Most athletic player?

[Offshore]

The thread is about "Most athletic player". Monfils and blake are not it. Only brain-washed idiots or racists would think they were.



You don't know anything about tennis if you do not agree that Blake has bad footwork. I guess sometimes the truth is" lame".

Wow, what angry drivel. Now I understand why people around here can't stand you. Have a nice life in your van down by the river.

 

[FitzRoy]

I do think it's true that Blake's footwork could still improve. He's already improved it quite a bit since his early days on the tour, and I think he will continue to do so. His natural speed and quickness is at a very high level. Sure, he did have back problems as a child and even into his teenage years, but I'd say he's certainly moved past that.

I agree with a lot of the people who have posted so far about most athletic: Federer, Nadal, Safin, Monfils, Blake. Haas and Srichaphan are pretty good in that department as well, and I would add guys like Kiefer, Malisse, Verdasco to that list.

 

[WChiang]

Wow, what angry drivel. Now I understand why people around here can't stand you. Have a nice life in your van down by the river.

LOL, yep if you do a few searches you will soon realize that the young man (I assume) is a waste of time. The most hate filled nonsensical poster on the board. I think a lot of people are just putting him on "ignore". Pretty pathetic.:sad:

Edit: For the record I agree with FitzRoy re: athletic players currently on tour. Blake, Haas, Fed, Nadal, Monfil, Safin. Borg was an athletic wonder from the old days...maybe best ever.

 

[sypl]

Nobody wanna vote Jonas Bjorkman? That guy was like Tennis Action Man.

 

[Offshore]

Nobody wanna vote Jonas Bjorkman? That guy was like Tennis Action Man.

Agree. Bjorkman is an animal and is still doing pretty well.

 

[BaseLineBash]

Sucker born every minute.

Blake is clumsy, has all sorts of diseases, and some of the worst footwork I've ever seen of a top 10 player. How is he athletic? I don't get it. Too much Pmac or something?

Just to clarify for you, if you've ever had chickenpox your body then carries zoster, and more people than not have had chickenpox.

 

[Banger]

The thread is about "Most athletic player". Monfils and blake are not it. Only brain-washed idiots or racists would think they were.

I agree that Blake is not at the top but Monfils is above everyone else in the athleticism dept. Brainwashed?LOL thats pretty funny, and I am white so if I was racist I would not be picking Monfils. You keep on ridiculing everyone about their opinion, but you still have not told us your pick, so now it is your turn.

 

[hyperwarrior]

ROGER FEDERER!!!!! Enough said!

 

[Warriorroger]

ROGER FEDERER!!!!! Enough said!

Steffi Graf!!!!! Enough said. Like her or hate her, she moved the best of all women.

 

[Night]

a person trained or gifted in exercises or contests involving physical agility, stamina, or strength; a participant in a sport, exercise, or game requiring physical skill is an athlete.


This thread is opinionated so please reframe from being excessively defensive.

Pete Sampras and Rod Woodson had a skills test done with Pat Etcheberry in order for Wooodson to get ready for the NFL Combine. Over the drills, Pete anmd Rod were neck and neck according to Etchebnerry.

Tennis and football might be completely different sports but they= have a lot in common. Football is more brutal on the body with will.

Monfils has superb flexibility and looks great going through all those mercedes benz points but does not have the "it".Same with Paradorn.


Blake has great acceleration, big power, and good foot speed. He lacks balance and has low maneuvering.

A perfect example is Agassi/Blake US OPEN 2005
While Agassi was moving Blake he was skidding his feet everywhere and nearly falling. Once he hit a neutralizing shot on the run he had time to set up a big forehand.


It took Agassi a while to find that out.

Nadal takes steriods.

 

[Swinging Simian]

MY picks
Current mens: Federer Nadal Schrichapan
Current Women: Mauresmo, S. Williams,
Past Mens: Becker Chang Agassi
Past Women: Graff Sanchez Vicario Navratilova

Yes Agassi, cause even out of shape eating mickey D's tacos and all he was still kicking ass. I have to disagree with Samprass being one of the most athletic due to the fact that he looked like death warmed over when he was iinvolved in marathon matches.

