If Federer had Almagro's groundstrokes, would he still be a Slam winner?

[thomasferrett]

Simple thought experiment - you keep everything about Federer the same (touch, volleys, movement, serve, 2nd serve, slice, mental focus...etc...), but you give him Almagro's forehand and Almagro's backhand instead of his own forehand and backhand.

Does that player win any Slams?

I was thinking this because I've noticed that Almagro actually has a relatively successful career on clay, despite his net game being at least 2 tiers below guys who have been much less successful than him (guys like Leonardo Mayer and Kohlschreiber - and even Lorenzi have much better net games). This means that Almagro's ground-game must be pretty special to compensate for not being able to put a single ball away at the net ever.

 

[Omega_7000]

Yes but probably not a 17 time winner. Federer's forehand was lethal during his peak and he could finish points at will.

 

[NatF]

Federer still wins slams, though definitely not as many at Wimbledon to say the least. Almagro's backhand actually deals with Nadal's forehand quite well so maybe Federer would have more success at the FO...

 

[tennisaddict]

Fed would have beat Nadal 1,3 and 0 at the FO with Almagro's ground game

 

[jga111]

If Almagro has such a fantastic ground game then why hasn't won anything with it?

He is overrated. Federer's backhand is UNDERRATED, it is far more versatile and his issue with Nadal is more than just his backhand.

 

[Russeljones]

Simple thought experiment - you keep everything about Federer the same (touch, volleys, movement, serve, 2nd serve, slice, mental focus...etc...), but you give him Almagro's forehand and Almagro's backhand instead of his own forehand and backhand.

Does any other player win any Slams?

Fixed.

 

[thomasferrett]

If Almagro has such a fantastic ground game then why hasn't won anything with it?

Because you can lose for several reasons other than your ground game.

Almagro is one of the biggest chokers on tour, failing to serve out the match like 5 times against Ferrer in the QF of the AO, despite never having been broken before being asked to serve it out.

As mentioned in the OP, Almagro's net game is possibly the worst in the top 100, meaning that the opponent can simply reset any point after being battered by heavy groundstrokes by lobbing a floater to the baseline. Any other player except Almagro (even adamant baseliners like Nadal) would have come in to the net to volley away a winner.

 

[TennisHound]

Almagro has pounding groundstrokes, but he expends a lot of energy and his opponents get in a groove on them. Fed mixes it up and isn't afraid to hit a slice backhand (which Almagro rarely hits slice). Almagro is fun to watch though.

 

[ArcspacE]

Worst thread ever?

 

[Raindogs]

If my auntie had balls would she be my uncle?

 

[thomasferrett]

Can only imagine how good Almagro would be if he had the net skills of a fellow 1hbh baseliner basher;

 

[President]

It's hard to say how good he would be, as he would be a totally different player. Almagro needs a lot more time than Federer to set up his shots, a bit like Wawrinka but even more pronounced IMO. Federer's strengths all tend to lend themselves to disrupting the opponents rhythm and taking the ball early, Almagro's groundstrokes might hinder him in that regard.

 

[Roddick85]

If Almagro has such a fantastic ground game then why hasn't won anything with it?

He is overrated. Federer's backhand is UNDERRATED, it is far more versatile and his issue with Nadal is more than just his backhand.

Federer's backhand is crazily underrated on these boards. It's as if people think he's got a 4.0 1HBH that's a mishit on every stroke or so. Fact is, the Federer backhand is versatile and one of the all time great 1 HBH. If you don't believe me, look at how many great ones he's hit on all the YT compilations. Sure Nadal was able to break it on Federer's worst surface, but to say it's a terrible stroke is exaggerating too much.

 

[West Coast Ace]

Worst thread ever?

When AI and the machines take over I'm sure this thread is one of the 1st things that will be eradicated.

TW's server probably winces every time someone clicks this link.

 

[Rjtennis]

As mentioned in the OP, Almagro's net game is possibly the worst in the top 100, meaning that the opponent can simply reset any point after being battered by heavy groundstrokes by lobbing a floater to the baseline. Any other player except Almagro (even adamant baseliners like Nadal) would have come in to the net to volley away a winner.

It's amazing that Nico has failed to improve his net game. Like you said, he punishes ground strokes only to let opponents float balls back. They guy refuses to come to the net to end points. With all the time he spends on court there is no way he couldn't learn to at least put away floaters.