Start da Game
Hall of Fame
discuss and decide the single greatest shot in the history of men's singles tennis......
Single greatest shot in men's history?
I gotta go with the shot that has won the most points in history, and that is Goran Ivanisevic's serve.
Single greatest shot in men's history?
I gotta go with the shot that has won the most points in history, and that is Goran Ivanisevic's serve.
Edberg's volleys .
Actually, just remembered Karlovic too. That thing literally got him, and kept him on tour. Doubt he would be top 100 let alone nearing the top 10 at one point without that serve (again though, helped by being tall).
...Goran Ivanisevic's serve.
To all those saying that Ivanisevic or Sampras' serve is the greatest shot ever, please see the following links for a comparison of their serves to Karlovic's serve.
http://www.atpworldtour.com/Tennis/Players/Iv/G/Goran-Ivanisevic.aspx?t=mf&y=0&s=0#
http://www.atpworldtour.com/Tennis/Players/Sa/P/Pete-Sampras.aspx?t=mf&y=0&s=0#
http://www.atpworldtour.com/Tennis/Players/Top-Players/Ivo-Karlovic.aspx?t=mf&y=0&s=0#
Ivanisevic finished with 10,183 aces, Sampras finished with 8,858 aces, and Karlovic currently has 7,810 aces. When you consider that Sampras played 984 matches, Ivanisevic played 932 matches, and Karlovic has played only 435 matches, it shows you that Karlovic's serve is vastly superior to both of the other two serves.
On a per match basis, Karlovic has averaged 18 aces per match, Ivanisevic has averaged 11 aces per matches, and Sampras has averaged 9 aces per match. When you consider that Karlovic has almost always lost early in grand slams and as a result a lower percentage of his matches played were best of 5, this stat is even more impressive.
Even if you do not consider the number of aces to be the most important factor in judging the best serve (I consider number of aces, double faults, and first serve percentage as the only true serve statistics, other stats factor in all around game), Karlovic has averaged slightly fewer double faults per match, has a significantly higher first serve percentage, has won a higher percentage of break points faced, has won a higher percentage of his service games, and has won a higher percentage of his service points than both Ivanisevic and Sampras. He has done all of this despite a much weaker all around game to back up his serve.
The only serving statistics in which Sampras is superior to Karlovic is that Sampras has won 53% of his second serve points and Karlovic has won 52%. The only serve statistic where Ivanisevic even matches Karlovic is that they have both have won 82% of first serve points. This is despite Karlovic's weak all around game to back up his serve.
Karlovic has a superior serve to both Sampras and Ivanisevic and it is not even close. If Sampras had Karlovic's serve, he likely would have won 25-30 majors. If Ivanisevic had Karlovic's serve, he likely would have won 5-8 majors. If Federer had Karlovic's serve, he probably would have swept the grand slams between 2004 and 2007 and would have finished with well over 30 majors with a couple of perfect seasons included in there.
Pete's serve was amazing. We have to consider the fact that he isn't as tall as Goran.
You have a valid point to be fair, although his height does help his serve out a lot, but under pressure it wasn't as clutch as Sampras.
Do you think its fair to say Sampras had the best first and second serve combination and if tennis players were robots, Goran's serve is the best? I feel Sampras' serve was the best ever because of his big point clutch moments, whilst Goran would throw in many double faults on big points.
Actually, just remembered Karlovic too. That thing literally got him, and kept him on tour. Doubt he would be top 100 let alone nearing the top 10 at one point without that serve (again though, helped by being tall).
Pete's serve was amazing. We have to consider the fact that he isn't as tall as Goran.
I agree completely, there really isn't a comparison. And Isner comes in 2nd - averaging 15,5 aces per match with a pretty high service percent to go with it (68%).
Also, is Sampras even best in the second serve category? Yes, he could hit aces on clutch points. And he went big with it often. But he's 53 % on it is not that great - especially when you consider how much game he had to say Isner and Roddick (both at 56 % overall).
On grass, Sampras is down at 47th!!, whereas Isner is first and Roddick is 10th.
http://www.atpworldtour.com/Matchfacts/Matchfacts-List.aspx?c=3&s=2&y=0
Considering Sampras had a vastly superior ground game to especially Isner but certainly also Roddick, logically they would have a better 2nd serve in and of itself, wouldn't they?
Or am I missing something? (and yes, I know - he's was so clutch in the key moments. But these stats are overall and they present a pretty clear picture in my opinion - the one thing that perhaps skew them a bit is that Sampras played more quality players than Isner did. How much that influences the percentage is hard to measure without going through each and every match though - just one small sample for the sake of it: Wimb 97, quarterfinal vs. Becker, 51, semi vs. Woodbridge: 54, final vs. Pioline: 64).
