Best Forehand of all time

Best Forehand of all time

  • Andre Agassi

    Votes: 1 11.1%
  • Pete Sampras

    Votes: 2 22.2%
  • Jim Courier

    Votes: 0 0.0%
  • Roger Federer

    Votes: 3 33.3%
  • Alberto Berasategui

    Votes: 1 11.1%
  • Sergi Bruguera

    Votes: 0 0.0%
  • Gustavo Kuerten

    Votes: 0 0.0%
  • Carlos Moya

    Votes: 1 11.1%
  • Fernando Gonzalez

    Votes: 1 11.1%

  • Total voters
    9

THE ANIMAL

Rookie
Vote for who you think had the best forehand of all time take into account power, consistency, spin, accuracy, depth and total dominance of it. Specialties like service returns or like Andre taking the ball very early and on the up or total forehand bludgeoning over powering opponent Courier style.
 
L

laurie

Guest
Animal, I think you must be younger than me as they are all 90s players. I started watching tennis in the 1980s. Lots of good guys there but I think you can't have a "forehand poll" without Ivan Lendl. Lendl's forehand was voted the best by Tennis Magazine in 2002. Like Agassi's it was a very versatile shot and he could do anything with it. The reason why Agassi, Courier, Sampras through Roddick play this way is because of Lendl. In other words in the 1980s he patented the inside out forehand or running around backhand to hit forehand. All those guys I mentioned base thier game around this. It takes exceptional footwork to play this way. Also beside Becker, Lendl had the biggest first serve. He used that to set up dictating play from the backcourt. Lendl helped change the face of baseline tennis. I think his forehand is definitely the best.

In your poll I voted for Sampras. At his peak his forehand was as versatile as Lendl's. Sampras could hit fantastic outright return winners from the advantage court on his forehand. One other thing he had, he could hit a clean winner on his forehand from way behind the baseline whether his opponent was at net or not. He also could put topspin or flatten it and had an excellent inside out. Unlike Lendl he used it for getting to net. Also no one hit running forehands from crazy positions like him. He hit winners down the line and crosscourt while on the run. Thats another thing Sampras got from Lendl because Lendl did the same. Sampras running forehand itself is one of the greatest shots of all time along with Sampras serve and Graf forehand and Edberg backhand and Rosewall slice.
 

THE ANIMAL

Rookie
I new this was going to happen I didn’t put those players in because you couldn’t compare them to players from around this generation with there modern rackets. I am talking about if you took em against each other with there equipment as played at there time so if you put Lendl with his stick against Federer as no. non comparable.
 

Camilio Pascual

Hall of Fame
THE ANIMAL said:
I new this was going to happen I didn’t put those players in because you couldn’t compare them to players from around this generation with there modern rackets. I am talking about if you took em against each other with there equipment as played at there time so if you put Lendl with his stick against Federer as no. non comparable.

I thought that would happen, too, when you put best all time. My vote is for LENDL.
 
Yup the poll should be called "best forehand of recent times". I voted for Fed-2004 model. All those other players can hit awesome forehands on their day, but I've never seen anyone able to hit so many types of forehand (the deep flat drive, the whipped on the run, the heavy topspin, the inside-out, the drop, the short crosscourt, the on-the-up service return) so fast, so consistently, so well placed and so seemingly effortlessly and on many surfaces with perfect shot selection so as to leave good opponents looking like total amateurs.
 

ragnaROK

Professional
THE ANIMAL said:
I new this was going to happen I didn’t put those players in because you couldn’t compare them to players from around this generation with there modern rackets. I am talking about if you took em against each other with there equipment as played at there time so if you put Lendl with his stick against Federer as no. non comparable.


Well you give Lendl a modern stick and his forehand would be even better so whats your point? Sampras' stick was so loaded it wasn't far off from a woodie.
 

davey25

Banned
Samprass forehand was great, but he made way too many errors on it, on a surface with any slowless in it, so I wouldnt pick him. Of the recent players for versatility I would go with Federer, for combined power and consistency I would go with Lendl. However there are players who played in the more distant past who could be considered even better considering their time frame. Hoad comes to mind, Kramer had an amazing forehand for late 40s and early 50s standards.
 

