Best English speakers on tour (besides native speakers)

[King No1e]

Obviously Federer and Djokovic are quite good with their English.

Also noticed Zverev, Cilic, and Dimitrov speak pretty good English. You could talk to them without knowing who they are and probably wouldn’t notice they’re not a native speaker.

Tsitsipas also has quite good English, just heard his voice in Toronto.

Actually most of the Balkan/Eastern European guys speak really good English (I’m grouping Zverev in too, he’s literally Russian guys).

As for the worst, Nadal is uhhh, yea. Let’s just say he’s not the best. Nishikori also doesn’t have the greatest, which surprises me considering he spent a portion of his life training at the IMG Bolletieri Academy in Florida.

Ferrer’s English also isn’t too good but I’ll give him a pass because he’s an intellectual (Seriously, the guy reads a few books a week and saves them all).

Special mention to Medvedev for his iconic “Hey Stefanos you better shut your **** up ok” and “He say bullsheet Russian you think this is normal?”

I didn't know about Ferrer being an intellectual.

I have nothing but absolute respect for the guy. I hope I will one day be half the man Ferrer is.

 

[Shaolin]

Older Zverev, Tursunov.

I've hit with Tursunov. I'd never guess that he was from another country if I didn't know already. Sounds just like a typical American.

 

[skaj]

Federer speaks more like an English or American then a Swiss. Technically English is his native language.

Novak is amazin when it comes to English cause Serbian language is very different.

I wonder if English is easier for some foreigners cause English is direct and does not have formalities like Romance languages.

Not more different than English and Russian for example, or English and any other Slavic language probably. His English is alright, but far from amazing for a native Serbo-Croat speaker.

 

[Sudacafan]

I didn't know about Ferrer being an intellectual.

I have nothing but absolute respect for the guy. I hope I will one day be half the man Ferrer is.

We'll give you a chance to rephrase that, if you wish.

 

[N01E]

I didn't know about Ferrer being an intellectual.

I have nothing but absolute respect for the guy. I hope I will one day be half the man Ferrer is.

You might want to rethink that.

 

[UnderratedSlam]

Nishikori.

To a Japanese, learning English is as much a struggle as Japanese is for us.

I'd like to see you learn Japanese from the age of 14 onwards...

 

[UnderratedSlam]

You might want to rethink that.

A classic moment in Open Era tennis.

 

[Mainad]

I've hit with Tursunov. I'd never guess that he was from another country if I didn't know already. Sounds just like a typical American.

I believe he spent a good many years living in the States.

 

[King No1e]

We'll give you a chance to rephrase that, if you wish.

Correction: Ferrer is ombellible, no?

 

[jm1980]

Nishikori.

Nishikori's English is worse than Nadal's, and he's been living in Florida for 15 years

I get that English is a difficult language to learn coming from Japanese, but I've met Japanese people who spoke way better English than Nishikori, so it can't be that difficult.

 

[jm1980]

I've hit with Tursunov. I'd never guess that he was from another country if I didn't know already. Sounds just like a typical American.

His accent is very, very faint but it's there if you pay close attention

Sharapova, on the other hand, speaks perfect American English

 

[Mainad]

Sharapova, on the other hand, speaks perfect American English

Not at all surprising given that she came to live in the States when she was a young kid and has lived there ever since.

 

[Tshooter]

Obviously Rafa who “has nothing against the meat.”

 

[octobrina10]

His accent is very, very faint but it's there if you pay close attention

Sharapova, on the other hand, speaks perfect American English

Sharapova has lived in the USA since1994 (for 25 years!).

 

[skaj]

His accent is very, very faint but it's there if you pay close attention

Sharapova, on the other hand, speaks perfect American English

Which one is very faint North American or Slavic/Russian? I hear both clearly, he speaks with a mix of the two.

 

[junior74]

I'm gonna go with Celestion greenbacks. I like how they sing in my Vox AC30. They are native speakers, though.

