Kuerten or Hewitt- Whose Career Would You Rather Have

[Michael Bluth]

Exactly what it says in the title:

Hewitt: 2 Slams(1 W, 1 USO), 2 year-end no.1s, 2 TMCs, 80 weeks at no.1, 2 Masters shields(Indian Wells 02, 03), 2 Davis Cup titles, 27 career titles(and counting), youngest player to acheive no.1 ranking.

Kuerten: 3 Slams(3 RG), 1 year end no.1, 1 TMC(which in winning he became the only man to beat Sampras and Agassi back to back) , 43 weeks at no.1, 5 masters shields(Monte Carlo 99,01, Rome 99, Hamburg 00, Cincinnati 01), 20 career titles.

Whose career would you rather have? Guga has more slams, but would you rather dominate at one slam or have two different slams? Hewitt has more titles, 1 more TMC, 1 more year ended no.1, and has won the Davis Cup for his country, Guga has more masters shields and his legendary run to the TMC final beating Sampras and Agassi back to back on indoor hard courts which no one else has ever done.

 

[Mr.Brightside]

hewitt, for sure. i'd rather win one wimby than two FOs

 

[Cantankersore]

Guga.

10 char.

 

[IvanAndreevich]

It's close. Both had a hip replacement too.

 

[Toxicmilk]

career wise I'd want to have Hewitt's.

much rather play like guga, though

 

[vive le beau jeu !]

clearly hewitt for me...

 

[Anaconda]

guga won 3 slams, so guga is better.

 

[Cup8489]

guga won 3 slams, so guga is better.

hewitt won wimbledon and the USO, which is better than the FO.

i say hewitt, he's more interesting to me.

 

[T1000]

Hewitt
USO and Wimby> 3 French Opens to me, shows he can win on more surfaces
More TMCs
More titles
More time at number 1
More year end number ones
More slam finals (I think)

 

[boredone3456]

Hewitt
USO and Wimby> 3 French Opens to me, shows he can win on more surfaces
More TMCs
More titles
More time at number 1
More year end number ones
More slam finals (I think)

Agreed, I like Guga more than I like Hewitt, but would still take Hewitt's career.

 

[Anaconda]

hewitt won wimbledon and the USO, which is better than the FO.

i say hewitt, he's more interesting to me.

Pure speculation. A slam is a slam and the record books say that Guga has more slams than Hewitt. What slams you win is irrelevant.

 

[Baikalic]

Pure speculation. A slam is a slam and the record books say that Guga has more slams than Hewitt. What slams you win is irrelevant.

Not true, what slams a persons win is relevant to that person's personal preference. Of course, if you have no personal preference, then having more slams counts for more than fewer.

I would take Hewitt's career because he has not yet had to cut short his career and retire due to recurring injuries; after ten years on tour Guga was effectively out of contention; after eleven years Hewitt is still making a comeback and still has at least another year of competition near the top of the game in him and perhaps more; kudos to his longevity.

 

[Mikael]

I'd rather have Guga's game but Hewitt's accomplishments... hard to disconnect the two.

 

[Fedace]

Hewitt for sure, he had hotter women.

 

[ahile02]

I would take Hewitt's career, but I"m definetely more of Guga fan. Not a big Hewitt fan

 

[kishnabe]

Kuerten since I love playing on clay. Even though winnning wimbledon would be awesome but 3 French Opens would be nice.

 

[nfor304]

Hewitt for sure. Guga spent a long time injured and finished his career fairly young but Hewitt still has a few good years left.

I would rather play on the tour longer than Guga did.

 

[Bjorkman & Johnny Mac]

Hewitt's probably.. One Wimbeldon and a USO is more impressive than few RG titles IMO

 

[Kenny022593]

Hewitt for sure, he had hotter women.

Nice new avATAR Fedace

 

[serve stopper]

hewitt's career sounds a lot better

 

[Fedace]

Nice new avATAR Fedace

Do you know how to make it bigger ?

 

[Kenny022593]

Do you know how to make it bigger ?

The only thing i know is that you can zoom in on the computer's photo editor but it distorts the picture

 

[grafselesfan]

Hewitt was a great player on more than one surface. Kuerten despite his 2000 YEC title was not. Hewitt was the clear #1 for about 18 months. Kuerten was not for such a period, if he ever was (note I said clear #1). Hewitt's worst surface was clay yet he straight setted Kuerten once in Davis Cup in Brazil on clay. He is much better on clay than Kuerten is on grass, and in his prime he is better on any of grass, hard courts, indoors than Kuerten is on any surface outside of clay. Kuerten is a greater clay courter than Hewitt is on any surface, but that is his only edge. So I go with Hewitt.