 

[slice bh compliment]

I am surprised, Paradorn is getting a lot of ink in this thread. Well, just mildly surprised, the dude can fly. He's just not winning a ton (and often, around here, recent results are everything...;-).

I hope he makes 07 a good year. Or he just needs to retire;-)! [kidding]

 

[Breaker]

Federer
Nadal
Borg
Sampras
Becker
Hewitt
Monfils
Safin
Roddick
Srichaphan
Ferrer

All above the pack in athletism as far as I'm concerned.

 

[Alley Cat]

I would go with Fed, Nadal, Blake, Haas, Monfils, Schrichapan, Safin. All great athletes.

 

[35ft6]

I do think it's true that Blake's footwork could still improve.

If a guy has bad footwork/technique, yet is still considered by people on tour as one of the very fastest players on tour, that's even greater proof of his raw athleticism.

BTW, his trainer sheepishly admitted that although Blake is great for an ATP pro, he can't really compare to the NBA and NFL guys he works with.

 

[Dark Victory]

I'm not so sure. Federer is indeed a world class athelete.

I guess it all depends on the definition of "atheletic".

Federer's specialness people refere to is not in purely atheletic dimension, IMHO.
He has McEnroe like gifted hand, court vision and game intelegence.
He seems to have extra pair of eyes. He reads his opponents so well
while doing lightening fast excahnges of shots.

Federe is supremely athletic. But he is great because he has that
extra "special" element that Becker mentioned. I think it's that
extra non-purely atheletic dimension.

You know Federer's old nickname was Swiss magician.
His game has that magic pool player in him.
He has that magic hand and plethora of intangibles.
But strictly speaking, I think I have seen many more atheletic jockeys
in the past...

This is a pretty good way of putting it.

Pete Sampras imo is more of a natural athlete than Fed is.

But as far as artistry and imagination is concerned, Federer no doubt.

 

[rommil]

Pdorn hands down. Seen this guy play in person multiple times.

 

[rommil]

By the way, anybody knows where I can get a copy of the Federer-Srichaphan match in Basel this year?* bay doesn't have it.

 

[Warriorroger]

Look at that footwork and remember it is almost 20 years ago.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=1mDfFbNEcpg

 

[Andy Zarzuela]

Here's a good one.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=LLlaKUElDIw&mode=related&search=

 

[tennisboy87]

Roger Federer and Rafael Nadal.

 

[Nextman916]

Im not sure about you guys but Ginepri strikes me as an amazingly athletic player.

 

[mavanne]

the Most athletic player must be this girl.... nobody can do what she do....

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=5v1dzy1UhqA

 

[dave333]

serena williams?...

i think nadal, fed, the usualy

 

[mxmx]

For the sake of clarifying this discussion, I believe we need to define athleticism verses talent, verses being a champion.

To be considered an all-time great champion in any sport, you must have a high degree of all of these factors:

1.) Raw physical athletic ability: Speed, strength, explosive power, flexibility, endurance, overall fitness, etc.

2.) Mental toughness: Ability to concentrate, ability to overcome frustration, ability to overcome nervousness, high pain threshold, etc.

3.) Development of sport specific skills: Ability to hit all types of shots/perform all types of required actions at an elite skill level.

4.) Sport specific talent: A combination of physical and mental characteristics that can make you naturally excel at one sport over another.

5.) Competitive awareness/intelligence: Ability and awareness to understand and implement the correct strategy in specific circumstances.

6.) Luck: Opportunity to play, access to good coaching, financial backing, lack of accidents/injury/illness, etc.

I believe that what the OP's coach was probably talking about was the first characteristic, raw physical athletic ability. In that sense, I would have to agree that Gael Monfils might be at the top of that list among current tour players.

