Better player - Tsonga or Nalbandian?

Who do you think is better?

  • Total voters
    76
wang07

wang07

Semi-Pro
So I've been wondering about who would be considered a better player out of the two. Very similar results overall, talented players with no Slam titles, many ups and downs in their careers, a few big titles here and there, and most importantly, both were able to beat each of the Big 3 multiple times.
(I know Tsonga is still active, but he is unlikely to add another big title to his name, so they're comparable imo.)

Some details and stats:

H2H: 1-1

H2H against Big 3:
Nalbandian: 11-20
Tsonga: 16-39

Career titles:
Nalbandian: 11
Tsonga: 18

Career record in Singles:
Nalbandian: 383–192
Tsonga: 463–220

Notable achievements/titles:
Nalbandian:
1 GS Final(loss to Hewitt, 2002 AO)
1 YEC title(beat Federer in 2005)
2 M1000s titles (note: beat Nadal, Djokovic and Federer, top 3 ranked players at the same tournament, Madrid 2007)

Tsonga:
1 GS Final(loss to Djokovic, 2008 AO)
1 YEC final(loss to Federer, 2011)
2 M1000s titles (note: beat Nalbandian, 2008 Paris final, and Federer, 2014 Toronto)

Looks very even to me, I give a slight edge to Nalbandian because of his success against Big3 and especially Federer, plus the YEC title in 2005 is a special one of course. What do you think?
 
Interesting comparison, but I'd go with Nalbandian for overall peak level of play. Both are heavy underachievers in this decade, in my opinion. If only Nalby had Tsonga's serve...
 
Probably back Tsonga for level of play due to the serve + forehand combination. Both guys have great feel, Nalbandian with the better return and backhand - neither guy is the fastest. So yeah probably Tsonga on outdoor courts but Nalbandian indoors maybe with his cleaner ballstriking.
 
Tsonga was more powerful, Nalbandian more clever. I vote Tsonga for better consistency and results at slams. Also worth pointing out Tsonga's tougher run to slam final and better performance in said final, compared to David's cushy draw and non-show in 2002.
 
wang07 said:
Notable achievements/titles:
Nalbandian:
1 GS Final(loss to Hewitt, 2002 AO)
1 YEC title(beat Federer in 2005)
2 M1000s titles (note: beat Nadal, Djokovic and Federer, top 3 ranked players at the same tournament, Madrid 2007)

Tsonga:
1 GS Final(loss to Djokovic, 2008 AO)
1 YEC final(loss to Federer, 2011)
2 M1000s titles (note: beat Nalbandian, 2008 Paris final, and Federer, 2014 Toronto)
Click to expand...
Why note Nalby's Madrid path but leave out that Tsonga also beat Djokovic & Murray before Federer in Toronto? It's one of the most famous runs of the decade.
 
Tsonga had the bigger serve and forehand, Nalby had the better backhand, movement (when fit), variety and net play, and just having few if any big weaknesses (again, when fit). Both could play at levels good enough to beat the Big 4 when healthy and in good form, but if both were able to sustain that kind of form over an entire season Nalby would have the better season Bc his game is much more adaptable to all kinds of opponents whereas I Tsonga’s below average movement will be a liability that his firepower cannot fully offset over the course of an entire season.
Put another way, Nalby had the talent to be an all time great. I don’t think Tsonga has that.
 
When looking at h2h against big 3, its worth noting that tsonga played during peak big 3, whilst nalbandian played before peak nadal/djokovic
 
Nalbandian was an elite player in the making, probably at least Federer's equal in natural talent, hence why he dominated Roger for a while. Unfortunately he really lost his way, apart from injuries I'm unclear why.
 
KINGROGER said:
How about 2005 YEC vs anklerer? 2 wins over 2003 Fed too.
Click to expand...

How is beating an injured player in five sets more epic than routining a healthy one :o

Nalby only really has USO 03 and YEC 05 as quality SF+ runs ending in good matches, and then he still melted down in the former and almost choked the latter even as Fed was visibly struggling. Wim 02 was obviously a super lucky run and Hewitt destroyed him, AO 03 beat Fred only to get whipped by Schüttler of all people, AO 06 sad choke to Baghs, RG 06 retired. AO 04/05 were fine but Tsonga also has some good losses earlier like RG 13 and USO 15 and Wim 16.

Overall, Tsonga is better at the AO with the epic 2008 run, significantly better at RG and Wimbledon, and Nalbandian is only better at the USO by one good run (2003). Both have two masters titles too, Nalby's double was certainly more epic but Jo's weren't Sock-like flukes either. Can't see Nalbandian above by any reasonable stretch. More talented (higher potential ceiling) yes I think, but rarely brought it when it counted most.
 
AnOctorokForDinner said:
How is beating an injured player in five sets more epic than routining a healthy one :eek:

Nalby only really has USO 03 and YEC 05 as quality SF+ runs ending in good matches, and then he still melted down in the former and almost choked the latter even as Fed was visibly struggling. Wim 02 was obviously a super lucky run and Hewitt destroyed him, AO 03 beat Fred only to get whipped by Schüttler of all people, AO 06 sad choke to Baghs, RG 06 retired. AO 04/05 were fine but Tsonga also has some good losses earlier like RG 13 and USO 15 and Wim 16.