HeavyBall

Rookie
Only two players in the poll whose forehands could be considered "great" use your idea of modern rackets, Gonzalez and Moya, both bab. Courier and Sampras used 6.0 85, Agassi uses (essentally) a Radical Tour. Whatever Federer uses, its about as "modern" in design and specs as a 6.0 95.

When I see 18 of the top 20 men in the world using Pure Drives, I'll concede that technology is making the pros better players. Until then, PC 600's and the old Pro Staffs are as good as any racket made today.
 
S

splink779

Guest
Why didn't you just call this thread 'Federer has the best forehand of all time' You know how a poll like this is going to turn out.
 
THE ANIMAL said:
I new this was going to happen I didn’t put those players in because you couldn’t compare them to players from around this generation with there modern rackets. I am talking about if you took em against each other with there equipment as played at there time so if you put Lendl with his stick against Federer as no. non comparable.

Animal, even with his ancient racquet, Lendl was more than comparable with any of these guys. I'm going to guess you never saw Lendl play(not an insult, there's nothing wrong with not having seen him) because a number of players you included in your poll felt first hand the effectiveness of Lendl's game. Including Bruguera, Sampras, Courier and Agassi.

Even in the twilight of Lendl's career...he administered some severe whippings to the new generation. I have posted his devastating records against Agassi and Courier before. Sampras and Lendl were pretty evenly matched as everyone acknowledges Lendl was fading and Sampras rising when they encountered each other. Bruguera only met Lendl 2x and beat Lendl badly in 1993 6-2, 6-1...but in 1992 Lendl beat Sergi at the FO 6-4, 6-2, 6-1.

Anyways, I think it was pretty clear and most knowledable observers recognize that Lendl's forehand would fare well in comparisison with anyone.
 

spinbalz

Hall of Fame
Sampras's forehand is great on faster courts, but make him play a match on slow red clay, and no way you will find his forehand as the best ever...
 

sliceroni

Hall of Fame
Lendl, Federer, Agassi, Courier in that order. All had forehands that were effective on ALL surfaces, even on clay. Sampras had the best on the run but like his serve the power was neutralized on clay.
 

tandayu

Professional
Best forehand

I vote for Ivan Lendl. You almost never see him standing on the right side of the baseline, except when he is returning serve. His forehand is very dominant both at US open and French open. His forehand has been proven against Connors, Borg, Wilander, Mc Enroe, Becker, etc.

He was the first I can remember who dominates with inside out forehand, while Steffi Graf is on the women side.
 

hummer23

Hall of Fame
where is roddick?????? his forhand is really nasty. if you dont hit to his backhand, you cant beat him. unlesss your name is fed.
 

tandayu

Professional
Best forehand

Roddick won US Open, but he has not won French Open. Lendl won both US and French. In term of raw power, I think Roddick's has more.
 

K!ck5w3rvE

Hall of Fame
Thomas Tung said:
Three words: LENDL or BERASATEGUI.

Another 3 words: Your (censored) crazy. Berasategui? It was the strangest forehand I have ever seen. It was inside out with an impossible grip and it made you wince everytime you saw him hit it. And it certainly wasn't the most effective.

How is Fernando Gonzalez on the list? It's a big forehand, but its not better than Fed's. It's pointless having him if you have Fed. It's the same with Moya. You have Moya, Fed and Sampras. Sampras' forehand was better than Moya's, then when Fed took over from Pete, his was also better than Moya's. I'm a bit concerned about Agassi too. Agassi? Best forehand of all-time? I think not.

tandayu said:
Roddick won US Open, but he has not won French Open. Lendl won both US and French. In term of raw power, I think Roddick's has more.

Lendl's forehand was better than Roddicks. He got an awesome amount of power. He didn't have to use a Pure Drive with a 100sq inch head to do it.

Having said all that, my vote goes for Fed.
 
L

laurie

Guest
This seems strange to me. Sampras forehand was neutralized on clay. Could be true. Fact remains he had a fair amount of success including three tournament wins and the Davis Cup on clay almost singlehanded in 1995 against Russia. He won the Italian Open in 1994 and Italian Open doubles with Jim Courier around 1990. True, other players had a lot more success on clay but Sampras did do things on clay early on in his career.

