JJ Wolf is legit good

P

PistolPete23

Hall of Fame
This up and coming American has real potential. I'm not in the habit of hyping up American youngsters, but I think Wolf is the real deal; he has the athleticism, the physicality, no glaring weaknesses, and most importantly, the mental strength to break into the top 50 at least. Excited to follow his journey in the upcoming few years.
 
P

PistolPete23

Hall of Fame
Lleytonstation said:
So he sounds like all the other Americans that broke into the top 50...
Click to expand...

I wouldn't say all Americans who "recently" broke into top 50 are particularly strong mentally. I thought Sock had real potential to compete for a slam, but he seems to be rather out of shape these days and more interested in building a doubles career.
 
The Blond Blur

The Blond Blur

G.O.A.T.
PistolPete23 said:
This up and coming American has real potential. I'm not in the habit of hyping up American youngsters, but I think Wolf is the real deal; he has the athleticism, the physicality, no glaring weaknesses, and most importantly, the mental strength to break into the top 50 at least. Excited to follow his journey in the upcoming few years.
Click to expand...
I actually saw him play at the USTA Boy's Championship in the summer of 2017 while workng on the athletic training staff. He ended up winning the 18's, and was a lot of fun to watch.
 
P

PistolPete23

Hall of Fame
Red Rick said:
Age, results, video footage?

If true, in for epic thread.
Click to expand...

There are a lot of Challenger matches you can find on YT. He was the #1 ranked college player out of Ohio State and since turning pro, He's been consistently beating a lot of players in Challengers who were or are top 100. I see particularly strong serve for a guy that's 6'0", speed and great mover on the court, patience constructing points, rarely loses his cool, plays at a consistent level throughout a match. I liked this match in particular against Istomin.

 
P

PistolPete23

Hall of Fame
Lleytonstation said:
You said...

Many recent Americans have broken the top 50 without it.
Click to expand...

My point was that JJ Wolf seems to have all the major components that could lead to success on tour (and mental strength is a big one), not that you absolutely HAVE to be particularly mentally strong to break into top 50.
 
Lleytonstation

Lleytonstation

Talk Tennis Guru
PistolPete23 said:
There are a lot of Challenger matches you can find on YT. He was the #1 ranked college player out of Ohio State and since turning pro, He's been consistently beating a lot of players in Challengers who were or are top 100. I see particularly strong serve for a guy that's 6'0", speed and great mover on the court, patience constructing points, rarely loses his cool, plays at a consistent level throughout a match. I liked this match in particular against Istomin.

Click to expand...
He stands way behind the baseline.
 
daggerman

daggerman

Hall of Fame
He reminds me a bit of Kecmanovic, both in terms of build and skill set.

I can't help but wonder how much further along he'd be had he not gone to college.
 
dropshotlikeitshot

dropshotlikeitshot

Professional
Firepandas said:
Tim Duncan was 21 when he started playing in the NBA. Not gonna say that JJ Wolf is going to be the GOAT, but being 21 doesn't mean he can't have a successful career.
Click to expand...
The NBA is very different from the ATP. Name one successful ATP player who joined the tour after his 21st birthday.
 
A

accidental

Hall of Fame
Remember that time Agassi referred to Vince Spadea as a ‘journeyman’, when Spadea had been ranked in the top 20 at one point

Hopefully this guy can do better than top 50
 
P

PistolPete23

Hall of Fame
Lleytonstation said:
It is when they are past their primes.

Anderson, Isner, and Johnson all had their success in recent years.
Click to expand...

Not convinced by your argument at all. You seem to suggest that the entirety of the tour became weaker, thus allowing Anderson and Johnson to shine and the Big-3 to remain at the pedestal. Isner broke into top 10 in 2012, so I wouldn't consider his success recent, and if you watch Anderson's matches in the year where he made it to the Wimbledon and US Open finals, it was obvious that he had elevated his game to a new level, not that his competition had weakened. That the Big-3 are still competing for slams is a testament to their greatness rather than the tour's "weakness." When I see Djokovic and Nadal now play, I don't notice much of a decline in athletic ability, not in the same way Agassi had visibly declined by the end of his career. Federer is admittedly slower on his feet, but the reflexes are still amazingly there, and he's constantly adapting his game to compete against more physical youngsters (playing more S&V etc.).
 
P

PistolPete23

Hall of Fame
Mainad said:
Let's see if he can make this potential truly 'legit good' by starting to win matches and titles on the main tour. At the age of almost 22 he's already well past the age limit for a boy wonder.
Click to expand...

He obviously won't be a "boy wonder," but there's still a chance for him to have a successful career and compete for slams. Who was the last boy wonder on tour who won major titles? I think the game has become too physical for anymore boy wonders to emerge.
 