I would rather win Wimbledon, U.S Open, and many times either be in the finals or semis or lose to the eventual winner of the Australian, Wimbledon, and U.S Opens, win the YEC twice in a row, and end the year #1 twice in a row; than win the French 3 times, but have mostly middling results in the other 3 slams, with the YEC title that clinched a year #1 being the only other real highlight.

 

[JeMar]

Hewitt for sure, he had hotter women.

Yeah, that Clijsters was a babe.
:-?

 

[World Beater]

hewitt at his best was actually more intimidating than kuerten despite being smaller and having less firepower.

his speed, fitness, counterpunching and never say die attitude was legendary. at his best, hewitt could go through periods of hitting winners by just countering the opponents moves.

kuerten was great on clay and always had this artistic quality but he wasn't feared on surfaces other than clay.

hewitt could in davis cup still defeat kuerten on his non - preferred surface - that is how scary of a player he was.

 

[slice bh compliment]

Hewitt for sure, he had hotter women.

Yeah, that Clijsters was a babe.
:-?

LOL!

Wimbledon and US Open vs 3 RG. Toss-up.

Hmm, Bec vs Gisele Bundchen. Advantage Guga.

Davis Cup Champion. Advantage Hewitt. Big one there.

Year-end no. 1 twice vs once. Advantage Hewitt.

Loved in his own country. Advantage Guga.

Universally loved in the city of his GS win(s). Advantage Guga.

Universally loved the world over. Advantage Guga.

Good at dubs as well as singles. Advantage Hewitt (won the US Open dubs ince with Mirnyi).

Style of play. Advantage Guga.

Longevity. Toss up. Slight Advantage Hewitt.

Mellifluous grunt. Advantage Guga.

Style. Guga, even though I'm not a tattoo guy.

Character. Game, set and match, Guga.

On pure tennis, it's a toss-up and that's what makes this thread interesting.
On the intangibles: Guga all the way.

 

[Steve132]

Hewitt was a great player on more than one surface. Kuerten despite his 2000 YEC title was not. Hewitt was the clear #1 for about 18 months. Kuerten was not for such a period, if he ever was (note I said clear #1). Hewitt's worst surface was clay yet he straight setted Kuerten once in Davis Cup in Brazil on clay. He is much better on clay than Kuerten is on grass, and in his prime he is better on any of grass, hard courts, indoors than Kuerten is on any surface outside of clay. Kuerten is a greater clay courter than Hewitt is on any surface, but that is his only edge. So I go with Hewitt.

I would rather win Wimbledon, U.S Open, and many times either be in the finals or semis or lose to the eventual winner of the Australian, Wimbledon, and U.S Opens, win the YEC twice in a row, and end the year #1 twice in a row; than win the French 3 times, but have mostly middling results in the other 3 slams, with the YEC title that clinched a year #1 being the only other real highlight.

Excellent summary. Hewitt has clearly enjoyed a more successful career than Kuerten.

 

[lawrence]

Good point, but it's obvious Hewitt wouldn't trade his accomplishments for Guga's either.
Hewitt may be fading away, but he has a lot of impressive notes on his resume.
2 slams - while not impressive when compared to GOAT contenders, is still a very big accomplishment for any tennis player.
2 years at #1
2 TMC's
and a record for the #1 ranking at a young age, which I don't see anyone beating for a long time

 

[T1000]

I am pretty sure Guga would not exchange his 3 FO titles for Hewitts career achievements. Lets not forget Guga in 97 achieved a rare feat in winning the FO title as a WC in his very first attempt!!!!(taking our former GS champions). In additon, he knocked out Agassi and Sampras back to back in 2000 TMC, the first player to beat both players consecutively indoors.

That doesn't mean anything. Hewitt destroyed Sampras at the USO and also came back to beat Federer after facing match point 2 sets to love down. Hewitt has a lot more memorable matches imo if we're counting that.

 

[RCizzle65]

Yeah, that Clijsters was a babe.
:-?