This year Federer's ground strokes against Kuerten in Paris looked really lightweight. Federer has to win the French Open otherwise people will turn on him just like they did with Sampras by 1997 when it seemed he wouldn't win the French after all.

Oh yes, by the way my point is I'm judging Sampras' forehand on all surfaces over a 14 year period. From that point of view along with Lendl its the best I've seen.
 

JohnThomas1

Professional
Lendl

It's impossible to talk about greatest forehands without Ivan. His was voted best in history in 2002 by Tennis mag as has been stated. He used to outhit Aggassi off that wing. I think in time that Federer's might be considered the best, he can do things with it that i've never seen before. A sensational shot.

The other thing i notice is the overemphasis on the advantages of recent raquets. The Pro Staff which Sampras used his entire career came out around Lendl's prime. Sampras had no probs winning the USO in 2002 with it. This was 15 years or so after the stick was introduced. Edberg used it all thru his prime too. Lendl used his SMALL headed Adidas against mid sizes his whole career. This makes his accomplishemnts even more impressive. To hit such heavy topspin with that head size as well as he did makes him a freak. Where racquets have really advanced is for us hackers. We are the ones who get far more power out of them. Pro's aren't so much looking for power as control. The racquets now are superb don't doubt me, but the power level of the ones the pro's are using wouldn't be THAT much above Lendl's Adidas, Mac's 200G, Wilanders F200 etc.
 

Capt. Willie

Hall of Fame
Jimmy Arias, the greatest tennis player ever to come out of Buffalo, NY. He was the prototype for the Bollettieri killer forehand.
 

joe sch

Legend
Sampras running forehand was the best "."
This is the stroke that Federer started with when loading his lethal weapons
 

!Tym

Hall of Fame
Agassi, himself said that Berasategui has the best forehand of anyone in the world when "on" after getting single-handedly slobber-knocked by this one shot and ONLY shot that Berasategui had at the Australian Open.

What made Berasategui's forehand so good was that he could hit it all day without missing and seemingly at near or max possible velocity and spin. His motion was actually quite compact, and VERY difficult to read the direction of the ball. It was like he drew the ball in to him like a matador, then cracked his wrist like a gun, and the direction of the ball was a mystery. Could whack a cold winner at any time, by adding a little extra bit of panache to his wrist snap. His body preparation always looked the same since it wasn't as total body reliant as others, say Kafelnikov or Srichiphan, for example, of whom it was obvious when they were/are gearing up for an all or nothing forehand, hence, you could better ready yourself to brace for it. Seemed like he just relied on his fine motor skills and had total control over them in that split second, and make no mistake it was a split second.

As Goran put it, "his forehand is like a gun." That's the best way to describe how it went off. One quick, itchy trigger finger for sure, and he RARELY missed his target.

Of the guys on the list, you have to factor that they all had game beyond just a big forehand...even Courier who had a forcing first serve and unrivaled fitness/mental toughness.

Berasategui, however, to me was a legitimate top twenty player, borderline top ten player. On his "hot" days, he could take anybody out. As Courier put it, after facing Berasategui for the first time (0-2 lifetime), "He beat the Merv Hagler out of me."

You have to respect his forehand and what he did with it all that much more when you realize that he made it as close to the top as he did based on this ONE shot alone. I don't think you can say that about anybody else who relied soley on one shot to get so far. Also, I think forehand was a little different from other big forehands, in that his had a peculiar, funky, kind of a "reverse spin" on the ball as Chang put it in his press conference after drastically reversing his fortunes against Berasategui mid-match at the Lipton on the brink of defeat. In this match, Berasategui started off by beating the living TAR out of Chang with his forehand, but then on the edge of defeat Chang finally got the sense to change his strategy. He decided to try and keep the ball away from Berasategui's forehand at all costs. It worked like a charm, he stole the second set then ran away with the third. Obviously, keeping the ball away from Berasategui's forehand was easier said than done, but it COULD be done.