Lleytonstation

Lleytonstation

Talk Tennis Guru
PistolPete23 said:
Not convinced by your argument at all. You seem to suggest that the entirety of the tour became weaker, thus allowing Anderson and Johnson to shine and the Big-3 to remain at the pedestal. Isner broke into top 10 in 2012, so I wouldn't consider his success recent, and if you watch Anderson's matches in the year where he made it to the Wimbledon and US Open finals, it was obvious that he had elevated his game to a new level, not that his competition had weakened. That the Big-3 are still competing for slams is a testament to their greatness rather than the tour's "weakness." When I see Djokovic and Nadal now play, I don't notice much of a decline in athletic ability, not in the same way Agassi had visibly declined by the end of his career. Federer is admittedly slower on his feet, but the reflexes are still amazingly there, and he's constantly adapting his game to compete against more physical youngsters (playing more S&V etc.).
Click to expand...
Sorry, but if you think Rafa and djoker are anywhere close to their best, you are mistaken.

But even if you believe that Isner, Anderson, and Johnson all happened to get better during the exact same time (all on tour for a while and all had relative success in the same time), it took them till they were much older to make an impact.

This means younger players in general are not playing a special level of tennis.

Do you really think Johnson and Isner were playing top level of tennis during their success?
 
Swingmaster

Swingmaster

Hall of Fame
I saw him in Cincy against RBA with the crowd on his side and he was strutting around, enjoying the stage. played pretty well. Has a pretty robust body as someone mentioned. Serena style lower body and core. If Serena can get around, I guess this guy can too.
 
Slowtwitcher

Slowtwitcher

Legend
Swingmaster said:
No one said anything about top ten or twenty. Solid top 50 is the discussion here, which is pretty sad. An American with top 50, maybe 30 potential. Might as well talk about Nakashima. 18 or 19 who’s proabably a top 50 talent wise player right now.
Click to expand...

The answer to my questions is zero? I honestly don't know the answer
 
P

PistolPete23

Hall of Fame
Slowtwitcher said:
The answer to my questions is zero? I honestly don't know the answer
Click to expand...

The count is low for sure, but all the ones who made it big on the tour also dominated their competition by a large margin during college. Todd Martin, James Blake, Kevin Anderson, and John Isner all broke top 10. Not aware of others.
 
Last edited:
Tshooter

Tshooter

G.O.A.T.
Swingmaster said:
I saw him in Cincy against RBA with the crowd on his side and he was strutting around, enjoying the stage. played pretty well. Has a pretty robust body as someone mentioned. Serena style lower body and core. If Serena can get around, I guess this guy can too.i
Click to expand...

Nice superfluous dig at Serena.:giggle: How she got into this thread is anyone’s guess.:unsure:
 
mike danny

mike danny

Bionic Poster
PistolPete23 said:
Not convinced by your argument at all. You seem to suggest that the entirety of the tour became weaker, thus allowing Anderson and Johnson to shine and the Big-3 to remain at the pedestal. Isner broke into top 10 in 2012, so I wouldn't consider his success recent, and if you watch Anderson's matches in the year where he made it to the Wimbledon and US Open finals, it was obvious that he had elevated his game to a new level, not that his competition had weakened. That the Big-3 are still competing for slams is a testament to their greatness rather than the tour's "weakness." When I see Djokovic and Nadal now play, I don't notice much of a decline in athletic ability, not in the same way Agassi had visibly declined by the end of his career. Federer is admittedly slower on his feet, but the reflexes are still amazingly there, and he's constantly adapting his game to compete against more physical youngsters (playing more S&V etc.).
Click to expand...
The youngsters should have pushed out the Isners and the Andersons of this world. So yeah, weakened competition.
 
haqq777

haqq777

Legend
Saw him play on many occasions. I was there when Fenty of Michigan handed him his first loss of the season too. Very nice game. @sanister actually is family friends with the Wolfs.
PistolPete23 said:
Which year in college was this for Wolf? His opponent in this match had a pretty sweet one-hander!
Click to expand...
This was last year, a few months before he announced he was going pro. Kovacevic actually played Wolf twice last year in April. This match in the video clip was the first time and was played in Champaign where he fell to Wolf in two tiebreakers. The second time they met was during the Big Ten Tournament Final. Kovacevic won against Wolf in first set tiebreaker but the match went unfinished as OSU claimed the Big Ten title. These two guys play excellent quality matches and seem to know each others game well.
 
P

PistolPete23

Hall of Fame
bobleenov1963 said:
JJ Wolf lost to a freshman by the name of Sam Riffice at the 2019 NCAA men single in the round of 16. He lost to a freshman, for crying loud. The dude is no good.
Click to expand...

I didn't see the match. Maybe JJ had an off day; maybe Riffice played the best match of his life. But I know JJ Wolf had a 35-2 singles record playing the number one single spot his final college season. So yeah, I think the dude is pretty good. We'll just have to see where he is a year from now. Maybe I'm wrong and y'all can laugh then.
 
You must log in or register to reply here.

Similar threads

DoubleDeuce
Top Ten and its Sub-Division
Replies
0
Views
2K
DoubleDeuce
DoubleDeuce
N
A good read most on here wont understand please enjoy !
Replies
25
Views
5K
TCF
T
Rovesciarete
What Is Going Wrong For Novak Djokovic?- from Jeff Sackmann
2 3
Replies
106
Views
2K
CHillTennis
CHillTennis
breakfast_of_champions
Whats Adrea Yeager Doing?
Replies
48
Views
15K
@ce
@ce
Rovesciarete
Sinners so surprisingly strange serve stats
Replies
41
Views
3K
Rovesciarete
Rovesciarete
Top