Are there any OHBH players who are known to be great returners?

[NedStark]

He only blocks first serve returns and stands way back to return seconds (which is why he has a tough time against nadal, nadal eats block/slice returns for breakfast).

Because Nadal is a lefty, and most righties’ slice returns often go cross court to ad court, right into Nadal’s GOAT forehand. Wawrinka’s slices/blocks do just fine against righty two-handers.

Remember that lefties are a tiny minority in the Tour.

It’s interesting many of the people you guys have mentioned are from the s and v ages. I guess one handers can have great block returns but has huge disadvantages when attacking the modern topspin and kick serves compared to two handers. But it doesn’t mean one handers have no advantages at all, I do think it is easier to generate spin and angels, and the dtl shot while riskier is more rewarding

And much better than 2HBH at handling low/slice balls on the receiving end. Anyone who actually plays tennis can confirm this.

Hey, and don’t forget that Federer often eats servebots for lunch.

 

[mtommer]

It means Federer was so talented that he could compensate for weak ros by brilliance in the other phases of the game and still be one of the primary people in goat discussions

Or not having the best ros doesn't mean a ros of serve is weak. Watching all pro players, I've seen every single one of them, that would be all, yes, all, return serves consistently such that many rallies ensue.

I would say that I've never seen one pro match where either player had a weak fh, bh, serve, ros, volley, etc. The difference between 100 and 1 is razor thin. Pro players know this, their entourages know this, their coaches know this, people who are seriously involved in the world of tennis know this, and it's precisely why forum hacks shouldn't be given any serious consideration when it comes to this type of discussion.

 

[Cabeza del Demonio]

Or stand out in terms of statistics like return points won (relative to how good they are, like fed has great numbers but compare to the rest of his game or players like nadal or djokovic his return is not great)
many OHBH players are known to have weak returns like Tsitsipas, Shapo. Warinka’s return is not great either. He only blocks first serve returns and stands way back to return seconds (which is why he has a tough time against nadal, nadal eats block/slice returns for breakfast). Players like thiem and dimitrov do not have great returns either.

It's Federer, and by some distance IMO. Great anticipation, rare that you'd ever see him get overpowered by a big server.

I'm reminded of that "Superman return" he pulled off against Roddick's 140mph serve:

I've always wondered whether that's the best we'll ever get from a one-handed backhand return. He's great off that side, but still nowhere near the likes of Djokovic or Agassi in that department.

I hope some new guy comes along and proves me wrong.

 

[Aestheticsaboveallelse]

Or not having the best ros doesn't mean a ros of serve is weak. Watching all pro players, I've seen every single one of them, that would be all, yes, all, return serves consistently such that many rallies ensue.

I would say that I've never seen one pro match where either player had a weak fh, bh, serve, ros, volley, etc. The difference between 100 and 1 is razor thin. Pro players know this, their entourages know this, their coaches know this, people who are seriously involved in the world of tennis know this, and it's precisely why forum hacks shouldn't be given any serious consideration when it comes to this type of discussion.

A top 100 level ros is quite weak for an ATG. And Federer regularly 6-2 6-1 or 6-0 6-3 type of scorelines vs lower ranked players, hardly a razor thin margin thats a huge difference

 

[CyBorg]

Ken Rosewall. The one and only.

 

[BGod]

I mean today there's like 5 guys in the Top 100 right (Musetti, Shap, Tsit, Stan, Thiem) with 2-3 being non factors.

As has been said of yesteryear Edberg, Becker, Mac were all arguable Top 10 historically.

 

[Aestheticsaboveallelse]

Ken Rosewall. The one and only.

Is that Barbie's boyfriend?

 

[Drob]

Can’t really think of any current players TBH.

Fed, Edberg, Mac, and Mike Bryan come to my mind as some of best former pro OHBH returners I can think of during my lifetime. Dont know if they rise to “greatness,” though. Especially compared to some of the incredible 2HBH returners.

The usual suspects probably: Lacoste, Budge, Kovacs, Rosewall, Hoad. Maybe Tilden, Riggs, Laver. Edberg you mentioned. Maybe a few others. Budge and Rosewall stand out from others. Nowadays, who hits a one-handed anyway? Here's a list from Tennis Abstract of top-ranked one-handed BH players through the first 200. Anybody here ring a bell?

6​	Stefanos Tsitsipas​	GRE​
17​	Grigor Dimitrov​	BUL​
22​	Lorenzo Musetti​	ITA​
32​	Christopher Eubanks​	USA​
37​	Daniel Evans​	GBR​
48​	Dusan Lajovic​	SRB​
51​	Stan Wawrinka​	SUI​
54​	Daniel Altmaier​	GER​
58​	Christopher Oconnell​	AUS​
68​	Richard Gasquet​	FRA​
93​	Denis Shapovalov​	CAN​
108​	Dominic Thiem​	AUT​
109​	Aleksandar Kovacevic​	USA​
158​	Andrea Vavassori​	ITA​
185​	Marco Cecchinato​	ITA​

 

[mtommer]

A top 100 level ros is quite weak for an ATG. And Federer regularly 6-2 6-1 or 6-0 6-3 type of scorelines vs lower ranked players, hardly a razor thin margin thats a huge difference

There's never been top players that have been upset in tournaments before by significantly lower ranked ones?

 

[mtommer]

Nowadays, who hits a one-handed anyway? Here's a list from Tennis Abstract of top-ranked one-handed BH players through the first 200. Anybody here ring a bell?

Nope. Nobody rings a bell. There are absolutely no Slam winners in that list either and most definitely no multi Slam winners. Nope. Just a completely obscure list.

 

[am1899]

The usual suspects probably: Lacoste, Budge, Kovacs, Rosewall, Hoad. Maybe Tilden, Riggs, Laver. Edberg you mentioned. Maybe a few others. Budge and Rosewall stand out from others. Nowadays, who hits a one-handed anyway? Here's a list from Tennis Abstract of top-ranked one-handed BH players through the first 200. Anybody here ring a bell?

6​	Stefanos Tsitsipas​	GRE​
17​	Grigor Dimitrov​	BUL​
22​	Lorenzo Musetti​	ITA​
32​	Christopher Eubanks​	USA​
37​	Daniel Evans​	GBR​
48​	Dusan Lajovic​	SRB​
51​	Stan Wawrinka​	SUI​
54​	Daniel Altmaier​	GER​
58​	Christopher Oconnell​	AUS​
68​	Richard Gasquet​	FRA​
93​	Denis Shapovalov​	CAN​
108​	Dominic Thiem​	AUT​
109​	Aleksandar Kovacevic​	USA​
158​	Andrea Vavassori​	ITA​
185​	Marco Cecchinato​	ITA​

For me anyway, nobody on that list qualifies anywhere near “great” as far as ROS.

Personally I’d consider Evans the best of that bunch. But again, that isn’t saying much.

 

[nolefam_2024]

Are there any OHBH players who are known to be great on current tour?

I think no.

Tsitsipas and Dimitrov reached top 3 ranking and both have horrible ros. Wawrinka was good for a few years when he was in top 10. But apart from him, in current players no one comes to mind. Even Thiem was poor with his return from 10 feet away.

 

[Holmes]

Roy Emerson, and his modern counterpart, Roger Federer.

 

[crimson87]

Maybe using a 2 hander to return and a one hander for rallies can be available tactic if practiced early?

 

[vive le beau jeu !]

henman was also a good returner...