If Gasquet was big competitor, would he have slam-potential?

[Sid_Vicious]

What do you guys think? Along with Nadal, he was considered the hottest talent on tour in 2005. We all know that Gasquet has been plagued with a horrible mental game, but for the sake of discussion, lets pretend that he was a fighter. Do you think he has the game to win big or was everything about him overhyped? People used to say that he had Federer-like potential 7-8 years ago. His forehand honestly didn't seem that horrible as it does now.

I included a poll.

 

[Steve0904]

I doubt it. Even if the FH was better when he was younger, the serve has never been top tier so he'd have a tough time. If he had mental toughness he might win a slam or two. No more than that.

 

[Topslice]

His movement is not good enough.
His serve is not good enough.
His forehand is not good enough.

 

[Laurie]

His movement is not good enough.
His serve is not good enough.
His forehand is not good enough.

I would include his return of serve as well, he has never developed the art of taking it early to put pressure on his opponent, he stands too far back on return of serve so not really sharp in his thought process either.

Carla Suarez Navarro is similarly talented and has comparable problems. Likewise Carla has not made a big breakthrough despite regularly wowing crowds with incredible shotmaking.

 

[Backspin1183]

His serve isn't much of a weapon.

His movement is too slow for someone who stands 2 feet behind the baselin. You don't stand that far from the baseline if you aren't that fast.

He gives up way too easily against superior players.

 

[Sid_Vicious]

You know I was browsing through old threads on this forum about Gasquet's potential.

I have to give NadalAgassi credit (who btw, has had multiple accounts on this forum since 2004). He is really good with predictions. He predicted that Federer would beat Sampras's record in like 2004. He predicted that Nadal would win slams on HC and grass back in 2005, when everyone said Nadal had no chance. And he predicted that Gasquet would never win anything big.

Impressive stuff.

 

[Netzroller]

I would include his return of serve as well, he has never developed the art of taking it early to put pressure on his opponent, he stands too far back on return of serve so not really sharp in his thought process either.

That's not necessarily a liability, if you have the ground game to back it up.
Look at Rafa - he may not hit a lot of return winners, but rarely gets aced and often manages to neutralize the serve and that puts him in a good position to take over control.

 

[Steve0904]

You know I was browsing through old threads on this forum about Gasquet's potential.

I have to give NadalAgassi credit (who btw, has had multiple accounts on this forum since 2004). He is really good with predictions. He predicted that Federer would beat Sampras's record in like 2004. He predicted that Nadal would win slams on HC and grass back in 2005, when everyone said Nadal had no chance. And he predicted that Gasquet would never win anything big.

Impressive stuff.

I got the impression he was always incredibly smart about tennis if he ever laid off the trolling.

 

[chjtennis]

I think he's a solid top 10 material but I don't see him winning a slam.

 

[Laurie]

That's not necessarily a liability, if you have the ground game to back it up.
Look at Rafa - he may not hit a lot of return winners, but rarely gets aced and often manages to neutralize the serve and that puts him in a good position to take over control.

Because Gaquet's movement is not as good and he is not as fast as Nadal, in his case it is a liablity to stand that far back especially on return of serve. I saw Carla Suarez Navarro at the Paris indoors in February and she does exactly the same thing and it was infruriating to watch a player hit amazing shots and amazing one hand backhand winners but stand really far back to receive a second serve when she had break points, hand the initiative by conceding so much ground and lose important points over and over again (against Errani).

The most infruriating thing about it all is that she doesn't seem to learn from her mistakes, she keeps going down the same path. She's played in finals but has yet to win a WTA tournament. She's not comfortable in adjusting her game or her coach has not convinced her to make the adjustments.

I see Gasquet in the light. Like Carla Gasquet is not the quickest either so by his age should have figured out a better strategy againt top 10 players.

 

[Deleted member 307496]

I got the impression he was always incredibly smart about tennis if he ever laid off the trolling.

Every discussion I've had with NadalAgassi has been a good one. He was a very knowledgeable poster and unlike many fans of players, he was unbiased.

 

[Sid_Vicious]

Every discussion I've had with NadalAgassi has been a good one. He was a very knowledgeable poster and unlike many fans of players, he was unbiased.

LOL.

No.