This was its fatal flaw, in my opinion. Berasategui's forehand could be exposed by drawing him SO wide on the backhand side, that he would have no chance to cover a running forehand with any real zest...fast as he was. He also could get tired from having to just run around his backhand SO much more than anybody else in the game had too...once this happened, as Bliip said after beating him 6-love in the third of one of their matches; the difference is that he only *just* has his forehand, once he gets tired, that's it, it's over, finito. There is NO inbetween for him to compete with.

Also, Berasategui was vulnerable, even on clay, to a high kick serve to his backhand. It was one of the great unguarded weaknesses by a top or near top player that I can ever recall. John McEnroe: "It's his achilles heel." Factor the ingredients. Short guy, high bouncing clay, 6'6" Todd Martin charging the net, hitting kick serves to the short guy's pseudo one/two hander hit from a WEAK platform...you're asking for trouble.

This is how Martin of all people dismantled Berasategui in the finals of Barcelona, and Martin didn't even have more than a slightly average kick serve in my opinion.

Berasategui was just too dangerous and just too vulnerable at the same time for his own good. Ultimately, I believe this is what led to early burn-out with him; not necessarily injury.

As McEnroe put it after watching Berasategui go down rather meakley and half-heartedly against Arazi at the French near the end of his career, "He just doesn't seem to have the same energy I'm used to seeing from the little guy." Indeed, in this match, Arazi played great, but it was like Berasategui was a step slow, sluggish, and just like his mind wasn't quite there. Like a robot was playing in place of the once fresh, strawberry eyed youngster with the zest for life. As McEnroe put it, to paraphrase, "He's a very outgoing, personable little guy. All the guys in the locker room seem to love him." LOVE his backhand, HATE his forehand, keep the smile ;) .

He brought a positive vibe to the court I think. He competed hard, and kind of reminded me of his generation's Paradorn Srichiphan. One of those fringe top players who every now and again surprise you with the BIG and convincing upset, but mostly remain as dangerous but can't quite get over the hump players. Both also seemed to have that great locker room raport with the guys, and just were all-around likeable fellows who for the most competed hard, albeit missing that EDGE that so often separates the Courier, the Muster, the ANIMALS, of the world from the kittens. In other words, they both lacked a killer instinct, but also were not tankers.

Great sportsmen though, and never the breakneck type of competitors to scrub out a line, a la Connors...in old age, Mr. Sanctimony himself.

With Berasategui, you always got the sense that he seemed to really appreciate what he had.

He retired, burned out and injured (but me thinks mostly just pre-mature burn-out...the nature of the beast when you employ "extreme" techqniques...VERY difficult to keep-up if you lose just a little bit of your drive, NO in between with extreme techniques as you can't really stroke the ball when you're feeling lazy or just block it back, these techniques require full-out flailing to be effective, "all or nothing" techniques/strokes), and became an insurance agent I believe in his parent's company.

He was one of those guys who added to the colorful and diversified cast of mid-90s characters, in my opinion.

All raggedy-taggedy in appearance, but, I'd be darned if he couldn't tag you with a forehand!

-------------

As far as Muster goes, well, I don't think he was placed on the list, because his forehand wasn't his signature shot off the ground. Muster's groundies, both backhand and forehand, taken as a whole were his deal, the total, relentless package off the ground. It's not that his forehand wasn't VERY good, it's that it wasn't quite unique enough to ever become of the signature weapons in the game as it was with the above guys. Actually, I would say Guga's in the same category. To me, he doesn't belong on the list either, since to me, it was he won primarily because his backhand was so DEVASTATINGLY dangerous, which made his forehand all the more effective. Taken by itself in isolation, however, I wouldn't say Kuerten's forehand ever approached his "signature" shot level proportions, which I think is the key distinction here. Not, that it wasn't a GREAT shot in and of itself. Just not his best shot is all.

-------------

Actually, as far as "best forehand of all time" goes, I don't think you can make that distinction. There are to me, different kinds of best. If you're talking about the best *topspin*...claycourt stylized/optimized...forehand of all time, then Bliip, Vilas' words, "Greatest *claycourt* forehand of all time." The technique was very specifically optimized for clay and nothing but clay, not that it couldn't be effective outside of clay, just that it ran "hot or cold" depending the day, per Jeff Tarango's own formal scouting report.

