[POLL] Kafelnikov vs Safin vs Medvedev...Who is the best Russian tennis player ever?

[Winner Sinner]

Career winning percentage
Kafelnikov= 66.5%
Safin= 61.2%
Medvedev= 70.7%

Best ranking
Kafelnikov = 1st
Safin= 1st
Medvedev = 1st

Best year-end ranking
Kafelnikov = 3rd
Safin= 2nd
Medvedev = 2nd

Titles
Kafelnikov = 26
Safin= 15
Medvedev= 20

Lost finals
Kafelnikov = 20
Safin= 12
Medvedev = 18

Slam
Kafelnikov = 2
Safin= 2
Medvedev = 1

Slam finals
Kafelnikov = 3
Safin= 4
Medvedev = 6

ATP Finals
Kafelnikov= 0
Safin= 0
Medvedev = 1

Olympic singles gold
Kafelnikov = 1
Safin= 0
Medvedev= 0

Masters 1000
Kafelnikov= 0
Safin= 5
Medvedev = 6

Big title
Kafelnikov = 3
Safin= 7
Medvedev = 8

500
Kafelnikov = 4
Safin= 1
Medvedev = 4

250
Kafelnikov = 19
Safin= 7
Medvedev = 8

Titles won distributed on the surfaces

Hard
Kafelnikov = 9
Safin= 10
Medvedev = 18

Clay
Kafelnikov = 3
Safin= 2
Medvedev = 1

Grass
Kafelnikov = 3
Safin= 0
Medvedev = 1

Synthetic
Kafelnikov = 11
Safin= 3
Medvedev= 0

Weeks at number 1
Kafelnikov = 6
Safin= 9
Medvedev = 16

H2H
Kafelnikov-Safin= 2-2

Wins vs top 10
Kafelnikov = 46
Safin= 49
Medvedev= 46

Wins vs top 5
Kafelnikov = 25
Safin= 22
Medvedev= 16

 

[NatF]

Safin.

 

[buscemi]

Kafelnikov if we include doubles (4 Majors and 7 Masters Series double titles). Safin if we focus solely on singles.

 

[Winners or Errors]

My candle burns at both ends;
It will not last the night;
But ah, my foes, and oh, my friends—
It gives a lovely light!

Safin

 

[nolefam_2024]

What is there to see
Meddy has 1 slam 6 masters ATP finals and 4 500s.

250s are not great metric at all.

So he is much more ahead of safin anyway already who couldn't even win 2 500s along with no ATP finals. Just 1 more slam is not enough for me vs this much. Along with 2 extra slam finals for meddy

Now Medvedev vs kafelnikov can be tricky.

 

[metsman]

Safin had more talent in (insert random body part) than all these guys put together.

 

[duaneeo]

I'll simply say that neither Kafelnikov nor Safin would blow a 2-0 set lead in a HC slam final to a nearly 36 year old playing at his worst slam.

 

[ConnorH]

Safin is way over-rated by many, just because he had some success during the weakest years of the Open Era. His consistency is too low, and the 61% winning percentage should be by far the lowest among two majors winners. Overall I ranked him below some one-slam winners like Roddick and Chang.

I fully expect my opinion to be unpopular, since this forum emphasizes a few PEAK matches and the fans of certain player(s) try to deny the weakest fields of early-to-mid 2000s.

Kafelnikov achieved more in tennis (including his superior performance in doubles), but I think Medvedev will likely get another HC slam.

 

[Donkus_Reborn]

Kafelnikov if we include doubles (4 Majors and 7 Masters Series double titles). Safin if we focus solely on singles.

what about mixed doubles, wheeelchair singles, wheelchair doubles etc etc

 

[Donkus_Reborn]

it's obviously Safin, man has beaten Sampras, Agassi, Federer, Djokovic in slams during their primes. He obvious has smaller victories like hewitt, Wawrinka, Roddick etc to supplement his big wins.

not any of those players have the wins under their belt that Safin does. Med did have that impressive game against Djokovic but Djokovic was shaking like an alcoholic that day.

 

[accidental]

Safin and Kafelnikov both also won the Davis Cup while Medvedev has not

 

[Sport]

At least Safin and Medvedev will be partially remembered by some due to being rivals of the Big 3 (Safin of Fed, Medvedev of older versions of Nadovic).

Who the hell is this Kafelnikov? His name will be forgotten with the wind, It's nothing more than a sigh within the unstoppable passage of time.

 

[Donkus_Reborn]

At least Safin and Medvedev will be partially remembered by some due to being rivals of the Big 3 (Safin of Fed, Medvedev of older versions of Nadovic).

Who the hell is this Kafelnikov? His name will be forgotten with the wind, It's nothing more than a sigh within the unstoppable passage of time.

kafelnikov had the best career out of the three. He also only played stich and enqvist to win his slams. Safin had to get through Federer and Sampras for his slams. No comparison.

