Smartest players ATP and WTA

[halalula1234]

Hi everyone who do u think are the smartest players (game wise) on the ATP and WTA?? Based on how smart they play, how well they place their shots and their shot selections... u know what i mean.

I think the ATP is Federer and Santoro was quite smart be hes retired so it doesnt count.

Wta. I cant think of many except for retired ones. Radwanska is supposed to be smart but i dont really watch her. I've seen some recent Serena matches and she seems to be using angles and placement more often.

Oh maybe Maria Jose Martinez she seems really creative.

So who do all think are the smartest players on both tours?

 

[junk]

mats wilander, brad gilbert

 

[jones101]

Hi everyone who do u think are the smartest players (game wise) on the ATP and WTA?? Based on how smart they play, how well they place their shots and their shot selections... u know what i mean.

I think the ATP is Federer and Santoro was quite smart be hes retired so it doesnt count.

Wta. I cant think of many except for retired ones. Radwanska is supposed to be smart but i dont really watch her. I've seen some recent Serena matches and she seems to be using angles and placement more often.

Oh maybe Maria Jose Martinez she seems really creative.

So who do all think are the smartest players on both tours?

I dont think MJMS is that smart, but yes she is creative

She is creative because she has to be and has no baseline game, but she is fun to watch.

Radwanska is a good example however, she does not have explosive groundies or a big serve but the rest of her game is complete, therefore she can adapt her gamestyle and play shots a lot of big hitters cant play and take them out of their comfort.

 

[Clay lover]

A smart player to me is one who adapts his/her play style according to his/her opponent for the best results and one who knows which shot to hit at what time.

I don't regard possessing pure junkballing/ dropshotting skills or having all shots in the book as smart because you have to use them at the right time for the best effect. Santoro just used the some stuff against everyone and yes it may work but it may turn out to be a disaster too.

I have always thought that Nadal is a smart player, obviously not because of his one dimensional play style, but because of his excellent court-positioning by observing where the ball is on his opponent's side of the court and by drawing from his own experiences on usual shot routines. and, in addition, he punishes poor court-positioning of his opponents very well too (see him v. Federer).

Therefore, it always seems like he knows where you are gonna hit the ball even before you hit it and that extra first step to the ball has help him won many matches.

 

[TheMagicianOfPrecision]

Mats Wilander hands down. (also Miroslav Mecir and Karol Kucera)

Every shot Mats hit had an adress, a purpose, a meaning.

His movement was brutally economic.

Imo he is by far the the player with the weakest shot who won 3 or more Slams.

He could be neutralized though, his nightmare opponents were Big Cat Mecir and Alberto Mancini who never were in contention for any GS-wins, but they still owned Mats every time they played. Mancini by power, Mecir by even more smartness and sharp strategy.

 

[kishnabe]

Smartest Guys on ATP: Mats Willander(branded Smart guy), Roger Federer, Andy Murray(sometimes), Andy Roddick( book smart of tennis not street smart), John McEnroe(smart knowledge but no smart mouth), and maybe Andre Agassi( his comentary is nice and thourough and he says some things about tennis tht you don't think about).

Last but not least Arthur Ashe....just because of his dismanteled the great Connors with smart tactics at Wimbledon.

Women:hmmmm.....Martina Navriltova, Radwanska, Caro Wozniacki, The old Justine henin!

 

[MurrayisBEAST]

Agassi, Murray, and Brad Gilbert.

 

[Doublebounce]

current- kim clijsters and nadal

reitred- gilbert and henin

 

[Tammo]

Ljubicic, Davydenko, and Isner. Isner went to college before turning pro. Also Raonic.

 

[icazares]

Current player: Nadal. Make no mistake. Retired player: concur with the comments about Wilander.

 

[TheMagicianOfPrecision]

Current player: Nadal. Make no mistake. Retired player: concur with the comments about Wilander.

Nadal?? You dont have to be smart to harass someones backhand until it commits bloody suicide. If Nadal were smart, he would find solutions for Novak- instead, they are now further apart than ever before.

 

[AndyArodRoddick]

Roddicks IQ is 135..that should mean something.

 

[krz]

Blake went to Harvard.

 

[Clarky21]

Nadal?? You dont have to be smart to harass someones backhand until it commits bloody suicide. If Nadal were smart, he would find solutions for Novak- instead, they are now further apart than ever before.