Lendl to me had the most VERSATILE forehand of all time, in that it was neither overspun, nor underspun, neither taken too early, nor too far behind the baseline, etc. Very much a PRECISE forehand, that he bludgeoned with the weighted, sledge hammer tip of his racket. This kind of forehand would work well on any surface, conservative grip but with a bit of a loop to his swing so as to not hit TOO flat like Connors. It's a mistake to think non-extreme techqniue doesn't work on clay. It does, just look at Medvedev and Kafelnikov from the last generation. Since when does having MORE time to set-up for every shot a handicap? IF you're groundies are consistent and smooth, then the less extreme grips can be used to great advantage as well, as they provide an imminently STABLE hitting platform. Just look at Pioline, his forehand looked almost more comfortable on clay than on faster surfaces even though it's very traditional technique. Why? He used the extra time to his advantage, which allowed him to STROKE to the ball to his heart's content and build a good rhythm, which was always so critical to his success...not to mention, Pioline's forehand allowed him to coast a bit more than say Berasategui could...a FAR less fatiguing method of hitting the ball.

Berasategui to me had a wild card forehand for all surfaces and under all conditions and against all opponents except fast indoor carpet or grass.

Perhaps, as Arazi described him after having been *owned* by him pre-burnout phase, "He's a real crocodile."
 

joehight

New User
I never saw them play, but I've read and heard about Rod Laver's forehand. A left hander, his left forehand was twice as big as his right forehand, so I've read.

And what about Pete Sampras' running forehand. Pretty good, I'd say.
 

el_mago

Semi-Pro
If Roger Federer's is the best, then Pete's is not that far behind. Agassi and Moya's forehands are also very amazing.
 

Vince

Rookie
im pretty young so im not as familiar with the 1980s players

But as for 90s, id give the vote to Federer, Roddick, Agassi

Its somewhat hard to describe best. There are different bests. THeres one with topspin, power, penetration, control, etc

Just lots of variables to take note of.
 
W

wolfpackfive

Guest
Are you guys kidding me? Steffi Graf's forehand (eastern grip by the way) dominated her sport for more than a decade. Nobody else comes close.
 

andfor

Legend
I have to mention Bjorn Borg. He started the whole Western/Semi-Western forhand stroke craze and is the basis for how the modern stroke is hit tody. Look at how many titles he won Wimbledon and French.
 

bcaz

Professional
Gotta be Lendl. Just crushed the ball. Today, he would have Gonzalez power with Agassi precision. Moya would weep.
 

alan-n

Professional
Federer has the most variety and best all round.

My vote goes to Sampras, the dominated matches with it.
 
S

SpaciousQ

Guest
K!ck5w3rvE said:
How is Fernando Gonzalez on the list?

Now, i havn't had the privelage of seeing Lendl play as i'm too new to the sport. However, judging by the response from this thread alone his forehand was certainly something impressive, without a doubt.

"Ivan Lendl once called Gonzalez's forehand the best he had ever seen."
- This is taken from The Washington Post and The Enquierer, Tuesday, August 12, 2003.

(Additionally, both Roddick and Hewitt had much praise for the lethality of the Gonzalez forehand.)

So, in response to K!ck5w3rvE's above quote, i think it says something when Lendl, who's so acclaimed for this stroke, makes such a statement. That seems reason enough for at least a mention. I'm no expert in the matter, but he seems the sort to know what he's talking about.
 

joe sch

Legend
It was actually Don Budge's but very few of the current voters have probably ever seen it. Jack Kramer and Rod Laver also had killer forehands that Sampras studied developing his, which indirectly Federer studied to develop his :)
 

Defcon

Hall of Fame
A strong case can be made for Budge having the best all time backhand, but I've never heard his forehand being called that.
 

joe sch

Legend
Defcon said:
A strong case can be made for Budge having the best all time backhand, but I've never heard his forehand being called that.
Your correct that his backhand was even stronger and really Ellsworths Vines is the alltime great that is remembered for the most awesome forehand.
 
Top