American speakers are good, too. I have Jensen PQ12 in my Blues jr, no complaints.

@ojo rojo , @heninfan99 , @Backhanded Compliment and other guitar players; what are your favourite English speakers?

 

[Sysyphus]

Gennady Golovkin and Maria Sharapova.

Max, come on, dis not joke, dis zerious bisniss, dis is box.


Honorable mention to Oleksandr Usyk.

Interviewer: "How's your English?"
Usyk: "Perfecto! Comme ci comme ça."

 

[Sysyphus]

I'm gonna go with Celestion greenbacks. I like how they sing in my Vox AC30. They are native speakers, though.

American speakers are good, too. I have Jensen PQ12 in my Blues jr, no complaints.

@ojo rojo , @heninfan99 , @Backhanded Compliment and other guitar players; what are your favourite English speakers?

Definitely can't go wrong with greenbacks (nor an AC30). None of that V30 ice pick.

But these days I am going more for an American accent, y'know.

 

[junior74]

Definitely can't go wrong with greenbacks (nor an AC30). None of that V30 ice pick.

But these days I am going more for an American accent, y'know.

I sorry for leaving you out

V30s, don't like them! Been wanting to check out Weber speakers. I played a Budda amp once on a stage, it had Weber speakers. Best sounding amp I've ever tried, and expensive as feck. Quality cost is very proportional in the world of amps. I have a Roland JC77, too. Bliss.

 

[Raiden]

Federer is almost a native speaker because his mother speaks English and he grew up speaking English with his mom. Federer's language skills are largely overrated. He obviously speaks Swiss German which is his native language, English is his close second language and he spent many years in a French speaking region of Switzerland. So all three languages came naturally to him. IMO Djokovic has better language skills than Federer. He didn't speak English that well when he first arrived in the scene, and now he is almost as fluent as a native speaker. Nadal couldn't speak one sentence in English in 2004-05. Now he speaks well enough but not as well as Djokovic obviously.

Garbage.

On one hand you pretend Federer's English is so good that it's almost as good as "native" due to his mother's legacy — but then on the other hand you claim his English isn't as good as Djoker.

Typical fan logic: "my fave is better at everything than the player I hate".

And when one's logic is based on hate, one ends up getting tied up in contradictory nonsense without even noticing it.

And being Swiss doesn't make one a polyglot. Most Swiss don't fluently speak the second language of the country. So it's not at all a given that Federer speaks French on top of English and German and Swiss. And Djokovic lives in Monaco so it is he who should have spoken French instead of Federer.

 

[UnderratedSlam]

Nishikori's English is worse than Nadal's, and he's been living in Florida for 15 years

I get that English is a difficult language to learn coming from Japanese, but I've met Japanese people who spoke way better English than Nishikori, so it can't be that difficult.

You maybe met a few talented-for-languages Japanese, but most Japanese really struggle, just as we'd struggle learning even bare-bones Japanese.

Nishikori is talented-for-tennis and that's all he needs to be.

 

[heninfan99]

I'm gonna go with Celestion greenbacks. I like how they sing in my Vox AC30. They are native speakers, though.

American speakers are good, too. I have Jensen PQ12 in my Blues jr, no complaints.

@ojo rojo , @heninfan99 , @Backhanded Compliment and other guitar players; what are your favourite English speakers?

I don't know much about speakers. I have been playing my guitar through a Carvin bass amp with a 10" speaker via a Joyo American. Really like the setup.

 

[UnderratedSlam]

I don't know much about speakers. I have been playing my guitar through a Carvin bass amp with a 10" speaker via a Joyo American. Really like the setup.

There is no distortion in your set-up.

Not impressed.

 

[heninfan99]

There is no distortion in your set-up.

Not impressed.

there is...I didn't list my effect pedals. What I have: Rat(distortion), Ibanez TS7, TC Spark, Delay, TC Ditto and a Zoom GFX-1 which has an excellent octaver.

