List ATP players with better backhands than forehands...

[tennis_hack]

Two categories here;

1). Active players for whom their backhand is very good relative to other backhands (for example, 2nd best backhand of all time) whilst, comparatively, their forehand is not as good relative to other forehands (for example, 'only' 10th best forehand of all time). But, for a general groundstroke, their forehand is still better, so they'd still run around their backhands if possible. Examples include;

Djokovic
Fognini
Melzer
Murray
Nalbandian
Niemenin
Seppi
Tipseravic
Troicki
Wawrinka

2). Those rare active players whose backhand is actually just better as a groundstroke than their forehand is (so they'd be tempted to run around their forehand to hit a backhand).

Gasquet
Gulbis
Paire
Volandri


Add to these list(s) and disagree with them if you will...

 

[WhiskeyEE]

Safin and Nalbandian would be on one of those lists

 

[kiki]

and if we track back to 70´s to 90´s, there are a bunch more of´em

 

[rofl_copter3]

Novak Djokovic... He has a decent forehand but his backhand is more reliable and is legitimately better than his forehand in my opinion

 

[TTMR]

It has to be one of the most embarrassing things in the world to know your backhand is better than your forehand and you are better off running around said forehand to hit a backhand. Talk about an affront to manhood. Women have better backhands than forehands. Notice most of those players listed serve like girls, too, and are more confident on the return game. They have no business among the big boys. The forehand is the essential dictating stroke of the modern ATP game. If you don't have a forehand, you don't belong.

 

[kiki]

It has to be one of the most embarrassing things in the world to know your backhand is better than your forehand and you are better off running around said forehand to hit a backhand. Talk about an affront to manhood. Women have better backhands than forehands. Notice most of those players listed serve like girls, too, and are more confident on the return game. They have no business among the big boys.

so guys like Connors,Laver,Vilas,Ashe,Rosewall,Edberg,Budge,Kodes,Korda,Orantes look girlish to you?

 

[rainingaces]

I like Gulbis's forehand like Tomic's it gets a rough deal on here because its so quirky, if it was not as good as his backhand why does he his as many if not more winners with it? It's quite a bit better.

Couple more you could add some to the bh better then the forehand category O. Rochus, stakhovsky, Almagro.

 

[MTF07]

Wawrinka's backhand is better than his forehand.

 

[tennis_hack]

I like Gulbis's forehand like Tomic's it gets a rough deal on here because its so quirky, if it was not as good as his backhand why does he his as many if not more winners with it? It's quite a bit better.

Couple more you could add some to the bh better then the forehand category O. Rochus, stakhovsky, Almagro.

COuld be that Gulbis's backhand is doing all the damage, and his 'forehand' winners are just simple putaway shots created from forcing backhands. Stats can be decieving like that...

Almagro claims that his favorite shot is the forehand, though, and he sure runs around a lot of backhands...

 

[Bursztyn]

2). Those rare active players whose backhand is actually just better as a groundstroke than their forehand is (so they'd be tempted to run around their forehand to hit a backhand).

Gasquet
Gulbis
Paire
Volandri


Add to these list(s) and disagree with them if you will...

Do players from this group actually hit more winners with their backhands than with their forehands?
If thet don't, is it because of the fact that their opponents hit constantly to their forehands?

 

[rainingaces]

COuld be that Gulbis's backhand is doing all the damage, and his 'forehand' winners are just simple putaway shots created from forcing backhands. Stats can be decieving like that...

Almagro claims that his favorite shot is the forehand, though, and he sure runs around a lot of backhands...

Still nice list to see. I can think of loads of players who are very aggressive with it and if they were equally aggressive with their forehand I don't know, sometimes maybe but its hard to judge, the best judge is the player. I know you are talking current players but Ljubicic is a good example as he was very aggressive on his backhand but maybe that was due to limitations of the shot rather then it being a great shot.

 

[TTMR]

so guys like Connors,Laver,Vilas,Ashe,Rosewall,Edberg,Budge,Kodes,Korda,Orantes look girlish to you?

The dinosaurs of Earth don't have any relevance to my life today, so why should the dinosaurs of tennis? Tennis is a different game now. It's for big, strong, athletic men who can produce shots that feel like cannons.

I will grant the following exception: anyone with a one-handed backhand (even if better than the forehand) retains his manhood.

However, guys with two-handers better be using them as a desperate rally shot and strictly as a set-up for a 100 MPH forehand. Otherwise, get off my TV screen and off the court so I can watch actual men play the game.

 

[kiki]

The dinosaurs of Earth don't have any relevance to my life today, so why should the dinosaurs of tennis? Tennis is a different game now. It's for big, strong, athletic men who can produce shots that feel like cannons.

I will grant the following exception: anyone with a one-handed backhand (even if better than the forehand) retains his manhood.

However, guys with two-handers better be using them as a desperate rally shot and strictly as a set-up for a 100 MPH forehand. Otherwise, get off my TV screen and off the court so I can watch actual men play the game.

if you look for manhood, then you should go for those dinasaurs you consider irrelevant.

Life is full of ironies.

 

[droliver]

I'm not sure there's really anyone on the men's side who doesn't prefer FH to BH irrespective of how good their BH stroke is. Even a player like Gasquet runs around his backhand when possible. The only guy I can remember who said he wanted the ball to his backhand was Gaston Gaudio for the big points.

This is consistent with the fact that other then keeping the ball in play, hitting to your opponent's backhand is the basic playbook for all players from youth tennis all the way to Rafa's M.O. against all players. Djokovic's method of playing Nadal is largely to stay out of patterns where he is trapped in low percentage BH->FH rallies. The guys at Fuzzy Yellow Balls have a great breakdown on this is you're interested (here)

 

[dominikk1985]

The dinosaurs of Earth don't have any relevance to my life today, so why should the dinosaurs of tennis? Tennis is a different game now. It's for big, strong, athletic men who can produce shots that feel like cannons.

I will grant the following exception: anyone with a one-handed backhand (even if better than the forehand) retains his manhood.

However, guys with two-handers better be using them as a desperate rally shot and strictly as a set-up for a 100 MPH forehand. Otherwise, get off my TV screen and off the court so I can watch actual men play the game.

marat safin had a better BH than FH and he certainly was a "big Boy"

 

[dominikk1985]

if you look for manhood, then you should go for those dinausaurs you consider irrelevant.

Life is full of ironies.

you mean the ancient time when men didn't shave their chest and balls?

 

[TTMR]

marat safin had a better BH than FH and he certainly was a "big Boy"

As the OP understands, Safin only has a better backhand relative to the backhands of other ATP players. His forehand while still better than most ATP forehands, was not as much better than other contemporaneous forehands as his backhand was to contemporaneous backhands.

If we look at the effectiveness of a given shot, Safin's forehand is still objectively better than his backhand as a groundstrike. Hence, even he, with his great backhand, would run around it to hit a forehand to finish off points where possible. Guys with great two-handers, like Murray and Djokovic, still use their forehand as the finishing shot. Paire, Santoro, and perhaps Falla, are the only players I've seen of the 2000s, who will actually use the backhand as their finishing shot.