Favorite Unsung Player

zjtennis

New User
I notice there are few talking about non-Big Four players in this forum. I wonder though, who are the players around below the Top 30 that you are a fan of? Are there here whose most favorite player is someone out of the Top 30? I will say most of the players I like are in the Top 30 but I have a soft spot for Victor Estrella Burgos -- not exactly my favorite gamestyle, but his demeanor is always fun to watch, and when watching him in Quito, he actually feels like no one could beat him there.
 
Juan Monaco. He just seems like a fun guy. Runs all over the court and never gives up. Currently rated at 70. His best rating was 10, but he has had too many injuries.
 
Fabio... love watching him play. He has so much innate talent and is sexy as hell!
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Muller is technically Top 30, but rarely do I see him being said here. It was quite a highlight when he cried winning his maiden title in Sydney, especially knowing how much it means to him. Actually also got his children to be with him at the ceremony too! Talking about maiden title, Benneteau is someone I appreciated but really is just sad he hasn't had a tour title yet.
 
Problem with unsung players is that you don't have so much opportunities to see them, and after a few years you forget about them. Players I rooted for are Tursunov, Andreev, Bennetteau, Lu.
 
Been a fan of Sam querrey for years. As a kid, he gave me his racket. When I saw him play the next year, he said "I met you last year in Toronto! You have my racket". Really good dude. Glad that he is playing well.

ISner is also very good with crowd, especially with kids.

When he lost to Nishikori at Washington D.C. In a close 3 set Finals, ISner was the one who stayed after the award ceremony and patiently signed autographs and posed pics. Nishikori had to leave for media commitments for Japanese TV.

You could see ISner was crushed with the loss yet knew how important his time / presence is for smaller tournaments
 
forgot Jerzy!
He made my heart so soft after his qf wimbledon win. Will never forget that, always been rooting for him after that. He is kind of weird in a cute east european way :rolleyes:
 
Non-Big4 Top30
#12 Monfils
#13 Dimitrov
#19 Gasquet
#29 Kohlschreiber
#30 Zverev M.
Outside of the Top30
#31 Lopez
#33 Cuevas
#52 Mahut
#60 Dolgopolov
#72 Herbert
#83 Youzhny
#96 Stepanek (Not a fan of his character, but I love his game)
I avoided those outside of the Top100 because I would forget some anyway, but Stakhovsky and Tsitsipas deserve an honourable mention, especially the latter who's actually one of my favourites.
 
only really like 2 players for the last few years other than delpo
istomin - because he's calm and collected
Gulbis - because he's crazy
 
I like Fogninis game ,but his persona turns me off completely:oops: Can't undarstand what Flavia sees in him:confused:
Wow those are totally ranked outside of the top 30:rolleyes:

Chung, Haase, Verdasco (#29 next week), Benneteau.
Your countryman, crazy Robin (crazy in a good way, humorous, funny guy)
 
I like Fogninis game ,but his persona turns me off completely:oops: Can't undarstand what Flavia sees in him:confused:

Your countryman, crazy Robin (crazy in a good way, humorous, funny guy)
Come on... Fabio could be a great guy off court for all we know. Competition (more importantly his job) brings out the best and worst.
 
I'm sorry ,people who said racist comments on other players or any human being ,can't be great to me in any way:oops:
Wow, did he? OK, can't remember that. Yeah, that's a shame. I'll look it up and have a read.

Comments about Krajinovic in 2014, and "serves like a woman". Actually vaguely remember now the serve comment now, but must have missed the other comment.
 
Probably just coincidence. In the level above I'm not much bothered for Thiem or Gasquet but like Tsonga, Kyrgios, Dimitrov (SBH), Zverev, Goffin and Nishikori. Also, I don't care much for Wawrinka. :eek:
I have to say ,I'm surprised with Wawrinka:confused::eek: How come?
Kei regerssing is quite sad to me.
 