The American amp modeler turns my bass amp into a Fender Twin(almost).

 

[zep]

Garbage.

On one hand you pretend Federer's English is so good that it's almost as good as "native" due to his mother's legacy — but then on the other hand you claim his English isn't as good as Djoker.

Are you out of your mind? Where did I claim that Djokovic's English was better than Federer's. I said that Djokovic has better language skills because he learned English (and other languages) much later in his life. OTOH English came naturally to Federer via his mother. You should improve your reading comprehension.

Typical fan logic: "my fave is better at everything than the player I hate".

Djokovic is not my favorite. But I rate his language skills much higher than Federer's. Of late I think Medevdev is also getting there. It's my opinion, deal with it.

And being Swiss doesn't make one a polyglot. Most Swiss don't fluently speak the second language of the country. So it's not at all a given that Federer speaks French on top of English and German and Swiss. And Djokovic lives in Monaco so it is he who should have spoken French instead of Federer.

Again I did not claim that most Swiss were polyglots. I said that French was not a completely alien language in Basel. Many people understand it. I also claimed that Federer's circumstances made him learn 3 languages, 2 of which are native or almost native to him. He gets zero credit for learning English and Swiss German. People with IQ 50 would be able to do exactly the same. The only additional language he has learned is French, and he was helped by the fact that he spent a few years in a French speaking city as a teenager. Many people would be able to do the same. Djokovic started living in Monaco when he was already a late teenager and he has been spending most of his time on tour since then. Quite different from Federer. The player who you can compare Federer with is Medvedev. He started training in France when he was a teenager and he speaks French almost as fluently as Federer.

 

[UnderratedSlam]

there is...I didn't list my effect pedals. What I have: Rat(distortion), Ibanez TS7, TC Spark, Delay, TC Ditto and a Zoom GFX-1 which has an excellent octaver.

The American amp modeler turns my bass amp into a Fender Twin(almost).

Now tell me you crank up the distortion all the way to 11 and you get thumbs up.

 

[octobrina10]

...And being Swiss doesn't make one a polyglot. Most Swiss don't fluently speak the second language of the country. So it's not at all a given that Federer speaks French on top of English and German and Swiss...

Fed had to learn French because at age 14, he started to train at the Swiss National Tennis Center located in the French-speaking area of Switzerland, in Écublens. He trained there for 2 years.

 

[tennis_pro]

Fed had to learn French because at age 14, he started to train at the Swiss National Tennis Center located in the French-speaking area of Switzerland, in Écublens. He trained there for 2 years.

You seem to know a lot about this Federer guy.

 

[heninfan99]

Now tell me you crank up the distortion all the way to 11 and you get thumbs up.

...to 12 and make the devil sign.

 

[UnderratedSlam]

...to 12 and make the devil sign.

Soft metal or dissonant metal?

 

[heninfan99]

Soft metal or dissonant metal?

smooth jazz metal

 

[Start da Game]

so fraud is GOAT speaker now? his english is just average considering that it is his mother tongue......people who use “you know” are those who often fall short of vocab, it’s quite pathetic considering that it is his native language......

rafa should not even bother speaking english, should just get a translator like south american footballers......

murray’s english is great and massively underrated and it’s not even his native language.......he is easily the best non native speaker out there.......

 

[jm1980]

You maybe met a few talented-for-languages Japanese, but most Japanese really struggle, just as we'd struggle learning even bare-bones Japanese.

Nishikori is talented-for-tennis and that's all he needs to be.

Obviously he's talented at tennis, but this was not what the thread was about.

 

[Mainad]

murray’s english is great and massively underrated and it’s not even his native language.......he is easily the best non native speaker out there.......

 

[Sudacafan]

Scottish Gaelic?

 

[Mainad]

Scottish Gaelic?