With his older accounts he used to say that Federer was GOAT. Then he started placing Federer 7th and 8th on his GOAT lists for the lulz. And with his recent account, NadalAgassi, he was one of those Laver fans that impose their opinion that Laver is the undisputed GOAT on every guy and his dog and never once realize that their approach to GOAT discussions is just as dogmatic as the crazy Federer fans they criticize.

 

[FreeBird]

No. The problem is mental rather than physical. But would have been a finalist not winner.

 

[tennis_hack]

Even pretending that Gasquet developed Nadal-like mental toughness - forget needing a better serve, forehand, return and movement - Gasquet also needs a much better backhand first if he is to win a Slam.

 

[Team10]

His movement is not good enough.
His serve is not good enough.
His forehand is not good enough.

A little off topic, but how are you blue already?

Anyway I agree with this, even if Gasquet was a fighter it wouldn't be enough for him to be a contender for slams. He'd maybe be top 5 for a while but I wouldn't see him going past SF of a slam, maybe be like a berdych and make one odd slam final, but that's it.

 

[Mainad]

You know I was browsing through old threads on this forum about Gasquet's potential.

I have to give NadalAgassi credit (who btw, has had multiple accounts on this forum since 2004). He is really good with predictions. He predicted that Federer would beat Sampras's record in like 2004. He predicted that Nadal would win slams on HC and grass back in 2005, when everyone said Nadal had no chance. And he predicted that Gasquet would never win anything big.

Impressive stuff.

I miss NadalAgassi and his various subsequent manifestations. He was a really interesting and knowledgeable poster and yet he keeps getting banned for some reason. When I think of some of the posters on here who could really do with getting banned, it seems such a shame!

 

[Laurie]

Well guess where I've been? Just got back from the 02 arena to watch Gasquet v Djokovic!

So I feel well placed to comment further about his game / potential.

And what struck me the most is his court position, so far behind the baseline in the rallies whereas Djokovic tried to be on the baseline at all times. Gasquet was also standing back really far to return serve against a guy who was serving around the same pace as him. On the 2nd serve return, he was either standing even farther back on many occasions! Or moving in sometimes but could only chip the backhand more often than not, he hardly hit a drive backhand return all evening, which is a good ploy to take time away if you stand in.

He has nice shots and it did go to three sets but it was really like watching Carla Suarez Navarro back in February in Paris indoors. Nice shots but not realy hurting the opponent consistently.

Just one other thing to mention, his forehand return is very "interesting". The strange grip he has doesnt allow him to hit through the ball, consequently that return consistently does not have enough on it.

Novak Djokovic as usual was Mr consistency, not the most exciting player I've ever seen but definitely a polished professional.

 

[tennisaddict]

You know I was browsing through old threads on this forum about Gasquet's potential.

I have to give NadalAgassi credit (who btw, has had multiple accounts on this forum since 2004). He is really good with predictions. He predicted that Federer would beat Sampras's record in like 2004. He predicted that Nadal would win slams on HC and grass back in 2005, when everyone said Nadal had no chance. And he predicted that Gasquet would never win anything big.

Impressive stuff.

Lots of people including Johny Mc bet on Federer , so no surprises there.

But to predict Nadal winning HC and grass is something remarkable.

 

[Sid_Vicious]

Well guess where I've been? Just got back from the 02 arena to watch Gasquet v Djokovic!

So I feel well placed to comment further about his game / potential.

And what struck me the most is his court position, so far behind the baseline in the rallies whereas Djokovic tried to be on the baseline at all times. Gasquet was also standing back really far to return serve against a guy who was serving around the same pace as him. On the 2nd serve return, he was either standing even farther back on many occasions! Or moving in sometimes but could only chip the backhand more often than not, he hardly hit a drive backhand return all evening, which is a good ploy to take time away if you stand in.

He has nice shots and it did go to three sets but it was really like watching Carla Suarez Navarro back in February in Paris indoors. Nice shots but not realy hurting the opponent consistently.

Just one other thing to mention, his forehand return is very "interesting". The strange grip he has doesnt allow him to hit through the ball, consequently that return consistently does not have enough on it.

Novak Djokovic as usual was Mr consistency, not the most exciting player I've ever seen but definitely a polished professional.

That is awesome!

Did you ever watch Sampras live?

 

[ibbi]

The thing is, it's not just his mentality on the court that is the problem, but his mentality off of it. He WAS right there with Nadal back in 2005 as the next big thing, and his general laziness has lead to him being overtaken by Murray, Djokovic, Tsonga, Wawrinka, Del Potro, and over the course of the past 8 years other guys have surpassed him as well. He doesn't have the game to be a major competitor because the only thing that has noticeably improved over the years are his serve and net game.