I have to say ,I'm surprised with Wawrinka:confused::eek: How come?
Kei regerssing is quite sad to me.

In some ways it's been frustrating to be a fan of Kei but he's still had a much better career than most. Hopefully there's more to come.

I just find Wawrinka a bit dull and monotonous. Sure, his power is often scintillating and he has underrated touch and shot-making ability in more crafty situations when he's required to produce it, but generally it's just baseline bombs and it's not that interesting to me.
 
In some ways it's been frustrating to be a fan of Kei but he's still had a much better career than most. Hopefully there's more to come.

I just find Wawrinka a bit dull and monotonous. Sure, his power is often scintillating and he has underrated touch and shot-making ability in more crafty situations when he's required to produce it, but generally it's just baseline bombs and it's not that interesting to me.
Kei BH esp DTL is almost nonexistent these days. Rushing the net more often is not his coup of tea I think.
Yeah I get it about Waw
 
Wow those are totally ranked outside of the top 30:rolleyes:

Chung, Haase, Verdasco (#29 next week), Benneteau.

Calm down, I read the thread title, not the OP, my fault indeed.
I guess my response could be edited to "who cares about those scrubs :p" but there would be a different retort for that too ;)
 
Almagro. Talk about a guy who could have easily challenged the big 4, and did for a year or two.. dunno what stopped him, tho.
Tipsarevic is just a fun guy to watch play

and then there is Benneteau whom for me is the best ATP player to not have won a title.
 
Almagro. Talk about a guy who could have easily challenged the big 4, and did for a year or two.. dunno what stopped him, tho.
Injuries , and bad temper (for his own well being).
Beside BH ,he had remarkable serve for his hight. Tipsarevic had a very good serve too. In several seasons both were among 10/15 players with most aces.(2011/2012) before major injuries.
 
Here's my top ten of players I'll always try to make time to watch regardless of where their ranking is. They're not fashionable but they are cool in a way that the demi-gods and Olympians are not.

1. Radek Stepanek
2. Steve Darcis
3. Dan Evans
4. Gilles Muller
5. Feliciano Lopez
6. Philipp Kohlschriber
7. Mikhail Youzhny
8. Nicolas Mahut
9. Denis Istomin
10. Nicolas Almagro
 
My Top 10 outside of the Big 5.

1. Marin Cilic
2. Grisho
3. Del Potro

These 3 along with Novak and Nadal, I always try to find time to watch the match and follow closely.
The rest I watched their match highlight from time to time and watched the SF/Final match of theirs.

4. Pouille
5. Gasquet
6. Nico Mahut
7. Karen Kachanov
8. Vasek Pospisil
9. Felix Auger
10. Gulbis (Currently MIA)
 
ISner is also very good with crowd, especially with kids.

When he lost to Nishikori at Washington D.C. In a close 3 set Finals, ISner was the one who stayed after the award ceremony and patiently signed autographs and posed pics. Nishikori had to leave for media commitments for Japanese TV.

You could see ISner was crushed with the loss yet knew how important his time / presence is for smaller tournaments
Really good to hear. Nice generation of American players, for sure.
 
"Unsung" using a very animated minority of this board as a reference ? I'd say probably Fed and Rafa with Djoker and Murray close behind.
 
Kohlschreiber, Tipsarevic, Baghdatis, Verdasco, Lopez, Robredo, Almagro.
All these guys have great all around games and are always good to watch.

I would say the most "unsung" top player is Roberto Bautista Agut. Nobody but hardcore fans even know who he is. The guy was number 13 in the world and had less than 2,000 followers on social media.
 
Certainly not my all time favorite, but Verdasco probably stands out when it comes to players below 30th.

I'm a sucker for heavily spun straight arm forehands, and Tabasco's packs a lot of heat.

Beautiful technique for everything as well, be it serve, backhand, or footwork. Just not nearly as fast or as strong upstairs to reach his potential, but he has a valid reason I suppose.
 
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