Well,Ruan the same could be said about Federer and why he hasn't come up with anything against Nadal in all these years. You,typically,make no mention of that.

 

[SStrikerR]

Game wise, mats wilander and and Brad gilbert.
Book-wise, maybe james blake.

WTA is unimportant.

 

[TheMagicianOfPrecision]

Well,Ruan the same could be said about Federer and why he hasn't come up with anything against Nadal in all these years. You,typically,make no mention of that.

Thats why i didnt mention Federer as one of my smartest players.

Next!

 

[mandy01]

Roddicks IQ is 135..that should mean something.

It doesn't because IQ tests are hardly reliable sources.

 

[BHud]

Gale Monflis andd Veru Vonereva are the gratest tinkrs in the game...tey use there brane good.

 

[sureshs]

Nadal, because he can beat all the other "smart" players mentioned here

 

[_maxi]

Nadal?? You dont have to be smart to harass someones backhand until it commits bloody suicide. If Nadal were smart, he would find solutions for Novak- instead, they are now further apart than ever before.

Aren't moonballs to backhand a smart decision? the outcome of a largely complex process in the mind of the king?

 

[beast of mallorca]

The smartest players ? The top 4 are basically it but to explore a little bit
IMO, probably the best of them is
Murray - I think he's a very good tactician. Mental strength might be in question but otherwise a smart player on court. Very cunning
Roger - His accomplishments should speak for itself. Stubborn he maybe to adjust against Rafa, but otherwise has it all up there.

The ones that need to sharpen up a lot is Monfils, Verdasco and Cilic.
Monfils esp. I believe he has all the tools, but something up there is just lacking.

 

[accidental]

youzhny maybe? I have no idea how that guy stays near the top and manages to beat top players consistently.

I've seen some matches of his where he has basically changed game plans right in the middle of a match after losing a set easily, such as when he played Del Potro in Rome this year and changed it up after losing the first set easily after trying to go toe to toe with Del Potro from the baseline. he started coming in more, slicing more, hitting shorter balls etc and won the second and played a close third.

I would also put Stepanek up there. He plays a very crafty game and manages to pull of some big wins

 

[Sid_Vicious]

Lleyton Hewitt(especially prime).

 

[tennisfanireland94]

Llodra. He may be a one-dimensional player but knows he is not the greatest player so found a style that suited his abilities, one which has helped him achieve some good singles results (we know about his doubles prowess) and reach a point ranking-wise he probably wouldn't have reached had he gone with a more modern style. For these reasons I believe he is a smart player.

 

[callmethedoctor]

Can' believe no one's said Schiavone or Hingis.

 

[fgbGirl]

Can' believe no one's said Schiavone or Hingis.

I have to agree about Schiavone, she has a very diverse toolbox she will throw at her opponents, not to mention the ripped physique. Another gal that probably isn't thought of too much is Marion Bartoli. She always plays the top players extremely well.

As for Radwanska, I don't know, she has that nasty dropshot she likes to throw in once in a while, but I don't know nothing else stands out to me, maybe it's been a while since I've watched a whole match of hers.

Now, on the guys side, I am really surprised no one said Andy Murray, Mr. deceptive himself, such a fun player to watch. Federer is also right there, due to the diversity of things he can throw at you. He still amazes me. And he also happened to be the only one to have an answer for a Mr. Djokovic during his latest streak.

 

[gino]

I'd say Almagro is a smart player, he rips the ball, however he's pretty intelligent on court.

Also, Gilles Simon

 

[beast of mallorca]

I'd say Almagro is a smart player, he rips the ball, however he's pretty intelligent on court.

Also, Gilles Simon

Blake might be academically proficient but sometimes when he plays, decision making, choice of shots etc all fall apart. Either he strikes hard or harder. Hope he gets his act together though and get to even top 30.

It's a shame he didn't get the 3rd set tie breaker today against Isner.

 

[Sid_Vicious]

Blake might be academically proficient but sometimes when he plays, decision making, choice of shots etc all fall apart. Either he strikes hard or harder. Hope he gets his act together though and get to even top 30.

It's a shame he didn't get the 3rd set tie breaker today against Isner.

Agreed. Sad thing is that Blake played a great tiebreaker, but Isner was serving so damn well that he pretty much took James's racquet out of his hand.