 

[Tenez101]

He's done very well considering he doesn't have a forehand.

 

[Laurie]

That is awesome!

Did you ever watch Sampras live?

Yes, at Wimbledon, Queens and later at the Masters in 2008 at the Royal Albert Hall.

 

[Mainad]

The thing is, it's not just his mentality on the court that is the problem, but his mentality off of it. He WAS right there with Nadal back in 2005 as the next big thing, and his general laziness has lead to him being overtaken by Murray, Djokovic, Tsonga, Wawrinka, Del Potro, and over the course of the past 8 years other guys have surpassed him as well. He doesn't have the game to be a major competitor because the only thing that has noticeably improved over the years are his serve and net game.

I think there is some truth in this. Instead of working hard and honing his talent like his near-contemporaries Nadal, Djokovic, Murray etc. he preferred to party too much (who can forget the cocaine incident that briefly got him banned a few years back). Consequently, he wasted his precious peak years doing relatively little whereas the other guys were busy forging ahead with their careers and passing him by. Only recently has he begun to knuckle down and start working hard again and get himself back into the top 10 where his talent belongs. But he has probably left it too late now to try to break into the top echelon. He just will never be consistent enough.

 

[Phonco]

I would think so. I heard from a commentator that Gasquet didn't really train during the season, and he would just play the season into shape. Assuming he would have a big competitor mindset then I would assume he would be training his butt off all the time instead of being lazy and partying. He probably would have solved all of his weakness I.e fitness, movement, forehand, serve, positioning etc. Look at Djokovic and Murray, they turned their whole game around by getting super fit.

Honestly, you have got to be some major talent if you can beat prime Federer and push Nadal to three on clay in Monte Carlo as a teenager. Especially if this was a guy who was touted as terribly unfit.

 

[andymaratkimi]

Gasquet depend on his backhand to muach,and does not have good enough forehand.

 

[Overdrive]

I disagree with Gasquet "not having a forehand". I've seen multiple videos where it was effective. However, it happens rarely (around 2-4 times a match). Because of this, it is not considered a weapon.

 

[jhhachamp]

His backhand is very flashy and can produce some very nice clean winners, but the rest of his game is ordinary. He had a lot of potential as a young player, but his game never developed as many expected. It is possible that his game did not develop due to a lack of work ethic, or maybe his game just developed earlier than other players and he reached his peak earlier.

 

[jhhachamp]

I disagree with Gasquet "not having a forehand". I've seen multiple videos where it was effective. However, it happens rarely (around 2-4 times a match). Because of this, it is not considered a weapon.

Every pro tennis player can hit a good forehand a few times a match. If they could not, they would not be a pro tennis player. Gasquet has possibly the worst forehand out of all the top 20 players. I think it is reasonable to say that he "does not have a forehand" because it is such a weak shot compared to other players at his level.

 

[accidental]

His movement is not good enough.
His serve is not good enough.
His forehand is not good enough.

If he was a better competitor and was driven to improve every day in practice he would have improved all of these much more than he has.

He's basically the exact same player he was back in 2007, where Nadal has Improved in every aspect of his game

If only he were more focused on winning than on making out with cocaine using girls in night clubs

 

[rainingaces]

Gasquet should be better on clay where he has time to set up his strokes I've always thought. He beat Federer and got to some finals I know but still.

I miss NadalAgassi and his various subsequent manifestations. He was a really interesting and knowledgeable poster and yet he keeps getting banned for some reason. When I think of some of the posters on here who could really do with getting banned, it seems such a shame!

Was that a sly dig at anyone who does not like Murray Pfff.

 

[Overdrive]

Every pro tennis player can hit a good forehand a few times a match. If they could not, they would not be a pro tennis player. Gasquet has possibly the worst forehand out of all the top 20 players. I think it is reasonable to say that he "does not have a forehand" because it is such a weak shot compared to other players at his level.

No, I think he has a better forehand than Isner's.

 

[SStrikerR]

No, I think he has a better forehand than Isner's.

No. If Isner has gasquet's forehand, he would lose a hell of a lot more matches.

 

[Death Master]

this is going to be brutal:

in this age of all time greats, he is basically a nobody.

it is what it is. that famous backhand of his almost always folds under intense pressure.

he also lacks the testicular fortitude required to win slams today.


roger was the last of his kind. it will be very hard for somebody with a single hander to win a masters event, let alone a slam in modern tennis.