I am not basing this on the color of Monfils' skin or peer pressure. Rather, my opinion of his athletic ability comes from two things:

1.) First hand observation: I had front row seats behind the court to watch Gael Monfils' 1st round match at the US Open this year verses Michael Russell. In comparison with all of the players we watched this year, Monfils was the most impressive to me in terms of raw physical ability. Despite inefficient footwork, his speed was so amazing that he could cover all parts of the court like lightning, and we watched numerous leaping, scissor kicking, Sampras-style overheads that appeared to show off a 36+ inch vertical leaping ability. In terms of power, he could hit huge shots (booming forehands, 140+ mph serves) seemingly without effort. And for flexibility, all I had to see was the point where Russell hit a drop shot and Monfils sprinted in, slipped on the court, and still hit a forehand winner while doing the complete splits.

(I know they showed that particular point on television in the CBS US Open highlight show as we happened to look up at one of the big screens in Times Square later that night to see it... and video of my wife and I cheering after the shot! There's nothing quite like randomly looking up and seeing your face on a giant television screen in the middle of New York. By the way, I've been trying to find a copy of the that particular highlight, but have not found it yet on YouTube or elsewhere.)

Speaking of YouTube, here is a pretty impressive point by Monfils:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=SAlnGDMRcZI

2.) French federation athletic testing results: While we were watching the Monfils match at the Open, we were listening in on the radio broadcast over the free headsets that AMEX was handing out. On the broadcast, Jim Courier mentioned that most sports in France are federation backed. For the past 50 years or so, apparently, the various French sports federations make all of the athetes they work with perform a standardized athletic test to determine their relative level of physical capability. This test is supposed to measure pure speed, power, flexibility, endurance... all the things we have mentioned in regards to raw athletic ability. Anyway, according to Courier, Gael Monfils tested out higher than any other athlete in the history of the test in France in all sports! (This means his results were compared not only to fellow tennis players, but basketball, soccer, cyclists, etc.)

As others have mentioned, Monfils may have deficiencies in several of the overall areas that hinder him from being a great player right now, but his raw athletic ability seems to be his biggest strength. If he could improve his overall skillset, mental tougness, and competitive awareness/intelligence, he would be very, very tough to beat.

Good post...and I agree with you

Let me put it this way: I am a huge Sampras fan...but I never even thought of the question "who is the most athletic ever?" until Monfils came around. Having watched years and years of tennis, I do not believe I've seen anyone more athletic than Monfils - what he does, no one else could match (not talking about technique here). He may have a arrogant streak...but his athleticism is unmatched in the type of plays he makes.

 

[tipsa...don'tlikehim!]

Djokovic is the supreme athlete.

 

[rossi46]

No, i accuse of steroid abuse because he claims he doesn't even lift weights yet one of his arms is 200% bigger than the other and every other part of his body is relatively small.

You can customise steroids to build muscle on only one limb ?? That is extraordinary.

 

[tipsa...don'tlikehim!]

That's ridiculous anyway, Nadal maybe doesn't lift weight but he's doing work out (body weight work out, dips, pull ups, etc).

Anyway i don't see what's so unbelievable about Nadal's body, anyone going to a gym will see guys looking stronger than nadal and they are not doping.

 

[Wim]

That's ridiculous anyway, Nadal maybe doesn't lift weight but he's doing work out (body weight work out, dips, pull ups, etc).

Anyway i don't see what's so unbelievable about Nadal's body, anyone going to a gym will see guys looking stronger than nadal and they are not doping.

I agree! Cant see the fuzz about Nadals body. He is build different than some other player from natures side. And being so active and does bodywork.. Ive seen many men much bigger than Nadal without doping.

Anyway.. if there was some dope the players would need it would be the ones for endurance.. not getting bigger.

 

[tipsa...don'tlikehim!]

Anyway.. if there was some dope the players would need it would be the ones for endurance.. not getting bigger.

Exactly...

 

[mxmx]

I don't think Nadal has the ideal build for tennis. If he was leaner, he would probably be even better. Djok and Federer's bodies are more ideally suited for tennis imo...