Overall, Tsonga is better at the AO with the epic 2008 run, significantly better at RG and Wimbledon, and Nalbandian is only better at the USO by one good run (2003). Both have two masters titles too, Nalby's double was certainly more epic but Jo's weren't Sock-like flukes either. Can't see Nalbandian above by any reasonable stretch. More talented (higher potential ceiling) yes I think, but rarely brought it when it counted most.
Click to expand...
You mean RG 2012 for good loss.

RG 2011 for major choke.
 
Better player in terms of talent,shots,finesse is Nalbandian

Greater player in terms of achievment is Tsonga.
 
NoleFam said:
I actually didn't see that match man so I can't say but maybe I will try to find it when I'm on vacation next week and watch it when I have time. Definitely got close to the upset in the 4th set based on the scoreline.
Click to expand...

I mean it's easy to see a loss from two sets up and cry choke, but it's not all black and white. A five-set loss to Stan on clay is still not bad. And yes I confused it with 2013 when Stan performed a 0-2 comeback against Gasquet in 4R. As an example of my views on tennis, I lean to consider 2013 a worse result for Tsonga than 2011 in terms of quality, since his draw to the 13 semi was fairly soft (including a weakened Federer who served poorly) and then, faced with a chance to reach the final, melted down against Ferrer, who had a sweet draw himself (no animosity, he's got to have an easier draw for once) and the final showed that strongly. (Ferrer's draw: journeymen in early rounds, Feli Lopez, Anderson, exhausted Robredo (played three straight five-setters), Tsonga in choke mode. No danger till QF, a physically drained QFist and mentally frozen SFist. No wonder Nadal ran him over something bad.)
 
AnOctorokForDinner said:
I mean it's easy to see a loss from two sets up and cry choke, but it's not all black and white. A five-set loss to Stan on clay is still not bad. And yes I confused it with 2013 when Stan performed a 0-2 comeback against Gasquet in 4R. As an example of my views on tennis, I lean to consider 2013 a worse result for Tsonga than 2011 in terms of quality, since his draw to the 13 semi was fairly soft (including a weakened Federer who served poorly) and then, faced with a chance to reach the final, melted down against Ferrer, who had a sweet draw himself (no animosity, he's got to have an easier draw for once) and the final showed that strongly. (Ferrer's draw: journeymen in early rounds, Feli Lopez, Anderson, exhausted Robredo (played three straight five-setters), Tsonga in choke mode. No danger till QF, a physically drained QFist and mentally frozen SFist. No wonder Nadal ran him over something bad.)
Click to expand...

It's easy to cry choke for sure but 2011 was definitely a choke. Tsonga was up 2 sets and 4-2 I think and just melted down. Had the whole crowd and still couldn't finish the job so yea that was a bad loss. I think Ferrer wasn't that bad for Tsonga compared to match.
 
megamind said:
When looking at h2h against big 3, its worth noting that tsonga played during peak big 3, whilst nalbandian played before peak nadal/djokovic
Click to expand...
Which is why I stopped reading the OP's post. Not only is H2H mentioned first, it isn't even mentioned that Nalby never faced peak Djokovic and rarely faced peak Nadal. The criterion is ridiculously skewed.
 
I like Nalbandian more: he was a much better technical player.

Tsonga always had to compensate for his weaker BH with his power, while it was a weapon for Nalbandian, who also had a better touch and net play.

Nalby was the more complete player and he didn't need to constantly overpower his opponents to win. He also beat a better version of Fed, with a better % win.
 
serve: Tsonga
return: Nalbandian
forehand: Tsonga
backhand: Nalbandian
net: tie
tactics: Nalbandian
movement: tie
 
Both artists on the court, up there with Fed, Djoko, and Safin for raw talent. Nalbandian lacked the discipline and Tsonga lacked the consistency to succeed the way Fed and Djok did, though.
Nalby had the better career, but shot-for-shot they're pretty close:

Serve: Tsonga
Return: Nalbandian
Forehand: Tsonga
Backhand: Nalby > Tsonga 2H > Tsonga 1H
Slice: Nalbandian
Net: Tsonga
Defense/Movement: Tsonga
Strategy: Nalbandian
Mentality: Tied, both have been mental giants and mental midgets at times.

Both great shotmakers; Nalbandian had more feel from the baseline but Tsonga had better feel at the net. Tsonga's shots (apart from BH) were quite similar to Fed's in technique, easy power, and accuracy, while Nalbandian had his own distinct style based on creativity and precise timing.
 
Nalbandian. His 8 wins over Federer include the R16 of 2003 Australian Open and 2003 US Open. Had Federer won those matches, he would've faced Schuttler/Roddick/Agassi at the AO, and El Aynaoui/Roddick/Ferrero at the USO. Nalbandian most likely single-handedly prevented Roger from having his first 3-slam season in 2003. Having made such a huge impact on the current slam race makes him the better player than Tsonga.
 
I think Tsonga makes Nalbandian look like Sampras mentally. Nalbandian was a headcase, and he was incredibly out of shape way too much of the time, but I don't think he had chronic chokeritis the way that Tsonga had during his peak years.
 
Nalbandian had the same natural talent (maybe even more considering he had less weapons) as Federer, whereas Tsonga just redlined every now and then. It's not even close, FatDave was way way better, and it is incredible that he didn't win multiple slams
 
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