 

[firepanda]

Guys, he's slowly worked his way up from falling outside the top 20 to consistently holding a place inside the top 10. Give him some respect: he's beating the people he was losing to 2-3 years ago.

 

[Overdrive]

No. If Isner has gasquet's forehand, he would lose a hell of a lot more matches.

Yeah, the ones that are not played on fast and high-bouncing courts.

 

[PCXL-Fan]

Yes, maybe 1 slam, but his past uses of cocaine impaired his ability to stay cool under pressure. (subtle little physiological and behavioral things convince me he's repeatedly used cocaine)

Then again if he was more of a competitor he may not risked his cognitive capabilities with drug use dalliances.

 

[Overdrive]

Yes, maybe 1 or 2, but his past uses of cocaine (more than once) impaired his ability to stay cool under pressure.

Then again if he was more of a competitor he may not have gone into these drug use dalliances.

Wait a minute, he used cocaine?!

 

[firepanda]

Wait a minute, he used cocaine?!

That's why he left the tour for a few months and crashed out of the top 20. He said he got it from kissing a girl in a nightclub and got the ban reduced. Personally, I don't think they should ban people for using plain ol' drugs. You can't win a slam if you're high.

 

[Overdrive]

That's why he left the tour for a few months and crashed out of the top 20. He said he got it from kissing a girl in a nightclub and got the ban reduced. Personally, I don't think they should ban people for using plain ol' drugs. You can't win a slam if you're high.

Did she submerge her lips in cocaine or something?

As soon as you lose drugs, you're no longer the same (cognitively).

 

[firepanda]

Did she submerge her lips in cocaine or something?

As soon as you lose drugs, you're no longer the same (cognitively).

I dunno. The court thought it was reasonable. It sounds ridiculous, but the amount of cocaine in his urine of very very low and I don't think a player could compete with an addiction to something like cocaine.

 

[PCXL-Fan]

I dunno. The court thought it was reasonable. It sounds ridiculous, but the amount of cocaine in his urine of very very low and I don't think a player could compete with an addiction to something like cocaine.

Addiction to cocaine is less severe than with cigarettes. The brain damage is in another universe, but the craving and pangs are less.

 

[Mainad]

I miss NadalAgassi and his various subsequent manifestations. He was a really interesting and knowledgeable poster and yet he keeps getting banned for some reason. When I think of some of the posters on here who could really do with getting banned, it seems such a shame!

Was that a sly dig at anyone who does not like Murray Pfff.

Well hardly, given that NadalAgassi was no fan of Murray although, being a reasonable and intelligent poster, he did treat him fairly!

It's a pity that you, and a few others on here, can't take a leaf out of his book!

 

[msc886]

Don't think so. Aside from his topspin backhand, the other aspects of his game can't keep up the top players.

 

[jhhachamp]

No, I think he has a better forehand than Isner's.

I strongly disagree. Isner has a very strong serve and strong forehand, but his movement is weak and holds him back.

 

[Sid_Vicious]

I dunno. The court thought it was reasonable. It sounds ridiculous, but the amount of cocaine in his urine of very very low and I don't think a player could compete with an addiction to something like cocaine.

I know. That is why it is so funny to hear Mcenroe say that in the 70-80s players used to abuse cocaine. LOL, why anybody would do that is beyond me. 20-40 minute buzz followed by a severe comedown.Doesn't sound performance enhancing.

 

[Sid_Vicious]

I strongly disagree. Isner has a very strong serve and strong forehand, but his movement is weak and holds him back.

Isner's forehand is fantastic. That shot is a real weapon and I have seen Isner push Federer, Djokovic, and Nadal around with it. If Ryan Harrison had Isner's forehand he would actually be a promising American talent.

 

[Phonco]

Give him a break

Guys, he's slowly worked his way up from falling outside the top 20 to consistently holding a place inside the top 10. Give him some respect: he's beating the people he was losing to 2-3 years ago.

I think a lot of it has to do with the expectation that should never have lost to those people to begin with and his habit of folding against the top players (who doesn't?).

However, I do agree with you. Gasquet seems to be getting a lot of disrespect lately from posters and commentators. I think he has done really well for himself to get to where he is. Given his past history, he seems to be improving a lot in all aspects of his game.