Well, look who he has now

 

[sh@de]

Guga, because Hewitt seems like just a... good player, whereas Guga is a clay king. I like that name

 

[halalula1234]

one with more moeny D

 

[tintin]

Kuerten>>>Hewitt

 

[Michael Bluth]

Kuerten always dissapointed me with how inconsistent he was on hardcourts. Didn't he make the final of Montreal in 97 but lose to Chris Woodruff after destroying Chang in the semis? Other big hardcourt dissapointments for him are never making the second week of the AO where you'd think he'd have done better on slow hardcourts(did he not like the conditions or something), and getting blown away by Kafelnikov at the USO in 2001 when he had just won Cincinnati.

 

[slice bh compliment]

If I recall correctly, both these guys, along with Ferrero, Norman and Safin, were part of the ATP's New Balls, Please campaign.

Guga is a strange bird (he even looks like a bird.....an emu or an ostrich or a heron or something).

For a player who played such a steady claycourt game....he sure was streaky. He could make unreal touch volleys and pickups. He had a pretty big serve and an underrated overhead. Totally clutch at times, too with the Becker-esque second serve aces when down break point.

He played well behind the baseline at times. He played inside when he needed to. He even had a really nice lob.

Most of all, though, I'll remember him as a really sweet guy. And that heart he drew on the clay at Roland Garros.

Viva Guga!

Hewitt, I'll remember for his pesky game, the "look at him, mate, look at the similarities" episode against Blake at the US Open, and the lawsuit against the ATP. Reluctantly, I've got to give it to him, though, Hatin' Lleyton is an Aussie battler and a true Davis Cup hero.

 

[Rabbit]

The only thing I like about Hewitt was his Davis Cup match against Coria. I thought that was a classic bad blood feud come bubbling to the surface.

That said, I think Hewitt was, is, and will be, an arsehowl.

Guga, on the other hand, I've only seen lose it once or twice and the biggest was against a "fan" at the US Open who Guga had escorted from the facility. Guga's game was also a thing of beauty and his hardcourt game as PDG as well. All in all, I think I'd rather have Guga's legacy than Hewitt's.

 

[Michael Bluth]

I think in the end I would pick Guga's career. Hewitt have won Wimbledon and the US Open but he won't ever be in the discussion as one of the top 10 hard or grasscourt players but Guga will always be discussed as one of the potentially top 5 claycourters in the Open era(possibly 3rd behind Nadal and Borg and in the top 5 discussion along with Lendl, Wilander, and Vilas). I would rather have the distinction of having beaten Sampras and Agassi back to back on indoor hard to win my one TMC then win two TMCs over Grosjean and Ferrero.

 

[AutoXer]

Which ever one made more money..That's the career i'd pick

 

[big bang]

Guga for sure FO is all that matters to me..

 

[TheMagicianOfPrecision]

Hard to say although a slam will always be a slam, Gugas got 3 of them and Hewitt 2, Hewitt on 2 diffrérent surfaces, Guga on 1 surface.
Hewitt has got more Masters appearances than Guga, Hewitt finished as no1 2 times,Guga 1 time...I cant decide...

 

[kOaMaster]

hewitt. clearly.
(for me)

 

[bladepdb]

Hewitt for sure, he had hotter women.

Second that.

 

[Grigollif1]

That is true what one poster said. Historically Kuerten will go down the pipe for a logn while as being one of the greatest clay courters ever.

While Hewitt has no results distinguishable feats. The thing that Hewitt would go down as one of the greatest mental strenght players in history.

 

[chrisdaniel]

...

Hewitt. He is still able to play tennis at the top level. 2 different slams. #1. great wins. Yeah.

 

[slice bh compliment]

Guga for sure FO is all that matters to me..

Ahhhhahhaha, then Gaudio is better than Pat Cash or Goran?

 

[Gustavo Kuerten]

Kuerten, no doubt in my mind. Beautiful elegant game with one of the best backhands ever.

 

[Gustavo Kuerten]

And the fact that winning Roland Garros three times is way better than everything Hewitt has accomplished.

 

[phishua]

Kuerten, no doubt in my mind. Beautiful elegant game with one of the best backhands ever.

...I agree.

Also: Hewitt is an enormous racist ********.

 

[Bhagi Katbamna]

Hewitt for sure. Wimbledon is the biggest and most prestigious tennis tournament and even without the US Open win, I would take the wimby win over 4 French Open wins.

 

[aphex]

hewitt clearly.

kuerten is mostly a one surface wonder.