Murray is a Lowland Scot from Dunblane. These days Gaelic is only spoken in the Highlands and in the Hebrides (islands to the north and west).

 

[HetTheGreaterer]

Murray is a Lowland Scot from Dunblane. These days Gaelic is only spoken in the Highlands and in the Hebrides (islands to the north and west).

Murray is a fun guy, he even curses in English and not scottish. So he's a native for me

 

[guitarra]

Having a SA mother I think Fed can be considered as a native speaker.

I don't know why but most Spanish guys suck at English, in relative terms of course, maybe they have some fundamental problem in their educational system.

Djokovic is excellent. I think he also speaks German, Italian and French fluently, not to mention Serbian of course and knows the basics of Spanish too.

 

[skaj]

Having a SA mother I think Fed can be considered as a native speaker.

I don't know why but most Spanish guys suck at English, in relative terms of course, maybe they have some fundamental problem in their educational system.

Djokovic is excellent. I think he also speaks German, Italian and French fluently, not to mention Serbian of course and knows the basics of Spanish too.

Novak's English is okay but not excellent, and many non-native players speak better English than him. (I am surprised that some people here think that his English is as good as Federer's...) He doesn't speak French fluently. He lived in different countries and he learned the local languages, it's typical for gastarbeiters from former Yugoslavia.

As for his mother tongue, he is not very eloquent when he speaks, he sounds like someone who's not very good at expressing themselves verbally.

 

[TimHenmanATG]

I don't know why but most Spanish guys suck at English, in relative terms of course, maybe they have some fundamental problem in their educational system

Unlike most other Western European nations, I believe that they don't automatically have English classes at school.

I think it's only something like 12% of Spaniards who speak English - compared to 70%+ (and probably 95%+ amongst young people) in countries like the Netherlands, Finland, Sweden, etc.

 

[BlueB]

Novak's English is okay but not excellent, and many non-native players speak better English than him. (I am surprised that some people here think that his English is as good as Federer's...) He doesn't speak French fluently. He lived in different countries and he learned the local languages, it's typical for gastarbeiters from former Yugoslavia.

As for his mother tongue, he is not very eloquent when he speaks, he sounds like someone who's not very good at expressing themselves verbally.

Do you speak fluent English, French and Serbo-Croatian? Which one is your native language?

Sent from my SM-G965W using Tapatalk

 

[Old Gregg]

Woz is pretty good but so are most Scando's.

 

[Old Gregg]

sorry don't know why i said kerber , i meant petkovic haha

Petko has better English than Kerber.

 

[OldschoolKIaus]

The nadal.

 

[megamind]

he moved to the US when he was 12!

I've hit with Tursunov. I'd never guess that he was from another country if I didn't know already. Sounds just like a typical American.

 

[megamind]

The nadal.

my fave is when at the us open, he was struggling with his english during the final presentation, and as soon as the presenter asked him to say a few words in spanish, he opened up the floodgates

 

[megamind]

KING MEDVEDEV IS A PURE BEAST AT ENGLISH

 

[victorcruz]

FALSE!
I gonna sue
I've pain here, in my famous ass
Yeah he was a great fan, he say I love you and he kiss me.
I don't wanna look like I gonna be his boyfriend

So he's not the best english speaker, but he brings the lulz, no?

 

[octobrina10]

FALSE!
I gonna sue
I've pain here, in my famous ass
Yeah he was a great fan, he say I love you and he kiss me.
I don't wanna look like I gonna be his boyfriend

So he's not the best english speaker, but he brings the lulz, no?

And here Rafa answers questions about how he feels when women wolf-whistle and take photos of him changing sweaty shirts during his matches and about modeling for Armani underwear

 

[skaj]

Do you speak fluent English, French and Serbo-Croatian? Which one is your native language?

Sent from my SM-G965W using Tapatalk

You don’t have to speak the language fluently yourself to know that the other speaker is not fluent/excellent.