Michael Jackson.
That doesn't have much to do with this thread nor about athletics but I thought I'd put it out there anyway
mental midget
Hall of Fame
medvedev probably a little better than zverev. 'peak cilic' probably about tied w medvedev. and somebody mentioned janowicz...he was like 6'8 or 6'9 i think, even taller, but wasn't too far off those two guys. too bad whatever happened to him, happened...110mph forehand, drop shot, rinse and repeat.
UnderratedSlam
G.O.A.T.
It would be a myth if anyone claimed that THEY CAN'T MOVE or STRUGGLE TO MOVE.
We know they can move.
But all we're saying is that they are SLOWER BECAUSE BIGGER. Basic laws of physics. Which is kinda what one learns as a toddler.
Goo-goo elephant big so slow, goo-goo ant quick coz small.
Bear is the quickest guy for players 195 plus ever. No question there.
Wurm
Professional
I wouldn't. You've seen him play on clay, right?
BackhandDTL
Hall of Fame
Medvedev and Janowicz a close second.
Nadalgaenger
G.O.A.T.
Fair point.
metsman
Talk Tennis Guru
Considering you feel the need to reply every time, you don't need to ask me now do you?
metsman
Talk Tennis Guru
Thank you. Is this so hard to grasp for most? Forget Fedal, Safin and Delpo have significantly better footwork than those guys if you want people of the same size or even bigger. Safin was better on the dead run too anyways. The only tall guys who have been ranked fairly high or made it to slam finals in recent memory (like the past 30 years) I'd confidently say they are better overall movers than are Anderson and Raonic (who have much better pure serves/forehands than next gen)
I mean I don't get how low your understanding of tennis has to be to look at these guys and think they're anything special moving just because they rely more on playing lateral defense. Maybe the reason guys that tall have to play that much defense is because their footwork sucks to begin with? Or maybe it's because they are utterly mediocre ballstrikers who can't even take consistent control of the point if it's presented to them on a silver platter which is why they can't still convincingly beat Nadal on his worst conditions. I don't know, the possibilities truly are endless in these times.
OldschoolKIaus
Hall of Fame
Connors in 4.
Similar threads
- Poll