 

[Winner Sinner]

Safin and Kafelnikov both also won the Davis Cup while Medvedev has not

Medvedev won the Davis Cup in 2021, the year he also won the ATP Cup with Russia.

 

[Mustard]

Safin is the most talented of those 3 Russian players, and with the highest peak level, but Safin had an Ivanisevic kind of temperament, so was unpredictable with his temperament.

Kafelnikov did everything well technically and thus had the fewest technical weaknesses of the 3, but he didn't have a big weapon. Compared to Kafelnikov, Medvedev is less consistent, perhaps with a higher peak, but certainly with more flaws.

So, who is the best of the 3 depends on how you look at it.

Medvedev won the Davis Cup in 2021, the year he also won the ATP Cup with Russia.

A very different tournament from 2019 onwards, after the Pique changes.

 

[Winner Sinner]

A very different tournament from 2019 onwards, after the Pique changes.

And oh well, it's still the Davis Cup.
Now it's not as if the current players are burdened by the different format compared to those of the past compared to the standard one seen until 2019.
It was written that Medvedev did not win the Davis Cup compared to the other two, but instead he won it too, so in this respect there is no difference (even if Safin won two).

 

[nolefam_2024]

And oh well, it's still the Davis Cup.
Now it's not as if the current players are burdened by the different format compared to those of the past compared to the standard one seen until 2019.
It was written that Medvedev did not win the Davis Cup compared to the other two, but instead he won it too, so in this respect there is no difference (even if Safin won two).

Exactly right. Let no people add ambiguity to remove any achievements.

 

[Mustard]

And oh well, it's still the Davis Cup.
Now it's not as if the current players are burdened by the different format compared to those of the past compared to the standard one seen until 2019.
It was written that Medvedev did not win the Davis Cup compared to the other two, but instead he won it too, so in this respect there is no difference (even if Safin won two).

It's a different tournament, basically. Davis Cup ties used to be several times at different times of the year, at different venues, and different surfaces. Since 2019, it's been late in the year at one venue and one surface.

 

[Winner Sinner]

It's a different tournament, basically. Davis Cup ties used to be several times at different times of the year, at different venues, and different surfaces. Since 2019, it's been late in the year at one venue and one surface.

I understand that it is a different tournament, but then let's exclude the Davis Cup in the comparison if this is the yardstick for evaluation.
Medvedev essentially for age reasons has never been able to play the Davis Cup with the old format (actually even with the new format the Russians have not been able to participate for 3 years), so in comparison with the other two who won the Davis Cup with the standard format how can it be considered a minus for Medvedev to have never won the Davis Cup with the old format if he was never able to play in it?

I repeat, either you take into consideration a fact that all three won the Davis Cup regardless of the different format, or if you want to give weight to the different format with which it was won then it makes more sense not to take it at all into consideration given that it is not Medvedev's fault that this is the current Davis Cup.

 

[Sudacafan]

Boney M.

 

[Djokodalerer31]

Statistically Kafelnikov, level and talent-wise - Safin. Medvedev has no arguments against either until he at very least wins another slam...

 

[Donkus_Reborn]

Safin is the most talented of those 3 Russian players, and with the highest peak level, but Safin had an Ivanisevic kind of temperament, so was unpredictable with his temperament.

Kafelnikov did everything well technically and thus had the fewest technical weaknesses of the 3, but he didn't have a big weapon. Compared to Kafelnikov, Medvedev is less consistent, perhaps with a higher peak, but certainly with more flaws.

So, who is the best of the 3 depends on how you look at it.


A very different tournament from 2019 onwards, after the Pique changes.

What technical weaknesses did Safin have?

 

[jon70]

Kafelnikov's winning % is impressive considering he played over 900 matches. Safin didn't get to 700. YK also played a mountain of doubles.

 

[Mustard]

What technical weaknesses did Safin have?

That's not what I said. I said that Safin had an Ivanisevic kind of temperament.

Kafelnikov was motivated most of all by money, which he openly admitted, and he played a lot of tennis, singles and doubles, burning out early.

 

[Angrybirdstar]

That's not what I said. I said that Safin had an Ivanisevic kind of temperament.

Kafelnikov did everything well technically and thus had the fewest technical weaknesses of the 3

 

[Mustard]

Kafelnikov is a better volleyer than Safin, wouldn't you agree?

 

[Donkus_Reborn]

Kafelnikov is a better volleyer than Safin, wouldn't you agree?

But Safin didn't have a weakness with volleying.

The only thing Safin did average was his second serve, and that was tactical.


Safin actually had a very good BH smash volley. I don't think kafelnikov does anything better than Safin. Maybe their BH's are close.