I would rate Isner as clearly ahead of Sampras and Goran as well, although behind Karlovic. Raonic is serving very well also, but I think he needs to keep it up for a few more years as he has very few matches so far.
My list of best serves (of the last 25 years) off the top of my head:
1. Karlovic
huge gap
2. Isner
huge gap.
3. Goran
4. Sampras
5. Roddick
6. Raonic
There are probably some other lower ranked players with huge serves who might deserve to be ranked highly on this list as well. I have never seen Groth play, but have heard he can serve extremely fast.
I agree completely, there really isn't a comparison. And Isner comes in 2nd - averaging 15,5 aces per match with a pretty high service percent to go with it (68%).
Also, is Sampras even best in the second serve category? Yes, he could hit aces on clutch points. And he went big with it often. But he's 53 % on it is not that great - especially when you consider how much game he had to say Isner and Roddick (both at 56 % overall).
On grass, Sampras is down at 47th!!, whereas Isner is first and Roddick is 10th.
http://www.atpworldtour.com/Matchfacts/Matchfacts-List.aspx?c=3&s=2&y=0
Considering Sampras had a vastly superior ground game to especially Isner but certainly also Roddick, logically they would have a better 2nd serve in and of itself, wouldn't they?
Or am I missing something? (and yes, I know - he's was so clutch in the key moments. But these stats are overall and they present a pretty clear picture in my opinion - the one thing that perhaps skew them a bit is that Sampras played more quality players than Isner did. How much that influences the percentage is hard to measure without going through each and every match though - just one small sample for the sake of it: Wimb 97, quarterfinal vs. Becker, 51, semi vs. Woodbridge: 54, final vs. Pioline: 64).
statistics like these are difficult to compare given the non-standardization of opponents, surfaces etc. there's almost no inferential power you can derive from these statistics. there's too much selection effect at play.
When he places it right, I think Isner's deuce court serve is unreturnable.
If we are taking height into consideration, it's probably the Sampras serve. That shot was on the level of guys like Krajicek and Ivanesevic, but in the hands of someone who was only about 6 feet tall. In that context, it enabled him to have an incredibly overpowering serve while still moving exceptionally well, which is probably unprecedented in history. That serve coupled with his height and speed made Sampras almost unbeatable on fast courts when he was playing well.
To all those saying that Ivanisevic or Sampras' serve is the greatest shot ever, please see the following links for a comparison of their serves to Karlovic's serve.
http://www.atpworldtour.com/Tennis/Players/Iv/G/Goran-Ivanisevic.aspx?t=mf&y=0&s=0#
http://www.atpworldtour.com/Tennis/Players/Sa/P/Pete-Sampras.aspx?t=mf&y=0&s=0#
http://www.atpworldtour.com/Tennis/Players/Top-Players/Ivo-Karlovic.aspx?t=mf&y=0&s=0#
Ivanisevic finished with 10,183 aces, Sampras finished with 8,858 aces, and Karlovic currently has 7,810 aces. When you consider that Sampras played 984 matches, Ivanisevic played 932 matches, and Karlovic has played only 435 matches, it shows you that Karlovic's serve is vastly superior to both of the other two serves.
On a per match basis, Karlovic has averaged 18 aces per match, Ivanisevic has averaged 11 aces per matches, and Sampras has averaged 9 aces per match. When you consider that Karlovic has almost always lost early in grand slams and as a result a lower percentage of his matches played were best of 5, this stat is even more impressive.
Even if you do not consider the number of aces to be the most important factor in judging the best serve (I consider number of aces, double faults, and first serve percentage as the only true serve statistics, other stats factor in all around game), Karlovic has averaged slightly fewer double faults per match, has a significantly higher first serve percentage, has won a higher percentage of break points faced, has won a higher percentage of his service games, and has won a higher percentage of his service points than both Ivanisevic and Sampras. He has done all of this despite a much weaker all around game to back up his serve.
The only serving statistics in which Sampras is superior to Karlovic is that Sampras has won 53% of his second serve points and Karlovic has won 52%. The only serve statistic where Ivanisevic even matches Karlovic is that they have both have won 82% of first serve points. This is despite Karlovic's weak all around game to back up his serve.
Karlovic has a superior serve to both Sampras and Ivanisevic and it is not even close. If Sampras had Karlovic's serve, he likely would have won 25-30 majors. If Ivanisevic had Karlovic's serve, he likely would have won 5-8 majors. If Federer had Karlovic's serve, he probably would have swept the grand slams between 2004 and 2007 and would have finished with well over 30 majors with a couple of perfect seasons included in there.
I haven't check Isner's stats, but I expect his numbers and average are high too.